Atlantic Robot League
Atlantic Robot League Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- A. 15 Mech tiles
- B. 1 Placeholder tile
- C. 9 Scheme cards
- D. 5 Betting cards
- E. 1 Arena board
- F. 5 Dry Erase markers
- G. 40 Credit tokens
- H. #1 Tile
Setup
- Place the Arena in the middle of the table.
- Form a supply of Credit tokens near the Arena.
- Shuffle the Mech Tiles together and deal them to the outside perimeter of the Arena.
- Take the remaining 3 Mechs and the Placeholder Tile, shuffle them together, and deal them into the center of the arena.
- Remove the Placeholder and set it off to the side.
- Place a Credit token on the Mech in each corner.
- Shuffle the Scheme cards and place them facedown by the Insider.
- Reveal 2 Scheme cards and place them faceup to the right of the Scheme deck.
- Give each player a Betting card, a marker, and 3 Credit tokens. Unused Betting cards and markers go back in the box.
Starting a Round (Simultaneous)
All players participate in betting simultaneously. Players have 90 seconds to decide their bets and fill out their Betting cards.
The first person to finish betting in the first round is the Start player. They take the #1 tile.
Choose one of the 5 Teams for each of the 3 "Team Bets" Categories:
- Heroes - Team with the most surviving Mechs
- Has-beens - Team that was eliminated first
- Brawlers - Team that KO'ed the most opposing Mechs
Choose a Mech Pentafecta: Choose the final 5 Mechs that will be left in the Arena at the end of the round.
Gameplay (Taking Turns)
Players take turns clockwise, beginning with the Start player. On each player's turn, you will do the following: Buy a Scheme (optional), Slide a Mech tile, and Attack and KO a Mech (if able).
Step 1: Buy a Scheme (Optional)
You may spend one Credit token on the Insider. If you do, you can purchase one of the two Scheme cards on display. Scheme cards allow for many special effects, including several that break the normal rules for movement, elimination, etc. Adjacency is always orthogonal except where indicated.
This can only be done once per turn. When a Scheme card is purchased, immediately replace it from the deck.
You must play the Scheme card immediately and then discard it.
It only affects you for this turn.
If a Scheme causes more than one Mech to be KO'ed, the player using the Scheme chooses the order.
Step 2: Slide a Mech Tile
Then, you must slide a Mech tile into an empty adjacent slot up, down, left, or right. You may not go past the border. You may not pass through any other tiles. You may not move diagonally.
Step 3: Attack and KO a Mech (If Able)
Each Mech tile shows the logos of two other teams on the corners. These are the Mech's rivals. After you slide your Mech tile, check if any of its rivals are now orthogonally adjacent to it. (It doesn't have to be on the same side as its logo on the attacking Mech.) If so, attack and KO that rival. When KO'ed, remove it from the Arena and place it on the team logo of the attacking team. If a Mech can attack and KO multiple Mechs, only choose one to be KO'ed.
If the Mech that was KO'ed had a Credit token on it, the player who KO'ed that Mech gets the Credit token.
If the KO'ed Mech was the last Mech of that Team, place the Placeholder Tile over that team's Flag, to signify their Team was eliminated first.
The Fixer
Before any Team is eliminated, a player can, during any time in a turn, even out of turn, spend Credit tokens to activate the Fixer to change their Pentafecta bets. For each Credit token spent, a player may replace one Mech in their Pentafecta bet with another Mech. While the player is making their changes, play is paused until they are done.
End of the Round
Continue taking turns until there are 5 or fewer Mechs in the Arena. This ends the round.
Scoring Team Points
For each of the three Team categories, check to see who bet on the winners. If a number of teams tied, they are all winners in that category.
- If only one player picked a winner, they get 5 points.
- If two players picked a winner or winners, they each get 2 points.
- If three or more players picked a winner or winners, they each get 1 point.
Score Pentafecta
Check how many of your chosen Mechs are still in the Arena at the end of the round. See chart below to see how many points you earn for the number of remaining Mechs:
Pentafecta Scoring
| Surviving Mechs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victory Points | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
Example
You bet the Appalachian Ramblers would have the most remaining Mechs. You were correct! One other player also bet this, so you each earn 2 points.
You bet The Beasts of the East would be the first to be eliminated. You're the only one to place this bet. You were correct, so you earn 5 points.
You bet the Mid-Atlantic Cavaliers would have KO'ed the most opposing Mechs. You were correct! Two other players bet this as well, so you each only earn 1 point.
Lastly, three of your Pentafecta Mechs are still in the Arena, so you earn 3 points. Your total score is 11 points for the round!
Starting the Next Round
Erase all the bets made and the Team Bet scores - but do not erase the totals for any rounds already scored.
The player with the least current points becomes the Start player for the next round. If there is a tie for least points, the tied player furthest from the previous round's Start player goes first.
Shuffle and deal the Mech tiles as you did during setup, then start deciding your bets!
Ending the Game
The game ends after the third round. After the game is over, each player totals their scores from all three rounds. Whoever has the highest total points wins.
If tied, the tied player with the most Credits wins. (Printed as "Cedits" in the source.)
If still a tie, those players share victory.