Redshirts Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• How to Win
• Setup
• Turn Sequence
• Zapped
• Commander's Log
  • Equipment Cards
  • Location Cards
  • Event Cards
  • Mission Cards
• Skills
  • Redshirts
  • Gaining Redshirts
  • Losing Redshirts
• Attempting a Mission
  • Failing to Attempt a Mission
  • Skill Icons
• Rule Clarifications

How to Win

Be the first player to end any turn without having any Redshirts in your Away Team.

Setup

Shuffle both decks and deal out the cards as follows:

• Commander's Log: Five cards to each player, face down. This is known as their Hand.
• Redshirts: Four Redshirts to each player, face up. This is known as their Away Team.

Place both decks on the table where everyone can reach them, leaving space next to each for a discard pile.

The first turn goes to the player with the Redshirt whose last name is first in alphabetical order. Turn order then proceeds clockwise.

Turn Sequence

1. UnZap all of your Zapped Redshirts by aligning the card to a vertical orientation.
2. Do the following in any order, as many times as you like (unless otherwise specified):
   • Add an Equipment card from your hand to any Redshirt in play.
   • Add a Location card from your hand to any Away Team, removing any Location that it currently has.
   • Play an Event card.
   • Assign a Mission from your hand to any player that does not currently have one, including yourself.
   • Zap one Redshirt to Attempt a Mission that has been assigned to you (may only be done once per turn).
   • Zap one Redshirt to Go to the Ready Room. When you Go to the Ready Room you discard any number of cards, and then draw the same number (may only be done once per turn).
3. Draw until you have five cards in your hand, then end your turn. If you have five or more cards already in your hand then you may not draw, but there is no hand size limit.

Zapped

If a Redshirt becomes Zapped, simply turn the card at an angle to indicate this status. While Zapped, a Redshirt cannot be selected to Attempt a Mission, and may not use any ability that requires them to become Zapped, but there is no other effect. You cannot Zap a Zapped Redshirt.

Redshirts are the only cards that may be Zapped.

Commander's Log

There are four types of Commander's Log cards which can be used to modify the game: Equipment, Locations, Events and Missions.

Equipment Cards

You may play Equipment on any Redshirt. Each Equipment card adds or removes the listed skill (or ability) to the Redshirt as long as it remains with them. A Redshirt may have any number of Equipment cards. When an effect calls for you to discard an Equipment card, it may be discarded from a Redshirt or from your hand unless otherwise specified.

If a Redshirt is given an Equipment card that has the same Skill icon as one or more Equipment cards that they already have, the old card(s) are discarded. Only the icon itself matters, not whether it adds or removes the indicated Skill. If a Redshirt is transferred to another player, they keep any Equipment they posses. If a Redshirt is placed in the discard pile, then all Equipment it possesed is also discarded.

Location Cards

You may play a Location card on any player's Away Team, discarding any Location that may already be there.

Each Location has a unique effect on that specific Away Team (usually adding or removing a specific Skill). These effects are "always on", having an immediate effect upon any card played into that Away Team. For instance, if a Location removes the Engineering Skill, you lose the Skill but not any other card that granted the Skill. If a Redshirt is added to the Away Team in that Location, any modification takes place as soon as the Redshirt enters play.

Unless otherwise specified, a Location only affects the Away Team it is played on.

Event Cards

Each Event card has a specific effect, listed on the card itself, as well as any conditions that must be met in order to be played. Event cards will tell you which player or card must be targeted by the Event.

Mission Cards

You may assign a Mission card to any player as long as they don't already have one assigned to them. If a player has a Mission card assigned to them, they must attempt to resolve it on their turn.

Missions have Skill icons listed on the top left, indicating the Skill(s) that a Redshirt must have in order to succeed. Some Missions have Prerequisites (on the top right), indicating the Skill(s) that a Redshirt must have in order to even attempt the Mission.

It is frequently a good strategy to force a player into a Mission that they cannot fail or even attempt.

Skills

Skills represent the area(s) of expertise a particular Redshirt is useful in. The Skills are: Infiltration, Tactical, Science, Medical, Engineering, and Diplomacy. Skills are represented by the symbol listed in the key below. Skills may be added or removed by other cards. However, a Redshirt either has or does not have a Skill. If there are multiple effects that add or remove the same skill, use the following priority list to determine if a Redshirt has or does not have that Skill:

• Events trump everything
• Active Abilities trump Locations, Equipment, Printed Skills, and Passive Abilities
• Locations trump Equipment, Printed Skills, and Passive Abilities
• Equipment trumps Printed Skills and Passive Abilities

NOTE: Each card and ability also trumps previously played cards or abilities of the same type.

Redshirts

Each Redshirt may have one or more Skills, indicated by the icons printed on their cards. These are used to meet the Prerequisites and Skills of Missions. (You want the Prerequisites, but not the Skills.)

Many Redshirts have special abilities printed on their card, and most have additional traits, such as a gender (indicated by the illustration) or race (listed on the card) that may trigger effects from other cards. If the ability has a Zap icon then it is an Active Ability and can only be used by Zapping the Redshirt. If there is no symbol then it is a Passive Ability and always on.

Gaining Redshirts

Over the course of the game, players will likely have to add Redshirts to their Away Team by drawing them from the Redshirt deck. When you are instructed to draw a Redshirt, take the top card from the Redshirt deck and play it face up on your Away Team.

If the player ends a turn with more Redshirts than they started the game with, normally four, they must discard down to their starting total (Player's choice as to which ones to discard.).

Losing Redshirts

During the game, Redshirts can be Killed or Discarded from play, depending on the wording of the cards involved. These are keywords, used to trigger various effects on other cards (i.e. - A card might do something when a Redshirt is Killed, but not if they are Discarded), but they all result in placing the indicated Redshirt into the appropriate discard pile.

Attempting a Mission

If a player has a Mission card assigned to them, they must attempt to complete it at some point during their turn by going through the following three steps:

1. Declare Attempt: The player Zaps a Redshirt in their Away Team to assign them to the Mission. NOTE: If the Mission has a Prerequisite, the chosen Redshirt must have the appropriate skill.

2. Modify the Attempt: Starting with the next player, everyone has a chance to play a single card and/or use one of their Redshirts' special abilities. They may choose to pass if they do not wish to modify the attempt further. This continues around the table until no player wants to modify the Mission any further.

3. Resolve the Attempt: At this point the outcome of the Mission is determined:

   • Success: The Redshirt has the listed Skill(s). Apply the Success results.
   • Failure: The Redshirt lacks the listed Skill(s). Apply the Failure results.

NOTE: The results of each step cannot be altered in subsequent steps. For instance, if a mission has an Engineering Prerequisite, the Declare Attempt step is over (which occurs as soon as the player chooses a Redshirt to complete a Mission), removing that Skill does not prevent the Redshirt from continuing their attempt to complete it.

Failing to Attempt a Mission

If the player does not have any UnZapped Redshirts with the needed Pre-Requisite, then the Mission is discarded and the player must draw another Redshirt and add it to their Away Team.

Skill Icons

The Skill icons used in the rules are: Infiltration, Science, Engineering, Tactical, Medical, and Diplomacy.

Other game icons used on cards include: Zap; Kill; Remove Engineering; "Science required to attempt Mission"; "Medical required to attempt Mission"; "Engineering required to attempt Mission"; "Redshirt always yours unless otherwise specified"; and the card-type icons for Mission, Equipment, Event, and Location.

Rule Clarifications

• Attempting a Mission:
  • If a Redshirt is somehow removed (in any fashion) from a Mission during step 2 (Modify the Attempt), the current player may immediately Zap one of their Redshirts to make another attempt, or they may discard the Mission without penalty.
  • If the Mission is removed from play or transfered to another player before the attempt is resolved, it counts as the one Mission attempt for the turn, and the Redshirt that was attempting it remains Zapped.
• Redshirts keep their Zapped/UnZapped status when they change Away Teams.
• In case of a timing conflict that is not resolved by the priority list the current player resolves their effects first, with the rest going off in turn order.
• Drawing and discarding always means a Commander's Log card, unless otherwise specified.
• Bargains can be made with another player, but all parties must honor any immediate effect. If a deal includes an effect that was not immediate, it can be ignored later.
• If a card becomes Attached, it will remain on the card it targeted and will be in effect until the original card is removed from play at which point it will also be discarded.
• Mirror, Mirror: This card does not add or remove Skills from a Redshirt, it simply inverts their printed Skills. After this card inverts the printed Skills on a Redshirt, that Redshirt's new Skills can then be trumped by Equipment, Locations, or Events.
• If you are using a copy of Redshirts that predates the Deluxe Edition, disregard the "Play Anytime" text on the bottom of the cards. Cards that refer to Lost or Removed, mean .