Немного Ту-Ту (Brain Train) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Cooperative Game
  • Setup (Cooperative Mode)
  • Playing a Route (Cooperative Mode)
  • Hints
  • Scoring and the Train
  • New Task Card and New Driver
  • Penalty for Breaking the Rules of the Cooperative Game
  • How to Make the Game Harder
  • Using the Hourglass
• Path Cards (Cooperative Mode, 2 Players)
• Path Cards: Other Layouts (Incomplete Transcription)
• Competitive Game
  • Setup (Competitive Mode)
  • Playing a Route (Competitive Mode)
  • Penalty for Breaking the Rules of the Competitive Game
• Achievements

Components

• 1 double-sided driver's board (машинист)
• 4 double-sided path cards
• 200 task cards
• 2 locomotive figures (one red, one blue)
• 1 hourglass
• 2 erasable markers with sponges (one red, one blue)
• 1 rulebook

Cooperative Game

The goal is to move the train from station to station, pass all the routes, and reach the end of the line.

Setup (Cooperative Mode)

Place the driver's board on the table with the cooperative side face up (the side marked with the driver icon and the arrow). Place a marker next to it.

Choose a path card for cooperative play according to the number of players (2, 3, 4 or more) and the desired difficulty (normal or hard). Place the locomotive figure on "Start" of the chosen path card. Return the unused path cards to the box.

All path cards are double-sided. The two sides differ in difficulty. You may use either side, but if this is your first game or you are playing with children, we recommend the normal difficulty.

Mark the available gears and hints ("Idea" and "Letter") on the driver's board. Do not mark the ones you have; cross out the ones you do not have.

• For normal difficulty, cross out 2 gears, and also 1 "Idea" hint and 1 "Letter" hint.
• To make the game harder, start with 4 available gears and/or without hints (see "How to Make the Game Harder" below).

If this is your first game of Nemnogo Tu-Tu, or you are playing with children aged 10 or younger, start the game with 7 gears and all available hints. The number of gears reflects the condition of your train.

Shuffle the task cards and place the resulting deck face down in the middle of the table. Each player takes 1 task card from the top of the deck.

The first driver is the player who loudest imitated a train whistle. If this does not decide it, the player who first thought of an association for the word on their task card starts. The driver moves the locomotive figure to the 1st station on the path card.

Never show your task cards or say the words written on them. Even if you do so by accident, the whole team is penalized!

Playing a Route (Cooperative Mode)

Throughout the whole journey, the players act as one team. After each route is completed, the driver changes.

Passing a route consists of several steps:

1. Announcing the route rule. The driver, while at a station, reads aloud the rule of the route the train is about to pass. Each rule either simplifies or complicates the task.

2. Revealing letters and choosing associations. The driver chooses one of the letters of the word on his task card and writes it on the board in exactly the same place as in the given word. He then writes on the board his own association that begins with that same letter.

Note: The words on the task cards consist of 4, 5, 6 or 7 letters. All of them are common nouns.

The association may be any part of speech (noun, verb, pronoun, etc.) in any form (singular or plural, and so on). Proper nouns are also allowed. An association may consist of any number of letters.

FORBIDDEN: using invented or slang words as associations, or translating the words from the task cards into other languages. Also, words of the same root are not allowed. The driver is forbidden to name the number of letters in the given word, to use any hints other than those in the game, or to give any other clues (including non-verbal ones).

Breaking these rules leads to a penalty for the whole team (see "Penalty for Breaking the Rules of the Cooperative Game" below).

If someone among the players is slow to choose their association, the others can use the time to think about the associations they will use when they become the driver.

Example. The word on the driver's task card is "ДОРОГА" (road). He writes "Д" (D) into the first cell and the association "ДВИЖЕНИЕ" (movement) into the first row of his board.

3. Discussion and answer. The other players discuss the association and try to guess the given word hidden on the driver's card. When the players have chosen their answer, they make a guess.

If the participants cannot decide on a word, the final decision is made by the player sitting to the left of the driver.

4. Result and hints. If the word proposed is correct, the route is considered passed, and the players go on to the scoring of results. However, most often more than one attempt is needed to guess the word. In that case the driver writes the 2nd association on his board and reveals one more letter.

Example. 2nd attempt: the driver reveals the letter "Г" (G) and writes the word "ГАРАЖ" (garage). 3rd attempt: the driver reveals the letter "О" (O) and writes "ОКРУЖНАЯ" (ring road).

If the 2nd attempt also fails, a 3rd word is written and a 3rd letter is revealed.

If the word from the task card has not been named even by the 3rd attempt, the players still go on to the scoring of results, without having guessed the word.

5. Scoring. See "Scoring and the Train" below.

6. New task card and new driver. See "New Task Card and New Driver" below.

Hints

At any moment during a route, the driver may use 1 of the 2 available hints: "Idea" or "Letter".

The team may require the driver to use a hint. If the players cannot decide whether to use a hint, the final decision is made by the player sitting to the left of the driver.

When you use a hint, cross out its symbol on the driver's board.

• "Idea" hint. The driver writes any association in the "Idea" row (the lowest row on the board). This association may begin with any letter. However, note that no new letter of the given word is revealed when this hint is used. The players may use only 1 "Idea" hint per route.
• "Letter" hint. The driver reveals any letter of the given word and writes it in the corresponding cell. No new association is written. The players may use up to 2 "Letter" hints per route.

Example. The player writes the association "ПУТЬ" (path). No new cell appears on the board. The player reveals the letter "А" (A) of the given word.

A hint takes priority over the route rule. For example, even if the route rule says "the 1st letter cannot be revealed," the driver may use a "Letter" hint to reveal the 1st letter of his word. Likewise, even if the current route rule says "all associations must be verbs," the word in the "Idea" row may be of another part of speech.

Scoring and the Train

After each attempt to pass a route (successful or not), the team loses 1 gear for each failed attempt.

Example. If the players needed 2 attempts to guess the given word, they lose 1 gear. If the team fails to guess the word even after 3 attempts, the players lose a full 3 gears.

When a gear is lost, cross it out on the driver's board. Your team's train is damaged!

If the number of gears drops to 0, the train crashes and the players lose immediately.

In some cases, the players may gain or lose something according to the current route rule. For example, one route rule says: "You gain a gear if you guessed the word on the 1st attempt." If the players manage this, they immediately erase the cross from one of the gears.

If the word was guessed, the driver moves the train to the next station. Otherwise, the train stays where it is.

When the last route is passed, the players celebrate their victory!

New Task Card and New Driver

After all results have been scored, the driver returns his card to the box and takes a new card from the task deck.

However, if fewer unpassed routes remain on the path than there are players in the team, a new card does not need to be taken.

Note: The driver still has to take a card if one of the routes was not passed or if the rules were broken.

The next player clockwise then becomes the driver, and the game continues under the same rules.

Advice: do not shuffle discarded task cards back into the deck until all of the cards not yet played have run out. Only then shuffle the discard pile to form a new task deck.

Penalty for Breaking the Rules of the Cooperative Game

If the driver or another player breaks the rules, the team immediately loses 1 gear. The "revealed" card is discarded, and another card is taken in its place.

If the driver broke the rules, the next player clockwise becomes the driver. In this case the players do not move the locomotive figure forward. This means the new driver starts his route from the current station.

How to Make the Game Harder

If you have passed the game several times, even on the hard difficulty, consider the following ways to make it more challenging:

• Use the hourglass.
• Start the game with 4 gears.
• Start the game without hints.
• Use several of the options above.

Mark your achievements in the list at the end of the rulebook!

Using the Hourglass

After the driver has written his association, he turns the hourglass over, first making sure that all the sand is in the lower part. The team must try to guess the given word before the time runs out. If the players do not do this, the attempt counts as failed, just as if they had given a wrong answer.

If the team decides to use a hint, the driver temporarily lays the hourglass on its side to stop the countdown. After the hint has been given, the driver stands the hourglass upright in any way convenient for him. In this way he can give the team additional time for discussion.

Note that the countdown starts only after the driver has written his association. While he is thinking about it, the other players have enough time to try to guess the given word. However, the team cannot give an answer until the driver has written his association on the board.

Path Cards (Cooperative Mode, 2 Players)

The rulebook prints the path cards only as small overlapping images on page 2. The station rules below are the rules printed on the front of the 2-player cooperative path card. They are listed in order from "Start" upward, one line per station. The colour indicators beside each rule are not explained in the rulebook and are not transcribed.

1. You gain a "Letter" hint (A) if all associations begin with consonants.
2. You immediately lose a hint or a gear if you failed the 2nd attempt.
3. The 1st association must begin with a consonant.
4. You gain a gear if you used no hints.
5. You have no 3rd attempt.
6. Reveal the 1st letter.
7. You gain an "Idea" hint or a "Letter" hint if you have no hints left.
8. You lose a gear for each revealed vowel.
9. You immediately lose a gear for each failed attempt.

Path Cards: Other Layouts (Incomplete Transcription)

Transcriber's note: the 3-player and 4-player cooperative path cards and the competitive path card are printed on page 2 only as small images, and they overlap one another on the page. The competitive card's station list below is the part that could be read reliably; the 3-player and 4-player station rules could not be read reliably from the printed illustration and are not transcribed. The reverse (harder) sides of all four path cards are not printed in this rulebook at all. Please check these against the physical cards or a clearer printed copy before relying on this section.

Competitive path card, stations listed from "Start" upward (the rule on the top station may be partly hidden by the overlapping card in the print):

1. The 1st association must be an adjective.
2. Any team that guesses the word on the 1st attempt gets an "Idea" hint.
3. The 1st letter cannot be revealed.
4. You gain a "Letter" hint (A) if all associations have 7 or more letters.
5. All associations must be verbs.

Competitive Game

The competitive game follows the same rules as the cooperative game, with some exceptions. We recommend trying this mode only after you have played the cooperative game.

In the competitive game, the players are divided into 2 teams that play against each other. The goal of each team is to overtake its rivals and be the first to reach the finish.

This mode requires 4, 6 or 8 players.

Setup (Competitive Mode)

Place the driver's board on the table with the competitive side face up.

Take the path card for competitive play and place it on the table with either side face up. The path card in competitive mode also represents a sequence of routes.

Place the hourglass in the middle of the table.

Shuffle the task deck and place it in the middle of the table face down. Each player takes 1 card from the top of the deck.

Choose, by any means, the driver of the train for the red team. The players sitting next to the driver play for the blue team, their neighbours play for the red team again, and so on. In this way, neighbouring players always belong to different teams.

The red team receives 1 "Letter" hint (A).

The blue team receives 2 hints: 1 "Idea" and 1 "Letter" (A).

Place the locomotive figures of both teams on "Start."

The red team moves first.

Playing a Route (Competitive Mode)

Each game consists of routes. The driver, his team and the opposing team all take part in passing each of them.

To pass a route, the players carry out the following actions:

• The driver announces to his team the rule of the route the train is about to pass.
• The driver then opens one of the letters and writes an association on that letter, following the same rules as in the cooperative game.
• The driver turns the hourglass over, and his team has the chance to guess the word while there is still sand in the hourglass.
• The driver and his teammates may use hints, following the standard rules of the cooperative game.
• In addition, they have the option of gaining extra time for discussion (see "Using the Hourglass" in the cooperative game).

If the driver's team did not guess the word, the rival team also has the chance to answer. However, the rival team may not use any hints. Its players must also turn the hourglass over and manage to guess the word before all the sand runs out.

If a wrong answer is given before the time runs out, the rival team receives the remaining time as extra time and adds it to its own full cycle of the hourglass.

The final answer is always given by the nearest player to the left of the driver in the answering team.

Members of a team may discuss the answer they are about to give, but keep in mind that the rivals will hear the discussion.

If the driver's team gives a correct answer, its players move their locomotive figure to the next station. If that station was the last one, the team wins.

If the rival team gives a correct answer, it receives 1 hint of its choice, chosen by the player to the left of the driver. In this case the round ends, but neither team moves its locomotive figure along the path card.

If the driver's team has not guessed the word within 3 attempts, the round also ends, and neither team moves its locomotive figure. The rival team may not try to guess the word after the failed 3rd attempt.

At the end of the turn, the nearest player to the left of the driver becomes the new driver. This means that the other team now guesses the word first.

The former driver discards his task card and takes a new one. However, if fewer unpassed routes remain than there are players in his team, a new card does not need to be taken.

Penalty for Breaking the Rules of the Competitive Game

If the driver broke the rules, his team moves 1 step back along the path card, and the revealed task card is discarded.

If another player showed a word that he had not yet started to explain, the task card is simply discarded and replaced with another. The opposing team then receives a hint of its choice.

Achievements

The rulebook's list for recording achievements, as printed:

Cooperative game

• Win the game.
• Win the game with 3 uncrossed gears at the end.
• Win the game with 4 uncrossed gears at the end.
• Win the game with 5 uncrossed gears at the end.
• Win the game with 1 unused hint at the end.
• Win the game with 2 unused hints at the end.
• Win the game using the hourglass.
• Win the game on the hard difficulty.
• Win the game on the hard difficulty with 3 uncrossed gears at the end.
• Win the game on the hard difficulty with 1 unused hint at the end.
• Win the game on the hard difficulty using the hourglass.
• Start the game with 4 gears and win on the hard difficulty using the hourglass.
• Start the game with 3 gears and win on the hard difficulty using the hourglass.