Omega Virus: Prologue
Omega Virus: Prologue Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
36 floor plan cards
- 2 identical decks, 18 cards each
6 key cards
- 2 Red
- 2 Yellow
- 2 Blue
12 location cards
12 scoring cards
3 speed bonus cards
Setup
- Give both players one deck of 18 floor plan cards (labeled on the backs as deck 0 and deck 1). These two decks are identical.
- Place the 6 key cards in three distinct piles (red, yellow, blue) within easy reach of both players.
- Shuffle the 12 location cards together into a single face-down deck. Reveal and place 1 location card face up next to each of the three key card piles.
- Shuffle the 12 scoring cards together into a single face-down deck. Reveal the top 3 scoring cards and place them face up near the play area.
- Place the 3 speed bonus cards together in a single face-up stack from lowest to highest value.
(The setup diagram on page 4 shows each player's floor plan play area, the key card piles, the location cards, the scoring cards and the speed bonus stack in position; the numbered steps above describe the same layout.)
Overview
You and your opponent race in real time to be the first to escape the corrupted station. The game takes place over three rounds, during which both players simultaneously play their floor plan cards to their respective play area. Some of your card backs will display a lock, which will require a matching key to play. A round ends when one player connects all three pieces of crucial equipment needed to escape.
At the end of a round, you score points based on your speed and floor plan configuration. Reset the game and play another round. At the end of the third round, the player with the most points wins.
To start the game, one of the players counts down from five and says "GO!"
Building Your Floor Plan
As soon as a round begins, you and your opponent simultaneously begin playing one card at a time as fast as possible — do not wait for your opponent!
If the top card of your floor plan deck has a "locked" back that matches the color of a key card you do not have, you may not flip that card or place it in your floor plan. Whenever this happens, immediately move the locked card to the bottom of your deck before continuing.
No Matching Key? Do Not Flip!
If the top card of your deck has a standard white back -OR- a locked back that matches the color of a key card you already have, flip the card and place it into your floor plan in any orientation.
The first card you add to your play area starts your floor plan and can go anywhere in front of you. To add a subsequent card to your existing floor plan, you must place it adjacent to or overlapping an existing card or cards. You can overlap 1/4, 1/2, or 100% of a room card.
At any time, you may pick up any number of cards from your floor plan and move them to the bottom of your deck. You may not pick up any card that causes your floor plan to split into multiple sections.
Gaining Key Cards
The three location cards represent the places where key cards can be found on the station. If, after playing a floor plan card, your floor plan contains a contiguous single-color area of squares (called a "room") that matches the shape on a location card -AND- matches the color of the attached key card, take the corresponding key card and place it in front of you.
A — The room shape must match the location card exactly but can be rotated in any direction. It cannot contain extra squares of that color.
Example A — location card "Comm Tower + Zeta Key." Of the three floor plans shown, the first two are marked with a green check and the third is marked with a red X.
Once you have a key card, the matching "locked" floor plan cards of that color in your deck are now unlocked; you may flip and add them to your floor plan as normal when you encounter them.
Matching Equipment
As you play floor plan cards, you will discover parts of three pieces of equipment — the battery cell, satellite dish, and atmospheric purifier. Each equipment has two halves that must be connected.
When you connect two matching halves of equipment, you have successfully activated it. As soon as you activate all three pieces of equipment, shout "done!", and the round ends immediately.
Diagram: Connected Equipment (Battery Cell).
IMPORTANT: When adding to your floor plan, be careful not to cover equipment! If you do, remember that you may pick up cards from your floor plan and move them to the bottom of your deck.
Scoring the Round
The player who ends the round takes the top speed bonus card. Then, evaluate the scoring cards; the player who accomplished the goal on each card takes it. If there is a tie, give the scoring card to the player who won the speed bonus card that round.
If you completed the third round, the game is over. Otherwise, prepare to start the next round.
- "Largest" refers to the room made up of the greatest number of squares.
- "Widest" refers to the room with the most squares from its leftmost edge to its rightmost edge.
- Numbers, such as "2+" and "3+", refer to the minimum number of squares in a room required to count it.
Example: Unlocking a Key
Watch Hal attempt to unlock the yellow Beta key by building the Skywalk.
- (Diagram: Hal's floor plan builds up over steps 1 to 3.)
- (Diagram.)
- (Diagram.)
- (Diagram.) Success!
- Hal continues and recognizes another opportunity to unlock the red Alpha key access. Arrogant human!
(Diagrams of steps 1 to 5 are not reproduced.)
Example: Covering Equipment
MEANWHILE: Evelyn has just unlocked the blue key card.
- However, she covered the satellite dish along the way. She'll need this in order to win the round.
- So she removes a card…
- …and places it face-down on the bottom of her deck. Her next card is a blue Zeta card that she now has access to.
- It contains the other half of the satellite dish, so she aligns it with the recently uncovered half. Well done! Only two more equipment cards to go.
(Diagrams of steps 1 to 4 are not reproduced.)
Starting a New Round
- Return all key cards to their setup spot.
- Return the existing location cards to the box and reveal three new ones.
- Reveal 3 new scoring cards.
- Both players gather their floor plan cards and shuffle them together to form new floor plan decks.
When both players are ready, begin the next round by counting down from five.
End of the Game
At the end of three rounds, both players total all points from the scoring and speed bonus cards they claimed during the game. The player with the most points wins!