Clank! In! Space! Adventures: Pulsarcade Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Your Shot at Redemption
  • Arcade Cabinets
  • Market Growth
• New Modules
  • Black Market
  • Cloning Vats
  • Danger Theater
  • Race Track
  • Research Lab
  • Vault

Components

• Master Control—Pulsarcade (MCP) board module
• 18 Arcade Cabinets of 8 different types
• 2 Disguise Kits
• Boss Marker — for added ambience, you may replace the original boss marker with this new version (an arcade-themed version of Eradikus)
• 4 Racers
• 4 Research tokens
• 3 Double-Sided Game Board Pieces
• Credits — to add to your bank

Setup

CLANK! IN! SPACE! Adventures: Pulsarcade features new board pieces. When assembling your game board, use the Cargo Bay and Corridor pieces from CLANK! IN! SPACE!, but replace the Command module with the Master Control—Pulsarcade (MCP) from this expansion.

To complete your board, you may use all three of the other new modules, or freely mix them with any old modules (from CLANK! IN! SPACE! or other expansions).

The MCP does not fit together with the game board from the CYBER STATION 11 expansion. (Commander Preon just isn't into arcade games.) However, feel free to mix the other new modules here with that expansion.

Place the new Disguise Kits on the Market Board (with the existing Market Items).

Sort the new Arcade Cabinets by title and place them in separate stacks next to the board, near the MCP.

Use all six artifacts (placing them face up on the spaces in the MCP), even if you are playing with fewer than 4 players.

If playing with only 2 players, place only one Disguise Kit. Also, remove one of each Arcade Cabinet and return them to the box. (Meaning you will use two copies of Dragon's Den and Ping, but only one of each of the other Arcade Cabinets.)

Certain modules require additional setup and components, as noted later in the rules for each module.

The rest of the setup is the same as in CLANK! IN! SPACE!.

Your Shot at Redemption

The MCP and Arcade Cabinets in Pulsarcade create a new way of stealing artifacts.

A new action you can take during your turn is to claim an Arcade Cabinet. If you have met the condition described on any unclaimed Arcade Cabinet, announce this, take the Arcade Cabinet from its place next to the board, and put it in front of you. You keep it for the rest of the game. You may claim more than one Arcade Cabinet during your turn, but you can never have more than one of the same Arcade Cabinet.

Example: It's the blue player's turn. Among the cards she plays are MonkeyBot 30000, Helpful Prodigy, and a Memory Core. Between MonkeyBot 30000 and Helpful Prodigy, she makes 4 Clank! She claims the Ping Arcade Cabinet and places it front of her. (It does not matter that the Science faction match allows the MonkeyBot to take 3 of her Clank! back.) Playing the Memory Core would have also allowed her to claim the Eraditron Arcade Cabinet, but she has already claimed one of those and can't take another.

Like the Command module of CLANK! IN! SPACE!, you can't enter the MCP until you hack two data ports in two different modules (earning a command code). Once you do make it to the MCP, you must reach one of the two Redemption spaces to steal an artifact.

If you're in a Redemption space, you may steal an artifact by totaling the token icons on all the Arcade Cabinets you've claimed. In addition, you may "Make a Skill Shot" as follows: count all the Skill you've generated this turn (whether or not you've spent it). If you've generated at least 6 Skill, add one token to your total. If you've generated at least 8 Skill, add two tokens instead. Finally, if you're in the Redemption space with the "+2" icon, add two tokens to your total.

The token cost for each artifact is listed beneath it on the board. Your token total determines the most valuable artifact that you can steal (but you may instead choose to steal an artifact that is worth fewer tokens than you have). As usual, you can't take an artifact if you already have one. This means you might wait for a future turn, hoping to build up more tokens (by claiming more Arcade Cabinets or making a more valuable Skill Shot).

Example: The blue player reaches the "+2" Redemption space in the MCP. She adds those two tokens to the four she has on Arcade Cabinets in front of her. She has only generated 5 Skill this turn, so she can't make a Skill Shot. Her six tokens allow her to steal any artifact worth 20 points or less, but one of her opponents has already stolen the 20-point artifact. She could settle for the 15-point artifact, or wait for a later turn. Maybe she can earn more Arcade Cabinets, or generate 6 Skill or more to make a Skill Shot.

Once you've stolen an artifact, you may no longer claim any Arcade Cabinets.

Arcade Cabinets

The eight Arcade Cabinets and the conditions to claim them are:

• Contra Kong — Have Contraband. You only need to possess a Contraband Market Item; you do not need to trigger a card ability that requires Contraband.
• Dragon's Den — Have 6 damage or more. This can be at any point during your turn. (You may heal damage by various means after taking the Arcade Cabinet.)
• Eraditron — Play a Memory Core. It is not enough to acquire one. Note that this Arcade Cabinet is worth two tokens.
• Mortal Instinct — Defeat 3 G0/B-L1Ns or 2 Eradibots (during a single turn).
• Ping — Make 4 Clank! or more (during one of your turns). Clank! already in the Clank! area as you begin your turn doesn't count. You may still claim the Arcade Cabinet even if you use cards that generate negative Clank! to remove cubes.
• Q*Alert — Use a Telepad. It is not enough to possess a TelePass Market Item; you must actually move using a Telepad.
• Slogger — Waste 3 Boots. You do this by choosing not to use 3 Boots you generate during your turn. You may do this even if you're stopped in a security checkpoint and otherwise can't spend the Boots.
• Snack-Man — Consume a power crystal while in the MCP. You may do this from any space in the MCP, returning one of your power crystals to the Bank. You may give up the Sixth Crystal (Major Secret Token), returning it to the box.

Market Growth

CLANK! IN! SPACE! Adventures: Pulsarcade introduces a new Market Item:

• Disguise Kit — When you buy this, you immediately get -3 Clank! (Also worth 7 points at the end of the game.)

New Modules

Each side of the three "standard-shape" modules in CLANK! IN! SPACE! Adventures: Pulsarcade has its own special rules.

Black Market

Each Market space in this module has special rules for purchasing Market Items; you can't just spend 7 Credits as you would in a regular Market.

• Here, instead of paying 7 Credits for a Market Item, you pay 5 Credits and make 2 Clank! (You can't make a purchase if you don't have enough Clank! cubes in your supply.)
• Items here cost 7 Credits as usual, but you also draw a card for each one you buy.
• Items here cost 8 Credits, and you also heal one damage for each one you buy.
• Items here cost 9 Credits, and you also gain a power crystal (if available) for each one you buy.

Cloning Vats

There are three special spaces in this module where you can clone yourself. While you're in one of these spaces, you may take one of your Clank! cubes and leave it on an empty square there. (Each player may have only one cube per space.)

During a Boss Attack, if a red (bounty hunter) cube is pulled from the bag, the bounty hunter attacks your clone instead of you. Instead of taking one damage, choose one of your cubes from a space in the Cloning Vats and move it to the Clank! area. Players without a clone are still damaged normally by the red cube.

Danger Theater

During Setup, each player takes the Racer of their color and places it in this module as a Contestant Marker, on the 0 space of the Danger Vision track.

Once during each of your turns, you may thrill the bloodthirsty audience in the Danger Theater: if you have made 3 or more Clank!, advance your Contestant Marker one space along the track, to the space showing the next highest number. Clank! already in the Clank! area as you begin your turn doesn't count. You still advance even if you generate negative Clank! to remove cubes. (However, you don't advance if you don't have enough cubes in your supply to make enough Clank!)

There are four "levels" to the Danger Vision track (including the starting 0 space as its own level). Once you reach the third level, you unlock a special ability: you receive 1 extra Sword during all your remaining turns of the game (including the current one). Once you reach the fourth level, you unlock an additional special ability: for the rest of the game, you don't have to stop at security checkpoints.

At the end of the game, each player adding up their score includes the points shown on their current space of the Danger Vision track (from 0 to 17).

When you enter this space in this module, you make 2 Clank!

Race Track

During Setup, each player takes the Racer of their color and places it in this module, on the start space of the race track.

During each of your turns, you advance your Racer one space along the race track each time—except for the first time—that you acquire or defeat a card from the adventure row. Cards you acquire or defeat from the reserve do not move your Racer, nor do cards you remove from the adventure row by other means (without actually acquiring or defeating them).

Example: It's the orange player's turn, and he has generated 5 Skill and 4 Swords. He spends 2 of the Swords to defeat Killbot. It's the first card he's acquiring or defeating from the adventure row, so he does not advance his Racer. Defeating a G0/B-L1N with his remaining two Swords also would not advance it, as the G0/B-L1N is not in the adventure row. If he now spent his 5 Skill to acquire a FAZR and a Boldly Go from the reserve, he still would not advance his Racer. Instead, he acquires a Fe-Lion (costing 2) and a Space Pirate (costing 3), and advances his Racer two spaces. He also uses an Exo Stomper he played this turn to trash an Imprisoned Soldier from the adventure row—but because he is not acquiring or defeating that card, he does not advance his Racer another space.

When you place a Data cube on one of these data ports in this module, advance your Racer one space.

When your Racer moves to a space that shows Credits, immediately take the amount shown from the Bank.

When you move from this space on the Race Track, you must choose which of the two paths you wish to take. You can't backtrack once you make your choice.

When you cross the finish line of the race, place your Racer in the best unoccupied slot in the standings. At the end of the game, each player adding up their score includes the points shown in their slot. (If your Racer doesn't cross the finish line, you have no standing and receive no points from the race.)

Research Lab

During Setup, take the four Research tokens and place each one on its marked data port in this module.

When you place a Data cube on such a port, take the token and put it in front of you. It remains there for the rest of the game. Note that some of these data ports also require you to make 1 Clank! as you take the token (shown separately from the token).

A Research token you've taken gives you a special ability you can trigger on each of your remaining turns of the game (including the current one). Once during each of your turns, if you play a reserve card (FAZR, Boldly Go, or Memory Core), your Research token provides the bonus shown.

When triggered, the four Research tokens provide:

• 1 Skill
• 2 Swords
• 1 Boot
• Draw a card and make 1 Clank! (You can't decide to skip drawing the card to avoid making the Clank!)

Vault

In this module are two separate vaults that share a system for accumulating Credits.

During the game, whenever a black cube is drawn from the bag, instead of setting it aside, place it on a slot in one of the two vaults. Fill slots according to the pattern shown by the arrows, placing each new cube in the lowest empty slot. (If all slots are full, set aside black cubes as you normally would.)

The vaults are not spaces you can move into, but you can ransack them from the nearby connected spaces. When you're in a connected space, you may choose to make 3 Clank! If you do, gain the Credits shown next to the highest occupied slot in that vault, then remove all the black cubes from that vault and set them aside (off the game board). You can't ransack a vault if you don't have enough Clank! cubes in your supply.

Example: You can ransack the yellow vault from any of the three marked spaces by making 3 Clank! Currently, you would take 6 Credits, then remove the three cubes (leaving the four cubes in the other vault). The next black cubes drawn from the bag would then fill up those now empty slots in the yellow vault, with the fourth black cube finally filling the next slot in the other vault.

Note that the connections to the second vault are blocked by the same symbol that prevents access to the MCP (or Command module). You must have a Command Code token to ransack this vault.

"Arrive" effects that return a black cube to the Boss Bag will first use any cubes you have set aside. If more are needed, remove cubes from the Vault module, in the reverse order shown by the arrows. (Space Pirates can ransack the Vault too!)

You should not use this module when playing with a Scheme from the APOCALYPSE! expansion. (Think of it this way: Eradikus' "scheme" is to horde Credits in his Vault.)