Micro Robots
Micro Robots Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 1 transparent robot
- 1 colour die
- 1 number die
- 4 gameboard sections (black on the front, copper-coloured on the back)
- 1 transparent starting chip
- 25 transparent victory point chips
Game Idea
Each round, players try to mentally figure out a route for the robot. Starting from his current position, the robot has to reach a target space as determined by dice roll. Finding the shortest route is not what matters – but coming up with a solution as quickly as possible is. The first player to do so obtains one victory point chip. Whoever is the first to accumulate five victory point chips wins the game.
Set-up of the Game
First, agree on playing either on the black side or on the copper-coloured side of the gameboard sections. All parts of the board need to show the same colour.
Put the 4 gameboard sections together so that a square playing area of 6x6 (i.e., overall 36) spaces is formed. You can orient the sections in any way you want.
Place the completed playing area in the middle of the table, easily visible to all players.
Set the two dice, the robot and the starting chip out ready, next to the playing area. Put the 25 victory point chips next to that as a general supply.
Before the first round, the youngest player rolls both dice in order to determine the starting space of the robot:
Each space of the playing area is clearly determined by its combination of a number from 1 to 6 and one of the colours (blue, yellow, green, red, pink or white). Each combination of number and colour exists only once in the playing area.
Example: "1" and "pink" determine the "1 pink" starting space.
The starting chip is placed on the corresponding space. For the time being, the robot stays next to the playing area for a better overview. Later on, the robot will be used to check the route solution. After that, the player re-rolls the two dice in order to determine the first target space. If he rolls the starting space again, he keeps rolling until a different space comes up. A victory point chip is placed on the target space. The first round can begin.
Course of the Game
Once the target space has been determined, the round begins. Simultaneously, all players try to figure out in their mind a route for the robot to get from the starting space to the target space. The following movement rules have to be observed:
- The robot may move only horizontally or vertically.
- The robot may move only to a space that matches either the colour or the number of his starting space. This does not necessarily have to be the closest matching space.
Each move from one space to another space counts as one move.
Example: The starting chip is lying on 1 "pink". In this case, you have three possibilities for your first move. The robot can move in a vertical direction to "1 blue" or "1 yellow"; in a horizontal direction, he can move to "6 pink". You decide to move the robot to "6 pink". For your next move, you have the choice between "6 blue" or "6 white" in a horizontal direction or "4 pink" in a vertical direction, and so on.
This way, each player determines the robot's route in his mind, move after move, until the robot reaches the target space. As soon as one player has figured out a solution, he announces aloud the number of moves he thinks is required. He takes the robot and verifies his solution by actually moving the robot from the starting space to the target space in the number of moves he has announced.
If the player manages to get the robot to the target space in the exact number of moves he has announced, he obtains the victory point chip from the target space. He puts it in his personal supply in front of him. For now, the robot remains on the target space.
If the player does not reach the target space in the exact number of moves he has announced, he has to give one victory point chip from his supply – if possible – to the player with the currently fewest victory point chips. If there are several players with the fewest victory point chips, the player who sits closest to the active player in clockwise order gets the chip. In any case, the robot is put on the target space and the victory point chip lying there is put back into the general supply.
After that, the round ends and a new round is prepared: The robot is replaced by the starting chip and put back next to the playing area. With this, the target space of this round becomes the starting space for the new round. The last player to have rolled the dice passes them to his left neighbour; that player rolls the dice to determine a new target space, as described above under Set-up of the Game. He puts a victory point chip on the target space and the new round begins.
Special case: In case none of the players has figured out a route solution after 2 or 3 minutes, we recommend that players agree on interrupting the current round and determining a new target space by rolling the dice. The victory point chip is relocated from the old to the new target space and play continues.
End of the Game
The game can end in one of two ways:
A) One player obtains his fifth victory point chip. He is the winner of the game. B) All 25 victory point chips have been distributed. The player with the most victory point chips wins the game. If there is more than one player with the most victory point chips, the players involved in the tie share the victory.
Extended Example
Example: "1 pink" is the starting space. The target space is "2 white". Each player tries to be the first to figure out a route to the target space. After a short time, Roland calls out "5!".
His route solution is: He moves the robot from "1 pink" to "6 pink"; after that, "6 white", "6 red" and "2 red" follow. From there, he reaches the "2 white" target space. He needed five moves overall. Roland obtains the victory point chip from the target space. The starting chip is then put on "2 white". The next player determines the new target space by rolling the dice and puts one victory point chip on the space. A new round can begin.
Suggestion
After a few rounds, players can agree on not putting a victory point chip on the target space after rolling the dice. Instead, each player reads the target space directly from the dice. This way, all players can start figuring out a solution route immediately after the roll.
Variant for Experts
After the target space has been determined by dice roll and the victory point chip has been placed, the dice are rolled again. Both dice need to remain clearly visible to all players. They indicate the intermediate target space that the robot has to pass through on his route to the target space. The intermediate target doesn't get a victory point chip. If the same starting space or target space is rolled again, players keep rolling until a different space comes up. Now the players have to try to figure out a route that first leads to the intermediate target and then to the target space.
Variant for "Ricochet Robots"
This variant requires the "Ricochet Robots" game. The transparent robot comes into play as an additional robot, and the starting chip serves as a position marker for him. The transparent robot has to observe the same movement rules as the other robots, with the following addition: As usual, he can stop at a wall and make another move or, instead, move through the wall, which costs one additional move. The walls around the centrepiece and at the edge of the playing area are excluded from this rule. He may not move through other robots. As usual, he may be used by other robots as an obstacle. If the "coloured vortex" is the current target chip on the centrepiece, the transparent robot can also be moved to the target space. When encountering a coloured obstacle, the player can choose whether the transparent robot bounces off or moves through it; but if the robot moves through it, this costs him an additional move.
We thank the unforgotten Alex Randolph, whose wonderful classic "Ricochet Robots" served as an inspiration for this game.
Credits
Author: Andreas Kuhnekath Graphic design: Fiore GmbH English translation: Sybille & Bruce Whitehill, "Word for Wort" © 2015 ABACUSSPIELE Verlags GmbH & Co. KG Frankfurter Str. 121, 63303 Dreieich All rights reserved. Made in Germany. www.abacusspiele.de