Odyseja
Odyseja Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 17 + 8 Planet cards
- 17 + 8 View tokens – fragments of the artwork shown on the Planets
- 4 Rockets
- 25 M Samples (Mindfuel)
- 1 Quarantine Zone marker
- 4 vehicle cards (Control Panels) – help you keep track of your own Rocket and your current amount of Stardust
- 4 Stardust markers – for "Nasty Tricks in Case of Disaster"
- 6 Nasty Trick tokens – see the "Nasty Tricks in Case of Disaster" section for how to use them
- One six-sided die – for the Interplanetary Race variant
Before you start playing, we recommend doing an exercise in memorizing a sequence of Planets. You'll find the exercise in the booklet "Basics of Interplanetary Navigation for Rookies."
Novice Level
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Start by building a model of the TRI-TRAP galaxy, in which you'll make your flight. a. Choose or randomly draw 9 Planets (large cards) and also find the 9 matching small View cards – whoever finds the most Views starts the game. b. Lay the Planets face up as shown in the diagram, so you can see what's on them. All the corner Planets and the center Planet (marked with a star on the diagram) are called Research Planets. c. Shuffle the Views of the Planets used to build the galaxy model and lay them face down next to it, as shown in the diagram.
Before shuffling the Views, less experienced (younger) players are advised to compare their artwork with the artwork on the Planets.
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On each Research Planet, place M Samples of the same color, in a number one greater than the number of players.
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Place the Quarantine Zone marker next to the Planets.
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The starting player places their Rocket on any Planet that has no Samples on it. Then, in clockwise order, the other players place their Rockets on other Planets without Samples; during setup you may not place your Rocket on a Planet where another player's Rocket is already standing. Once the game is underway, several rockets can stand on the same planet at the same time.
Objective
The winner is the first player to obtain 1 Sample from every Research Planet (i.e., to hold Samples of 5 different colors).
Flight Procedure
At the start of their turn, a player must reveal a View of their choice. Everyone tries to memorize what it shows. If the View shows a fragment of a Planet that is a straight-line neighbor of the Planet their Rocket is on, they must move to that Planet. The player then returns the View, face down again, to the same spot.
After moving the rocket, the player must reveal another View again, and everyone checks whether the rocket can move to a new Planet.
If the View shows a fragment of the Planet the player's Rocket is already on, they must reveal a different View and check whether they can continue flying. You cannot move the Rocket if the revealed View shows a Planet:
- that is not adjacent to the Planet their Rocket is on,
- that would require flying diagonally (except in layouts that allow it),
- that they flew directly from (during the current turn) to the Planet they now occupy.
If a player cannot fly, their turn ends, and — unless they want to use a Nasty Trick — the next player begins their turn.
At the start of each pilot's turn, all Views must be face down. There's no need to remember which Planet you flew from on the previous turn — a player starting a new turn may move to any adjacent Planet, as long as they reveal the right View. You may land on a Planet where another Rocket is already standing.
Remember! Space Is a One-Way Street
In a single turn you cannot fly directly back to the Planet you came from to reach your current one. If you reveal such a View, your turn ends.
Example: You fly from Planet 327 to Planet 328, and in this turn you cannot fly directly back to 327 — even if you had a great time there. You must first fly from Planet 328 to Planet 329, then from there to 330, and only then can you return to 327.
Collecting M Samples and the Quarantine Zone
Simply landing on a Planet triggers the procedure of placing that Planet under Quarantine, regardless of whether a Sample is collected or not. Only the player who commits to securing the Planet (by placing the Quarantine marker) is granted permission to remove research material from the Planet (i.e., to take a Sample). From that moment the Planet is under temporary protection. It can still be visited, but until further notice, no Samples can be collected there.
Samples may only be collected from Research Planets; you cannot take Samples away from other players. You may only collect a Sample of a given color if you do not already have a Sample of that color.
At the start, none of the five Research Planets has a Quarantine marker (see diagram). This changes as soon as someone is the first to land on any Research Planet: that player takes a Sample and places the Quarantine marker on that Planet. From then until the end of the game, the marker will always be on one of the 5 Research Planets.
The marker must be moved every time any Rocket lands on a Research Planet that doesn't currently have it.
If a Planet has no Quarantine marker, the player may collect a Sample (as long as they haven't already obtained a Sample of that color) and must move the marker onto that Planet. After collecting a Sample, the player's turn ends.
When landing on a Research Planet that already has the Quarantine marker, you cannot collect a Sample there — continue your flight as if it were an ordinary planet.
In summary, when you land on a Research Planet:
a) there's no marker there and you don't have the Sample color found there – you take the Sample, place the marker, and end your turn; b) there's no marker there but you already have that Sample color – you just place the marker and keep flying; c) there's already a marker there – the marker stays, you don't take a Sample, and you keep flying.
Corporal Level
The KARO-13 galaxy is the big sister of the TRI-TRAP galaxy.
As you can see, the interior of the galaxy is identical to the small galaxy — it's made up of 9 planets, and you can move between these planets the same way. However, the big sister has four additional planets on the outside. In this galaxy, it's these outer planets that are the Research Planets. Here we recommend using Nasty Tricks.
Captain Level
This time you'll visit the QUAD-RUPLE galaxy — though wags call it the Shorty. Our scientists have long suspected that the Universe isn't just flat. That's right… it's also diagonal.
Look at the QUAD-RUPLE galaxy diagram. Arrange the Planet cards and View cards in a 4x4 layout plus one additional Planet in the center. Place the Samples on the Research Planets according to this diagram.
Nasty Tricks in Case of Disaster
Before starting the game, decide whether you'll use them or not. For younger players, especially at first, we recommend playing without them. However, we strongly recommend using them, since they're exactly what introduces the strategic element that adds depth to the game.
At the start of the game, lay out all six Nasty Trick tokens on the table face down, so their contents can't be seen. Choose only three of them, and put the rest back in the box. You'll be able to use those three Nasty Tricks during the simulation.
If only two players are taking part in the game, before drawing the Nasty Tricks, find "Armstrong's Jump" and put it back in the box.
How to Use Nasty Tricks
You may use a Nasty Trick at the start or at the end of your turn – the player decides. If a player wants to use a Nasty Trick, they must first spend the appropriate amount of Stardust. You may only use one Nasty Trick during your turn.
How Players Get Stardust
Each player takes a Stardust marker and places it on their Control Panel card at position 0. If a player reveals a Planet View that ends their turn, they move their Stardust marker forward by one. If they didn't use a Nasty Trick at the start of the turn, they may do so after gaining Stardust. You cannot have less than 0 or more than 3 Stardust.
The Nasty Tricks
Gagarin's Castling — Cost: Stardust −3 You may swap the positions of any two Rockets. If your own Rocket is involved in this action, it must always be moved first. The Quarantine marker moves along with the first Rocket that lands on a Research Planet as a result. The owner of that Rocket cannot collect a Sample from that Planet. Checkmate!
Copernicus's Swap — Cost: Stardust −2 Copernicus swapped the Earth and the Sun. You may swap the positions of two Planets. You cannot swap Planets that have Rockets or Samples on them. If you can recognize a brick wall, surely you won't mix up Planets with Rockets on them?
Pocket Space-Time Tunnel — Cost: Stardust −3 You may move your Rocket to another planet without Samples on it. Something smells bad here! Get us out of here!
Damaged Control Panel — Cost: Stardust −2 The chosen opponent notices two strange moons stuck to their porthole. They don't know it was your doing. They definitely don't expect it, and out of shock they spill coffee on their control panel. Choose an opponent who loses their next turn (they flip their Control Panel card over). Aren't you clever! Note: You cannot damage an already-damaged Control Panel. The panel repairs itself automatically when the turn comes back around to the affected player (they flip their card back over).
Armstrong's Jump — Cost: Stardust −3 You may take an extra turn. And now how am I supposed to blow all that dust out of my trumpet?
Bubble's Telescope — Cost: Stardust −2 Peek at one of the Views without showing it to the other players. Being an astronomer can actually be interesting, if you know how to point your telescope at the right object.
Special Rule: Boosting the Slowpokes
An optional rule that helps even the odds for weaker (younger) players.
At the end of your turn, compare the number of Samples you have to the number held by the player who has the most. If that other player has at least two more Samples (e.g., they have 1 and another player has 3), the slowpoke may take one additional turn (during this extra turn, slowpokes may not use Nasty Tricks or compare Sample counts again).
Remember what you've learned. It might save you!
Interplanetary Race
Now that your engines are warmed up, let's find out who among you is the fastest. Wipe away those tears of joy and snot of despair with your sleeve — it's time for some real competition! A Race awaits you across planets arranged into the shape of a track.
- On the table or the floor, lay out all the Planets to form a loop-shaped track (similar to the diagram, so that you can see what's on them).
- Place the Quarantine marker on one of the planets to mark the Start and Finish on this crazy snake-shaped track.
- Place all the rockets on that planet.
- Lay out the Views face up in the middle of the loop.
- Before starting play, it's worth naming all the Planets. You don't need to smash a champagne bottle on each one, but attach a keyword or a little story to each Planet in your mind — it'll make navigating easier.
- During the race you use the SLAP – the Super-Absurd, Completely Random Accelerator of Pace (a six-sided die).
- Performing the necessary calculations requires having six fingers. Cadets without enough of them risk having to do the math in their heads. The Agency accepts no responsibility for any damage resulting from taking that risk.
Goal of the Race
The Race is won by the Cadet who is first to cross the Finish line (or land on the starting planet). Yes, that really is the goal. Don't scoff or snort, or you'll spit all over your spacesuit. Rockets move across the planets in a clockwise direction.
How the Race Unfolds
The race is started by the Cadet who can say maailmankaikkeus (Finnish for "cosmos") the fastest. That Cadet rolls the SLAP first (the result shows how many planets one of the Cadets' rockets may move). The rest take their rolls in clockwise order. If you don't have an analog clock, the next roller sits to the left of the previous one. If you don't know where left is, remember this: left is the hand with the thumb on the right side!
Note – the turn order set in advance applies only to who rolls the die; you'll have to fight for the rocket moves themselves.
Instructions for Cadets:
- Decide how many laps you need to complete to finish the race. For 17 planets, this is usually 2 or 3 laps.
- Choose your rockets and your matching Control Panels.
- The starting player takes the SLAP and rolls it. To make things easier, it's worth checking beforehand which rocket the roller has.
- Then every Cadet (including the roller) tries to find a Planet the roller could reach using the roll result.
- Whoever finds it points as fast as possible at the View of that Planet (the Planet the roller will fly to if you don't hurry! – Are you having trouble hearing, Cadet?).
- The Cadet who is first to correctly point at the View moves their own Rocket forward that many planets, according to the roll (they land on a different Planet than the one shown by the View — unless they were standing on the same one as the roller).
- Then the next Cadet (following the roll order set at the start) takes the SLAP (yes, the die) and the procedure above is repeated.
Instructions for the Clever Ones:
- Decide on the length of the track.
- The Cadet rolls and flies forward that many Planets as shown by the roll — but only if they are the first to touch the View of a Planet they could reach.
- If another Cadet points at the View of that same Planet first, then that Cadet flies their own rocket according to the roll result instead.
- The roller passes the SLAP to the next player.
Second note – if two or more Cadets point at the correct View at the same time, or it can't be determined who was first, the roller rolls again.
First place goes to the Cadet who is first to land on the START/FINISH planet (or beyond it) on the race's final lap. Am I repeating myself? Move it, move it, Cadets!
Basics of Interplanetary Navigation for Rookies
Cadets! If you think you're about to sit at the controls of our most advanced spacecraft, then... you're right. But before that happens, you need to go through a series of training exercises. You'll deal with the main training later — you'll approach it individually, under the supervision of... supervision. For now, though, we invite you to take part in a crewed reconnaissance flight, during which you'll learn what you'll be facing during the simulation and the real mission. Ready?
Take the Planets and sit down comfortably. This is a reconnaissance flight. Relaxing is important, but don't drift off too much, because concentration will be very important. Choose the highest-ranking Cadet among you — they will act as the officer during the crewed flight. Have them shuffle the Planets and stack them face down in the middle of the table. Then have them take the top Planet — let's call it (A) — reveal it, and place it next to the face-down stack. At this point you begin the reconnaissance phase. We start with the officer: they look at the revealed Planet (A) and draw the next Planet — (B) — from the top of the stack. They study it and make up a story that connects the two revealed Planets in some way. Once the officer has composed themselves, they tell the story to the crew and cover Planet (A) with Planet (B) — held in hand — face up. All Cadets must listen carefully, because their actions will be tied to the procedure the officer just started, who at this point takes one sample and ends their turn. Now it's the turn of the Cadet sitting to the officer's left. They perform exactly the same action — reveal the top Planet from the face-down stack, study it, and try to create a story linking it to the Planet already on top of the face-up stack. They then tell the story they made up, place the Planet on the face-up stack, covering the Planet placed by the previous Cadet, and take a sample. This procedure continues until each player has revealed the appropriate number of Planets (not counting the first one, (A), revealed by the officer). Meanwhile, everyone tries to remember the stories that were told and the order in which the Planets were placed on the new stack. At the end of this phase, each Cadet should have the same number of samples.
Once only one stack of revealed Planets remains on the table, the first phase ends and you move on to the second phase of the flight. The Cadet who was the last to place a Planet on the stack performs the Pole Reversal procedure — they flip the entire stack face down, so that the starting Planet (A) is on top again. This Cadet remains active. They reveal the starting Planet (A) — it acts as a navigation point, and the retrospection phase begins from it. The active Cadet — yes, still the same one (are you paying attention?!) — now tries to remember which Planet comes next on the stack and tries to repeat the story assigned to it (didn't I say it would be hard?). Once they finish, the rest of the Cadets get a moment to think it over — if everyone agrees the story is correct, the Planet in question is flipped over, and if the story matched, the active Cadet gets a sample. If any of the Cadets thinks the active Cadet is wrong, they must shout (before the Planet is revealed): "False data!" and justify their decision. If the active Cadet really did mess up, they give one of their samples to the Cadet who first called out the error. But if the storyteller was right after all, the one who shouted gives up one of their own samples to them. It can happen that both of them are wrong (the storyteller and the shouter) — in that case nobody gains or loses any samples. And what if someone loses all their samples? You have to keep playing — it can only get better from here.
You reveal the next Planets in the order set during the first phase of the flight. Once the face-up stack is exhausted, the crewed reconnaissance flight is considered complete. The Cadet with the most samples earns the title of Top of the Academy, and in recognition of their merit, they'll get to clean portholes on only one side, and will be served meals in the cafeteria without having to wait in line.
Usually 2 to 4 Cadets take part in the reconnaissance flight. We suggest that with two players, each tells 8 stories; with three, 5 stories each; and with four, 4 stories each. If there are more of you, you'll manage to fit in somehow. Decide beforehand how many stories each of you will tell — the important thing is that it's the same number for everyone — and get to it!