CD Adventure: Search for the Lost City
CD Adventure: Search for the Lost City Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Playing board
- 77 track compact disc with 12 page booklet
- Moulded Oracle and ball
- Pack of 36 Peril and 20 Adventure cards
- Set of 9 weapons
- Raft
- 19 gold coins
- 4 'adventure' tokens
- 4 moulded playing pieces
- Die
Object of the Game
The aim of the game is to battle through the perils and dangers which await every player in their quest to find the legendary lost city of Zartak. Somewhere, deep in the rainforest, the ruins of a once-proud city still stand, overgrown now by creepers and inhabited only by jungle animals. Or are they ? Local tribesmen tell stories in hushed whispers of vampire bats and giant spiders, of blood-curdling screams and horrifying apparitions late at night, and of finding the footprints of the Zombie in the ground close to the village . In the centre of the city of Zartak stood the Temple of the Oracle, and legend has it that once a year the people of Zartak could ask the Oracle any question and he would have to answer them. In return, they gave the Oracle gold and precious gems. Since then, brave adventurers have attempted to reach the city, locate the Temple of the Oracle and find the treasure for themselves. Many have tried - none have yet succeeded.
Now it is your turn ...
Preparation
Assemble the two parts of the Oracle by pushing the upper part into the base, and apply the YES / NO stickers, one to each side as indicated (see base). Place it on the marked space at the end of the board. Carefully detach the card pieces from the sheet. Put the six small coloured cards in the two slots at the back of the Oracle.
Place one of each type of weapon on each of the Trading Posts. Place the raft by the jetty at the Riverside Trading Post. Place the four red tokens on the first, third, fifth and seventh space after the Start.
Take the pack of cards and put the four cards for each Peril face down on the matching area of the board (see centre pages of the CD booklet). Shuffle the CD Adventure cards and put them face down in a pile beside the board.
Place the CD in your compact disc player, and place the board so that all players can get to the machine easily. Each player takes a playing piece and three gold coins, and places their playing piece at the start (marked by a compass). The remainder of the coins are placed by the Temple of the Oracle.
Playing the Game
First of all, listen to track 1 on the CD. It will give you some advice and information about the game. Track 2 contains about 5 minutes of music which you can listen to whilst playing the game. When you need to play another track, stop track 2 and play the new track - at the end you can play track 2 again.
The bravest player starts. Each player in turn rolls the die and moves their piece accordingly. If a player lands:
a) on a yellow space - nothing happens - play passes to the next player to the left.
b) on a red space - they must take one of the Peril Cards from the corresponding pile (see the diagram on pages 6 and 7 of the CD booklet) and read it aloud. The player will be told to play a track on the CD, listen to it and act accordingly. The track will pose a problem which the player must try to overcome :-
i) by rolling the correct number(s) on the die
ii) by having had the foresight to have bought the right weapon at one of the Trading Posts.
iii) by consulting the Oracle.
The Peril Card is then discarded.
c) on a red adventure token - the player first re-positions the token anywhere on the board except for the Grey Rock, a red square or a square occupied by another player. Only one token can be placed on any one square. They then take the top card from the pile of CD Adventure cards, read it and play the appropriate track. The card is then discarded. The player then follows the instructions on the CD.
Tokens
The adventure tokens move on the board during the game. They are moved as follows :
a) every time an adventure track is played, that token is moved to any other space on the board (see above).
b) every time a 6 is rolled, that player must move one of the adventure tokens to any other space on the board at the end of their turn. It cannot be moved to a red space or any occupied space.
The Oracle
The Oracle knows the answer to every question, but will only answer 'Yes' or 'No'. When a player is told to consult the Oracle, they should drop the steel ball into the top of the Oracle - it will come out of the left hand channel (Yes) or the right (No). The colour of the Oracle's eye will also change each time it is consulted.
Weapons
To acquire a weapon, a player must visit a Trading Post. A weapon can be purchased in return for 1 gold coin. Only one weapon may be bought on any one visit. Weapons are very important as they may allow a player to overcome a challenge on a Peril Card - for example, at Death River, an adventurer may need a machete to fight off the crocodile. Any player who plays this track but has another weapon or no weapon at all, will not pass the Peril and will have to pay the appropriate penalty.
One weapon is required at the finale, as the Temple of the Oracle is so foreboding that no-one may enter it without one.
If a player reaches the Oracle without a weapon, they must ask the Oracle if they can move immediately to the nearest Trading Post. If the Oracle says YES, they may move their piece directly to the Trading Post, collect the weapon and then return to the Temple by normal roll of the die. If no weapons are available at any Trading Post, then the player must ask the Oracle if they can buy a weapon from any player with three weapons. The player selected must sell the weapon for one coin if the Oracle says YES. If the Oracle says NO, the player must wait until their next turn and ask again.
Raft
At the first Trading Post there is a raft - the first player to arrive there may use this raft, on their next turn, to cross the river upstream of the Perils at Death River and Piranha Falls. There is no charge for the use of the raft. Once the raft has been used, it cannot be used again. The raft delivers the player to the landing jetty on the other side of the river.
Coins
In addition to buying weapons, a player may exchange one gold coin on any turn for the right to roll the die again. This may be used to move out of danger, or to improve the odds in a Challenge. For example, the Narrator may challenge a player to roll a total of 12 in three rolls. If the player does not succeed, they may buy an extra roll for one gold coin, and so add up the total of four rolls. A coin may also be used to buy another chance to ask the Oracle for a decision.
Extra coins can be won during the course of the game. If a player runs out of coins, they can travel to the nearest Trading Post and ask the Oracle for a coin. If the Oracle says 'YES', they can take one coin from the Oracle. The Oracle may only be asked if a player has no coins at all.
Finale
The player who first reaches the Oracle drops the ball into the Oracle and watches the eye to see which colour they get. Remember - they must have one weapon to enter the Temple. If they have collected more than one weapon, they must choose one and discard the rest before proceeding.
They then take the correctly coloured card and play the appropriate card. The CD may then direct the player to another track until the final Challenge is reached. If the player fails in the final Challenge then the next player in turn can move their piece straight to the Oracle and try their luck.
Winning the Game
The first player to overcome the Challenge of the Oracle successfully is the winner of the game.