Bridgetown Races Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Preparation
• Play of the Game
  • Phase 1 – Planning the Modes of Transport
  • Special Actions
  • Phase 2 – Race
  • Movement Rules
• End of the Round
• End of the Game and Winning
• For an Easier Game
• Strategies and Tips

Contents

• 1 game board
• 40 bridge flags in 8 different colors, corresponding to the modes of transport
• 12 planner figures (pawns) in the 4 player colors – black, gold, beige and violet
• 4 racers (pawns) in the same 4 player colors as the planners
• 4 bridge completion cards in the 4 player colors
• 1 cloth bag
• 1 transport wheel
• 1 round marker (boat)
• 1 start player tile (badge of the International Bridge Racing Association)
• 1 rulebook

Preparation

Place the game board in the middle of the table. Place the round marker (the boat) on the barge in the river numbered "1". Sort out the blue flags and keep them ready next to the game board. Put the remaining flags into the cloth bag as follows:

• 2 players – 3 flags of each color per bridge
• 3 players – 4 flags of each color per bridge
• 4 players – all flags

Place a blue flag on the Steel Bridge. Attention: the blue flags may only ever be placed on the Steel Bridge. Starting from the upstream end of the river and continuing downstream, randomly draw a flag from the cloth bag and place it on each individual bridge, except the Steel Bridge. Important (for setup only): there may be at most 2 flags of the same color on the board. If a third flag of the same color is drawn, put it back in the bag and draw another. During the rest of the game it is allowed to have several flags of the same color on the board at the same time.

Each player takes the 3 planners and 1 racer in their color and a bridge completion card. The players place their racers next to the board at the red arrow at the entrance to Burnside Street (see Figure 1). Choose a start player and give them the start player marker. For the rest of the game the start player is always the player who has the fewest flags on their bridge completion card. In case of a tie, the player sitting closest to the left of the previous start player becomes the new start player.

Figure 1 – Place the racers at the starting point.

Play of the Game

A complete game normally lasts 5 rounds, but it can also end earlier (see End of the Game and Winning). Each round is played in 2 phases: "Planning Phase" and "Race Phase".

Phase 1 – Planning the Modes of Transport

The start player places 1 of their 3 planners on the transport wheel on a mode of transport of their choice (see Figure 2). Each other player in turn now places one of their planners in the same way, until every player has placed all 3 of their planners. Several players may occupy the same mode of transport, but only one planner of each player color may be placed on each mode of transport (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 – Several players may decide on the same mode of transport, but each round they may only have 1 planner on each mode of transport.

Special Actions

In the middle of the transport wheel there are three special actions (see Figure 2). On each turn a player may place one of their planners on one of the three special actions. During the Race Phase the chosen special action must be carried out together with the movement of the racer. Attention: the first player to do so remains the only player to carry out that special action this round. Important: if you place a planner on a special action, you must immediately place another planner on a mode of transport. You may ignore this restriction if it is your last planner.

Description of the special actions:

• First – Use this action on the first, second or third turn of the Race Phase. You may move your racer even before the start player's. After you have taken your turn, it is the start player's turn again and play continues clockwise, skipping you. The start player begins the other two turns as usual.
• Double – Use this special action during the Race Phase by "doubling" the speed of one of your chosen modes of transport.
• Swap – Activate this special action during your Race Phase and swap 2 flags of your choice. Exception: you may not swap the blue flag (it may only be placed on the Steel Bridge).

Phase 2 – Race

The start player chooses a mode of transport and moves their racer by its base speed. The base speed is equal to the number of that mode of transport on the transport wheel. In addition, the player adds 1 bonus point for each planner of another player that is also standing on the same mode of transport space. Important: you must move your racer by all of the movement points of this mode of transport, plus all bonus points. Also important: if you use the "Double" action for this move, you double your base speed, but you ignore all other figures on the space. In other words: you can either play double speed or get the bonus points per additional planner on the same space – but not both.

Remember, if you chose a special action, you must carry it out in the Race Phase together with the movement of the racer. After you have made your move, you remove your planner from the transport wheel (and from any special action used) and return it to your play area. All players proceed with their planners in the same way until all figures are back with the players and the round is thus over.

Example: Dick, John and Linda each have a planner on "Taxi" with a base speed of 4 (see Figure 2). It is Linda's turn and she decides to move by taxi. The taxi has a base speed of 4, plus Dick's and John's planners (2), which means Linda must move her racer (4 + 2 = 6) spaces. Linda moves it the full 6 spaces and takes her planner off the transport wheel. Dick is next and he also chooses the taxi. He moves his racer 4 for the taxi plus 1 more point for John's planner. When John's turn comes, he can only move his racer the 4 points of base speed, since no other figures are standing with him on the taxi space any more.

Movement Rules

In general, racers move forward along the marked spaces in all directions, using all streets and bridges and crossing all intersections. It is allowed to go back along the same route, but not during the same turn (that is, not while using the same mode of transport). You may not turn off a bridge unless you are on foot; then you may turn in any direction. Incidentally: if you find that you cannot move with a particular mode of transport, you may walk instead (move 1 space).

Figure 3: Bridge – players may not turn off here unless they are on foot. The streetcar can be reached by stairs.

Streetcar: The streetcar moves only on the blue tracks and crosses only the Steel Bridge. This is the only way to collect the blue flag. To reach the streetcar, the player must either be on a space adjacent to the blue tracks or move directly on them (a bridge counts as adjacent if tracks run underneath it; see Figure 3). Important: other modes of transport may also move along the blue tracks (and cross the Steel Bridge), but only with the streetcar may you collect the Steel Bridge's flag.

Flags: To collect a flag, your figure must either cross the bridge or end its movement on it, using the mode of transport of the same color as the flag. Take the flag from the bridge and place it on your bridge completion card, next to the space with the name of the bridge you have just crossed. Important: if you begin your movement on a bridge, you may not collect a flag.

Figure 4: Your planner must be standing on a space of the same color as the flag for you to collect it.

Exchanging flags: During the game you will probably cross the same bridges several times. If the flag matches the color of your mode of transport, you may exchange your old flag for the new one. Remove the old flag and put it back in the cloth bag. Place the new flag on your bridge completion card in the same way. Strategy hint: this procedure is useful for obtaining flags you still need and for getting rid of duplicate colors (see End of the Game and Winning).

End of the Round

The round ends when all players have moved their racers for all 3 planners. At the end of each round:

1. Move the boat to the next higher number (the boat is placed on the next barge).
2. Give the start player marker to the player with the fewest flags on their bridge completion card. In case of a tie, the marker goes to the player sitting closest to the previous start player in turn order.
3. Place a blue flag on the Steel Bridge if it is empty. Important: only a blue flag may go on the Steel Bridge, because it is the only bridge the streetcar crosses.
4. All other empty bridges are refilled with flags, starting from the top and going downstream, by drawing one flag after another at random from the bag.

Repeat Phases 1 and 2 until one of the two victory conditions has occurred (see End of the Game and Winning).

End of the Game and Winning

As soon as a player has placed all 8 flags on their bridge completion card, they win immediately. If, after the end of the 5th round, nobody has managed to collect all the flags, the player who has crossed the most bridges with the most modes of transport wins (that is, the player who has collected the highest number of differently colored flags). In case of a tie, the players share the victory.

Figure 5: Example of a winning card. 8 flags in 8 different colors... the best way to win!

For an Easier Game

All of the above rules remain in effect, except for the special actions and the restriction on the streetcar. The streetcar may now take any route, cross any bridge and pick up a blue flag from any bridge. The blue flags go into the bag during preparation and, when drawn, may be placed on any bridge.

Strategies and Tips

Keep an eye on your opponents' choice of modes of transport – they tell you which flags they want to collect. Don't follow the crowd – sometimes it is better to head to another area away from the other players. In general it is advisable to work your way from one end of the map to the other, but try to break away from the group while doing so.