Loco Motive
Loco Motive Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preparation
The game is played with teams of 2 players: one will play the Japanese and its partner will play the tourist.
The Japanese sits on the same side of the table and the tourists sits opposite to their partners.
Separate the cards:
- Compartment – all cards
- Indications - Place a card for each team
- Tourist - of each color in front of each player tourist (6 cards by players)
The "Indications" cards are all in double. Lay out an "indications" card in front of each player by paying attention well to give 2 cards identical to the players of the same team. Each "Tourist" card is same color as an indication.
Put the "9-place Compartment" cards in the box, they will ONLY be used in the variant. Mix the "6-place Compartment" cards and make a face-down draw deck.
One of the tourist player draw a "6-place Compartment" card and all other tourist players lay out in front of them their 6 "Tourist" cards following the diagram on the drawn card: it is the starting position. This card is then discarded face-down.
The Japanese draws a second "6-place Compartment" card and put it on the plastic base so that it is visible for the Japanese but is hidden from the tourist players. This is the final position!
Game Play
As soon as one of the players gives the signal of the departure, the Japanese all must at the same time communicate the final position of the 6 "Tourist" cards to their partner.
But they only have 3 orders:
- Great Vertical Exchange — Move simultaneously your arms to and fro to exchange 2 nonadjacent tourist cards in the same column.
- Small Vertical Exchange — Move alternatively your arms to and fro to exchange 2 adjacent tourists in the same column.
- Horizontal Exchange — Cross and uncross your arms to exchange 2 adjacent tourists in a line.
The Japanese player must always quote an indication corresponding to the color of a "Tourist" card before giving an order. Their partner can thus know which card move.
The name in black on the "Indication" cards (Tukosishemu) is actually the 4th order: Cancellation. A Japanese player pronounces this black word to undo the last movement of his partner.
As soon as a team succeeds in placing their 6 "Tourist" cards in final position, the Japanese player shouts "Tokyo Train". The "6-place Compartment" card of the starting position is gained provided the opponents validate the accuracy of the combination. The card represents one victory point gained by the team.
If there is an error, the "6-place Compartment" card is gained by the team that notices the error.
A New Round
A new round can then start:
- The final position becomes the starting position for the team.
- A new "6-place Compartment" card is drawn for the new final position.
- One of the players gives announces it departure.
Attention: During the exchanges between the two members of the same team, it is restricted to:
- point a card with finger;
- name a color;
- use head to signal approval or disapproval.
Game End
After 3 rounds of play, the players exchange their role with their partner for 4 additional rounds. At the end of the 7th round, the team with the most victory points is the winner.
Variant 1 – Inter-team Play
For inter-team dialogues even less obvious, you can decide that players need not sit opposite to their teammates.
Variant 2 – "9-place Compartment"
For 4 experienced players, the tourists travel in groups of 9! Use the "9-place Compartment" cards instead of the usual "6-place Compartment" cards.
At the beginning of a round, after having placed a "9-place Compartment" card on its support (in any direction), the Japanese players notes which are the 3 colors present in double. Then, they give to their partners the 3 additional "Tourist" cards whom they will have to use for this round.
Each tourist player thus has 3 cards in double. To put team in starting position, each tourist player randomly places his/her 9 "Tourist" cards to form a square of 3x3 spaces.
Variant 3 – Alternate Communication Schemes
Once familiarized with the game, we suggest that you should test the following alternatives which are new means of communicating with your partner, instead of only moving the arms. Of course, this list is not exhaustive. You can create your own communication schemes!
| Method | Great Vertical Exchange | Small Vertical Exchange | Horizontal Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|
| Striking hands | 3 strikes | 2 strikes | 1 strike |
| Face | Blink your eyes | Sticking out your tongue | Smile |
| Rotation | 3 times | 2 times | 1 time |
| Pronunciation in Japanese | "Shinkansen" | "Sushi" | "Banzaï" |
| Repeating the "Indication" | Three times moreover | Two times moreover | One time moreover |
| Modulating voice | To quote the indication of the chart to be moved of an acute voice | To quote the indication of the chart normally to be moved | To quote the indication of the chart to be moved of a serious voice |
| Modulating tone | To howl the indication of the chart to be moved | To normally quote of the chart to move | To whisper the indication of the chart to be moved |