Bridges to Nowhere Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Rules for Building Bridges
• Setting Up the Game
• Playing the Game
  • Drafting Phase
  • Building Phase
  • Final Scoring
  • Victory Conditions
• Rules for Scoring
• Feats and Contracts
  • Feats
  • Contracts
• Solo Variant
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • Victory Conditions
  • Solo Drafting Rules

Components

• 12 Contracts
• 1 Feat Die
• 4 Crowns
• 24 Pillar Cards (4 sets of 6)
• 3 Tolls
• 3 Monuments
• First Player Marker
• 48 Bridge Cards (16 of each Type: suspension, cable and truss, including 3 tolls)

Rules for Building Bridges

A fully constructed, legally designed bridge follows these rules:

1. A bridge consists of Bridge cards and Pillar cards attached to one another forming bridge segments.
2. Pillar cards must be used to begin and end any bridge segment. A bridge segment is only considered completed when it has Pillars on both sides.
3. A bridge begins with a single Pillar card that all other cards are built from.
4. To attach one card to another card, their bridge types (suspension, cable and truss) must match. Each Pillar card has two bridge types, one on either side (e.g. Suspension / Truss, Truss / Cable).
5. The number order on a bridge segment must be in ascending or descending order, but the number order may change directions once. This allows a bridge segment with descending numbers to begin ascending or vice versa. The numbers do not need to be sequential, but the same number can't be repeated side by side.
6. Pillar cards can only be attached to bridge segments on the bottom level or they may be attached on top of other Pillar cards forming new levels.
7. Monuments and Tolls do not have a number and may be placed anywhere on a bridge segment matching its bridge type. The segment that a Monument is attached to must be completed by the end of the round or else the Monument is discarded.
8. Crowns are built on the tops of Pillar cards. Once a Crown has been placed on a Pillar, nothing else may be built on top of it.

Building Tip: Only bridge segments that are fully completed at the end of the Final Round are scored. But in earlier rounds you can leave them incomplete.

Setting Up the Game

1. Give each player a color-matched set of 6 Pillar cards.
2. Shuffle the Contracts and turn one face up.
3. Separate out the Monuments (and Crowns in a 3 to 4 player game) and place them face up.
4. In a 2 player game, remove all 3 and 4 player Bridge cards. In a 3 player game, remove all 4 player Bridge cards. (3 Player Cards have 3 dots at the bottom and 4 Player Cards have 4.)
5. Shuffle the Toll and Bridge cards together and place them face down forming the Bridge Deck.
6. In a 2 player game, turn over the top 6 cards of the Bridge Deck and lay them out across 3 columns and 2 rows. In a 3 or 4 player game, turn over 12 Bridge cards, forming 4 columns and 3 rows.
7. In a 3 to 4 player game, roll the Feat Die (see Feats).
8. If this is the first game, randomly determine First Player and give them the First Player token.
9. Proceed to the Drafting Phase.

Playing the Game

Each round consists of two distinct phases, a Drafting Phase and a Building Phase.

Drafting Phase

Step 1

• If 2 Player: Starting with the First Player, each player takes turns drafting one Bridge or Monument card until each player has three cards.
• If 3 or 4 Player: Starting with the First Player and moving clockwise, each player drafts two cards from a single row or column of the 12 Bridge card setup.
• If 3 player: Once all players have drafted two cards, the last player drafts two of any remaining cards including Monuments or Crowns. Then the other players do the same in reverse player order ending with the First Player.
• If 4 Player: After drafting two cards, players may draft only one Bridge, Monument or Crown card (in reverse player order) instead of two.

If the Bridge Deck is empty, the final Building Phase begins - this is the final round. Skip Step 2 and 3. Otherwise, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Discard any undrafted cards (except Monuments or Crowns) and pass the First Player Token to the next player on the left.

Step 3: Set up a new card draft as detailed in Setting up the Game, #5 and #6.

Building Phase

Step 1: Each player simultaneously uses the three cards they drafted (four in a 3 player game) to build their bridge using the Rules for Bridge Building. You are not required to complete a bridge segment until the final round. You are not permitted to move, discard, or exchange any cards built in previous rounds. Once all players are done building, the round ends.

Step 2: Discard any drafted cards not attached to your bridge. They cannot be held for use in a later round.

If this is not the final round, begin a new round of play with a new Drafting Phase. Otherwise proceed to Final Scoring.

Final Scoring

After the final round, all players score their bridges. Bonus points are then awarded for fulfilled Feat (3-4 player) and Contract requirements. See Rules for Scoring for how to tally up points.

Victory Conditions

The player with the highest score is given the current Contract. All ties break counterclockwise starting with the player with the First Player token.

The winner of the game is the first player to acquire two Contracts. If no player has acquired two Contracts, set up a new game as described in Setting up the Game.

In a 2 Player game, the losing player gets to decide if they want to be the first player after the next game is setup. In the 3-4 player game, the lowest scoring player is First Player.

Rules for Scoring

1. Add up the bridge numbers on each completed segment and multiply by its level. For example, the bottom level is x1, 2nd level is x2, etc.
2. Bridge cards have a symbol on each side. Add 5 points for each matching pair on completed segments.
3. Tolls adjacent to a Pillar are worth a value equal to the length of its segment, multiplied by its level. Tolls not adjacent to Pillars are worth zero points.
4. Monuments are worth the value of any adjacent Bridge cards, added together, and multiplied by its level.
5. Crowns have a symbol on each side. Crowns on top of Pillars are worth 2 points for each matching symbol on the bridge segment adjacent to the Pillar the Crown sits upon (on the same side as the symbol).
6. Add Feat and Contract Bonuses.

Sample Bridge Scoring:

• Bridge Segments = 25 points: (2) x1 = 2; (5+3) x1 = 8; (5+1+1) x1 = 7; (3+1) x2 = 8 (2nd level).
• Bonus Points = 22 points: Bridge Card Symbol Match = 5; Tolls = 3; Monuments = 8 (2nd level); Crowns = 6.
• Total (without Feats or Contracts) = 47 points.

Notes from the example: an incomplete segment scores 0 vp; Pillars are worth zero points; a Monument bonus of (3+1) x2 = 8 vp; a Crown with 3 matching symbols = 6 vp; a matching pair = 5 bonus vp; a Toll with segment length 3 x1 = 3 vp.

Feats and Contracts

Feats

The Feat rolled represents a special condition allowing players to score bonus points for building their bridge a certain way. Score a Feat Bonus (5 points) every instance the condition is met.

• Score for Every 2 Bird Symbols. Example: 7 Bird Symbols on the bridge = 15 points.
• Score for Every 3 Fish Symbols. Example: 5 Fish Symbols on the bridge = 5 points.
• Score for Every 2 Cable Bridge Cards. Example: 4 Cable Bridge Cards on the bridge = 10 points.
• Score for Every 2 Suspension Bridge Cards. Example: 3 Suspension Bridge Cards on the bridge = 5 points.
• Score for Every 2 Truss Bridge Cards. Example: 3 Truss Bridge Cards on the bridge = 5 points.
• Score for Every 1 Card Adjacent to a 5 Card. Example: There are 2 value 1 cards adjacent to value 5 Cards on the bridge = 10 points.

Contracts

Contracts have two conditions on them. Each condition relates to how bridges are constructed. If a player meets one or more of the conditions, the player adds bonus points associated with the highest scoring condition met.

Important Scoring Notes:

• Only completed segments ever count for scoring. Segments that are not complete do not receive any points nor count toward any bonuses.
• Pillars never count for scoring. When a condition for scoring describes cards, it always means non-pillar cards.
• Level refers to the height of the bridge. Bridges have 3 levels, bottom level, 2nd level, and 3rd level.
• Length always refers to the length of a segment - or the number of cards between two pillars.
• Value refers to the actual number printed on a card.
• Points refers to the points scored from a card, segment, or level.

Contract conditions:

• The Triple - Bridge must have a segment on the 3rd level. Score 10 bonus points if it is a length 3 segment or 25 bonus points if it is a length 4 segment. Example: a third level that is length 3 scores 10 points.
• High 5 - Score 10 bonus points for having a value 5 card on the 2nd level or 20 bonus points for having a value 5 card on the 3rd level. Example: a 5 card on the 3rd level scores 20 points.
• The Prestige - Bridge must have a toll or prestige card. Score 10 bonus points if this card is worth 5 points or 20 bonus points if this card is worth 9 points (after level bonuses). Example: a toll card on the second level on a length 3 bridge is worth 3 x 2 = 6 points. Since the card is worth at least 5 points, score 10 points.
• Spice of Life - Bridge must have a length 3 segment of each type. Score 10 bonus points if one segment is length 4 or score 20 points if one segment is length 5. Example: there is a segment of each type of at least length 3. Since one of them is at least length 5, score 20 points.
• The Longest Mile - Score 10 bonus points for 9 (non-pillar) cards on bottom level. For every card beyond 9 score an additional 5 points. Example: the bottom level contains 9 cards so would score 10 points.
• Spanning the Divide - Score 10 bonus points for a length 5 segment or 25 bonus points for a length 6 segment. Example: the longest complete segment has a length of 6 cards so scores 25 points.
• Trial of the Sea - Score 10 bonus points for having 3 matching symbol pairs or 20 bonus points for having each matching symbol pair (bird, fish, and boat). Example: the bridge has 4 symbol matches but does not have all 3 different types of matches. It qualifies for 10 points.
• 3's a Crowd - Count the number of 3 value cards on the bridge. Score 10 bonus points for having only 1 or 20 bonus points for having none. Example: the bridge has exactly one 3 card so scores 10 points.

Solo Variant

Setup

1. Set up the game as you would for a 2 player game but place all 6 bridge cards in a single row.
2. Shuffle another set of 6 Pillar cards and turn one face up.
3. Remove the 6 Contracts without solo conditions.
4. Draw one additional Contract card and place it under the first Contract with its solo condition revealed.

Gameplay

The Opponent is always first at the start of each game (though First Player changes between rounds as normal). Follow the rules described for a 2 player game with the following exception: In Step 1, the player drafts a face up bridge card for both the opponent and themselves according to the Solo Drafting Rules.

Victory Conditions

The player must win 2 Contracts within 3 games. To win a Contract the player must meet 3 conditions below based upon the chosen difficulty level.

• Points Required - defines points required to win your first and second Contracts.
• Contract Requirement - defines which Contract requirement you must meet.
• Solo Condition - defines if the solo condition on the second Contract must be met to win.

Difficulty	Points Required	Contract Required	Solo
Beginner	40/50	Either Met	N/A
Standard	50/60	Either Met	Required
Expert	70/80	Harder Met	Required

Solo Drafting Rules

1. Remove cards from the draft on the Opponent's turn using the following priority: Value 5, Monument (Round 2 and on), Toll, 3, 2, 1.
2. To break ties when cards are the same value, prioritize the Bridge type on the left side of the Opponent's Pillar card, then the right side, then the type not showing. To break further ties, remove the card from the left of the row.
3. Opponent can take a maximum of 1 Monument per round.