Cave Pilot 55 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Cave cards
  • Setup the Cave shop
  • Starting equipment
  • Score pad & Cave entrance
  • Starting the game
• Player's Turn
  • 1. Collect credits
  • 2. Place Cave card
  • 3. Execute actions
    • a. Refresh Cave shop [optional]
    • b. Fire missile(s) [optional]
    • c. Move
    • d. Handle cave
    • Completing a challenge
    • Failing a challenge and handle damage
    • Damaged upgrades
    • e. Additional round of actions [optional]
    • f. Land
• Final score
• Beginner Tutorial
  • Cave cards
  • Exploration cards
• Expert Game
  • Cave cards
• Examples
  • Example 1: How to enter the cave
  • Example 2: How to fire a missile
  • Example 3: How to handle a cave
  • Example 4: How to handle a cave with a ranged effect
  • Example 5: How to refresh the Cave shop and upgrade
• Tips
• Glossary Special Cards
• Play Modes
  • Team mode
  • Cooperative mode
  • Solo mode
• Overview Symbols and Tokens

Components

• 1x Cave entrance
• 1x Cave exit
• 2x 24 Cave cards
• 68x Upgrade cards
• 37x Exploration cards
• 4x Aeroplanes & standees
• 4x 3 Player markers
• 54x Cubes (green and red)
• 38x Credit tokens
• 16x Tokens (1st upgrade turn, 2nd upgrade turn, Scrapyard)
• 1x First player token
• 1x Score pad
• 4x Player mats
• 4x Cave dice & 1x Missile die

Setup

The general rules cover the competitive mode for 2 to 4 players. For a beginner tutorial see page 16. For other play modes (e.g., solo) see page 24.

Cave cards

The composition of the Cave cards is based on the preferred game length and the difficulty of the game (i.e., color of the rim). Use 8 Cave cards for a short game (30-60 min), use 12 Cave cards for a standard game (40-80 min), and use 16 or more Cave cards for an extended game (50-100 min).

Games that contain more yellow Cave cards become more easy, games that contain more orange (or red) Cave cards become more difficult. Distribute 2 or 3 random Cave cards to each player, the rest of the Cave cards are placed into the Cave card pile. All distributed Cave cards are placed face up in front of each player.

Setup the Cave shop

Split all upgrade cards into two types: Common upgrade cards and Exploration cards.

Shuffle the Exploration cards and place them face down, in one pile.

Split the Common upgrade cards into two piles (A & B), based on the colors on the back. Shuffle the two piles and place them next to each other, face down on the table. To create the Cave shop, draw the top three Common upgrade cards from pile A and B, and place them in order from inward to outward.

Starting equipment

Each player takes one Player mat and equips their aeroplane with 1 booster fuel and 1 missile, using two markers in the player's color. All players collect eight credits and one random Exploration card.

Score pad & Cave entrance

The Score pad is placed at a central position on the table, together with one Player marker in each player's color (to track each player's reputation). The Cave entrance card is placed on the table between the players. Players put their aeroplane in front of the entrance.

Starting the game

To determine player sequence, all players roll the yellow die. The highest roll goes first (re-roll in case of a tie).

The first player receives the First player token. Player turns go in clockwise order.

During their first turn, players move their aeroplane into the Cave entrance. In the Cave entrance, players can upgrade their aeroplane, and explore the cave to prepare for the Inner cave. Players may choose to spend their second turn in the Cave entrance as well. On their third turn, however, players must either:

• Enter the Inner cave, or
• Spend a single turn in the Scrapyard. Paying a visit to the Scrapyard will cost one credit (example 1). A turn in the Scrapyard can be tracked using the Scrapyard token.

Player's Turn

During their turn, players execute the following phases in order:

1. Collect credits
2. Place Cave card
3. Execute actions:
   • a. Refresh Cave shop [optional]
   • b. Fire missile(s) [optional]
   • c. Move
   • d. Handle cave
   • e. Additional round of actions [optional]
   • or
   • f. Land
     • Upgrade [optional]
     • Explore cave [optional]
4. Refill Cave cards [depending on game length]

1. Collect credits

Each turn a player receives three credits. Yellow tokens are worth 1 credit. Orange tokens are worth 3.

2. Place Cave card

Cave cards of any color are placed at the Cave ceiling or Cave floor, always adjacent to another Cave card in the row (i.e., gaps are possible, but difficult). When the last Cave card in the game is placed on the table, the Cave exit is placed adjacent to and in the middle of the last (outermost) Cave card in the row, representing the finish of the race.

There are seven types of Aeroplane-symbols indicated on the Cave and upgrade cards representing different parts or functions of the aeroplane:

• Shield
• Plate armor
• Short range attack
• Maneuverability
• Power
• Navigation & control
• Booster fuel

3. Execute actions

a. Refresh Cave shop [optional]

Choose one of the two Common upgrade piles in the Cave shop, and remove the upgrade card from the first (out-most) position. Slide the remaining upgrade cards of both Common upgrade piles in the Cave shop to their front, maintaining their order. If there are less than three upgrade cards in front of each pile in the Cave shop, refill the last position(s) with a new upgrade card from its corresponding upgrade pile up to three upgrade cards (example 5).

@Easy mode: during your whole action phase you can refresh the Cave shop, but only once.

b. Fire missile(s) [optional]

Players may target other players or parts of the cave with their missiles. Missiles are fired from long range as opposed to a short range attack, which is used in the cave handling phase.

To attack, pick a target (player or Cave card) in any direction within two or less Cave cards away. Range is calculated from the aeroplane before movement was initiated. Objects in the entrance or exit may not be targeted.

After picking a target, roll the Missile die. Die rolls can result in either numbers or symbols. The numbers on the Missile die indicate the number of hits. The symbols on the Missile die show the Die symbol, the Targeting symbol and the Reputation symbol.

• Die symbol: Re-roll the Missile die and add 1 hit to the total damage.
• Targeting symbol: Targeted player gets two hits. Attacking player may choose which upgrade of his target is hit. Caves get two hits only.
• Reputation symbol: Targeted player loses one Reputation point. Caves get one hit.

Without the Targeting symbol, the shields of the other player are hit first, and hits then follow the normal order for damage handling (see page 13). Caves cannot be targeted, and cannot lose reputation, but receive a hit instead (example 2). If a cave is damaged, place a red cube on the card.

c. Move

Movement in the Inner cave is performed along the Cave ceiling or floor. Aeroplanes may move horizontally to the next floor or ceiling tile, move vertically to the cave tile either above of below them or move diagonally.

Moving diagonally requires one booster fuel. Each Cave card can only be visited once, with the exception of cards marked "upgrade" on which players may stay for a maximum of two turns. Upgrade turns can be tracked using the Upgrade tokens. Players do not need to handle a cave twice if they stay for more than one turn.

If players cannot move to any Cave card, because they have already visited these cards once, they get stuck in the cave and lose the game. Exception: upgrade cards and effects of Teleport or Wind turbine.

The example on page 10 shows a player who, after moving into the Cave entrance for his 1st turn, follows the Cave floor when entering the Inner cave on his 2nd turn. On his 3rd turn, he makes a diagonal cross towards the Cave ceiling. Finally, on his 4th turn, the player moves back to the Cave floor.

d. Handle cave

Each time a player enters a new Cave card with their aeroplane, they must pass a challenge. Passing a challenge gains Reputation points while failing will cause the aeroplane to be damaged. The challenge is represented by an equation. Each equation shows a property of the aeroplane on the left, a mathematical symbol and then a die or dice, sometimes with a number added as well. To pass a challenge, you read the equation and check the result (see also example 3).

For example, to pass a challenge where the equation compares maneuverability to the yellow die plus two, compare the value of your maneuverability to the value shown when rolling the yellow die and adding two. If your maneuverability is greater than the yellow die value plus two, you pass the challenge.

In another challenge, the player rolls the Yellow and Orange dice. If the sum of shields and short range attack is greater than the sum of the Yellow and Orange dice, the challenge is passed.

Some challenges happen more than once. The number of Card actions shown on the Cave card indicates how many times players need to resolve the challenge. The number of challenges always equals the number of Card actions, regardless if a challenge is passed or failed. Each time the challenge is passed, the player gains the number of Reputation points shown on the Cave card. If the challenge is failed, the penalty (i.e., damage) applies. The damage is usually a loss in upgrade parts, or a reduction of their value, tracked by red cubes. Rewards or damage apply each time a challenge is taken, so a player could earn a reward and take damage if they pass then fail a card with two actions. If rolling the dice results in a negative number after performing a calculation, the challenge is automatically successful.

Some card challenges have a range (see also example 4). If such a Cave card is triggered, it could also benefit or damage an opponent. To determine range, look at the range value on the Cave card and count that many cards in the direction(s) indicated. A non-ranged card with two Card actions affects the player on the card twice. In contrast, a ranged card with multiple actions can affect multiple players in range. The initiating player is attacked first, then the closest, then the next closest, etc., until all the card's actions have been taken. If two players are at an equal distance, each roll the yellow die with low roll being attacked. If there are not enough players in range, the attack resumes on the first player and the cycle repeats. Ranged effects do not affect the Cave entrance or exit.

Completing a challenge

For each time a player passes a challenge he gains the number Reputation points indicated next to the number of Card actions.

Failing a challenge and handle damage

If players fails to pass the challenge they need to pay the penalty shown on the Cave card.

If a player does not have the type of upgrade card that is hit or the penalty is higher than the total value of that type of upgrade card, then, alternative upgrade cards are hit in the following order:

1. Shields
2. Plate armor
3. Short range attack
4. Maneuverability
5. Power
6. Exploration cards
7. Missiles
8. Booster fuel
9. Navigation & control

For example, if a player gets two hits on its shields, but they do not have any Shield upgrades installed, the hits are removed from the next in line in the damage handling sequence (i.e., plate armor).

When there is no Navigation & control upgrade available, damage handling starts all over again affecting Shield upgrades first.

Damaged upgrades

When a Common upgrade card is hit, it's value is decreased by 1. Indicate this by placing a red cube on the Common upgrade card. When an Exploration card is hit, it's number of uses is reduced by one. Indicate this by removing a green cube from the Exploration card. When the number of hits taken is equal to the Upgrade card's value, it is destroyed. Remove upgrade cards that are destroyed.

If players get hit and do not have any upgrades installed to absorb all the damage, they crash with their aeroplane and lose the game.

e. Additional round of actions [optional]

A player may choose to do an additional round of actions before ending their turn. For each additional round of actions, players must place an extra Cave card (if available) and pay one booster fuel. No credits can be collected during the additional action.

f. Land

After landing on a Cave card, players cannot initiate an additional round of actions anymore, but they can:

• Upgrade their aeroplane,
• Explore the cave.

Upgrade [optional]

Upgrades are technological aids that can improve the performance of the aeroplane. Players may only upgrade their aeroplane when they have landed on a Cave card that shows "upgrade". During upgrading, players have four options:

• Sell unused Exploration cards. Players will get one credit for each use left, and three credits for Exploration cards that have a permanent (p) character.
• Draw an extra Common upgrade card. Extra upgrade cards are placed at the last position of their corresponding row in the Cave shop, and cost one credit each.
• Buy Common upgrade cards from the Cave shop. You can buy as many normal upgrade cards as there are matching positions on the Player mat. The cost of these upgrades is indicated on the card (see also example 5). If a player chooses to upgrade a (damaged) part already installed on the aeroplane, only the difference in value needs to be paid.
• Buy booster fuel, and missiles (three credits each). During an extended game are players allowed to buy and carry more than two missiles or booster fuel.

Common upgrades cannot be downgraded or sold. Hits are permanent and cannot be removed with credits. Damage on upgrades can only be resolved by upgrading a damaged upgrade, or by using exploration cards.

Maintenance cards cost 2 credits and can be used as wild cards, i.e., you can raise the value of any upgrade type that matches the colors on the back of the maintenance card by one.

Explore cave [optional, max. 2x per cave]

Players can only explore a Cave card if they have landed on a Cave card that shows the exploration symbol. To explore, pay two credits and draw the top card of the Exploration card pile. Exploration cards can be installed on the matching positions on the Player mat (max. 4). Place an amount of green cubes on an Exploration card equaling the number of uses. The Action phase symbol indicates during which action phase (i.e., black pieces) an Exploration card can be used. Players can use an Exploration cards during the turn of other players, if the Action phase symbol contains an extra circle. In general, Exploration cards must be initiated and used before any dice roll when firing missiles or handling caves. Remove a green cube from an Exploration card that is used once. Exploration cards that have a permanent (p) character can absorb three hits.

4. Refill cards [depending on game length]

Players refill their hands to three Cave cards from the Cave card pile.

Final score

The Score pad keeps track of all players' reputation earned during the game. When a player reaches the Cave exit and finishes, other players have one last turn up to the player with the First player token. In this manner all players get the same number of turns. All players who reach the Cave exit in the final round get a number of bonus Reputation points depending on the total cave length.

Players gain one bonus Reputation point for each set of three Cave cards in the cave. For example, if the cave consists of nine cards, each finishing player would get three points.

If a player has collected 55 (or more) Reputation points, he is granted the title: "Cave Pilot 55", and can collect two free Exploration cards.

The player with the most Reputation points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with most credits wins!

Beginner Tutorial

Cave cards

Use the following 10 Cave card ID numbers (see the card ID number on each Cave card) for a tutorial game:

Y12, Y14, Y15, Y21, Y23, Y24, Y27, Y29, Y30 & Y34.

Exploration cards

Remove the following 14 Exploration cards from the Exploration pile: Adamy E4 cyber attack (2x), Curtis Wright bumper, Foliot clock, Iron dome, Laplace db sound attack (2x), Muller reversal, Otis Flash matic, Power magnet, Random flare dissipator, Samarium co. magnet persuator & Tallinn 771 mechanical attack (2x).

Resume setup on page 4.

Expert Game

Cave cards

Customize your Cave card deck. Replace yellow Cave cards by orange (or red) cards. Mix yellow and orange Cave cards before you distribute cards to the players.

Examples

Example 1: How to enter the cave

Helen collects three credits. She places the Spiderweb Cave card. Next, she moves and lands her aeroplane in the Cave entrance. She wants to upgrade her aeroplane. Her initial plan is to follow the Cave floor, so she buys the 'Beta cloth Shield', the 'Inline aeroengine' and the 'Schwarzlose mg m.07/12' upgrade cards for six credits in total.

In her second turn, she decides to stay in the Cave entrance to buy more upgrade cards in order to prepare for the Inner cave. Because there are no Shield upgrade cards available in the Cave shop, she changes her plan and buys the 'Hells' 5 engine' and the pilot 'Sam van Lierde'. This will increase her chance to handle the Force field, whereas still able to move to the Spiderweb Cave card in a later turn.

During her third turn Helen could choose to visit the Scrapyard in the Cave entrance allowing her to upgrade her aeroplane for a third time, but she decides to enter the Inner cave and visit the Force field.

Example 2: How to fire a missile

Before Rob wants to move he decides to fire a missile. He can choose between two possible actions:

1. fire a missile on the cave, so it will be less difficult to handle the cave bat, or
2. fire a missile on Victoria (yellow) to reduce her chances of winning the game.

Both options are within the range of a missile (two Cave cards). Rob needs to roll the Missile die when firing a missile. We will have a look at three possible results for the roll:

• A. Die symbol. In this outcome, the cave or Victoria would get one hit and the attacker may re-roll the Missile die and add the new result.
• B. Reputation symbol. In this case, the cave would get one hit. In case he would attack Victoria, however, she would lose one Reputation point.
• C. Targeting symbol. Rob would deal two hits when attacking the cave or Victoria. In case he would attack Victoria, Rob is allowed to indicate the upgrade cards on Victoria's Player mat that will receive the two hits.

Red cubes mark successful hits, i.e., permanent damage. When Rob needs to handle the Vampiric cave bat, the total damage on this cave will be subtracted from the dice roll required to handle the cave.

Rob rolls the Missile die with the following results:

Result	Target cave (range 1)	Victoria (range 2)
A. Die symbol	1 hit + attacker may re-roll & add result	1 hit + attacker may re-roll & add result
B. Reputation symbol	1 hit	Target loses 1 Reputation point
C. Targeting symbol	2 hits	2 hits + attacker may indicate which upgrade card is hit

Example 3: How to handle a cave

Roy moves his blue aeroplane onto a cave with a rock shower. He has to handle the cave with two actions (i.e., two rocks). He rolls the yellow Cave die and it shows a three. Because Roy has a shield with a value of four he successfully handles the first action (i.e., evades the first rock) and earns one Reputation point.

For the second action he rolls the yellow Cave die again, and this time it lands on a four. Because his shield value is not greater than the result of the yellow Cave die, he is not successful and does not gain reputation. The rock hits the Power upgrade. Roy has to pay the penalty of one power, by marking his Power upgrade card with a red cube.

Example 4: How to handle a cave with a ranged effect

Johns' green aeroplane moves from a crystal cave into a cave with heat seeking missiles. Johns' cave indicates that there are two heat seeking missiles that are going to be triggered the moment he enters that cave. The missiles have a range of two. Marge (yellow player) can be affected, but Sophie (blue player) is out of reach. The first missile always targets the player who triggers the event, in our case John. The second missile targets the player who is closest to Johns' cave, in this case Marge. Both players have to handle the effect of the missiles. The cave handling requires that John and Marge roll a yellow Cave die, add two, and compare this value to their maneuverability value. The value of their Maneuverability upgrades needs to be higher than the value of the yellow Cave die plus two. If successful, they gain two Reputation points, if unsuccessful, the penalty is two points worth of maneuverability and one point of power. If there would be no players in range near John, John would be fired upon twice.

Example 5: How to refresh the Cave shop and upgrade

Lisa collected her 3 credits and wants to start her action phase. She first refreshes the Cave shop. The 'Rambouillet harness' is removed from the first position in the Cave shop (pile A), and the remaining upgrade cards in the two piles are slid to their front, while maintaining their order. Because there are less than three upgrade cards left in each pile of the Cave shop, Lisa refills the open positions with new upgrade cards from the upgrade card piles. Besides that, she decides to pay one credit to reveal a seventh upgrade card (pile A). Next, Lisa buys the 'Mac 1934' and the 'Improved leather longeron' for four credits, and installs the upgrades on her aeroplane.

Tips

• Plan ahead in constructing the cave. Try to create a route for your particular strategy, matching the upgrade types you have installed. Be careful in placing difficult caves near the Cave entrance. Place caves with upgrade possibilities at strategic positions, so regular upgrading is possible. A proper preparation in the Cave entrance is essential, especially if there are few upgrade possibilities in the Inner cave. Be careful with asymmetric caves, because they are difficult to fly through.
• Reinvest unused Exploration cards in necessary upgrades. Spend some credits to reveal extra upgrades, this gives you more choices. Think wisely about investing in Common upgrade cards. High valued upgrade cards guarantee more success during cave handling, while low valued upgrade cards leave more room for luck, but save money. Invest in upgrades matching the caves present on the table. At the start, try to at least overcome some of the caves close to the entrance. Spend some credits on shields, it can protect your other upgrades when you get damaged. Also spend some credits on missiles and booster fuel, it improves your tactical options.
• If you face a difficult cave, consider firing a missile on it before you enter the cave. Consider firing on other players when you can gain a tactical advantage, or when they are way ahead of you in Reputation points.
• Be careful in spending booster fuel, if you have no booster fuel left you cannot go diagonal and avoid difficult caves. Spending booster fuel for an extra movement can give you a head start and can avoid ranged effects of caves.
• Some exploration upgrades can manipulate die outcome, die color or actions of an opponent; it can be a wise investment.

Short instruction videos of Cave Pilot 55 can be viewed at: www.cavepilot55.com/game-media

Glossary Special Cards

• Wind turbine: roll the yellow die. Depending on the result, follow the upper or the lower line. If handled successfully, players earn reputation. If players are blown forward or backward, they immediately need to handle the cave on which they arrive. Players decide themselves how their aeroplane moves forward or backward, counting the number of spaces from the Wind turbine. If the Wind turbine is hit by missiles, the number of hits reduce the cave handling and its range. For example, one hit on the Wind turbine reduces the cave handling and range by one. This means that players can be blown a maximum of one space backwards or forwards instead of the normal two spaces.
• Laser beam: if the Laser beam hits a player, he will receive one hit on a Short range attack upgrade and has to remove one Exploration card. If they do not possess an Exploration card, they will get two hits for each Exploration card missing (i.e., when missing one Exploration card players get a total of three hits: one on short range attack + two hits on shields).
• Spider web: if the Spider web (or carnivorous plant) is fired upon, the attacking player can choose to target the web or the spider. Players that successfully handle the first part of the Spider web may choose to ignore the spider (and land), or they may choose to continue and challenge the spider.
• Bone nullifier: can be used after a dice roll to influence the results of other players.
• Muller reversal: players do not handle the cave after a reversal. Reversals can also take place in the Cave entrance or exit.
• Otis flash-matic: only caves with a ranged effect can be remotely activated. Players cannot trigger the cave they currently visit.
• Adamy e4 cyber attack: reduce the Power, Shields, or Short range attack upgrade card value of one opponent by 2 (only one turn).
• Laplace db sound attack: reduce the Plate armor upgrade card value of one opponent by 2 (only one turn) or neutralize the use of one enemy booster fuel. If fuel is neutralized, it must be removed.

Play Modes

Team mode

During team play, each individual player controls one aeroplane. Teammates coordinate their actions, discuss their strategy and add their Reputation points. Whenever teammates are visiting the same cave, equipment (all types of upgrades) can be exchanged at the end of the turn, just before refilling Cave cards. Booster fuel, missiles and credits cannot be exchanged.

Cooperative mode

Cooperative mode is mainly supported via specific scenarios (see www.cavepilot55.com/scenario).

Solo mode

Place 2 yellow and 2 orange Cave cards in front of the solo player. Solo players hold 4 cards in front of them instead of three. Each turn place two Cave cards instead of one. Game length, Cave card pile numbers and scores for solo games can be found in table 1.

Table 1: Game length, Cave card pile numbers and scores for solo games

Rank	Short game (Orange 4, Time 20')	Standard game (Yellow 2, Orange 10, Time 30')	Extended game (Yellow 2, Orange 10, Red* 6, Time 40')
Rookie	< 7	< 14	< 23
Novice	7 - 11	14 - 22	23 - 34
Flying Ace	11 - 14	22 - 28	34 – 46
Cave Pilot	> 14	> 28	> 46

(* expansion)

Rules for expansions can be downloaded for free at: www.cavepilot55.com/game-media

Overview Symbols and Tokens

The overview page of the rulebook pairs each symbol or token with its name. The symbols are pictorial, so the captions are listed here as printed:

• Maneuverability
• Navigation & control
• Plate armor
• Power
• Shields
• Short range attack
• Exploration
• First player token
• Reservation in Cave shop token
• Scrapyard token
• Cave card range & direction
• 1 reputation loss (player) or 1 hit (Cave card)
• 1 hit + re-roll
• 3 hits
• 2 hits (player & Cave card) + indicate upgrade type (player only)
• Faction symbol
• Action phase symbol with number of uses
• Booster fuel symbols
• Missile symbols
• Credit tokens
• Upgrade turn tokens (1st upgrade turn, 2nd upgrade turn)
• Reputation points
• Reputation points of two sequential challenges
• Reputation points per Card action
• Reputation points for all players in range (if successful)
• Cave card upgrade location
• Move towards exit (challenge success)
• Move away from exit (challenge failure)