Paradox University Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Game Objective
• Game Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Use the Time Machine
  • 2. Send a Traveler in Time
  • 3. Peek at a Traveler in Secret
  • 4. Cause Temporary Paradox
• Game End
  • Important Rules
• Expert Mode
• Event Cards
• Solo Mode
  • Solo Game Objective
  • Solo Setup
  • Solo How to Play
• Difficulty Adjustments
• Madness Mode
  • Madness Mode Game Objective
  • Madness Mode Setup
  • Madness Mode Gameplay
  • Madness Mode Game End
• Achievements

Contents

• 30 Time Traveler cards
• 30 Anachronic Time Traveler cards
• 4 Blank Traveler cards
• 6 Player aid cards
• 4 Special Event cards
• 1 Overloaded Machine card
• 2 Scoring cards
• 6 Traveler meeples
• 12 Energy tokens

Game Objective

Be the first player to cause 3 temporal paradoxes (short game) or 6 (long game) to other players.

Game Setup

Prepare the main deck, which we will call "Time Machine". To do so, choose characters and shuffle together the number of copies shown in the table below. Use only Time Traveler cards (check game box).

Players	Characters	Copies	Max Capacity
2	6	2	6
3	5	3	5
4	4	4	4

Each player receives a player aid card and its matching meeple. A player's play area is located to the right of their player aid, with a maximum capacity determined by the number of players (see the table above). The meeple is placed in the game box, on the zero position of the scoring track.

How to Play

The player who has most recently watched a time travel movie begins.

In Paradox University, turns are not sequential: when a player is affected by an action, they will play the next turn. Each player will be able to perform ONLY one of the following actions:

1. Use the Time Machine

Turn the first card of the Time Machine face up, show it to all the players and leave it face down in the first available slot of the play area of another player. If they are at full capacity, this action can't be chosen.

2. Send a Traveler in Time

Take a card from your play area and move it without revealing it to the first free slot in another player's area. Rearrange your cards eliminating the free slot.

If you want to send a card to an already full play area, you will have to exchange it for one of your cards maintaining the positions.

Restrictions:

• You can't send a card to someone who just sent you one. (Not applicable in 2-player mode.)
• You can't send a card that was affected by an action the last turn.

3. Peek at a Traveler in Secret

Take a hidden Traveler card from another player, and look at it secretly. After that, put it back in its place.

4. Cause Temporary Paradox

Point two cards on a player's play area and they will be forced to turn them over.

• If the 2 cards are the same, a paradox has occurred. The player who has the paradox removes all the cards from their play area without turning them face up and shuffles them back into the Time Machine. The player who has caused the paradox wins 1 point, adding it on the score track on the box.
• If the 2 cards are different, the target player turns the cards face down as they were initially after all the players have seen them.

Game End

The game ends when a player gets the points set at the beginning of the game: 3 or 6.

Important Rules

• If a player receives a card that fills their play area and all their travelers are facing down, the player will be forced to turn a card face up leave it visible for the rest of the game. These travelers can also move in time, but they will always be visible from now on, unless they end up in a player's area where another traveler is already visible. In that case, one of the cards will be turned face down, chosen by player who received the traveler, as no more than one traveler can be visible in a playing area. If a player fills their play area and already has a card face up, nothing happens.
• Players have to memorize the cards as they are revealed. A player may only look at a card using the actions available.

Expert Mode

"You have become a true Space-Time Master and have complete control over the Time Machine. Now you will have to manage the energy that powers it up to win the test of paradoxes."

We recommend playing the Expert Mode once you are already familiar with the game, as it adds new rules to the game:

1. Take the Energy Tokens and leave them aside, easily reachable by all players.
2. Place the "Overloaded Time Machine" card under the Time Machine deck. This card will be all the game in this position, and when a paradox is caused will be placed again under the deck.
3. When taking the "Use Time Machine" action, you get an Energy Token.
4. To take the "Send Time Traveler" action, you need to spend an Energy Token. If you don't have one, you can't take this action.
5. A player can have a maximum of 3 Energy Tokens. If they have 3, they can take the "Use Time Machine" action but do not receive a 4th token.
6. If the "Overloaded Time Machine" card is on the table (no player can take it), the "Send Time Traveler" action can be taken without spending Energy Tokens.

The rest of the game continues as in the base game.

Event Cards

Paradox University has 4 Event cards as expansion modules that you can include in your games. Shuffle into the Time Machine deck any event cards that you choose.

When a player reveals an Event card, its effect is resolved immediately, then discarded to a pile next to the deck, and the player then reveals a new card. If a new Event card is revealed, repeat this process until the "Use Time Machine" action can be completed.

1. Master O'Clock: can be used in the base game and in the expert mode. Every player may secretly look at a card in their play area.
2. Madame Eternity: can be used in the base game and in the expert mode. Every player will take at the same time the leftmost card in their play area and will place it in the first slot available in the play area of the player at their left. If a player has no cards in their play area, they will not send a card but can receive a card from another player.
3. Master O'Clock's assistant: can be used in the expert mode. Every player fills up their Energy token reserve.
4. Madame Eternity minion: can be used in the expert mode. Every player loses all their Energy token reserve.

Every time a paradox is created, the Event Cards in the discard pile are shuffled back into the Time Machine.

Solo Mode

"Years ago, one of the best students on Paradox University wanted to change History. The young student was expelled for her actions and swore revenge. Few know her name: Madame Eternity."

In this solo adventure, You will become her and you'll try to get a group of travelers from different ages to meet themselves multiple times. If this happens, a Superparadox is created and the universe will be destroyed."

Solo Game Objective

Try to collect all the travelers and take them from one era to era without losing track of them. This way you will be able to cause the Superparadox. Getting points in solo mode isn't good, so try to get the lowest score possible.

Solo Setup

1. Choose with how many Time Travelers you will play with, and with how many copies of each one (we recommend playing the first time with 4 Travelers and 4 copies of each one). Shuffle all the Time Traveler cards chosen together and create the Time Machine deck.
2. Place as many player aids as copies of Time Travelers you have chosen on a column at the left side of your play area.
3. Leave all the meeples associated to each Time Traveler at hand (check game box).

Solo How to Play

The game has of 2 phases:

Note: the printed rulebook reads "The game has of 2 phases"; the word "of" is a printing error and is kept as printed.

Phase 1: Time Travel

During this phase, draw cards from the deck one by one. Check carefully what kind of Traveler it is and place it following the criteria below:

• If this is the first time you see this traveler, place it in the first slot available in the first row (case 1).
• If you have already seen this traveler before, place the card on the stack where you think the other copies are and move this stack to the first available slot on the row below. If you leave a free slot behind, move the stacks to the left to fill that free slot (case 2).

Keep drawing cards until the whole deck is depleted. You can only see cards as they leave the time machine, and they are always placed face down. It is not allowed to see the cards on the stacks.

Phase 2: Revelation

Take each Traveler meeple and place it in front of each stack trying to guess what traveler is on each one. Using the score track for the solo mode on the box, flip the cards over and score a point for each traveler not matching its meeple or for those who don't have meeple. The color of each meeple has to match the color on the background on each Traveler.

Difficulty Adjustments

If you find the game too hard, try to make it easier removing all the cards for a Traveler or more and the corresponding meeples. If you would like to make the game harder, try to add all the cards and the meeples for more Travelers.

Madness Mode

"Madame Eternity minions have taken over the Time Machine's control and are messing up space-time, causing paradoxes and anachronisms. Try to get Madame Eternity's favor, and unleash temporal havoc!"

Madness Mode Game Objective

Collect as many Travelers as possible, and be the first to detect paradoxes and anachronisms.

Madness Mode Setup

1. Take a card of each Traveler and place them forming a circle on the table face up.
2. Take the rest of Traveler cards (Time and Anachronic Travelers), shuffle them and create the Time Machine.
3. Take as many player aid cards as the number of players minus one, and place them on the deck face down at a similar distance from each other.

Madness Mode Gameplay

Players have to memorize the 6 initial Traveler on the table making a circle. After that, they are turned face down.

The initial player will be turning cards face up from the Time Machine and will place them inside the circle. With each Traveler one of 2 things can happen, only one hand may be used at any time:

• PARADOX: If the revealed Traveler is a Time Traveler, a paradox is caused and players will put their hands on a face down card on the circle that they think correspond to the Traveler revealed. The that correctly guesses the card takes the revealed card. In case of doubt, the face down card can be revealed and turned face down again.
• ANACHRONISM: if the Traveler revealed has a background corresponding to other Traveler that does not match it, an Anachronisms occurs. Players will have to place their hands on the revealed card. The quickest player wins the card revealed.

If no player has guessed correctly, they can keep trying until one guessed correctly.

The initial players will keep drawing cards until a player aid card is revealed. In that case, the face down cards are shuffled, placed again forming a circle, turned faced up and turned face down after players have memorized them. The initial player is passed to the player to their left, and will keep revealing cards until a new player aid card is shown or the Time Machine is depleted.

Madness Mode Game End

When the Time Machine runs out of cards, the game is over. Each player will count how many cards they won, and the one having the most will be the winner. In case of a tie, the one with the most Time Traveler wins.

Achievements

Complete all the achievements on one of the sides of the box to become a true Master of Time.

• Get 10 victories.
• In 4 players game: win by the minimum amount of points (all players with 5 points and you with 6).
• In 4 players mode: win by the maximum amount of points (all players with 0 points and you with 6).
• Create your own Traveler.
• In a solo game: get the perfect game with all the Travelers and all their copies.
• Share the game on social networks.