Area 1851 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Factions
  • Townsfolk
  • Survivalists
  • Krukian
• How to Play
  • 1 - Events Phase
  • 2 - Draw Phase
  • 3 - Roll Phase
  • 4 - Action Phase
  • 5 - Assistants Phase
  • 6 - Rotate Phase
• Scoring
• Concepts
  • Decks
  • Reputation
  • Dice
  • Gadgets
  • Modifications
  • Scrap Heap
  • Feats
    • Reward
  • Assistants
  • Events
    • Universal Modification Event Card
  • Action Points
• Actions
  • Deliver a Gadget (0 AP)
  • Activate an Assistant (0 AP)
  • Fiddle (0 AP)
  • Fabricate a Gadget (1 AP + Appropriate values on dice)
  • Attach a Modification (1 AP + Appropriate values on dice)
  • Scrap (1 AP)
  • Take a Feat card (1 AP)
• Locations
  • Workshop
  • Recycler
  • Town Hall
  • Storehouse
  • Replicator

Components

• Game board
• 15 dice (3 in each of 5 colors)
• 15 pawns (3 in each of 5 colors)
• 5 score tokens
• Cards:
  • 108 Tinker cards
  • 21 Event cards
  • 33 Mission cards
  • 5 oversized player reference cards

Setup

• Place the board in the center of the table.
• Shuffle all the Tinker cards together, then deal 5 to each player. Players take their dealt Tinker cards into their hand, keeping them secret from the other players. Place the remaining Tinker cards face down in a stack under the table or in the bathroom sink. Come to think of it, it would probably be better to place them on the table where all players can reach them.
• Shuffle all the Feat cards together, then deal 1 to each player. Players should look at their dealt Feat card and then place it face down on the table in front of them. Place the remaining stack of Feat cards face down on the table near the Tinker cards.
• Set up the Event deck by performing the following steps:
  • Remove the To the Left!, To the Right! and The End cards from the Event deck and set them aside.
  • Select a number of Universal Modification cards depending on the number of players:
    • 3 players - 1 Universal Modification card
    • 4 players - 2 Universal Modification cards
    • 5 players - 3 Universal Modification cards
  • Shuffle the Event and Universal Modification cards together (minus the To the Left!, To the Right! and The End cards).
  • Begin creating the Event deck by placing the The End card face down near the Feat and Tinker decks.
  • Place 4 random Event cards face down on top of the Event deck.
  • Place the To the Left! card face down on top of the Event deck.
  • Place 4 more random Event cards face down on top of the Event deck.
  • Place the To the Right! card and then 4 final random Event cards face down on top of the Event deck.
  • The Event deck should now consist of 15 Event cards. Without looking at the remaining Event cards, place them face down in the box. They won't be used during this game.

Note that you can make the game longer or shorter by adding or removing equal amounts of event cards from the 3 segments of the deck, but 4 cards per segment is the recommended amount.

Factions

There are three factions in Area 1851. Each faction has its merits and they all think theirs is the only way to live. While playing Area 1851 players will be trying to earn the favor of the factions by delivering contraptions and earning reputation.

Townsfolk

The Townsfolk of Townsvillatron have been around forever, since before the Krukian showed up and started causing changes. They enjoy the finer things in life, and are not as technologically advanced. The Townsfolk are represented in Area 1851 by the color Blue.

Survivalists

The survivalists are an offshoot of the Townsfolk, which left Townsvillatron shortly after the Krukian showed up. They moved out to the wilderness to learn to live off the land and sneak away some Krukian tech. The Survivalists are represented in Area 1851 by the color Red.

Krukian

The Krukian people, if they can be called that, are visitors from outer space. At least that was what it seemed like when they first showed up. Just like any time a friend needs a place to crash for "Just a couple weeks" the Krukian have seemed to make themselves at home. They appear to no longer have any intention of leaving any time soon and have integrated themselves into the population. The Krukian are represented in Area 1851 by the color Green.

How to Play

The game is played over 15 turns. Each turn is divided into 6 phases. During each phase, players play simultaneously then pause briefly before the next phase to ensure that every player has performed the requirements for that phase.

The 6 phases occur in the following order:

1 - Events Phase

Reveal an Event card from the top of the Event deck, then perform the actions specified by the revealed card.

2 - Draw Phase

Players who have fewer than five cards in their hand must draw cards from the Tinker deck until they have a total of five cards.

3 - Roll Phase

All players roll all of their dice unless otherwise directed by a card or board location.

4 - Action Phase

Each player receives 2 action points (APs) to spend during every Action phase. (Some cards and board locations might occasionally give a player more or less than 2 APs.)

Using these points, each player may perform a number of actions. Some actions cost 1 action point to perform, some cost 0, and two of the actions also require a player to have a certain value on their dice in order to perform the action.

The available actions, which can be performed in any order, are:

• Fabricate a gadget - 1 AP + Appropriate values on dice
• Attach a modification to a gadget - 1 AP + Appropriate values on dice
• Draw a Feat card - 1 AP
• Scrap a card - 1 AP
• Deliver a gadget - 0 AP
• Activate an assistant - 0 AP
• Fiddle with dice - 0 AP

Don't worry, we'll explain all these actions in more detail later.

Oh and by the way, each player's APs disappear at the end of every Action phase, so you can't save them up from round to round. Use 'em or lose 'em. And no, you can't spend more action points than you have. That would just be silly.

5 - Assistants Phase

Each player takes all their assistants they activated this turn and moves them back into the Idle Assistants zone of the same location each assistant is already in. Each player may then move one of their assistants on the board to a different location's Idle Assistant zone.

6 - Rotate Phase

As a tinkerer, ideas for new gadgets and modifications are always flying in and out of your brain, and you never seem to have enough time to make all the gadgets you'd like. To reflect this concept, during the Rotate phase, each player passes their entire hand of Tinker cards to an adjacent player. (Players never pass Feat cards or cards in their scrap heaps.) At the beginning of the game, all players pass their cards to the player on their left, but during play, when the To the Right! and To the Left! Event cards are revealed, the direction that cards get passed will change.

After the Rotate phase, the turn is over. A new turn then begins with the next Events phase. Play continues like this until the Event card The End is drawn. As described on the The End card, the game ends immediately after the Assistants phase of that turn.

Scoring

At the end of the game, players reveal any end-of-game Feat cards and add the reputation points gained from them to their accumulated reputation. The player with the greatest reputation (the one who made it furthest around the score track) is designated Top Tinkerer and wins the game.

In the event of a tie, the tied players should use the following list from top to bottom to break the tie:

• Lowest total reputation value of all cards in each player's scrap heap.
• The player with the most completed feats.
• The player whose age is closest to 42.

Concepts

Decks

There are three decks of cards in Area 1851: The Tinker deck, the Feat deck, and the Event deck.

Tinker Deck: Comprised of two different types of cards - gadgets and modifications - players draw cards from this deck during the Draw phase. Tinker cards are primarily used to earn reputation.

Feat Deck: Players can optionally draw Feat cards during the Action phase. Feat cards are another method for earning reputation.

Event Deck: This deck is carefully constructed for each game, with a little bit of randomness and a few planned events. One Event card is revealed and acted on during each Events phase.

Reputation

Reputation is earned by delivering your fantastic (and, let's face it, mostly not-so-fantastic) gadgets to the townspeople during the Action phase. Each gadget and modification has a reputation value that designates how much reputation is earned by delivering that gadget. Reputation is used to determine the winner of the game. (Some experienced gamers might even call them victory points.)

Dice

Each player has three 4-sided dice. Normally, players will roll their dice once per turn, during the Roll phase. Card effects or board locations may change when or how often a player is allowed to roll their dice.

The values rolled on the dice are used for fabricating gadgets and attaching modifications.

Gadgets

Fabricating gadgets is the primary method of earning reputation. Gadgets are the base objects that tinkerers start with when constructing their crazy ideas, and they range from the mundane to the unusual to the outright bizarre. Gadgets can be delivered to the townspeople without any modifications to them, but of course these types of gadgets won't bring the tinkerer as much reputation as ones with one or more interesting modifications.

Each gadget has one or more modification sockets, showing how many and which type of modifications it is allowed to hold. Each gadget also has a fabrication cost and reputation value.

1. Fabrication Cost - This is the number a player must roll with their dice in order to fabricate the gadget. (See Fabricate a Gadget below.)
2. Modification Sockets - These icons indicate how many and which types of modifications can be attached to a gadget.
3. Reputation Value - The reputation value is how much reputation the gadget is worth when a player delivers it to the townspeople.

Modifications

Modification cards make up the majority of the Tinker deck, and are used to augment the reputation value of gadgets. In order to get a modification into play, a player must have a gadget that has a free modification socket of the appropriate type. Each modification has an attach cost, socket type, and reputation value.

1. Attach Cost - This is the number a player must roll with their dice in order to attach the modification to a gadget. (See Attach a Modification below.)
2. Socket Type - This dictates which gadgets the modification may be attached to.
3. Reputation Value - The reputation value is how much reputation the modification is worth when a player delivers it to the townspeople.

Scrap Heap

A player's scrap heap is a resource that the player must manage during play. A player may increase the size of their scrap heap by scrapping the gadgets and modifications they have in their hand or in play.

The number of cards in a player's scrap heap is always public information.

Feats

Feat cards provide players with additional goals to accomplish during the game. When a feat's completion requirement has been met by the feat's owner, the player must then turn it face up to collect the reward the feat provides.

Some feats must be completed during play, while others won't be completed until the end of the game. Each Feat card indicates when it must be turned face up.

Players may complete only one feat with each gadget they deliver. If more than one feat could be completed with a single gadget, the player must choose one of the feats to complete.

Feats don't cost any APs to complete.

Reward

When a feat is turned face up, the player who owns that feat receives the reward it provides.

Assistants

Each player begins the game with 1 assistant in play and 2 more in reserve. The assistants in reserve are put into play by Event cards during the course of a game. Players activate their assistants during the Action phase to receive a variety of benefits. Each assistant may only be activated once per turn.

Events

Each turn, an Event card is revealed during the Events phase. These cards may help or hinder some or all of the players. Events take effect immediately and affect all players unless otherwise specified.

Universal Modification Event Card

The Universal Modification card requires that all players bid to determine who receives it. The bidding process works as follows:

All players set aside their current hand of Tinker cards and take their scrap heap into their hand. They then secretly choose a number of cards from their scrap heap that they wish to bid and place those cards in their right hand below the table. After all players have selected cards, the bids are revealed simultaneously. The player who bids the most cards wins this card and must discard all the cards they bid. Any remaining cards that were not bid are returned to their scrap heap. All other players return their cards to their scrap heaps (even the cards used for bidding).

In the event of a tie, all tied players roll one die. The player who rolls the highest number wins. Re-roll ties until a clear winner is determined.

Action Points

Also known as APs, action points allow players to perform various actions during the Action phase. Players normally receive 2 APs during the Action phase, but some events and board locations may alter that amount.

Trying to remember if an action requires an AP? Here's a quick tip: If a card is leaving your hand, then yes, the action costs an AP.

Actions

The following actions are available to players during the Action phase of each turn.

Deliver a Gadget (0 AP)

Using this action, a player may deliver any one of their gadgets they have face-up on the table. If a player fills every modification socket on any of their gadgets, they must deliver that gadget immediately.

When a gadget is delivered, the player gains reputation in the amount that is listed on both the gadget and on all the modifications they are delivering. Move the player's score token forward on the Reputation track around the outside of the board a number of squares equal to the amount of reputation gained.

If a gadget has all of its modification sockets filled with modifications that are of the same faction as the gadget, then the reputation value of the gadget is doubled. The reputation value of the attached modifications is left unchanged.

There is no limit to how many Deliver a Gadget actions a player may perform in one turn, as long as they have gadgets on the table in front of them.

Place all delivered gadgets and modifications into the Tinker discard pile unless otherwise directed by a card or board location.

Activate an Assistant (0 AP)

Using this action, a player may activate any of their assistants. Depending on the location and how many assistants are activated, the player will receive different benefits during the turn. A player activates an assistant by moving it from the Idle Assistants zone of a location into one of the other two zones for that same location.

Fiddle (0 AP)

No, we're not talking about playing a violin in a jaunty and folksy way. We're talking about fiddling with dice. Using this action, a player may place one of their cards from their scrap heap into the Tinker discard pile to modify the values of their dice. For each card discarded in this way, the player may modify the value of one die up or down by 1.

There is no limit to how many Fiddle actions a player may perform in one turn, as long as they have cards in their scrap heap to pay for them.

Dice may be fiddled beyond their normal value range (e.g., The value on a dice may be fiddled up to 5 or more, or down to 0).

Fabricate a Gadget (1 AP + Appropriate values on dice)

When a player wants to move a gadget from their hand into play, they perform the Fabricate a Gadget action. A gadget can be fabricated when the value of one or more of a player's dice added together equal the fabrication cost of the gadget.

Any dice used for fabrication must not have already been used to fabricate any other gadgets or attach any other modifications this turn. Dice that are used to fabricate should be moved away from the player toward the center of the table so it is clear those dice have been used.

Attach a Modification (1 AP + Appropriate values on dice)

When a player wants to move a modification from their hand into play, they must attach it to an existing gadget on the table in front of them. The gadget must have an open modification socket of the socket type of the modification being attached.

A modification can be attached when the value of one or more of a player's dice added together equal the Attach Cost of the modification.

Any dice used for attaching a modification must not have already been used to fabricate any other gadgets or attach any other modifications this turn. Dice that are used to attach should be moved away from the player toward the center of the table so it is clear those dice have been used.

Remember: Any time a player fills all the modification sockets on a gadget, they must deliver that gadget immediately.

When modifying a gadget, you may feel the desire to cackle madly or shout "Eureka!" This type of behavior is strongly encouraged.

Scrap (1 AP)

To increase the amount of cards in their scrap heap, a player must take a Tinker card from their hand, or a face-up Tinker card from their play area, and place it in their scrap pile. A player's scrap pile is kept face down in a loose pile in their play area.

Take a Feat card (1 AP)

A player takes a Feat card by drawing the top card of the Feat deck. A player may look at their Feat cards at any time, but all incomplete feats should be kept face down on the table.

Locations

The game board for Area 1851 has five different locations where players may place their assistants. There is no limit to how many assistants may be in any one location or zone on the board. Each location has 3 zones: An Idle Assistant zone, a Level 1 zone, and a Level 2 zone. Assistants are in the Idle Assistant zone by default.

To use the Level 1 zone of a location, a player moves one of their assistants from the Idle Assistant zone into the Level 1 zone of the same location. This grants the player the Level 1 bonus immediately.

To use the Level 2 zone of a location, a player moves two of their assistants from the Idle Assistant zone into the Level 2 zone of the same location. This grants the player the Level 2 bonus immediately.

Workshop

• Level 1: Fiddle once during the Action phase without having to pay the scrap cost.
• Level 2: Re-roll any number of your dice once during the turn. Dice that were previously used for fabricating a gadget or attaching a modification, or dice used in the Town Hall board location, may be used again this turn for those same actions after they are re-rolled.

Recycler

• Level 1: Detach one modification from one of your gadgets and deliver it. Gain the reputation value immediately.
• Level 2: Deliver one gadget, then scrap that gadget and all attached modifications rather than putting them into the Tinker discard pile.

Town Hall

• Level 1: Immediately place any number of your unused dice on this location. Gain 1 reputation for each of your dice placed here. Dice on the Town Hall remain here and cannot be used until the next turn, unless they are re-rolled.
• Level 2: Immediately place any number of your unused dice on this location. Gain 2 reputation for each of your dice placed here. Dice on the Town Hall remain here and cannot be used until the next turn, unless they are re-rolled.

Storehouse

• Level 1: Exchange one card from your hand with one card from your scrap heap.
• Level 2: Place one card from your scrap heap into the discard pile, then fabricate one gadget or attach one modification from your scrap heap rather than from your hand. You do not need to use dice to pay for the selected card's cost.

Replicator

• Level 1: Discard 1 card, then draw 2 cards.
• Level 2: Gain one additional AP to be used this turn.