Grease Monkey Garage
Grease Monkey Garage Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
1 - 5 Players | 30 - 45 Minutes | Ages 8+
Game Components
- 24 Vehicle Cards
- 8 Bonus Cards
- 8 Shop Cards
- 5 Stash Cards (black, red, green, purple, yellow)
- 2 Employee-of-the-Month Cards
- 56 Resource Tokens (parts, tires, oil, tools)
- 3 Mechanics (blue)
- 10 Specialists (black, red, green, purple, yellow)
Setting Up the Game
- Lay out the 8 shop cards to form a 4x2 grid. The numbers at the bottom of the cards indicate where they should go in the grid.
- Shuffle the 24 vehicle cards face down to form a deck and place the deck above the shop cards. Draw a number of vehicle cards equal to the number of players +1 and place them face up in a row next to the deck.
- There are 4 shop cards, which correspond to the 4 types of resources (parts, tires, oil, tools). Form a supply for each type of resource next to the corresponding shop card.
- 2 players → use 8 resources of each type
- 3 players → use 10 resources of each type
- 4 players → use 12 resources of each type
- 5 players → use 14 resources of each type
- Each player chooses a color and takes the stash card and 2 specialists of that color, putting one of their specialists on the designated slot on their stash card and the other on the upper rightmost shop card.
- Place 1 mechanic on each of the 3 remaining shop cards in the corners of the grid.
- Shuffle the 8 bonus cards and deal 1 to each player, face down. (Each player should keep their bonus card hidden from their opponents.) Return the remaining bonus cards to the box without revealing them.
- Set the employee-of-the-month card aside for now. (It's used only at the end of the game.)
- The start player is whoever has most recently been to an auto repair shop.
How to Play
Players take turns in clockwise order, beginning with the start player.
On your turn, you must move each mechanic, 1 at a time, to an adjacent shop card and carry out the corresponding action, if possible (see Shop Cards - Actions Reference). You can move the mechanics in any order.
Mechanics can only be moved orthogonally; no diagonal movement is allowed. Multiple mechanics can occupy the same shop card. After moving a mechanic, lay it down as a reminder that you've already moved that mechanic on this turn.
You may also move each of your specialists in the same way but are not required to do so. At the end of your turn, stand all mechanics (and your specialists) back up.
Gaining Resources
Whenever you gain a resource, place it in your stash (i.e., on or below your stash card). If the resource is not available in the supply, you can instead take the resource directly from another player's stash. However, to do so, you MUST replace that resource with 1 from your stash. If you do not have any resources to replace the resource you took, you may take the resource from another player's stash without replacing it.
Example: Tessa moves a mechanic to the Tools card. There are no more tool resources available, so Tessa takes 1 tool resource from Amanda's stash instead, replacing it with 1 tire resource.
Each player is limited to having a maximum of 9 resources (or 7 resources in a 5-player game) at a time. You can go over the limit during your turn, but must return any resources over the maximum back to their corresponding supply piles at the end of your turn.
Repairing Vehicles
Each vehicle card indicates the type and number of resources required to repair that vehicle, as well as a (★) value. If you spend the required resources, you can repair a vehicle you are working on. To do so, move the card from the left side to the right side of your stash card; you have just earned reputation equal to its (★) value.
Hiring Specialists
Each player has access to 2 specialists—one in play and another available for hire (on the player's stash card). You may hire an additional specialist if you have earned enough reputation by repairing vehicle cards. Your specialist is available to you once you have earned 9 ★ or more.
Hiring your specialist will deduct 2 ★ from your final score at the end of the game. However, your specialist also grants the ability to reserve an additional vehicle card to hold to the left of your stash card.
Example: Tessa has hired her specialist. Therefore, she can now be working on 2 vehicle cards at once.
Bonus Cards
Each bonus card shows 2 vehicle types. At the end of the game, you earn 1 bonus ★ for each vehicle card you've repaired that matches either of the types shown.
Example: Tessa's bonus card shows both a hot rod and a truck. She repaired 3 hot rods and 1 truck during the game. At the end of the game, Tessa earns 4 bonus ★.
Game End
When the last card is drawn from the vehicle deck or a player has fixed his 6th vehicle, the end of the game is triggered. When this occurs, every player (including the player who triggered the end of the game) takes 1 last turn. When the game has ended, players earn reputation bonuses and add up their scores.
Reputation Bonuses
- +1 ★ for every 3 resources left in your stash
- +1 ★ for every vehicle repaired that matches your bonus card
- -2 ★ for each vehicle you took but did not repair
- -2 ★ if you hired your second specialist
The player with the highest total reputation is the winner! The winner becomes the Employee of the Month and writes their name on the employee-of-the-month card.
Tiebreakers
- In case of a tie, the tied player with the fewest vehicles to the left of their stash card wins.
- If there is still a tie, the tied player who hired their 2nd specialist wins.
- If there is still a tie, the tied player with more resources left in their stash wins.
- If there is still a tie, tied players take turns naming local auto repair shops until all but 1 of them can no longer name any.
Solo Mode - Setup
- Set up the shop cards and resources as you normally would for a 5-player game.
- Shuffle the 24 vehicle cards face down to form a deck and place the deck above the shop cards. Draw 4 vehicle cards from the deck and place them in a face-up row next to the deck.
- Choose a color and take the stash card and 2 specialists of that color, putting one of the specialists on the designated slot on the stash card and the other on the upper rightmost shop card.
- Deal yourself 1 bonus card at random, placing it face up in front of you.
- Return the rest of the stash cards, specialists, and bonus cards to the box; they are not used in the solo mode.
Solo Mode - How to Play
In solo mode, the order of play is as follows:
- Take your turn
- Move all mechanics clockwise
- Discard 2 vehicle cards
- Draw 2 new vehicle cards
Take your turns as you would in a multiplayer game (see How to Play).
Note: When you take a vehicle card as an action, slide the remaining vehicle cards away from the deck, then draw 1 vehicle card and add it to the empty slot in the row, closest to the deck.
At the end of each turn, after you have completed moving mechanics and taking actions, you must move each mechanic 1 card clockwise around the grid. As you move each mechanic, stand them back up. Do not take the actions of the shop cards at this time.
Note: Your specialists do not move clockwise at the end of each turn; only the 3 mechanics move in this way.
After moving mechanics clockwise, you must discard the 2 vehicle cards in the row that are furthest away from the deck, returning them to the box. Then, slide the remaining vehicle cards away from the deck and draw 2 new vehicle cards, adding them to the empty slots in the row, closest to the deck.
Solo Mode - Game End
When the last card is drawn from the vehicle deck, the end of the game is triggered. When this occurs, take 1 final turn. Then tally up your score. Be sure to write down your score so you can aim to better it in future plays!
Advanced Game Rules
After you have played the base game, you can vary the experience by using any combination of the following advanced rules:
- New Shop (adds variety to the board): Shuffle and lay out the shop cards randomly, creating a 4x2 grid.
- Bonus Draft (adds more choices): During setup, the start player deals a pile of bonus cards equal to the number of players +1. In reverse player order (i.e., start player chooses last), each player looks at the bonus cards and chooses 1 to keep. Return the lone leftover bonus card to the box, face down.
- Pack Rat (adds new strategy): There is no limit to the number of resources a player can have in their stash.
- Take That, Mechanic! (add more interaction): When a player would take a resource from another player's stash because it's not available in the supply, they do not have to replace it with another resource.
Shop Cards - Actions Reference
- Oil - Gain 1 oil resource.
- Parts - Gain 2 parts resources.
- Tires - Gain 2 tire resources.
- Tools - Gain 1 tool resource.
- Checklist - Take 1 vehicle from the face-up row and place it to the left of your stash card. Then, immediately refill the row with a new card drawn from the vehicle deck. (You can normally have only 1 unrepaired vehicle at a time. However, hiring an additional specialist allows you to have 1 additional unrepaired vehicle.)
- Front Desk - Repair 1 vehicle or gain any 1 resource.
- Shop Office - Repair 1 vehicle or hire 1 specialist. When you hire, lay the newly hired specialist down on the Shop Office; that specialist cannot be used until your next turn.
- Workbench - Spend any 1 resource, then gain any 1 other resource. May be used multiple times.