Lost in Time
Lost in Time Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Ojective of the Game
In 'Lost in Time' each of the players will have to build their own timeline. Once a player has added his 8th card to his timeline the game round is completed after which the game ends. The player that has traveled the closest to the year 2031 when the game ends is the winner. The player that traveled beyond the year 2031 will have lost the game!
2. The Cards
For the basic version the 12 item cards are NOT used. This leaves the players with 76 cards:
52 x Event cards of which:
- 8 x Antiquity (with a yellow vortex)
- 8 x Middle Ages (with a red vortex)
- 10 x Renaissance (with a purple vortex)
- 11 x Enlightenment (with an orange vortex)
- 15 x Modern Times (with a blue vortex)
11 x VIP cards (grey vortex and green text)
12 x Disaster cards (grey vortex and red text)
1 x Chronos card (a red arrow and a blue arrow)
3. Set-up
The historian amongst the players will be the 'dealer' in the first game round. He receives the Chronos card and places it in front of him with the blue arrow visible to all players.
The dealer then shuffles the cards and then deals all the players 5 cards. The remainder of the cards are placed in the middle of the table - this is the draw pile. The player left of the dealer will be allowed to start the game round.
4. Game Sequence
In a turn, a player will be allowed to perform ONE of the following actions:
Skip a turn
OR
Play a VIP card or Disaster card on an opponent
OR
Discard a maximum of two cards onto the discard pile
Once a player has completed one of the actions above, he MUST play a card on his timeline. This is time travelling in Lost in Time.
When a player has travelled in time, the next player will be allowed to perform an action and subsequently place a card on his timeline. Once all the players have done the same the game round ends.
At the start of a new game round, the player left of the dealer receives the Chronos card and becomes the new dealer. After determining the direction of play by turning the Chronos card with the correct side up (see 6: The direction of play), he deals each player a number of cards until their hands are replenished to 5 cards.
5. Traveling in Time
Each game round, a player must place one card on his own timeline. The direction of play is always in the direction as shown by the arrow on the Chronos card.
BEWARE! A player is NEVER allowed to place cards in between two cards on his timeline. He must always place a card on the extreme left or extreme right of his timeline.
6. The Direction of Play: Future or Past?
The direction in which all players must build their timeline each turn, is always determined by the top card on the discard pile at the end of the previous game round.
If the top card had a blue arrow, then this means that in the current round all players will have to travel to the future - a younger card must be placed on the right side of the timeline.
If the top card had a red arrow, then this means that in the current round all players will have to travel to the past - an older card must be placed on the left side of the timeline.
Red arrow = to the past. Blue arrow = to the future.
Each game round the dealer:
- must turn the Chronos card on its correct side (blue or red arrow) thereby revealing the direction of play for the coming game round and this before the replenishing of the cards...
- must make sure that all players travel in the right direction at the end of their turn...
- is the last player to perform his actions and therefore is able to determine the direction of play for the next game round...
7. VIP Cards & Disaster Cards
These special cards offer the players two possibilities if they get them in their hands:
Play them on an opponent
- VIP card: blindly steal one card out of his hand!
- Disaster card: the opponent will have to skip a turn!
Place on your own timeline
- VIP card: offers +10 year bonus at the end of the game.
- Disaster card: offers +20 year bonus at the end of the game.
(see 9: End of game)
VIP cards and Disaster cards that have been played on an opponent do not end up on their timeline but are placed on a separate discard pile on the side of the play area.
8. Unable to Time Travel
When a player is unable to play a card on his timeline because he is not in possession of a card corresponding to the current direction of play, then he runs the risk of losing a card on his timeline. According to the current direction of play, the outer card on his timeline is then turned 90°. If the player is also unable to play a card in the next game round, he will lose the card that was turned 90° in the previous round!
Example: The player is unable to travel to the future! His youngest card - 1989 - is turned 90°. If he is unable to play a card on his timeline again in the next game round - no matter which direction - then the event card 1989 will be removed from his timeline...
BEWARE! In his turn, a player may not discard cards in order to intentionally prevent himself from traveling in time in that same round. This is considered cheating!
If the draw pile expires during the game, then the cards of the discard pile, the played VIP cards and disaster cards are shuffled together to form a brand new draw pile!
The 'Payment Chip' Variant
If the players want more competition, they can opt to play the 'payment chip' variant. In this variant every 'chip' on a timeline will be worth an extra +3 year bonus at the end of the game.
9. End of Game & Determining the Winner
The last game round is played the moment that a player has placed his 8th card on his timeline.
The winner of Lost in Time is the player who has been able to build his timeline so as to end up the closest to - or on - the year 2031.
This is determined by the youngest card on the players timeline. To the date on this card, the bonus years of any potential VIP cards or Disaster cards on the timeline are added in order to get a grand total.
Example: A player ends in the year 2009. His last and youngest card on his timeline is 1989. Because he also has a disaster card on his timeline - Eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 - 20 years are added to his total. Another player ends in the year 2041. His last and youngest card on his timeline is 2001. Because this is also a disaster card, 20 years are added. But the player also has a 2nd disaster card on his timeline: Battle of the Somme in 1916! Therefore another 20 years are added for a second time. The player has traveled beyond 2031 and therefore has lost the game!
If more players end up on the same date at the end of the game, then the player with the longest timeline is the winner.
If this still doesn't provide a winner, then the number of 'payment chips' on the timelines are compared. The player with the most 'payment chips' wins Lost in Time!