Dustbiters Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Setup
• Turns
• Cars
• Car Reference (the 21 cars)
• Second Edition Changes

Objective

The game is won by destroying all of the opposing player's cars.

The game is immediately over as soon as one player has no cars remaining in the convoy.

Setup

1. Pick a direction for the convoy to run.
2. One end will be THE FRONT, and the other will be THE BACK. Shuffle all the cards and flip a coin to decide which player goes first.
3. Deal four cards face up at the back of the convoy. These are the cars of the STARTING PLAYER, and should be orientated towards them.
4. Deal four cards face up at the front of the convoy. These are the cars of the NON-STARTING PLAYER, and should be orientated towards them.
5. Deal four cards face down for each player. These are your starting hands.
6. Put the remaining cards face down in a pile. This is now the DRAW DECK.
7. Leave space for destroyed cars to pile up. This will be the SCRAP HEAP.

Turns

During their turn, players have THREE ACTIONS to spend in one of four different ways.

The turn is over once the player has spent all three actions, or has decided to forfeit their unspent actions and end their turn immediately.

! At the end of each player's turn, the car at THE BACK of the convoy is destroyed by the DUST STORM.

BEWARE: When the draw deck is empty you can no longer draw.

For the cost of ONE ACTION EACH, the player can:

• BUILD: Place a car from their hand at THE FRONT of the convoy.
• DRIVE: Move one of their cars one space forward, or one space backward — swapping its position with the car next to it.
• DRAW: Take the card from the top of the DRAW DECK and place it in their hand.
• POWER: Use the power of one of their cars in the convoy. Car powers are indicated by a lightning bolt and each power can only be used once per turn.

Cars

Each car in DUSTBITERS is unique and affects the game in one or more different ways.

Bikes and horses are also cars.

When a car is destroyed, it is placed face-up on the SCRAP HEAP.

That's it, buckle up!

Car Reference (the 21 cars)

Card text transcribed from the 21 car cards. A lightning bolt marks a POWER — an ability used by spending the POWER action; text without a lightning bolt is always in effect.

• CLONING VAN — Your car POWERS can be used twice per turn. Each use still costs one action.
• CRUSHER — (power) Destroy any car that is directly between the CRUSHER and one of your other cars.
• EQUALIZER — (power) Move the car at THE FRONT to THE BACK.
• GRAPPLING CAR — (power) Move any car to the position behind the GRAPPLING CAR.
• HIJACKER — (power) Take ownership of any enemy car. The other player takes ownership of the HIJACKER.
• HORSE — Is always BUILT at THE BACK instead of THE FRONT. When destroyed, DRAW two cards.
• ICE CREAM VAN — The car in front of the ICE CREAM VAN can use its POWER without costing an action.
• JAMMER — Any car next to THE JAMMER cannot use its powers or passive abilities. (1st edition text: "Any car next to the JAMMER is disabled and functions as if it is a blank card.")
• MARTYR — When any car is destroyed, you may choose to destroy the MARTYR instead.
• MIMIC — Functions exactly like the car in front of the MIMIC.
• MIND MANIPULATOR — (power) For one action total, use any enemy car's POWER as if that car is yours.
• MORTAR BUS — (power) Destroy the car two spaces ahead of the MORTAR BUS.
• NECROMANCER — Functions exactly like the car on top of the SCRAP HEAP.
• OIL RIG — (power) Move the car behind the OIL RIG to THE BACK.
• RAMP TRUCK — (power) Move any other car to THE FRONT.
• SALVAGE TRUCK — (power) Take the card from the top of the SCRAP HEAP and add it to your hand.
• SCORCHY — Can't DRIVE forwards. (power) Destroy the car behind SCORCHY.
• SCOUT BIKE — If the SCOUT BIKE is in THE FRONT, you may DRAW a free card once per turn.

Second Edition Changes

Patch notes published by the Dustbiters team for the second edition (Kickstarter update, May 27, 2022). These are the official errata for first-edition copies.

• A line was added to the rulebook that says "BEWARE: When the draw deck is empty you can no longer draw."
• New text for the Jammer: "Any car next to THE JAMMER cannot use its powers or passive abilities."
• The bold bit in this sentence is new: "At the end of each player's turn, the car at the back of the convoy is destroyed by the DUST STORM."
• A little arrow was added to the setup diagram, to make the single direction of the dust storm clear.