Last Minute
Last Minute Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Idea
Last Minute is a cooperative real-time game: within seconds you must play the right wire cards (wires for short) beneath the corresponding bomb cards (bombs for short) so that they count as cut. Once all wires of a bomb are cut, the bomb is defused.
Each game is a challenge consisting of 3 missions, which you must complete successfully in order to win.
The first 4 challenges are called "Trainings" and gradually introduce the bombs and restriction markers (restrictions for short). Once you have completed all Trainings, you can dare the "Operations", in which the bombs and restrictions are determined randomly.
Game Components
- 8 bomb cards
- 60 wire cards (numbered 00 to 59)
- 8 restriction markers
- 2 time markers
Setup
Choose 1 challenge and prepare its 1st mission (see pp. 9-14). If you play a Training, place the bombs and restrictions indicated in the play area. If you play an Operation, place the corresponding number of random bombs and restrictions. Put the remaining bombs and restrictions aside.
Shuffle all 60 wires face down. Deal wires to each person according to the wire limit for your number of players (see table). Do not look at the wires yet! Place the remaining wires as a face-down draw pile in the middle of the table.
Place the two time markers next to the bombs.
Set a timer (e.g. on a phone) according to the number of players (see table). Start it as soon as you are ready to begin playing.
| Players | Wire limit (per person) | Time (in seconds) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 120 |
| 2 | 6 | 100 |
| 3 | 5 | 80 |
| 4 | 4 | 60 |
Example: setup of the 1st mission of Training One for 4 players (illustrated).
Gameplay
As soon as you have started your timer, each person may look at their wires. Each wire has a shape and colour (red, yellow, blue or green) as well as a number between 0 and 59.
You now have the set number of seconds to play all required wires beneath each bomb. Each bomb shows which wires are required to defuse it.
Lay all wires you have played beneath the same bomb in a column, so that the colour and number of each played wire remain clearly visible. When all required wires lie beneath a bomb, it is defused.
Important: You must play the wires in descending order! It is not allowed to insert a wire between two wires already played (or between the first played wire and the bomb).
Example: You have played the wires 56 and 41 beneath a bomb. For the rest of the mission it is not allowed to play a wire with a value higher than 41 beneath this bomb.
You do not take turns; you all play simultaneously and may perform actions at any time. Your possible actions are:
- Play 1 wire beneath a bomb.
- Discard 1 or more wires from your hand.
- Draw new wires from the pile (at most up to the wire limit, see p. 5).
If the pile is empty, shuffle all discarded wires to form a new pile. Then keep playing, provided the time has not yet run out.
You may talk to each other but may not show each other your hand cards.
As soon as the time has run out, the mission is over and no further actions may be performed.
End of a Mission and End of the Game
Check whether you managed to play the required wires beneath every bomb.
If the required wires were played beneath every bomb, the mission is successful. If this was the last mission of the challenge, you have won the game. Otherwise, prepare the next mission of the challenge.
If you did not manage to play all the corresponding wires, or if you violated the descending order rule, the mission has failed. Discard 1 time marker and begin the same mission again by preparing it as given in the mission description.
If you fail a mission and have no time markers left, you lose the game.
Notes:
- If you accidentally played too many wires beneath a bomb, but all required wires were nevertheless played, you still won the mission.
- In some missions 1 or more restrictions are added. You must satisfy the conditions of all restrictions, otherwise the mission has failed.
- If you replay a challenge at which you have already failed, you may optionally increase the timer by 10 seconds per failed attempt.
The Challenges
Training One: Rookies (Missions 1-3)
Restrictions introduced in this challenge:
- You may only play wires with odd numbers beneath this bomb.
- You may only play wires with even numbers beneath this bomb (here 0 counts as an even number).
Training Two: High Stakes (Missions 4-6)
Restrictions introduced in this challenge:
- You must defuse this bomb first, before you may play wires beneath other bombs.
- You may only play wires beneath this bomb after you have defused all other bombs.
Training Three: Looming Danger (Missions 7-9)
Restrictions introduced in this challenge:
- You must play wires beneath this bomb in the order in which they are pictured on the bomb, either from left to right or from right to left. You must still observe the descending order rule.
- The wires played beneath this bomb may not begin with the same tens digit (for example, if the first wire played has the number 48, the next wire must have the number 39 or less).
Training Four: Explosive Missions (Missions 10-12)
Restrictions introduced in this challenge:
- You must play your wires beneath this bomb in ascending order instead of the usual descending order.
- You may only play wires with a value of 29 or less beneath this bomb.
Operation One: High Risk (Missions A-C)
Mission A uses 3 random bombs, Mission B 4 and Mission C 5.
Prepare each mission by drawing the corresponding number of random bombs and, for each of them, 1 random restriction. As a reminder: if you fail and still have a time marker left, discard a marker and try to defuse the same bombs with the same restrictions again.
Operation Two: Ultimate Risk
Setup as for Operation One, except that you begin with Mission B (4 random bombs + 4 random restrictions) and play up to Mission D (6 random bombs + 6 random restrictions).
Operation Three: Madness
Setup as for Operation Two, except that you begin with Mission C (5 random bombs + 5 random restrictions) and play up to Mission E (7 random bombs + 7 random restrictions).
Operation Four: Inferno
Setup as for Operation Three, except that you begin with Mission D (6 random bombs + 6 random restrictions) and play up to Mission F (8 random bombs + 8 random restrictions).
Player Aid
- You may only play wires with odd numbers beneath this bomb.
- You may only play wires with even numbers beneath this bomb.
- You must defuse this bomb first, before you may play wires beneath other bombs.
- You may only play wires beneath this bomb after you have defused all other bombs.
- You must play wires beneath this bomb in the order in which they are pictured on the bomb, either from left to right or from right to left.
- The wires played beneath this bomb may not begin with the same tens digit.
- You must play your wires beneath this bomb in ascending order.
- You may only play wires with a value of 29 or less beneath this bomb.