Gizmos Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• COMPONENTS
  • 112 Gizmo Cards
• SETUP
  • PLAYER DASHBOARD
  • GIZMO CARD
  • THE PLAYER TURN
    • FILE
    • PICK
    • BUILD
    • RESEARCH
  • TRIGGERING GIZMO EFFECTS
  • CHAIN REACTIONS
  • END OF THE GAME
• GIZMOS – LIST OF EFFECTS
  • TYPES OF ENERGY
  • FILE TRIGGERS
  • PICK TRIGGERS
  • BUILD TRIGGERS
  • EFFECTS
  • GENERIC GIZMOS
  • CONVERTERS
  • UPGRADES
    • INCREASERS
    • NEGATORS
    • DISCOUNTS
    • EXTRA AWARDS

COMPONENTS

112 Gizmo Cards

• 4 Starting Gizmo Cards
• 36 Level 1 Cards
• 36 Level 2 Cards
• 36 Level 3 Cards

1 Energy Dispenser 1 Rules Leaflet 1 List of Effects 1 Dispenser Assembly Guide

52 Energy Spheres 13 each of Heat (Red), Electric (Yellow), Atomic (Blue), and Battery (Black).

4 Energy Storage Rings

4 Player Dashboards (1 First Player Dashboard)

20 Victory Point Tokens

• 14 tokens worth 1 Victory Point and
• 6 tokens worth 5 Victory Points

SETUP

1. Take a number of Player Dashboards equal to the number of players (the First Player Dashboard must be included). Shuffle them all and randomly give 1 to each player. The player with the First Player Dashboard will be the First Player.

2. Each player takes an Energy Storage Ring and their Player Dashboard and places them in front of them.

3. Each player takes a Starting Gizmo Card and places it on their Player Dashboard below the File symbol. The area below the Player Dashboard is the Active Gizmo Area.

4. Divide the cards into Level Decks (as indicated on the back of the cards) and shuffle each deck separately. Randomly remove 20 cards from the Level 3 Deck and return them to the box. Only 16 are used in each game.

5. Place all three Level Decks in the center of the table next to each other, forming 3 rows. Draw Gizmo cards from each deck according to their Level as follows:

   • 4 cards for Level 1
   • 3 cards for Level 2
   • 2 cards for Level 3

Place each Gizmo Card faceup in the row of the corresponding deck. This will be the Display Area. There will be a total of 9 Gizmo Cards forming a triangle with Level 1 at the bottom.

6. Place the Victory Point Tokens near the Gizmo Cards.

7. Assemble the Energy Dispenser (see the Dispenser Assembly Guide) and place it within reach of all players. Place all 52 Energy Spheres inside it (13 of each color). 6 random Energy Spheres will slide out to form the Energy Row.

Note: If the Energy Spheres aren’t falling into the Energy Row, shuffle them inside the dispenser until they do!

PLAYER DASHBOARD

1. This indicates your initial stats (Storage Limit , File Limit , and Research Amount ).
2. This explains what Converter Gizmos do.
3. These are the 4 different actions you can take, along with their explanations.
4. These areas below the Player Dashboard are used to keep all Active Gizmos. They are arranged in columns according to their Gizmo Type (see below).
5. This area on the side of the Player Dashboard is the Archive, used to hold Gizmos that have been Filed.

GIZMO CARD

Gizmo Type: The type of effect the Gizmo provides and where to place it below the Player Dashboard.

Gizmo Effect: The effect of the Gizmo, including the bonuses it provides and, in some cases, the condition for triggering the effect. (Check the List of Effects for details.)

Victory Points: The amount of Victory Points the Gizmo is worth at the end of the game.

Energy Type: The color of Energy that must be spent to Build this Gizmo.

Gizmo Cost: The quantity of Energy of the indicated Type that must be spent to Build this Gizmo.

THE PLAYER TURN

The First Player takes the first turn, then play moves clockwise. On your turn, you must perform 1 of the following actions:

• File: File 1 Gizmo from the Display Area.
• Pick: Pick 1 Energy of your choice from the Energy Row.
• Build: Build 1 Gizmo from the Display Area or from your Archive.
• Research: Draw Gizmo cards from 1 of the facedown Level Decks and choose 1 to File or Build.

FILE

Choose 1 faceup Gizmo card from any row in the Display Area and place it in your Archive, next to your Player Dashboard.

When you take a Gizmo from the Display Area, immediately draw a new Gizmo card from the same Level Deck and place it in the empty slot. After you draw this new Gizmo, your File Action is over.

Your Archive has a limit to how many Gizmos it can hold, as indicated in your Player Dashboard’s Upgrades Area. Each player starts the game with a File Limit of 1, but some Upgrade Gizmos may increase that number. Your Archive can never hold more Gizmos than your File Limit, so if you are at your limit, you cannot take a File Action.

PICK

Choose 1 Energy from the 6 available in the Energy Row and add it to your Energy Storage Ring.

Your Energy Storage Ring has a limited amount of Energy it can hold, as indicated in your Player Dashboard’s Upgrades Area. Each player starts the game with a Storage Limit of 5, but some Upgrade Gizmos may increase that number.

IMPORTANT: Some abilities may let you draw a random Energy. This is not a Pick Action. In those cases, you don’t take from the Energy Row. Instead, you draw blindly from the top of the Dispenser.

All Energy taken must go directly to your Energy Storage Ring. Your Ring can never hold more Energy than your Energy Storage Limit, so if you are at your limit, you cannot take any more Energy.

BUILD

Choose 1 faceup Gizmo card from the Display Area OR from your Archive. Spend Energy from your Energy Storage Ring matching the Gizmo’s Energy Type and Cost. (To spend Energy, just place them back inside the Energy Dispenser.)

Remember to always replenish the Display Area when you Build a Gizmo from there. After replenishing, your Build action is over.

Place the Gizmo below your Player Dashboard in the area corresponding to its Gizmo Type. If you have multiple Gizmo cards under the same symbol, stack them so you can see all of their effects.

CONVERTERS: When performing a Build Action, you may be able to use your active Converter Gizmos to convert the Energy you have into the Energy you need. Learn all about Converters in the List of Effects.

RESEARCH

Choose any facedown Level Deck (1, 2, or 3) and draw a number of cards equal to your Research Amount. You may not draw from more than 1 Level Deck at a time. Each player starts the game with a Research Amount of 3, but some Upgrade Gizmos may increase that number.

If there are fewer cards in the chosen Level Deck than your Research Amount, draw only the number of cards available.

After you draw the cards, choose 1 of them and either Build it (if you have enough Energy) or File it (if you have space in your Archive). Or, you can choose to do neither.

Return the remaining cards facedown to the bottom of the corresponding Level Deck, in the order of your choosing. You may return all drawn cards to the bottom if you wish, or if you can’t File or Build any of them.

Note: The File or Build Action you perform during a Research Action also counts to trigger active Gizmos (see Triggering Gizmo Effects below).

TRIGGERING GIZMO EFFECTS

While taking 1 of the 4 available actions is the basis of the game, the real core of it (and the key to victory) is triggering your Gizmos’ effects in order to accomplish much more on your turn than you would otherwise. Every Gizmo you Build and place below your Player Dashboard has an Effect that is activated by a specific Trigger (learn all about these in the List of Effects).

Whenever you perform an action, make sure to check all of the Gizmos you have under that action to see which ones may be triggered. After the triggering action is complete, you may activate the Effects of any triggered Gizmos, in any order you wish. Just keep in mind that each Gizmo may only be used once per turn! You may use the Effect of a Gizmo on the same turn it is built, however, it cannot be triggered by the same action that Built it.

CHAIN REACTIONS

The secret of master inventors is building their Gizmos in a way that will cause chain reactions, with one Gizmo triggering another to generate the most benefits! The Effect of one Gizmo may be a different action than the one originally performed. So, when you then perform that secondary action, it may trigger other Gizmos, and so on. Whenever you perform an action, whether it’s your one action for that turn or an action triggered by a Gizmo Effect, always check the Gizmos under that action to see if any of them are triggered.

There is no limit to the number of Gizmos that may be activated, but always remember that each Gizmo can only be used once per turn. The order in which each Gizmo’s effect is executed is up to the player, regardless of the order in which the actions that triggered those effects occurred. A Gizmo built at the beginning of a chain reaction may end up being activated later in that chain reaction, as long as it’s not triggered by the action that Built it. Sometimes finding the optimal order to execute actions and effects can yield greater results. See a detailed example of a chain reaction in the List of Effects.

END OF THE GAME

The end of the game is triggered when a player builds their 4th Level 3 Gizmo or their 16th Gizmo total (including their Starting Gizmo). Once that happens, play continues until the player to the right of the First Player completes their turn. That is, until all players have had an equal number of turns in the game. If the player who triggered the end of the game is the player to the right of the First Player, then the game ends when they complete their turn.

Each player then calculates their score by adding the Victory Points of all their Gizmos, plus any Victory Point Tokens they have acquired. The player with the most Victory Points wins!

In case of a tie, the tied player with the most Gizmos in their Active Gizmo Area wins. If it’s still tied, the tied player with the most Energy left in their Energy Storage Ring wins. If it’s still tied, the tied player furthest from the First Player, going clockwise, wins.

GIZMOS – LIST OF EFFECTS

TYPES OF ENERGY

• Battery (Black)
• Atomic (Blue)
• Heat (Red)
• Electric (Yellow)

FILE TRIGGERS

File effects are triggered every time you perform a File Action. After the action is performed, you may gain a benefit.

This type of effect triggers when you perform a File Action.

PICK TRIGGERS

Pick effects are triggered every time you perform a Pick Action meeting specific requirements. After the action is performed, you may gain a benefit.

• This type of effect triggers when you Pick the specified type of Energy from the Energy Row.

• This type of effect triggers when you Pick 1 of the 2 specified types of Energy from the Energy Row. The effect can only be used once, even if you Pick both types in the same turn.

Note: Remember that drawing random Energy from the top of the Dispenser does not count for Pick triggers!

BUILD TRIGGERS

Build effects are triggered every time you perform a Build Action meeting specific requirements. After the action is performed, you may gain a benefit.

• This type of effect triggers when you Build a Gizmo of the specified type.

• This type of effect triggers when you Build a Gizmo of 1 of the 2 specified types. The effect can only be used once, even if you Build both types in the same turn.

• This type of effect triggers when you Build a Gizmo from your Archive.

• This type of effect triggers when you build a Level 2 Gizmo.

EFFECTS

Possible effects that may be triggered by File, Pick, or Build Actions.

• Draw 1 random Energy from the top of the Dispenser.

• Draw 3 random Energy, one at a time, from the top of the Dispenser.

Note: A player cannot draw a random Energy if the amount of Energy in their Energy Storage Ring is equal to their Storage Limit.

GENERIC GIZMOS

Generic Gizmos may be built by spending any combination of any type of Energy . When built, Generic Gizmos count as a Gizmo of all types for triggering Build Effects.

• Perform a Pick Action.
• Perform 2 Pick Actions, one at a time.
• Gain 1 Victory Point.
• Gain 2 Victory Points.
• Perform a Build
• Action to Build a Level 1 Gizmo without paying its cost.
• Perform a File Action.
• Perform a Research Action.

CONVERTERS

Converter effects are used to treat Energy as a different type or quantity when spending them to Build a Gizmo. Those effects can be combined and used in any order you want, but each Gizmo can only be activated once per turn.

• When building a Gizmo, you may treat 1 Energy of the specified type as 1 Energy of any type you choose.

• When building a Gizmo, you may treat 1 Energy of any type as 1 Energy of any type you choose.

• When building a Gizmo, you may treat 1 Energy of the specified type as 2 Energy of that type.

Some converter Gizmos are so advanced that they will give you the possibility of performing up to 2 effects.

• When building a Gizmo, you may treat 1 or 2 Energy of the specified type as that same number of Energy of any type you choose.
• When building a Gizmo, for each specified type, you may treat 1 Energy as 2 Energy of that same type.

UPGRADES

There are 4 kinds of Upgrades:

INCREASERS

Increases Energy Storage Limit, File Limit, and/or Research Amount.

• Permanently increase your Energy Storage Limit by the specified number.
• Permanently increase your File Limit by the specified number.
• Permanently increase your Research Amount by the specified number.

NEGATORS

Invalidates a certain action.

• You can’t perform a File Action for the rest of the game.
• You can’t perform a Research Action for the rest of the game.

DISCOUNTS

Provides a discount to build certain Gizmos.

• You may spend 1 less Energy when building Level 2 Gizmos.
• You may spend 1 less Energy when building Gizmos from the Archive.
• You may spend 1 less Energy when building Gizmos directly from a Research Action.

EXTRA AWARDS

Worth a variable amount of Victory Points at the end of the game.

• This Gizmo is worth a number of Victory Points equal to the number of Energy Spheres in your Energy Storage Ring.

• This Gizmo is worth a number of Victory Points equal to the sum of Victory Points you have in tokens.