Doom and Bloom SURVIVAL! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview and Objective
• Symbols and Definitions
• Components
• Setup
• Taking Your Turn
  • 1. Movement
  • 2. Resolution
  • Empty Space
  • Board Asset
  • Hospital
  • Town
  • Raider Territory
  • Crossing
  • Center City
  • Final Destination
• Special Benefits
  • Going the Extra Mile
  • Keeping Your Rivals Busy
  • Making Trades
• Team Play
• Game Goals Reminder for Quick Reference

Overview and Objective

The object of the game is to find a safe place to settle your band of survivors, making sure to gather the stockpiles of supplies you'll need to start your new life. Each player will start in Center City, then will venture out to scout a certain number of nearby towns. Once that is achieved, the player returns to Center City to learn their final destination, and must race to get there with all of the required assets in hand before any other player can do the same.

On the way, players will encounter Events (in safe territory, Hospitals, and Towns) and Attacks (in Raider territory and at Crossings). Events and Attacks will gain or lose you assets depending on what they are and how you handle them.

Symbols and Definitions

You will see these symbols in frequent use on the game boards and cards.

These five symbols represent the five Assets in the game: Food, Fuel, Weaponry, Survivors, and Medkits.

These three symbols represent the three Resources in the game: Food, Fuel, and Weaponry.

All resources are assets, but Survivors and Medkits are not resources.

FOOD or FUEL or WEAPONRY – This symbol means that the active player gets to decide what resource it represents.

When this symbol appears with a number, the active player may decide which resource each unit represents, in any combination. For example, 3 (food/fuel/weaponry symbol) could represent 3 Fuel, or one of each resource, or 2 Food and 1 Weaponry, or any other combination.

Components

1 Game Board – The board shows the following:

• Towns – Some of the six towns will be your destinations during the game. Each town's label displays its name and the rewards for scouting it.
• Board Assets – Asset icons (Food, Fuel, Weaponry, Survivor) that trigger Events.
• Hospitals – There are four Hospitals; get Medkits and Bonus cards here!
• Raider Territory – Stopping in these red/orange-shaded areas triggers an Attack!
• Center City – Start the game here, and return (eventually) to learn your final goal.
• Impassable Borders – These jagged borders surround the water and mountain regions. You may never move through them.
• Crossings – Use these yellow spaces to enter or bypass water or mountains.

6 Special Dice – For movement and for resolving game encounters such as Search Events and Raider Attacks.

20 Track Markers – For tracking Assets on the Player Mats.

6 Town Tokens – ...and a bag to randomize them.

24 Destination Discs – For tracking which towns you need to scout, and which towns you've scouted. (Unscouted discs show the Perseverance side; scouted discs are flipped to show the scouted side.)

4 Player Mats – For tracking your Assets and Destinations. The mat has tracks for Food, Fuel, Weaponry, Survivors, and Medkits, and a row of Destination spaces.

8 Character Cards – Each player assumes the role of a character in the game; their card shows their starting Assets. On the back is a reminder of some of the game actions.

8 Character Pawns – To represent each player's location on the board. Feel free to swap the coloured bases of the pawns however you like. To assemble, pivot the base 90° and slide its slot into the slot of the pawn.

64 Event Cards – Many spaces will trigger an Event. To resolve an Event, draw the top card from the deck and follow its instructions. (There are many different sorts of Events; one might for example ask you to roll dice, or make a choice, or compare assets with other players.) Discard the Event card when done.

40 Attack Cards – Raider Territory and Crossings trigger Attacks. To resolve an Attack, draw the top card from the deck and follow its instructions. (As with Events, there are all sorts of Attacks. Generally Attacks are more dangerous than Events but the rewards are greater.) Discard the Attack card when done.

32 Bonus Cards – Bonus cards are earned by visiting Hospitals and Towns, for reaching Survivor milestones, and via some Events and Attacks. Players keep their Bonus cards hidden and may play them when permitted (indicated on the cards themselves). Bonus cards grant all sorts of advantages; discard the card when played. Any number of Bonus cards may be played on a turn; card effects stack.

Setup

1. Choose the length of game you'd like. (This chart is printed on the back of the rulebook for easy reference during play.)

Game Length	To Win	Required Assets
Short Game (About 1 hr with 3 players)	Scout 1 Town and return to Center City. Choose a final destination at random and get there first with the Required Assets.	6 Food, 6 Fuel, 6 Weaponry, 7 Survivors, 2 Medkits
Normal Game (About 2 hrs with 3 players)	Scout 2 Towns and return to Center City. Choose a final destination at random and get there first with the Required Assets.	10 Food, 10 Fuel, 10 Weaponry, 10 Survivors, 4 Medkits
Long Game (3+ hours with 3 players)	Scout 3 Towns and return to Center City. Choose a final destination at random and get there first with the Required Assets.	15 Food, 15 Fuel, 15 Weaponry, 15 Survivors, 6 Medkits

2. Place the gameboard on the table. Make a supply pile of Destination Discs nearby. Put the Town tokens in the bag.
3. Separate and shuffle the Attack, Event, and Bonus decks. Place each deck facedown by its marked spot on the game board.
4. Each player rolls all six dice; highest total is the start player.
5. Beginning with the start player and proceeding clockwise, each player takes a player mat, 5 track markers, then draws a character card at random and takes the matching pawn. Players may swap the coloured bases of the pawns however they like. Each player then places their five track markers on the tracks of their own player mat to match the values shown on their character card. All players place their pawns into the Center City location on the gameboard.
6. Beginning with the start player and proceeding clockwise, each player draws 1, 2, or 3 large Town tokens from the bag (depending on whether you are playing the Short/Medium/Long game). The player places Destination disc(s) from the supply matching the drawn tokens onto the spaces of his or her player mat, in the same order that they were drawn (Unscouted side up). When the player is done, he or she returns the Town tokens to the bag and passes it to the next player until all players have completed the process. Players may end up with similar or identical destinations; this is fine!

When all players have their destinations, you are ready to begin!

Example (Steps 1 and 5–6, Normal game): For this example we set up a Normal game. The player who draws the Nurse character card takes a player mat and places track markers on 2 Food, 1 Fuel, 1 Weaponry, 3 Survivors, and 1 Medkit, as shown on the Nurse character card. She places the Nurse pawn in Center City on the game board. Then it is the next player clockwise's turn to perform this step. For Step 6, the example player draws 2 tokens from the bag (since it's a Normal game). She gets New Hope and Canaan, in that order. She places a New Hope disc from the supply on the "1" spot on her mat, and a Canaan disc on the "2" spot. (Both discs are placed Unscouted side up.) She returns the town tokens to the bag and then it is the next player clockwise's turn.

Taking Your Turn

The game begins with the start player and proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player finishing their turn completely before play passes to the next player. Your turn consists of two steps.

1. Movement (Either roll the dice and move, or stay where you are.)
2. Resolution (Deal with whatever is in the space you now occupy.)

1. Movement

To move, roll one die. This die is called your movement die. You will roll a 1, 2, or 3. You may move your pawn from space to space on the board, any number of spaces up to the number you rolled. You may not cross impassable borders, or step onto any of the dark forest spaces along the edge of the board. When moving, disregard any space you pass through... the only space that will matter to you is the one you finish in.

• On your very first turn, you must move out of Center City. Center City is one big space that connects to the many spaces surrounding it.
• There are special movement rules regarding Crossings (see below).
• The background terrain (trees, fields, etc.) is just for show; treat it all the same.
• You may move through and/or stop on the same space as other players.

Example: The Engineer has rolled a 2. She can move 0, 1, or 2 spaces. She needs food so she moves 2 spaces to the Food icon nearby. She ignores the Raider territory when passing through it; remember only the final space matters.

You may choose to stay put instead of moving. If you stay put, then in Step 2 you must treat your space as if you'd just moved into it. There are four situations where you may not stay put:

1. In a Hospital space where you just collected the Event rewards. (see below)
2. In a Town space where you just collected the Event rewards. (see below)
3. In Center City after collecting its Event rewards. (see below)
4. In your Final destination if you end up short of assets after resolving its Event. (see below)

2. Resolution

Deal with whatever is in the space you now occupy.

• During the game you will often be instructed to gain/add or lose/give/use your various assets. To record your gains and losses, simply slide the relevant track marker up (for gains) or down (for losses).
• You may never go below zero on any asset track. Likewise you may never have more than 20 of an asset (10 for Medkits).

Often you will be forced to deal with an Event (by drawing an Event card and resolving it) or an Attack (by drawing an Attack card and resolving it) during this step.

The result of your Event or Attack will display the Success tag or the Failure tag. (Most cards have both tags but some have only one.) If your result displays the Success tag, you have succeeded at the Event/Attack. If your result displays the Failure tag, you have failed at the Event/Attack.

Example: An Event plays out in such a way that this player will give another player 1 Medkit, but will also gain 3 Fuel and 1 Food. This player moves his Medkit marker down to zero, his Fuel marker up to 4, and his Food marker up to 3. The player that was "given" the Medkit will slide her own Medkit marker up one.

Empty Space

An Empty space is any space (regardless of its pictured terrain) that is not a Board Asset, Hospital, Town, Raider Territory, Crossing, or Center City. When you finish in an empty space, your turn simply ends with no further resolution.

Board Asset

A Board Asset is any space (not in Raider territory) that has a Food, Fuel, Weaponry, or Survivor symbol on it. When you finish on a Board Asset, draw and resolve an Event card from the deck. If your Event result is a success, you gain one of whatever icon your pawn is on.

Example: The Engineer finished on a Food icon. She draws an Event card; Sitting Ducks. Since no other player has less Weaponry than she does, the Event is a success; she gains the board asset (1 Food), plus 2 Weaponry (as indicated by the card).

Hospital

There are four Hospital spaces on the board, each marked by a Medkit and Bonus card symbol. When you finish on a Hospital, draw and resolve an Event card from the deck. If your Event result is a success, you receive both (gain one Medkit and draw a Bonus card from the Bonus deck). Once you have succeeded at an Event at a Hospital, you may not visit the same Hospital again until you have visited a different Hospital first.

Example: The Farmer rolled a 1, which is just enough to get him to the adjacent Hospital. He draws an Event card; Good Karma. As it happens he doesn't have any Bonus cards at the moment, so he can't take the event's first option. Instead he loses 2 resources of his choice. Since the Event was a failure, he's free to visit this Hospital again on his next turn.

Town

There are six Towns on the board, each labeled with the Town's name, color, and Event rewards. When you finish on a Town, draw and resolve an Event card from the deck. If your Event result is a success, collect the card's stated rewards then receive all of the Town's Event rewards (gain one Resource of your choice, 1 Survivor, and draw a Bonus card from the Bonus deck).

• Once you have succeeded at an Event at a Town, you are considered to have scouted that Town. (If you visit a Town but fail its Event, you have not yet scouted that Town.)
• You must scout your destinations in the order you drew them; you may not visit your destinations out of order. When you scout the Town that is your correct current destination, flip that Destination disc over to the Scouted side... that destination has now been scouted and you may now head to the next one on your schedule.
• If you have no more destinations to scout, then you should begin the journey back to Center City to learn your Final destination. Just remember, being the first one to reach your own final destination is not the key to winning the game—it's being the first one with the required assets!
• Once you have scouted a Town, you may never visit that Town again—unless you draw that Town as your Final destination after returning to Center City.
• You may visit and scout Towns that are not in your list of destinations, to collect the assets and Bonus cards that are their Event rewards.

Example: The Engineer has rolled a 3. She moves into nearby Barterville, so draws an event; a Flipped Vehicle Search Event. She rolls 5 dice as instructed, with a result of 11. The Event is a success! The card tells her to gain the board asset plus 1 resource of her choice. Technically there is no board asset, so she gains the one resource. However, when you succeed at an Event in a Town, you get its Event rewards; she earns another resource of her choice, 1 Survivor, and a Bonus card. This town now counts as "scouted" to her.

As it happens, Barterville was next on the Engineer's destination list. Since she just successfully scouted it, she flips the disc over on her player to the Scouted side, and now her new destination is New Hope.

Raider Territory

Raider Territory is any space that is marked with a red/orange overlay. Some spaces in Raider Territory have Asset icons on them, and some don't. When you finish in Raider Territory (whether there is an Asset icon or not), draw and resolve an Attack card from the deck.

• If your Attack result tells you to "gain the board asset", but there isn't one in your space, ignore that instruction.

Example: The Hunter has rolled a 2. He's feeling lucky so moves to the Weaponry icon in Raider Territory. He draws an Attack card... oh no... Attacked By 13 Raiders! He rolls 5 dice as instructed, with a horrible result of 8. This loses him 3 resources of his choice, a painful failure.

Crossing

A Crossing is any space that is marked with a yellow overlay and the Crossing symbol. Crossings act as "gateways" into the water and mountain areas of the gameboard; you can't get into those areas any other way. When you move onto a Crossing from outside the water/mountain, you must stop there, even if you still have remaining moves. Draw and resolve an Attack card from the deck. If your Attack result is a success, you have cleared the crossing and may take one of the following two actions: (If you fail you must simply stay on the Crossing space. You may choose to remain on the Crossing even if you do succeed at the Attack.)

a) Enter the water/mountain. Simply move one space into the water/mountain, in a direction indicated by one of the Crossing's arrows. (If this free move lands you on a Board Asset space, it does not trigger an Event.) In subsequent turns, you may move around within the water/mountain using normal Movement rules, and can leave the water/mountain through any of its Crossings. (Unlike moving into water/mountains, when you leave you are not forced to stop when you move onto a Crossing; you can pass through one if you have the movement to spare.)

• Water/mountain spaces with asset icons in them count as Board Asset spaces. Water/mountain spaces without asset icons in them count as Empty spaces.

b) Bypass the water/mountain. Immediately move your pawn to any of the other Crossings that access this water/mountain. This free move does not trigger an Attack.

Enter Example: The Nurse may make a free move into either of the two water spaces indicated by this Crossing's arrows. On following turns she would be free to move around the water area using normal movement. Spaces with asset icons on them are resolved like normal Board Asset spaces. She can move out of the water area through any of its three Crossing spaces; she will not be forced to stop at a Crossing on the way out, but will still trigger an Attack if she does finish on one.

Bypass Example: The Nurse may make a free move immediately to either of this water area's other two crossings. This does not trigger an Attack when she arrives.

Example: The Nurse has rolled a 3. She moves 2 spaces onto the nearby Crossing, and must stop (even though she still has a move left). She draws an Attack card; All Clear! Since this is a success, she has cleared the Crossing and may make one of the two choices below.

Center City

Center City is the large area in the center of the board. You start the game on Center City but must leave it on your first turn; you may not return to (or stay put in) Center City unless all of your destination discs are Scouted. When you finish on Center City, draw and resolve an Attack card from the deck. If your Attack result is a success, you have cleared Center City. Collect the Attack card's stated rewards then gain Center City's labeled Attack rewards.

• Center City is one big space that connects to all twelve of the spaces surrounding it. You can enter/exit Center City from/to any of those spaces when the rules permit.
• When you clear Center City, you must draw a new random Town token from the bag. Take a matching Destination disc from the supply and place it on the Final spot on your player mat. This Town is where you need to go (carrying the right amount of supplies) to win the game! Return the Town token to the bag.

Example: The Doctor has rolled a 2, and both of his Destination discs are Scouted-side up (meaning that he has scouted all of his original destinations). He enters Center City (although he only needed 1 move from his roll to get there) and draws an Attack Card; Attacked by 8 Raiders! The Doctor rolls 5 dice as instructed, easily defeating the Raiders with a result of 11. Success! He earns 1 resource of his choice according to the card (Center City technically has no board asset), then collects Center City's Attack rewards: 1 Survivor, 1 Food, 1 Fuel, and 1 Weaponry. He has cleared Center City for himself!

This means that the Doctor gets to learn his Final destination. He draws a Town token from the bag; it's Haven, which coincidentally was one of his original destinations. He returns the Town token to the bag and places a Haven disc from the supply on the "final" spot of his player mat, Unscouted side up. (Note that having an Unscouted disc again means that the Doctor may not stay put in nor re-enter Center City.)

Final Destination

Your Final destination is the Town that you drew after scouting your original destinations and returning to Center City. You may not visit your Final destination unless you have the proper amounts (or more) of all five Assets. When you arrive at your Final destination (with the needed amounts of supplies), draw and resolve an Event card. If your Event result is a success and you still have the proper amounts (or more) of all five Assets, you have won the game! If your Event result is a failure, you will have to try again on your next turn.

• If the Event results in you losing Assets to the point that you no longer have the target amounts of all five Assets, you will have to continue playing as usual, venturing out again to find what you need and returning to your Final Destination to try again.

Example: The Doctor has journeyed back to Haven, rolling a 3 to arrive there. He is the first player to have reached his own Final destination, and he is carrying: 12 Food, 14 Fuel, 11 Weaponry, 10 Survivors, and 5 Medkits. which in a Normal game is enough to visit his Final destination. He draws an Event card; Keep It Moving! Luckily for the Doctor, no other player has more Fuel than he does, so he succeeds at his Event. The Doctor wins the game!

Special Benefits

Your assets are there not only for stockpiling, but may be used to gain an advantage in an Event, Attack, or on the game board. You must balance the need to succeed at the current challenge with the need to accumulate the supplies necessary to win the game. SURVIVAL! revolves around the dynamic of sacrificing assets for current gains vs. stockpiling them for an eventual win. Each asset has its own special benefit, and there are a few more special benefits in addition to those.

• Food – After a Search Event roll, you may spend 2 Food to add 1 to your roll's result. Twice per turn at most.
• Fuel – After your Movement roll you may spend 1 Fuel to add 3 points to the roll's result. Once per turn at most.
• Weaponry – After a Raider Attack roll you may spend 1 Weaponry to add 1 point to the roll's result. Once per turn at most.
• Survivors – When you first reach a certain number of Survivors, you receive a bonus card and a resource of your choice. This occurs at certain milestones (marked in red on the Survivor track of your player mat): 5, 7, 9, and 11 Survivors. If you drop below a milestone you had previously reached, you do not receive the milestone reward if/when you reach that milestone again.
• Medkits – At the end of your turn you may spend 1 Medkit to regain any number of Survivors that you lost during the turn. This is quite powerful, but Medkits are rare!

Going the Extra Mile

Before a Search Event roll or a Raider Attack roll, you may spend 1 Food, 1 Fuel, and 1 Weaponry to roll six dice instead of the usual five dice instructed by the card.

Keeping Your Rivals Busy

At the start of another player's turn, but before they roll their movement die, you may spend 1 Food, 1 Fuel, and 1 Weaponry to force them to stay put. The affected player plays their turn as if he or she had chosen to stay put on their own. You may not do this if your opponent is in any of the four situations where staying put would normally be forbidden.

Making Trades

Dealmaking and negotiation are permitted freely between players. You may negotiate a deal with any other player for Resources, Bonus cards or Medkits (You may not trade in Survivors). You may, for example, negotiate a deal with a player to use their resources to keep another rival busy, as long as you give something (other than survivors) in return (at least 1 resource, Medkit or bonus card). An offer to make trades may be made at any time, and players may counteroffer and haggle until they reach an agreement (or fail to reach one.)

You may also offer your next turn to another player in exchange for Resources, Bonus cards or Medkits. That player receives an additional turn immediately after their next turn, while you will skip your next turn. You may barter your turn away in this fashion only once during the game.

Team Play

It is possible to play Survival with two teams of 2 players each. In team play, both team members draw their own Destinations and must scout them in person, to return to Center City and discover their own Final destination and then get there to win, just like in the normal game. The differences in team play are:

1. Your Required Assets to win are different. Here is the team chart:

Game Length	To Win	Required Assets
Short Game (About 1 hr with 4 players)	Each teammate scouts 1 Town and returns to Center City, then draws a Final destination and must reach it with the Required Assets.	10 Food, 10 Fuel, 10 Weaponry, 12 Survivors, 4 Medkits
Normal Game (About 2 hrs with 4 players)	Each teammate scouts 2 Towns and returns to Center City, then draws a Final destination and must reach it with the Required Assets.	15 Food, 15 Fuel, 15 Weaponry, 16 Survivors, 6 Medkits
Long Game (3+ hours with 4 players)	Each teammate scouts 3 Towns and returns to Center City, then draws a Final destination and must reach it with the Required Assets.	20 Food, 20 Fuel, 20 Weaponry, 20 Survivors, 8 Medkits

2. Your assets are pooled. This means that to visit your Final destination, you and your teammate combined must be carrying the required assets. (For example in a Normal game if you had 10 Food and your teammate had 5, that would count as the 15 you needed to visit your Final destination.)

This also means that you can use your teammate's assets to power the special benefits. (For example if you want to use the Medkit benefit to regain all Survivors you lost during the turn—but have no Medkits—you could use your teammate's Medkit to trigger the benefit.)

3. Your Bonus cards are shared. Keep them in a shared hand. Either of you may use your cards when permitted.

4. You win only if both teammates reach their own Final destinations. When the first teammate reaches their own Final destination with the Required Assets and succeeds at an Event, that teammate is done and stops taking turns. However, if the team's combined asset tally subsequently drops for some reason below the required minimums, that teammate may reactivate and start taking turns again, leaving their Final destination to help scour the countryside for assets. In that case, the reactivated teammate must eventually also return to their own Final destination, following the usual rules and succeeding at an Event again, in order to secure a win.

5. Survivor milestone rewards are earned as a team. This means that when your combined total of Survivors reaches a milestone (5, 7, 9, and 11) for the first time, your team earns the reward together. Because of this, your team will start the game having already reached the 5 milestone (and possibly the 7 milestone too, depending on your characters). Earn the rewards for those milestones at game start. When your team earns a milestone, draw 1 Bonus card and add 1 resource of your choice to one teammate's mat.

Game Goals Reminder for Quick Reference

Game Length	To Win	Required Assets
Short Game (About 1 hr with 3 players)	Scout 1 Town and return to Center City. Draw a final destination and reach it first with the Required Assets.	6 Food, 6 Fuel, 6 Weaponry, 7 Survivors, 2 Medkits
Normal Game (About 2 hrs with 3 players)	Scout 2 Towns and return to Center City. Draw a final destination and reach it first with the Required Assets.	10 Food, 10 Fuel, 10 Weaponry, 10 Survivors, 4 Medkits
Long Game (3+ hours with 3 players)	Scout 3 Towns and return to Center City. Draw a final destination and reach it first with the Required Assets.	15 Food, 15 Fuel, 15 Weaponry, 15 Survivors, 6 Medkits