Robot Quest Arena Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• General Rules
  • Turn Structure
  • Playing Cards
  • Acquiring Cards and the Shop
  • Batteries and Energy
  • Function Cards
  • Attack Cards
  • Moving Your Robot
  • Pushing and Knock Back
  • Pulling
  • Obstacles and Line of Sight
  • Health, Damage, and Victory Points
  • Getting Knocked Out and Respawning
  • Drawing Cards and Cleanup
  • End of Game
• Sample Turn
• Additional Rules
  • 2-Player Rules
  • Team Rules
• Character Bios
  • Robot Name: PUG — Hero: RIYA
  • Robot Name: PETRI — Hero: JARI
  • Robot Name: STRIDER — Hero: VIOLA
  • Robot Name: CRATE — Hero: ROLF
• Special Spaces
  • Center of Board
  • Tile Glossary
• Term Glossary
  • Resources
  • Actions
  • Attacking
  • The Arena
• Credits

Components

• 4 Robot Minis
• 4 Player Boards
• 1 Game Board
• 1 Rulebook
• 130 Cards
• 16 Game Tiles
• 48 Red Cubes & 12 Blue Cubes
• 12 Gems

Setup

A. Place the Supply cards in piles on the Game Board:

• 12x Advanced Battery
• 12x Heavy Hammer
• 12x Rivet Gun

B. Shuffle the remaining cards with numbers in the top right corner to form the Shop Deck and place it on the Game Board.

C. Fill the Shop (the 6 "Shop Card" spaces) using cards from the top of the Shop Deck.

D. When you're told to "scrap" cards, add them face-up to the Scrap Heap. Scrapping your starting cards will let you draw your good cards more often!

E. Whoever built something most recently is the first player. Turns will proceed in clockwise order.

F. Each robot has a special ability noted on their Player Board. The first player chooses a Player Board, then the second player, and so on. Alternatively, shuffle the Player Boards and deal one to each player. Then each player gets their matching robot miniature.

G. Each player puts their Player Board in front of them, then fills their Health bar as follows: put one blue cube on a Health symbol, then put red cubes on the remaining Health symbols (4 red cubes for most robots).

H. Each player gets their own personal deck containing:

• 8x Battery
• 1x Hammer
• 1x Jump Jets

I. Each player shuffles their personal deck and draws 5 cards.

J. On your turn, you will play cards from your hand into your "in play" area. At the end of your turn, put those cards into your discard pile. Your discard pile is face up and players may review it at any time.

K. Each player has their own Victory Point Pile next to their Player Board. Cubes in these piles are Victory Points, not Health. Each player starts the game with a number of red cubes in their Victory Point Pile as follows: 0 for the first player, 1 for the second, 2 for the third, and so on.

L. Use the remaining cubes and gems to fill the Reserve spaces on the Game Board as follows. You may add or subtract blue cubes for a longer or shorter game.

• 2 Players: 6 Blue Cubes, All Red Cubes and Gems
• 3 Players: 7 Blue Cubes, All Red Cubes and Gems
• 4 Players: 8 Blue Cubes, All Red Cubes and Gems

Gems are worth 5 red cubes. Exchange as needed.

M. If it is any player's first game, place tiles onto the Game Board as shown. If all players have played before and feel confident, they may agree on a different tile layout.

N. Most robots start the game and respawn on Spawn tiles. The first player places their robot miniature on any unoccupied spawn tile, then the second player does, and so on until all robots are placed.

General Rules

Turn Structure

The game is played over a series of turns. Whoever built something most recently is the first player. Turns proceed in clockwise order. Each player's turn consists of the following phases:

1. Start of Turn Phase – If you have any "at the start of turn" effects, apply them. For example, if you are on any of the 9 spaces in the center of the Game Board, you gain 1 Victory Point. If there is currently a tile over the space, do not gain the 1 Victory Point.

2. Respawn Phase – If you have been Knocked Out, put your robot onto any unoccupied spawn tile and refill their Health. (See Getting Knocked Out & Respawning on page 7.)

3. Main Phase – You may play cards, use abilities, spend Energy to buy cards, and spend Move to move your robot or push other robots. You may do these as many times as you want to and in any order you choose. (See Playing Cards and Acquiring Cards to the right, Moving Your Robot on page 6, and Pushing & Knock Back on page 6.)

4. End of Turn Phase – If you have any "at the end of turn" effects, apply them.

5. Cleanup Phase – Put any cards you have in play into your discard pile, then discard any cards left in your hand, then draw 5 new cards. You lose any unspent Energy and Move. (See Drawing Cards & Cleanup on page 7.)

Playing Cards

During your turn, you may play cards from your hand one at a time. Cards are free to play (you only pay costs when buying cards, see the next section). When you play a card, put it "in play" next to your Player Board, then do what the card says. At the end of your turn, put any cards you have in play into your discard pile and discard any cards left in your hand.

Acquiring Cards and the Shop

During your turn, you may acquire cards from the Shop (the 6 "Shop Card" spaces) and/or from any of the 3 Supply card piles (Advanced Battery, Heavy Hammer, and Rivet Gun). You may do so by buying them (paying their cost) or for free (when so instructed). When you acquire a card, put it into your discard pile.

Whenever a card leaves the Shop, immediately replace it with a new card from the top of the Shop Deck. If you have enough Energy, you may buy the new card in the same turn. Whenever the Shop Deck runs out of cards, shuffle all Shop cards from the Scrap Heap to form a new Shop Deck.

Each card shows its Name, Type, and Effect; cards with a cost show the Energy Cost needed to buy them.

Batteries and Energy

Battery cards are orange and give you Energy. You may spend Energy during your turn. You don't have to spend Energy right away. Any that you do not use will be lost at the end of the turn.

You may spend Energy to:

• Buy cards from the Shop
• Buy Supply cards
• Gain 1 Move for each 1 Energy you spend
• Use certain abilities (For example, see the Strider Player Board)

Function Cards

Function cards are purple and provide various effects such as drawing cards, gaining Victory Points, gaining Move (see the next page), and other things.

During your turn, you may play Function cards from your hand and immediately gain their effects.

Note: Whenever you gain Move or Energy, you do not need to spend it right away.

Each Function card shows a Set/Rarity symbol indicating how many copies are in the deck: Green — 3, Blue — 2, Purple — 1.

Attack Cards

Attack cards are red and deal damage to enemy robots. When you play an Attack, do what it says, then apply its damage to the robot you are hitting (equal to the number on the Damage symbol). You claim the Health cubes they lose as Victory Points (see Health on page 7). You may play multiple Attack cards on your turn, each against the same or different enemy robots.

Each Attack card shows its Name, Cost, Damage, Range, Type, and a Flavor text line.

Melee Attacks have the boxing glove icon. A melee attack can target an enemy robot in any space next to your robot (not diagonal).

Ranged Attacks have the arrow icon. A ranged attack can target an enemy robot that is within range (a ring around your robot, as far out as the number on the Range symbol, see diagram). The enemy must also be within line of sight (see Obstacles & Line of Sight on the next page).

A range of 1 is similar to melee, except it includes diagonals. You may perform a ranged attack on an enemy that is closer than maximum range. For example, you could use a 3-range attack on an enemy that is right next to you.

You can only play an attack if you have a valid target. You cannot attack friends, although you might damage them indirectly with cards like Laser Cannon.

Moving Your Robot

During your turn, you may spend 1 Energy to gain 1 Move. You may do this as many times as you can afford.

Move gained from spending Energy, playing cards, etc., may be spent during your turn. You do not have to spend Move right away. Any that you do not use will be lost at the end of the turn.

You may spend 1 Move to advance your robot 1 space straight up, down, left, or right. You may do this as many times as you can afford. Robots cannot move diagonally or over obstacles that block movement (like other robots and Walls).

When you play a card that lets you move over obstacles (like Jump Jets), it still costs 1 Move per space. You cannot stop moving on top of an obstacle that blocks movement. Additionally, when you move onto and/or off of a tile this turn, you may choose to ignore its effects, if any (for example, you may ignore Tacks).

Pushing and Knock Back

During your turn, you may spend 2 Move to push a robot that is next to you (not diagonal). Pushing a robot has two steps: First you "knock back" the robot, moving them one space away from you in a straight line (not diagonal). Second, move your robot into that robot's previous space.

Some effects can knock back robots too. In this case, only the knocked-back robot moves.

If a robot gets knocked into an obstacle that blocks movement (such as a Wall) they take 1 damage and nobody moves. Robots may be knocked into the outer edge of the Arena as if it was a Wall. If a robot gets knocked into another robot, each of them takes 1 damage and nobody moves.

You can't push or knock back a Robot into the same obstacle (blocking their movement) more than once per turn.

Note: Whenever an enemy robot loses Health on your turn including by getting knocked into Walls or other robots, you claim the Health cubes they lost as Victory Points. See Health, Damage, & Victory Points on the next page.

Pulling

Some effects (like Grappling Clamp) can pull robots. Pulling works similarly to knocking back, except the target moves toward you instead of away from you. When pulling at an angle, imagine a line extending from the center of your space through the center of the affected robot's space and pull them through the spaces on that line. When pulling at a 45-degree angle "onto the space next to you," there may be two valid spaces. You choose either space.

Obstacles and Line of Sight

An obstacle is something that blocks movement and/or line of sight. Robots are obstacles that block both. Some tiles are obstacles too. For example, Wall tiles block movement and the Smoke tile blocks line of sight.

Line of sight is required to perform ranged attacks (the target must also be within range, see Attack Cards on the previous page). Line of sight is determined by drawing a line from the center of the space your robot is currently occupying to the center of the space of your target. If the line passes through a space (not just touching the corner) containing an obstacle, line of sight is blocked. If no obstacles are blocking that line, the target is within line of sight.

Key: Green spaces are within line of sight and red spaces are not within line of sight.

Health, Damage, and Victory Points

Cubes on a Player Board represent a robot's Health. Cubes in a Victory Point Pile represent Victory Points. Robots start the game and respawn with full Health (fill their Health bar by putting one blue cube on a Health symbol and red cubes on the rest).

Damage causes robots to lose Health. Whenever a robot loses their last Health cube, they are Knocked Out (see the next section). Any extra damage has no effect.

Whenever an enemy robot loses Health on your turn for any reason (for example, if you attack them or push them onto the Tacks tile), they lose that many Health cubes, removing them from their Player Board. You claim those cubes as Victory Points and add them to your Victory Point Pile. Red cubes are removed first and are worth 1 point each. Blue cubes are removed last. Blue cubes on Player Boards represent 1 Health each, however, blue cubes in Victory Point Piles count as 2 Victory Points each!

Whenever you or another friendly robot loses Health on your turn (for example, if you willingly move onto the Tacks tile), you also lose Victory Points. When you lose a red Health cube you lose 1 Victory Point, and when you lose a blue Health cube you lose 2 Victory Points. All red cubes (Health and Victory Points) lost this way go back to the Reserve. All blue cubes lost this way are returned to the Game Box (never return blue cubes to the Reserve).

When an effect repairs Health, take that many red cubes from the Reserve and add them to your Player Board. A robot cannot exceed full Health.

When an effect gives you Victory Points, claim that many red cubes from the Reserve and add them to your Victory Point Pile.

Getting Knocked Out and Respawning

Whenever a robot loses their last Health cube, they are Knocked Out and temporarily removed from the Game Board. If an effect says to Knock Out a robot, they also lose all of their Health.

If your robot gets Knocked Out, during your next Respawn Phase, place your robot on any unoccupied spawn tile. Then refill their Health using cubes from the Reserve (one Health symbol gets a blue cube and the rest get red cubes).

Note: Whenever a robot respawns, their "start of turn" effects do not trigger that turn (for example, if Pug spawns on one of the 9 spaces in the center of the Game Board).

Drawing Cards and Cleanup

At the end of each of your turns, you will discard your hand and draw 5 cards from your personal deck.

If you would draw a card from your personal deck but it is empty, shuffle your discard pile to create a new personal deck, then finish drawing. For example, it is the Cleanup Phase and you need to draw five cards, but you only have three cards left in your personal deck. So, you draw those three cards, shuffle your discard pile to create a new personal deck, then finish drawing two more cards.

End of Game

When a robot would respawn but there are no blue Health cubes left in the Reserve, the game ends.

Players count the Victory Points in their Victory Point Piles. Each red cube is worth 1 point, each blue cube is worth 2 points, and each gem is worth 5 points. Do not count any cubes on Player Boards. The player with the most Victory Points wins!

In the event of a tie, the player with the most Health cubes on their Player Board wins. Otherwise, the victory is shared.

Sample Turn

1. Jeff's hand contains 1 Jump Jets, 2 Advanced Batteries, and 2 Rivet Guns. His opponent has 4 Health.

2. Jeff plays Jump Jets to gain 2 Move. He uses it to move two times, getting closer to his opponent.

3. Jeff plays an Advanced Battery to gain 3 Energy.

4. Jeff spends 1 Energy to gain 1 Move. (Now he has 2 Energy and 1 Move.) He moves again, so he's close enough to use his Rivet Guns!

5. Jeff plays both Rivet Guns, dealing 4 damage to the opposing robot. They only had 4 Health left, so this knocks them out, removing them from the Game Board temporarily. Jeff claims the Health cubes they lost as Victory Points.

6. Jeff wants to buy the Rev Motors card from the Shop, but it costs 5 Energy and he only has 2 left. So, he plays his second Advanced Battery to gain 3 more Energy.

7. Jeff buys Rev Motors, putting it into his discard pile.

8. Jeff finishes his turn, places all of his played cards into his discard pile, and draws 5 new cards.

Additional Rules

2-Player Rules

In a 2-player game, all rules remain the same except:

• Each player gets 2 Player Boards at the start of the game and controls both of their robots with a single personal deck. Your Energy and Move are shared between your robots.
• When you play a card, you play it for one of your robots, not both. If it refers to you or your robot, it is referring to the robot you played it for. If it is an Attack card, its range is relative to the robot you played it for.
• If a tile refers to you or your robot, it is referring to the robot on that tile.

Team Rules

Robot Quest Arena can also be played with even teams. All rules remain the same except:

• Players take their turns in the following order: a. Team A's Player 1 takes turn 1 b. Team B's Player 1 takes turn 2 c. Team A's Player 2 takes turn 3 d. Team B's Player 2 takes turn 4 e. Repeat
• Remember, if your teammate loses Health during your turn, you (not your teammate) also lose that many Victory Points.
• At the end of the game, players on the same team combine their Victory Points.

Character Bios

A great robot is nothing without a great Robot Tech. These are some of the best!

Robot Name: PUG — Hero: RIYA

Special Ability: Pug may spawn on any empty space among the 9 spaces in the center of the board (including during setup).

About this bot: Pug was originally designed as a simple companion robot, built to assist Riya with small tasks around the home. But in the robot fighting world, Pug is highly prized for her quickness, stability, and mobility. She has a unique ability to rev up before battle, winding up like a spring that launches her into combat. Pug is always eager for a fight and often gets the jump on her opponents.

Robot Name: PETRI — Hero: JARI

Special Ability: Whenever Petri Knocks Out an enemy robot, gain 1 Victory Point and draw a card.

About this bot: Petri started life as a humble cleaning robot. Now he loves to collect spare parts from the battlefield. He has gained great acclaim in the robot fighting world due to his low center of gravity and quick adaptability. When engaged in battle, Petri and Jari know that the key to victory is staying flexible and always being ready to attack. Since Petri came from humble beginnings, a victory with him always feels a little bit sweeter.

Robot Name: STRIDER — Hero: VIOLA

Special Ability: Once per turn, you may pay 2 Energy to have Strider perform a 1 Damage, 2 Range attack.

About this bot: Strider is built with just as much attention to style as combat. The flowing lines, glossy paint job, and elegant details are all signatures of the great Team Ferrucci, the most prominent robot manufacturer and fighting team in the Carmine District of Rivet. But do not let the good looks fool you; Strider is just as dangerous in battle as any other robot. She even has a built-in attack; a custom beam weapon integrated into the mid-section that packs a real punch!

Robot Name: CRATE — Hero: ROLF

Special Ability: It costs +1 Move to push Crate.

About this bot: Crate was designed as an exploration robot that could be sent into tight or dangerous spaces and have a look around without putting people in danger. To do that job well, he is compact and very sturdy. He also sits on a very tough and effective tread system that allows him to move around easily on irregular terrain. The treads make Crate especially difficult to push around during a battle. All of these traits have been beneficial for Crate and Rolf.

Special Spaces

Center of Board

At the start of your turn, if you are on any of the 9 spaces in the center of the Game Board, gain 1 Victory Point.

Note: If there is currently a tile over that space, do not gain the 1 Victory Point.

Tile Glossary

Wall — These tiles are obstacles that block movement and line of sight.

Junkyard — At the start of your turn, if you are on this tile, you may scrap a card in your hand.

Remote Terminal — At the start of your turn, if you are on this tile, draw a card and then discard a card.

Repair Pad — At the start of your turn, if you are on this tile, gain 1 Victory Point and repair 1 Health.

Solar Farm — At the start of your turn, if you are on this tile, gain 1 Energy.

Tacks — Whenever you enter this tile, take 2 damage.

Pothole — Whenever you enter this tile, take 1 damage. It costs +1 Move to move your robot off this tile.

Trash Compactor — Whenever you enter this tile, scrap the top card of the Shop Deck. If it costs 6 Energy or more, you are Knocked Out (lose all of your Health).

Smoke — This tile is an obstacle that blocks line of sight (but not movement).

Note: Whenever Tacks, Pothole, or Trash Compactor causes an enemy to lose Health on your turn, you claim Victory Points. Whenever these tiles cause you to lose Health on your turn, you lose Victory Points. See Health on page 7.

Term Glossary

Resources

Energy – You may spend Energy you gain throughout your turn. You may use it to buy cards or convert it into Move (1 for 1). See Batteries & Energy on page 4.

Move – You may spend Move you gain throughout your turn. You may use it to take the move or push actions. See Moving Your Robot on page 6.

The Reserve – Extra cubes and gems are placed in the Reserve, which is indicated by the blue and red areas along the bottom of the Game Board.

Health – Whenever a robot spawns, fill their Health bar with one blue cube and the rest with red cubes. See Health on page 7.

Repair – Some effects give robots Health, adding red cubes to their Health bar. Robots cannot exceed full Health. See Health on page 7.

Victory Points – Claim Victory Points (add them to your Victory Point Pile) by damaging enemy robots or using effects. Red cubes are worth 1 point each, blue cubes are worth 2 points each, and gems are worth 5 points each. See Health on page 7.

Actions

Acquire (Buy / For Free) – You may acquire cards from the Shop and Supply card piles by buying them (paying their cost) or for free (when so instructed). When you acquire a card, put it into your discard pile. See Acquiring Cards on page 4.

• Shop – The Shop contains the 6 "Shop Card" spaces.
• Supply Cards – The 3 Supply card piles contain Advanced Battery, Heavy Hammer, and Rivet Gun.
• Cost – How much Energy you must pay to buy a card is shown in the top right corner.

Move Action – You may spend 1 Move to advance your robot 1 space straight up, down, left, or right. Some cards allow you to move diagonally. See Moving Your Robot on page 6.

Push Action – You may spend 2 Move to push a robot that is next to you 1 space away. If they moved, move your robot into their last space. If you pushed them into a Wall, they take 1 damage instead. If you pushed them into another robot, each of them takes 1 damage instead. See Pushing & Knock Back on page 6.

Respawn – At the start of your turn, if you are Knocked Out, put your robot onto any unoccupied spawn tile and refill their Health. See Getting Knocked Out & Respawning on page 7.

Discard – When you discard a card, put it into your personal discard pile. Your discard pile is face-up and players may review it at any time.

Scrap – When you scrap a card, put it into the Scrap Heap. The Scrap Heap is face-up and players may review it at any time.

Attacking

Target – Whatever you are attacking.

Melee – Some Attack cards have the melee symbol under their cost, meaning you may only use them against an enemy that is right next to you. See Attack Cards on page 5.

Range – Some Attack cards have the range symbol under their cost. The number indicates how far away you may be when making the attack. You must also have line of sight. See Attack Cards on page 5.

Line of Sight – Imagine a line from your robot to the enemy robot. Any obstacles on that line break line of sight. See Obstacles on page 6.

Damage – When you damage an enemy robot, move that many of their Health cubes into your Victory Point Pile, taking red cubes first and blue cubes last. See Health on page 7.

Knocked Out – When your robot's last Health cube is removed, they are Knocked Out. Remove them from the Game Board. They will respawn on your next turn. See Getting Knocked Out on page 7.

Friendly – Your robots and your teammates' robots are your friends.

Enemy – Your opponents' robots are your enemies.

The Arena

Space – Each of the squares in the 7-by-7 Arena is 1 space.

Tile – Tiles are placed on spaces in the Arena. Spawn tiles determine where you may respawn. Many tiles have special effects while you are on them. See Tile Glossary on the previous page.

Obstacle – Robots are obstacles that block movement and line of sight. Some tiles are also obstacles that block movement and/or line of sight. See Obstacles & Line of Sight on page 6.

Empty – A space is empty if neither robots nor tiles are on it.

Occupied / Unoccupied – A space is occupied if a Robot is there. Otherwise, it's unoccupied.

Next to – One space straight up, down, left, or right.

In a Straight Line – Horizontally or vertically (not diagonally).

In Any Direction – Horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Horizontal – In the same row of the Arena.

Vertical – In the same column of the Arena.

Diagonal – At a 45-degree angle.

Find FAQs, rules updates, and more at WiseWizardGames.com/robotquest

Credits

• Lead Game Design: Paul Waite
• Creative Director: James McDonald
• Graphic Design: Kevin French, Zach Henson
• Artist: Mike Wilcox
• Narrative Design: Chris Burns
• Game Design: Rob Dougherty, CJ Moynihan
• Game Development: Darwin Kastle
• Design Development: Brittanie Boe
• Business Lead: Josh Ayala
• Pre-Press Assistance: Randy Delven
• Editing Assistance: Adam Lachmanski
• Additional Graphics: Cody Jones, Kalissa Fitzgerald
• Playtesters: Audrey Adamson, Samuel W. Bailey, Tehilah Goldman Baklor, Harrison Beachy, Rachel Beitsch-Feldman, Brittanie Boe, Stephen Chau, Dan Cotrupe, Jason Dougherty, Dave Ehrlich, Harel Feldman, Isaac Brooks Fishman, Daniel Forman, Sarah Forman, Seth Gordon, Jordan Harris, Hoshia Horwitz, Jeff Hutchins, Brandon Mann, Debbie Moynihan, CJ Moynihan, Ben Newman, Jessian Opolsky, Josh Rosenthal, James Sanguinetti, Satheian, Devorah Leah Schwartz, Ben Smith, Josh Soref, Clint Tasker, Paul Tefft-Meeker, Joey Zappelli, Molly Zeff

© 2022 Perfect Day and Wise Wizard Games

Theme Song – Performed and lyrics by Marino "Rino" Lemons. Music by Tal Steinberg. Produced by Ori Kagan.