E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object
• Equipment
• Set Up
• Playing
• During the Game, You Want to Do 3 Things
• The Spaces
• How to Fly
• Moving E.T.

Object

E.T. is very, very far from home, and he wants to go back. Will you and your friends help him? Collect the things he needs to build a transmitter to "phone home." Then guide him to the Spaceship Landing Site. The one who earns the most chips for helping E.T. is the winner!

Equipment

• Game board
• Three-dimensional E.T. plastic mover
• "Ghost" costume
• 6 costume cards
• 10 "ELLIOTT/E.T." flying cards
• 8-piece transmitter puzzle
• 86 playing chips
• A die
• Special three-dimensional spaceship (see "Spaceship Assembly Instructions")

Set Up

1. Assemble the spaceship, then put it aside.
2. Place the game board in the center of the playing area.
3. Place the playing chips, the pieces to the transmitter puzzle, and the "ghost" costume off to the side.
4. Give one "ELLIOTT/E.T." flying card to each player. Place the remaining cards away from the playing area.
5. Place the costume cards face down in a pile near the playing area. For a 4-player game, use all 6 cards. For a 3-player game, use only 5; for a 2-player game, use only 4. Place the remaining cards away from the playing area.
6. Place the E.T. mover onto the space above the START arrow.
7. Choose a player to go first. Play then proceeds, in turn, to the first player's left.

Playing

On your turn, do all of the following things, in the order listed.

1. Look at each of the 3 spaces that lie ahead of E.T.
2. If you have a costume card and wish to play it, place it onto the card pile and put the costume over E.T. If you decide to play this card, you must play it before you roll the die. With his costume on, E.T. is safe from any danger he might land on, such as "Men With Flashlights," "Tracker Vans," "Gertie," and "Men in Spacesuits."
3. Say aloud the number you wish to roll (from 1 to 3), then roll the die and move E.T. counterclockwise the number of spaces indicated on the die.
4. Follow the directions for the space E.T. lands on, then remove the "ghost" costume if he has it on.
5. If the number you said aloud and the number you rolled don't match, end your turn. But if they match, you get another turn! Continue your turn as long as the numbers match.

During the Game, You Want to Do 3 Things

1. Try to land on spaces that will help you collect as many chips as you can.
2. Help E.T. build his transmitter by landing on the Transmitter Beacon spaces.
3. Move E.T. closer to his Spaceship Landing Site by moving towards the center of the rings.

The Spaces

Something will happen each time you move E.T. Refer to the following information for each space E.T. lands on.

Quick E.T., Hide!: E.T. hides among your stuffed animals so the adults can't find him. Collect the number of chips indicated. If the space says, "You roll and win," roll the die and collect that number of chips.

Men With Flashlights: Watch out... the adults are looking for E.T.! He's safe if he's wearing his costume. But if he's not, you lose 1 chip—and E.T. must fly. (See "How to Fly.")

Transmitter Beacon: Help E.T. build his homemade phone. Take one transmitter part and place it on the Spaceship Landing Site. Then collect 3 chips. (NOTE: You don't collect any chips if the transmitter has already been put together.)

"Ghost" Costume: Take one costume card, if there are any, to play on another turn. (NOTE: It's a good idea to try to land on these spaces when you can, as these spaces are only in the first three rings.)

Gertie: Will Gertie tell the adults about E.T.? He's safe if he's wearing his costume. But if he's not, you lose 2 chips—and E.T. must fly! (See "How to Fly.") The one who helps E.T. fly collects 2 chips.

Tracker Van: Look out, E.T.! The van can't track E.T. if he's wearing his costume. But if he's not, he has to fly. (See "How to Fly.") You—and only you—can help him fly. Lose 1 chip each time you fail to help him fly.

Playground: Here's a nice, safe place to move E.T.! Collect 2 chips.

Man in Spacesuit: This adult is looking for E.T.! He's safe if he's wearing his costume. But if he's not, roll the die and lose the number of chips indicated.

Arrow Space: E.T. can move up to the next ring when he lands on the bottom half of this space by exact count or by flying! Move him to the top half of the space, then collect the number of chips indicated. When E.T. lands on the top half of this space, collect the number of chips indicated.

You can move E.T. to another ring by flying him to the bottom half of the nearest arrow space on that ring and moving him up. Collect the number of chips indicated and end your turn. However, you must fly E.T. to the first arrow space on that ring. If it's the top half of an arrow space, you can't move E.T. to the next ring. However, you can land E.T. there and collect the number of chips indicated.

If you help E.T. fly from a Gertie space, you collect 2 chips—and can move E.T. to another space and do what it says.

How to Fly

When E.T. is in danger, he has to fly. Here's how you help him:

1. Close your eyes.

2. The player to your left places his or her "ELLIOTT/E.T." flying card to your forehead, with either the ELLIOTT or the E.T. side facing out for the rest of the players to see.

3. Try to guess which side of the card is facing out. a. If you're right, you've helped E.T. fly! Move him ahead to any space and follow the directions for that space. However, it must be the first space of a kind. For example, if you want to move to a Transmitter Beacon space, you must move to the first Transmitter Beacon space on that ring ahead of the space E.T. is on. (NOTE: It's a good idea to move to a space where you can collect the most chips, since you'll need them to win.) b. If you're wrong, you can't help E.T. fly and your turn ends. The player who placed the card to your forehead now gets a chance to guess. The player on his or her left uses the "ELLIOTT/E.T." flying card as before. Players take turns until someone guesses correctly. That player then moves E.T. to a new space and follows the directions on that space.

   NOTE: If E.T. lands on a Tracker Van space, you—and only you—must help E.T. fly. Continue guessing until you're correct. Lose 1 chip each time you guess incorrectly.

4. Game play continues with the player to the left of the one that guessed correctly.

Moving E.T.

As you move E.T. through the rings to the Spaceship Landing Site, here are a few things to remember:

• E.T. always moves counterclockwise.
• E.T. moves from one ring to the next by landing on the bottom half of an arrow space by exact count or by flying.
• E.T. can't move to the fourth ring until the Transmitter Beacon puzzle is completely assembled. Continue moving around the third ring until the last puzzle piece is in place.
• E.T. moves onto the Spaceship Landing Site only by exact count, never by flying.

Remember, the winner is the one with the most chips—not the one who moves E.T. onto the Spaceship Landing Site. So don't move too quickly from one ring to the other. The closer you move to the center, the fewer chances there are of collecting chips!

End of Game: The one who moves E.T. onto the Spaceship Landing Site collects 3 chips. The game is then over.

Winning: Count your chips at the end of the game. The one who has the most chips has helped E.T. the most—and is the winner! The winner lands the spaceship on the Landing Site and places E.T. on board for his journey home.

If there's a tie for the most chips, you've both helped E.T. the most—and you're both winners!