Fire! Fire! Fire Fighters!
Fire! Fire! Fire Fighters! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
4 fire trucks, 4 beacons, 4 fire fighting crews (each with 5 fire fighters), 10 slow burner cards, 16 site cards, 10 operation cards, 1 set of game instructions
(Figure labels: firefighting crew, beacon, fire truck.)
Components
Slow burner cards: These show the two fire fighters who were too late jumping into their uniforms, so they missed the operation.
Operation cards: These cards show you how to set up your site cards. They are your fire fighter's GPS, so to speak.
(Legend: a card image marked "= beginner" and a card image marked "= advanced".)
Site cards: Use these cards to set up your area of operations.
- The fire station: This is your starting point, where fire fighters wait until they are needed, including the 'slow burner' fire fighters.
- The fire: Bill Butcher's grill is on fire. You must hurry there and put out the fire.
- The hydrant: Fire hydrants are placed all over the city. Fire fighters attach their hoses to the hydrants to supply the water for extinguishing fires. Without hydrants, your fire truck would not have water!
Driving the fire truck
The fire truck races best over a smooth surface, so play either on a table or on a similarly polished surface. Place the beacon in the round hole in the fire truck. You are now ready to fight fires! Take a test drive before the game begins by placing one finger on the beacon and moving the fire truck over the playing surface.
Careful! Only one finger may touch the fire truck! All other fingers or the other hand may not.
Setting up the game
Each player takes 1 fire truck, 1 beacon and 1 firefighting crew with 5 different fire fighters, 1 hydrant, 1 fire station, and 1 fire.
Mix the slow burner cards and lay them face down in the center of the playing area in four piles. The first pile has four cards, the second pile has three, the third has two and the fourth has one card.
Sort the operation cards with the professional side up and beginner side down. Mix them and place them in one stack next to the line of slow burner cards.
Playing the game
Everyone plays at the same time. The player who most recently heard a fire siren is the Fire Chief and opens each new round by turning over the top operation card for all players.
Each of the four rounds has two phases, the set up phase and the operational phase.
What is the set up phase?
The operation card shows you how to set up your site cards, placing them in the same order as shown on the card. Place the 5 fire fighter tiles on the fire station card.
When all site cards are properly ordered, the Fire Chief cries out "Fire!" and turns over a slow burner card. The operation begins for all players.
How does an operation work?
The slow burner card shows which 2 fire fighters were too late. These two may not get on the fire truck. Place the other 3 fire fighters on the fire truck and race off (see Driving the fire truck)!
Operation rules:
- You can only put out the fire when the whole crew, i.e. all three tiles arrives at the fire! If someone gets lost along the way, stop and pick them up before your drive further.
- The fire truck must come to a halt directly between the fire and the hydrant, in order to put out the fire. The fire truck must not touch both site cards, but must be next to them.
(Diagram: a check mark marks a correct placement, with the fire truck positioned between the fire and the hydrant next to the site cards; a cross marks a placement where the fire truck touches both site cards.)
- Of course, you must have the right crew on the fire truck. Slow burners may not be on the fire truck.
- Site cards may not be shifted during an operation! Slightly bumping them is permitted.
Fire's out!
The player arriving at the fire with the entire crew on board slaps the face-up slow burner card and calls "Fire's out!" All other players immediately stop their fire trucks and make sure the fire was correctly extinguished. When all the rules have been followed, the player gets the slow burner card as a reward.
All players return to the fire station with their fire trucks and place the firefighting crew back on the station. The player who put out the last fire is the new Fire Chief and turns over the next slow burner card.
Attention!
- When more than one player slaps the slow burner card and their hands are on top of one another, the first player's (whose hand is at the bottom) operation is checked. If this player has made a mistake, then the player with the next lowest hand is checked, and so on.
- A player who called "Fire's out" but has made a mistake is eliminated until the next slow burner card is turned over. The eliminated player calls "Fire!" again and the game is continued where it left off until another player calls "Fire's out!"
End of the round
When one of the four stacks of slow burner cards is used up, the round is ended. The Fire Chief draws a new operation card and the next round begins with a new set up phase. Slow burner cards are now taken from the next stack.
End of the game
The game is over when a player wins the last slow burner card. Now, each player lays his or her slow burner cards end-to-end. The player with the longest row wins the game and is the best fire fighter in the entire city!
Variation ideas
Are you ready for even more excitement? Try the following variations:
- Stack your firefighting crew on top of one another. Only when the stacked crew arrives at the fire, does your effort to put out the fire count.
- Do you think the race to the fire is too easy? Then use building blocks or other toys to create a fire fighter's steeplechase!
Advanced version for Master Fire Chiefs
The game is played according to the basic rules, with the following alterations:
Setting up the game
- Sort the operation cards with the bright side up and dark down. Mix them and place them in one stack next to the line of slow burner cards.
- Each player takes 1 additional site card with a hydrant.
Playing the game
- The Master Fire Chief turns over an advanced operation card.
- The first player to arrive at the fire, stopping between both hydrants and the fire, and has the entire crew on the truck, and has followed all operational rules and has called out "Fire's out!" wins the slow burner card.
End of the game
The game is over when all slow burner cards have been used.