Biathlon Crystal Globe Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Objectives
• Game Contents
• The Biathletes
• The Course
• The Weather
• Ski Phase
  • Movement
  • Turn Order
  • Energy Cards
• Shooting Phase
  • Arriving at the Shooting Range
  • The Shooting
  • Penalty Loop
• Game Levels
• 1st Level: PLAYFUL (Ludique)
• 2nd Level: TACTICAL (Tactique)
• 3rd Level: STRATEGIC (Stratégique)

Game Objectives

Of course, your objective is to cross the finish line first. To do so, you must complete a predefined number of laps while stopping at the shooting range on each lap to try to put 5 bullets in the targets.

There is no winning tactic between taking risks and playing safe. The interest of this game is having to combine two strategies in one: speed on the skis and accuracy at the range.

The other players will be formidable opponents. So think about keeping enough energy for your last lap, which will take you to the finish line. Be patient at the range; you will probably be tempted to shoot your 5 bullets in one turn, but that is not always the right choice. Uncertain weather, falls, attacks, bonks, and alliances on the course will be added to the good or bad choices at the range for a thrilling event.

Watch your opponents' behaviour and use your energy wisely. Collaborate or not with other biathletes to break away or to catch up with the leaders. Adapt your level of risk at the range to the situation and the race events.

BIATHLON CRYSTAL GLOBE reserves victory only for the greatest champions: the best tacticians, the great strategists and the wisest of competitors...

Game Contents

• 1 game board
• 3 special movement dice (one white, one grey and one black)
• 6 special shooting dice (the 6 coloured dice)
• 1 blue Events die
• 12 biathletes
• 12 bases (4 white, 4 grey and 4 black)
• 12 Energy card decks identified by the colours of each player
• 12 Form of the Day cards
• 50 white targets for successful shots and 30 black targets for missed shots
• 1 wind marker
• 2 rulebooks

The Biathletes

Each team is made up of 3 biathletes (one with each base colour), who have their own characteristics.

• The white-base biathlete is more accurate at shooting and slower on the track. He rolls the white die.
• The grey-base biathlete is consistent at shooting and on the track. He rolls the grey die.
• The black-base biathlete is faster on the track and less accurate at shooting. He rolls the black die.

For your first game, we advise you to play only one biathlete. You can then play more. BCG also lets you organise large meetings of up to 12 different players.

The Course

The track is divided into large grey spaces (at the start, at the shooting range and on the penalty loop) and small white spaces (on the rest of the course).

• A white space can hold only one biathlete.
• On a grey space, several biathletes can be together.

On grey spaces there is no Slipstream (Aspiration), no Recovery (Récupération) and no Blocked Passage (Passage obstrué).

The layout of the track has 3 types of zones:

• the flat,
• the uphills at -2 (outlined in red),
• and the downhills at +1 (outlined in blue).

The Weather

At the start of the game, you must determine whether there is wind at the shooting range. Roll the blue Events die. A windsock indicates that there is wind at the range. Any other result indicates no wind. Display the weather next to the shooting table using the corresponding token.

These weather conditions may change during the game.

Ski Phase

Movement

Each in turn, players move following the turn order (or, on the first turn, their position on the starting line). The active player rolls the die of the colour of his biathlete's base.

• If he begins his turn on the flat, his result (between 3 and 5) determines the number of spaces he can advance.
• If he begins his turn on an uphill, subtract 2 from the value of his movement die.
• If he begins his turn on a downhill, add 1 to the value of his movement die.

To improve his performance, the player may then choose to reveal up to 2 Energy cards to boost his movement.

The player is never obliged to make his full movement. However, if he does not use all the movement offered by his die, he cannot play an Energy card.

Movement rules on the board:

• The biathlete always moves to progress by one space, either straight ahead or diagonally. He cannot move sideways.
• The maximum movement of a biathlete during a turn is limited to 8 spaces.
• If the way is blocked by three biathletes, you may pass freely between them if you have enough movement to get ahead of them.

Reminder: a white space can hold only one biathlete.

Turn Order

The turn order is determined by the position of the biathletes on the track. The leading player plays first, followed by the biathlete in second position, and so on. The turn ends when all biathletes in the race have made a movement or a shot.

Thus, a biathlete who was last and moves into the lead thanks to his movement will play immediately (first) in the next turn.

If you end up level with another racer at the end of your movement, you will play after him in the next turn. You must overtake him to play before him. Offset your biathletes slightly on the board in this case to know who will play first in the next turn.

Energy Cards

Each biathlete has his own deck of Energy cards, identifiable by the colour of his team and base. Each Energy card deck is identical and comprises 16 cards (7 of value +1, 4 of value +2, 5 of value +3). Each card indicates the maximum number of additional spaces you can add to your movement.

Drawing on your energy therefore lets you increase your performance on the track to try to launch an attack or, on the contrary, to try to catch up. Using these cards is eminently tactical, because you have only 16 of them for a 3-lap race. They total 30 Bonus points, an average of about 10 Bonus points per lap.

A 17th card, called Form of the Moment (Forme du moment), is drawn secretly before each race and placed beneath the deck. It is therefore the last Energy card you will play, probably to contest the final sprint to the finish line!

So, on your turn, after rolling your movement die and learning its result, you may choose to reveal up to 2 Energy cards to complete your movement.

Revealed Energy cards are stacked face up to the right of your Energy deck to form a discard pile, of which only the last card played, on top, is visible to the other players.

The use of Energy cards varies according to the rule level you apply. See later: PLAYFUL rule, TACTICAL rule, STRATEGIC rule.

Exceptions - Flat / Uphill transition: If your die roll (and your possible Slipstream) takes you from the flat onto the uphill, YOU CANNOT reveal Energy cards this turn. If your 1st Energy card takes you from the flat onto the uphill, YOU CANNOT reveal a 2nd one.

Shooting Phase

Arriving at the Shooting Range

The biathlete who arrives first on a grey space of the shooting range must go to shooting position no. 1, and so on. As soon as you arrive on the grey space adjacent to your shooting position, place your biathlete on it. Your shooting will begin on your next turn and you will leave your shooting position only after firing 5 bullets.

The Shooting

Shots are made using the 12-sided coloured dice.

Identifying the shooting dice. First identify the colours of the dice you may use. Refer to the shooting table on the board next to the shooting range. Select the row according to the shot you are making (prone or standing) and the presence of wind. The colour of your biathlete's base then tells you which column to use. The intersection of the row and column designates the 5 shooting dice you may use this turn: your shooting sequence.

Shooting sequence. The more white faces your dice have, the better your chance of succeeding in your shot by whitening the target. Your shooting sequence is shown from the safest die on the left to the riskiest die on the right.

You decide how many bullets you will fire per turn (minimum 1, maximum 5). Roll the dice of your sequence one after the other, from left to right.

• Each time you get a white face, take a white "successful shot" target.
• Each time you get a coloured face, take a black "missed shot" target.

You may decide to stop your shooting after each die roll by ending your turn. Your shooting will continue the next turn, restarting your shooting sequence from the beginning; you will thus again benefit from the most favourable dice for your last bullets (beware, the weather may have changed during the turn).

You therefore have the choice of firing all your bullets in the same turn with a risky shooting sequence, or spreading them over 2 turns or more with better chances of success.

Weather change. The blue dotted shooting die has on one of its faces a windsock symbol. The player who rolls a windsock succeeds in his shot and gets a white target, but must immediately check whether the weather conditions have changed by rolling the blue Events die. If the result of this die is a windsock, flip the Weather token and immediately determine the new applicable shooting sequence.

Penalty Loop

For each black target in your possession, you must complete a penalty lap on the penalty loop. After each penalty lap completed, discard a black target.

Reminder: there is no Slipstream, no Recovery and no Blocked Passage on the grey spaces of the penalty loop.

Clarification: to determine the turn order of the biathletes on the penalty loop, check their positions: the one on the space with the highest number plays first.

ATTENTION: For each missed bullet, you must travel one lap of the penalty loop, which is 9 spaces long (the equivalent of about 2 turns).

Once your fifth shot is made, leave your shooting position by placing your biathlete back on the adjacent grey space, and IMMEDIATELY make your movement.

Discard the white targets obtained so as to keep only the black targets.

Game Levels

The game offers three levels of play. Depending on your experience of the game and the age of the players, choose the level of difficulty best suited.

1st Level: PLAYFUL (Ludique)

Start learning the game with this playful mode with simple rules, particularly suited to playing as a family with children.

Race format (3 laps, 2 shoots): 3 laps of the track separated by 1 prone shoot at the end of the first lap and 1 standing shoot at the end of the second. 1 biathlete per player (choose his base colour according to your preferences). Duration: about 10 minutes per player.

Game setup

• Determine the weather.
• Each player takes the Energy card deck of his biathlete (in the colours of his team and base) and shuffles it. He then places it in front of him face down, the deck forming a draw pile.
• Draw 1 Form of the Day card. Look at it, then add it beneath your Energy card pile.
• Place the biathletes on the start space of the board after a random draw.
• The race can start.

Special rules

SLIPSTREAM (Aspiration): If you end your movement on a white space just behind another biathlete, on the next turn benefit from a bonus of +1 to your movement.

FALL (Chute): During a movement of 7 or 8 spaces, if your biathlete crosses (or stops on) an Ice space (blue spaces): roll the blue Events die to check whether you suffer a fall. An Ice result makes your biathlete fall on that space. Lay your biathlete down. Stand him up on the next turn without moving. Resume the race the turn after.

2nd Level: TACTICAL (Tactique)

This intermediate level of play lets you recover energy during the race in order to finish better than your opponents. It is a more tactical game where randomness is reduced in favour of tactics.

Race format (3 laps, 2 shoots): 3 laps of the track separated by 1 prone shoot at the end of the first lap and 1 standing shoot at the end of the second. 1, 2 or 3 biathletes per player (choose their base colours according to your preferences). Duration: about 10 minutes per biathlete.

Game setup

• Determine the weather.
• Take one Energy card deck per biathlete (in the colours of his team and base). Shuffle it, then place it in front of you face down, to form a draw pile.
• Draw 1 Form of the Day card. Look at it, then add it beneath your Energy card pile.
• Begin the game with 5 Energy cards in hand. Each turn, you may choose 1 or 2 cards from your hand to boost your movement. Then discard the revealed cards and refill your hand to 5 cards as long as Energy cards remain to be drawn.
• Place the biathletes on the start space of the board after a random draw.
• The race can start.

Special rules

SLIPSTREAM (Aspiration): If you end your movement on a white space just behind another biathlete, on the next turn benefit from a bonus of +1 to your movement.

FALL (Chute): During a movement of 7 or 8 spaces, if your biathlete crosses (or stops on) an Ice space (blue spaces): roll the blue Events die to check whether you suffer a fall. An Ice result makes your biathlete fall on that space. Lay your biathlete down. Stand him up on the next turn without moving. Resume the race the turn after.

RECOVERY (Récupération): When you do not make your full movement: recover into your hand a +1 card from your discard pile. There is no limit to the number of cards you may have in hand.

3rd Level: STRATEGIC (Stratégique)

In this version reserved for experienced players, the randomness of the movement die rolls is removed entirely. White-base biathletes have 36 Energy points, grey-base biathletes 30 points, and black-base biathletes 24 points.

Race format (3 laps, 2 shoots): 3 laps of the track separated by 1 prone shoot at the end of the first lap and 1 standing shoot at the end of the second. 1, 2 or 3 biathletes per player (choose their base colours according to your preferences). Biathletes move 4 spaces each turn. Apply the Terrain, Slipstream and Energy modifiers to it. Duration: about 8 minutes per biathlete.

Game setup

• Set aside the 3 movement dice (white, grey, black).
• Determine the weather.
• Take one Energy card deck per biathlete (in the colours of his team and base). Shuffle it, then place it in front of you face down, to form a draw pile.
• Draw 1 Form of the Day card. Look at it, then add it beneath your Energy card pile.
• Begin the game with 5 Energy cards in hand. Each turn, you may choose 1 or 2 cards from your hand to boost your movement. Then discard the revealed cards and refill your hand to 5 cards as long as Energy cards remain to be drawn.

ATTENTION: at the STRATEGIC level, some Energy cards change value: the new value is the one shown under the 3 red stars.

• Place the biathletes on the start space of the board after a random draw.
• The race can start.

Special rules

SLIPSTREAM (Aspiration): If you end your movement on a white space just behind another biathlete, on the next turn benefit from a bonus of +1 to your movement.

FALL (Chute): During a movement of 7 or 8 spaces, if your biathlete crosses (or stops on) an Ice space (blue spaces): roll the blue Events die to check whether you suffer a fall. An Ice result makes your biathlete fall on that space. Lay your biathlete down. Stand him up on the next turn without moving. Resume the race the turn after.

RECOVERY (Récupération): If you do not use Energy cards and you do not make your full movement: recover into your hand a +1 card from your discard pile. There is no limit to the number of cards you may have in hand.

BLOCKED PASSAGE (Passage obstrué): Spend 1 additional movement point if you need to squeeze between three biathletes blocking your way on a white space.

ACCELERATION (Accélération): Each time you spend at least 4 Energy points: deprive the biathlete following you of Slipstream.

After each Acceleration, roll the blue Events die. On a Vortex result, you suffer a Bonk (Coup de fatigue): discard the top card of your draw pile.