Race to Adventure: The Spirit of the Century Exploration Game

Race to Adventure: The Spirit of the Century Exploration Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Your Missions

Snatch a golden eagle egg!
Find the Book of Secrets!
Escape the Mummy King!
Locate the Time Portal!
Outwit the Conqueror Ape!
Support the League of Nations!
Recover the lost treasure!
Save King George!
Rescue a prisoner from Atlantis!

Your Contents

1 12-page rulebook
1 12-page Location Guide
5 passports
5 Centurion markers
6 items: the Biplane, the Jet Pack, the Zeppelin, the Magnifying Glass, the Map, the Lightning Gun
1 first player token
12 double-sided location tiles: 3 Century Club tiles, 9 adventure locations
5 fuel tokens
5 prisoner tokens
36 1-clue tokens
18 3-clue tokens
45 stamp tokens

Overview

Race to Adventure! takes 20-30 minutes to play. Players take turns selecting exciting items to help them on their quest, like the Jet Pack, Zeppelin or Lightning Gun! Then everyone moves and takes action on the game board at the same time.

Object of the Game

Be the first player to collect every stamp on your passport, return to the Century Club and declare victory!

2-5 Players, Ages 8 & Up.

Setting Up

Construct the Century Club. Place the 3 Century Club tiles on the table tan-bordered side up, as shown in the rulebook diagram.
Arrange the locations. Shuffle the 9 adventure locations. Place them tan-bordered side up into a 3x3 grid in random order. Make sure all the tiles are lined up to the right of the Century Club, with all the location names in the upper left corner. The standard game uses the tan-bordered locations. On the other side are blue-bordered Shadow Locations used in the Advanced Game.
Add the stamps & prisoners. Count the number of players. Put that many stamps on each location except Atlantis. Put that many prisoners on Atlantis instead.
Pile up the clues. Place all the clues within reach of everyone.
Display the items. Make sure the Biplane, Jet Pack, Zeppelin, Magnifying Glass, Map & Lightning Gun are face up and within reach of all players.
Take a passport. Each player takes one. Keep your passport face up in front of you. Put a fuel token on its fuel spot. Return any extra fuel tokens to the game box.
Take your Centurion marker. Take the marker that matches the picture shown on your passport. The markers have 2 sides: the normal side and the cursed side.
Meet at the Century Club. The first person to put their Centurion marker on any of the Century Club tiles takes the First Player token. Everyone else places their Centurion marker on any Century Club tile. Centurions may be on the same tile at the start and during play. Be sure to place your marker with the normal side face up.

The normal rules are for 3-5 Centurions. Playing with 2? See Change Your Adventure.

Playing the Game

Race to Adventure! is played over a number of rounds. During each round, you will do the 4 steps below in exotic and dangerous locations! Play will continue round by round until someone wins the race.

1. Select an Item

Beginning with the First Player, go clockwise around the table and select one of the items in the common area. Call out the item's name when you select it, and place it face up in front of you.

2. Perform Actions

Once each player has selected an item, everyone simultaneously performs the following actions. These may be performed in any order, though you may only do one at a time.

Use your item to move or take clues: If you took the Biplane, Jet Pack or Zeppelin, you can use it to move to another location. If you took the Magnifying Glass, take 1 clue. You may only use an item once per round. Find out more about each item under The Items.
Use the Biplane's Sidekick action, if someone else took the Biplane: See The Items for moving with the Sidekick action.
- Note: You can only use one type of movement each round. That means if you have the Jet Pack or Zeppelin, you can't use that item to move to another space and use the Biplane's Sidekick action. If no one took the Biplane this round, the Sidekick action is not available.
Use a location's action: Some locations have actions, like the Century Club locations allowing you to refuel. You can do more than one location action in a round, so long as they're on different locations. See the Location Guide section below for details.
Accomplish a location's mission: To stamp your passport, you'll need to visit a location and accomplish its mission. In some locations, you accomplish the mission simply by visiting. Other locations require having a specific item. When you accomplish a mission, collect a stamp from the location. Place it on your passport in the empty space matching that location. You can accomplish more than one mission in a round, so long as the missions are on different locations and you do not use your item more than once this round.

Some locations have villains called Shadow Centurions that you must stun with the Lightning Gun or sneak around with the Map and clues.

If the item you used to accomplish a mission can also be used to do an action, you may do both!

The icons on the locations are there to help you remember the actions and missions during play.

Beware the Mummy's Curse! One of the missions will curse you! While your Centurion marker is flipped to the cursed side, you cannot accomplish missions or win the game. Once you move to a location with the cure icon, you may do that location's action to flip your Centurion marker back to normal.

3. Deal with Danger!

After you free the prisoner in Atlantis, you'll be in danger! During this phase, if you have the prisoner, move him one space closer to being recaptured. Find out more under Atlantis in the Location Guide section.

4. Return the Items & Pass the First Player Token

After everyone has finished their actions and has dealt with danger, return all selected items to the common area. Then pass the First Player token to the left and begin a new round.

Race to Adventure! is meant to be a fast-paced game. If you feel it's going too fast, it's okay to slow down. Take your actions in clockwise order instead of at the same time. It won't change what you can do during the round.

How Do You Win?

The first player to collect all 9 stamps, return their Centurion marker to any Century Club location and shout, "I have returned!" is the winner!

Tiebreaker: If multiple players finish the race in the same round, whichever of those players has more clues on their passport is the winner. If those players are still tied, they win the race and share the glory!

The Items

Every Century Club adventure needs amazing gear and gadgetry!

Biplane

Action: You may move up to 2 spaces left, right, up or down. You may change direction during the course of your move.
Sidekick action: All other players may move 1 space left, right, up or down. They may not use this action and also move with the Jet Pack or Zeppelin.
Note: Each tile of the Century Club is considered a separate space.
Example: Amelia selects the Biplane and moves 2 spaces to Great Britain. Because Amelia took the Biplane, Mack uses the Sidekick action to move to Mexico and Sally moves to the middle Century Club tile.
Note: You can't move 1 space, do an action in a location, and then move again. Once you stop to do another action, your Biplane action is over. You can always do an action before you start moving with the Biplane.

Jet Pack

Action: You may flip your fuel to the empty side to move 1 space diagonally only. You can only use the Jet Pack if your fuel was full at the start of the round.
Special power: Ignore barriers on Shadow locations when moving with the Jet Pack.
Note: If you pick the Jet Pack but can't or don't want to use it, you may still use the Biplane's Sidekick action if someone else picked the Biplane.
Example: Benjamin selects the Jet Pack. He spends his fuel by flipping it to empty and moves diagonally from Great Britain to Nepal.

Zeppelin

Action: You must move from your current location directly to any location with a Zeppelin mooring dock.
Special power: Ignore barriers on Shadow locations when moving with the Zeppelin.
Example: Professor Khan selects the Zeppelin from the bottom Century Club tile, so he must move to any location with a mooring dock. Flying to the top of the Century Club won't accomplish much, so he flies directly to Schweiz.

Magnifying Glass

Action: You may take 1 clue from the pile and place it in the clues area on your passport.
Note: If you happen to run out of clues, use coins, beads, etc., for more clues. Daring adventurers will always find clues!
Example: Amelia selects the Magnifying Glass. She then takes 1 clue.

Map

Action: You may spend clues from your passport to accomplish a mission with a Map icon and collect that location's stamp. The number next to the icon will tell you how many clues to spend and return to the clue pile.
Example: Mack selects the Map. He's already in Brasil, so he spends 2 clues from his passport to take the Brasil stamp. The 2 clues go back into the pile.

Lightning Gun

Action: You may zap and stun villains to accomplish a mission with a Lightning Gun icon and collect that location's stamp or prisoner.
Special: Some Shadow locations will require you to spend clues to find a villain's weakness. Those will have a clue icon and tell you how many clues to spend and return to the clue pile.
Example: Sally selects the Lightning Gun and zaps Gorilla Khan in Antarctica, taking the Antarctica stamp.

Change Your Adventure!

Sometimes you'll play with little Centurions who need an easier race. Sometimes seasoned adventurers need to push themselves into more peril.

A 2-Player Race

Playing with 2 is the same as the 3-5 player game with one simple rule change: If no one selects the Biplane in a round, both of you may use its Sidekick action. If you select the Biplane, you may move up to 2 spaces that round, and the other person may move 1 with the Sidekick action. If you move with the Jet Pack or Zeppelin, you still can't also use the Biplane's Sidekick action.

An Easier Game

If you've got little Centurions who want to play, or just want a lighter game, play with the following options:

Ignore the Mummy's Curse: After using the Lightning Gun to stun the Mummy King, collect the stamp and ignore the curse.
Ignore Dealing with Danger: After using the Lightning Gun in Atlantis, take a prisoner token, flip it over immediately and stamp your passport.
Don't move with the Jet Pack: Only move with the Biplane and Zeppelin. You still use the Jet Pack to collect the stamp in Nepal. Don't use the fuel token.

The Advanced Game: Using Shadow Locations

To make the game more challenging, use the blue-bordered Shadow locations. When setting up, place some of the 9 adventure locations on their Shadow side. If you want to also play with the Shadow Century Club tiles, make sure you play with Shadow Brasil. You'll need somewhere to heal the curse!

For your first play with Shadow locations, it's recommended you use Shadow Schweiz, Shadow Egypt and Shadow Brasil. Also, use all 3 Shadow Century Club tiles.

For a bold challenge, randomly choose 3 Shadow adventure locations.
For a treacherous challenge, randomly choose 6 Shadow adventure locations.
For an impossible challenge, use all the Shadow adventure locations and the Shadow Century Club tiles!

Read the Shadow section of the Location Guide for more on each location.

Rules Summary

Select an item.
Perform actions: Use your item to move or take clues. Use the Biplane's Sidekick action, if someone else took the Biplane. Use a location's action. Accomplish a location's mission.
Deal with danger! If you have the prisoner, move him one space on your passport closer to being recaptured.
Return the items & pass the First Player token.

Mummy's Curse! While cursed, you cannot accomplish missions or win the game.

Location Guide

The world is full of adventure! Some places are calm, with easy and simple missions. Others are perilous, with villains around every corner!

Location Tiles

There are two sides to every location: the standard side with the tan border and the Shadow side with the blue border. The Shadow locations are used in the Advanced Game.

Some locations have an action, noted in the upper-right corner.
The mission requirements in the lower-right corner will tell you how to collect the stamp for that location.
The flag on each location matches a flag on your passport, showing you where to place your stamp once you've collected it.
The stamps for each location are placed on the tile during setup. Make sure not to cover up a location action or mission requirements.
If there is a Zeppelin mooring dock in the lower left, that's a location where you can go with the Zeppelin item.

Action and Mission Icons

Each action and mission has two pieces: the requirements and the reward. The requirements are all the icons on the left, inside the arrow. The rewards are the icons to the right of the arrow.

Mission example: Schweiz. Some actions and missions won't have any requirements. Just show up to claim the reward! The mission in Schweiz means "Collect a stamp when here. You don't need any item to collect it."
Mission example: Great Britain. Some missions have two different requirements separated by a slash. Do either of them to collect the stamp. The mission in Great Britain means that you can either have the Lightning Gun here or have the Map here and spend 5 clues to collect the stamp.
Action example: United States. The action for the United States means "Use your Magnifying Glass here to take 4 clues instead of 1."
Mission example: Brasil. Missions have a stamp as a reward, as represented by the location's flag. The one exception is the Atlantis mission, which instead involves taking a prisoner. The mission in Brasil means "Have the Map here and spend 2 clues to accomplish this mission and collect this stamp."

Standard Locations

Khan's Territory, Antarctica. Mission: Outwit Gorilla Khan, Conqueror Ape! Have the Lightning Gun here or have the Map here and spend 3 clues to collect the stamp.

Undersea City, Atlantis. Mission: Rescue a prisoner from Princess Cyclone, Weather Witch! Have the Lightning Gun here to take the prisoner. Place the prisoner on your passport in the top spot. Return the prisoner to the Century Club in time to flip it over and gain the stamp!

Deal with Danger: You're being chased by Princess Cyclone and her goons! For every round you have the prisoner, move the prisoner one space closer to caught during the Deal with Danger step. If the prisoner reaches the caught space before you return him, the prisoner is lost and goes back in the Atlantis prisoner pile.
Escorting the prisoner is not like being cursed. You can still collect stamps and do anything else. Just be sure to get the prisoner back in time! And don't forget to move the prisoner on the turn you got him during the Deal with Danger step.

Amazon River, Brasil. Mission: Recover the lost treasure! Have the Map here and spend 2 clues to collect the stamp.

Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Mission: Escape Khayu-Khet, Mummy King of the Red Lands! Have the Lightning Gun here to collect the stamp and then become cursed! Flip your Centurion marker to the cursed side. While your Centurion marker is flipped to the cursed side, you cannot accomplish missions or win the game. Once you move to a location with the cure icon, you may do that location's action to flip your Centurion marker back to normal. The Mummy's Curse is pretty harsh, but you can still move, take clues and do location actions.

Stonehenge, Great Britain. Mission: Save King George from Doctor Methuselah, Master Mathemagician! Have the Lightning Gun here or have the Map here and spend 5 clues to collect the stamp.

Mountain Peak, Nepal. Mission: Snatch a golden eagle egg! Have the Jet Pack item here and flip your fuel token to empty to collect this stamp. You can only do this if your fuel was full at the start of the round.

Using the Jet Pack: You can use the Jet Pack to move into or out of Nepal and to also collect the stamp in the same round. You can instead use the Jet Pack just to get the stamp, and use the Biplane's Sidekick action if someone else chose the Biplane.
The Biplane item is all about pushing your luck. It's great if someone else selects it, but if no one does, you might not get to move that round!

Aztec Temple, Mexico. Mission: Locate the Time Portal! Have the Map here and spend 1 clue to collect the stamp.

Palace of Nations, Schweiz. Special: Zeppelin mooring dock. You may use the Zeppelin to move directly to this location. Mission: Support the League of Nations! Show up and collect the stamp.

Library of Congress, United States. Action: Library research. Use your Magnifying Glass here to take 4 clues instead of 1. This action replaces the standard 1-clue Magnifying Glass action. You may not do both in the same round. Mission: Find the Book of Secrets! Show up and collect the stamp.

(Tip: every now and then, select an item that another player needs to slow your opponent down!)

Century Club, Empire State Building.

Special: Winning the game. After collecting all 9 stamps, return to any of the Century Club tiles and shout "I have returned!" to win the game.
Sections: The Century Club is divided into three tiles: upper, middle and lower. Each is a separate location.
Special: Zeppelin Mooring Dock. You may use the Zeppelin to move directly to the upper Century Club tile.
Action: Refuel your Jet Pack. If your fuel token is on empty, return to any Century Club location to flip your fuel back to full.
Action: Heal the Mummy's Curse. The lower Century Club tile will let you remove the Mummy's Curse. Flip your Centurion marker back to normal.
Mission: Escort the prisoner from Atlantis! Escort the prisoner to the middle Century Club tile in order to secure his freedom and gain the Atlantis stamp. You must stamp Atlantis this way before you can win the game!

Shadow Locations

The Shadow locations work much like their standard counterparts, only harder!

Barriers. Some Shadow locations have barriers on one or more sides. You cannot use the Biplane or Biplane Sidekick action to pass through a side with a barrier. You must find a side without a barrier or move there diagonally with the Jet Pack. The Zeppelin also ignores barriers. Pay close attention to Shadow locations with barriers. Playing with too many barriers will make the game really difficult. But here's a secret: using Shadow Schweiz will make any game easier!

Rewards. Some Shadow locations give you an extra reward, so keep an eye out for those! Rewards are always listed to the right of the arrow, next to the flag.

Khan's Fortress, Antarctica. Mission: Infiltrate Gorilla Khan's icy hideout! Have the Lightning Gun here or have the Map here and spend 3 clues to collect the stamp.

Lost Isle, Atlantis. Mission: Break a prisoner out of Princess Cyclone's island prison! Have the Lightning Gun here and spend 2 clues to take the prisoner. Follow all the standard prisoner rules, including Dealing with Danger.

Lost Shipwreck, Brasil.

Special: Location setup. When playing with Shadow Brasil, you heal the Mummy's Curse here instead of the Century Club. Flip over all three Century Club tiles to their Shadow side during setup.
Action: Heal the Mummy's Curse. Flip your Centurion marker back to normal if you were cursed.
Mission: Capture a priceless potion from Baroness Blackheart, Ageless Alchemist! Have the Map here and spend 2 clues to collect the stamp. Immediately take 2 clues from the pile as an extra reward.

The Sphinx, Egypt. Mission: Solve the riddle and stun the Mummy King! Have the Lightning Gun here and spend 3 clues to collect the stamp and then become cursed! Flip your Centurion marker to the cursed side. Follow all the standard curse rules.

Big Ben, Great Britain. Mission: Save Britain from Der Blitzmann, Electrical Madman! Have the Lightning Gun here and spend 5 clues or have the Map here and spend 5 clues to collect the stamp. Immediately take 1 clue from the pile as an extra reward.

Zombie Lair, Mexico. Mission: Close the Time Portal to stop Lord Xing, Temporal Warlord! Have the Map here and spend 1 clue to collect the stamp.

Shangri-La, Nepal. Mission: Scout out Professor Frost's yeti army! Have the Jet Pack here and flip your fuel token to empty to collect this stamp. Immediately refuel as an extra reward. You can only do this if your fuel was full at the start of the round. See the standard Nepal location for more about using the Jet Pack on this mission.

Skies Above Geneva, Schweiz.

Special: Zeppelin mooring dock. You may use the Zeppelin to move directly to this location.
Action: Swiss combo. If you moved to this location with the Zeppelin, you may move 1 space left, right, up or down. Ignore barriers. You may do this action after collecting the stamp.
Mission: Chase away Rocket Red, Sky Pirate! Have the Zeppelin here to collect the stamp.

Library Catacombs, United States.

Action: Deep research. After you collect this location's stamp, use your Magnifying Glass here to take 4 clues instead of 1. This action replaces the standard 1-clue Magnifying Glass action. You may not do both in the same round.
Mission: Find the Book of Secrets before Jared Brain, the Walking Mind, does! Have the Lightning Gun here or have the Map here and spend 1 clue to collect the stamp.

Century Club, Empire State Building (Shadow). Special: Setup changes. If you are playing with Shadow Brasil, you can no longer be healed at the Century Club. Flip over all three Century Club tiles to their Shadow side. All other Century Club rules are the same.