Strange Slot Simulator
Strange Slot Simulator Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Player Setup
Give each player 1 game sheet, 1 player screen, and 1 pencil. Set up your player screen and place your game sheet behind it so your opponents can't see it.
Shuffle the Lottery cards thoroughly and deal 1 card to each player at random.
Place your Lottery card face up in front of your player screen, where everyone can see it.
Table Setup
- Separately shuffle each Slot Machine you prepared in Initial Setup. Place them face down in the center of the table within reach of all players.
- Take Signboard Cards 1–6 and place them near your play area, in numerical order.
Slot Machine Setup
In this step, you'll swap the positions of the Slot Machines so no one can tell which Machine has which Settings. All close your eyes. Then, one at a time, starting with a random player and going in clockwise order round the table:
A single player opens their eyes. They swap the 6 Slot Machines around however they like. Once they've finished repositioning the Machines and removed their hands from the play area, they close their eyes and tell the next player it's their turn.
After all players have had a turn, everyone can open their eyes.
Now, place Signboard cards A–F on top of the Slot Machines (in any order). Once each Slot Machine has a Signboard card, you're ready to play!
Note: players will move the Slot Machines around over the course of the game. Make sure each lettered Signboard card always stays with its assigned Slot Machine as you do this!!
Goal of the Game
Strange Slot Simulator is a real-time deduction card game. Each game is played over 4 rounds. Your goal is to correctly identify the Settings of more Slot Machines than your opponents by the end of the game.
Each game, you'll play with 6 Slot Machines. Each of these comprises 20 cards, but no 2 Machines have the same combination of cards. The Slot Machines' unique combinations of cards are their Settings. When you start play, none of you know which Slot Machine has which Settings.
When round 4 ends, the player who has correctly identified the most Settings wins the game.
Slot Machines and Settings
A Slot Machine is a deck of 20 Symbol cards. Each game, you'll play with 6 Slot Machines, each built with its own unique combination of cards known as its Settings.
"Settings" refers to the combination of cards that make up a Slot Machine: how many of each of the 8 Symbol card types it contains. There are 6 different Settings, numbered from Settings 1 to Settings 6.
Lists of the cards that make up each set of Settings can be found on the inside of your player screen. Each set of Settings is unique. This means there will always be 1 Slot Machine for each set, from Settings 1 to Settings 6.
Each game, you'll configure each Slot Machine according to its Settings (in Initial Setup), then move them around the center of the table (in Slot Machine Setup) so players don't know which one is which at the start of the game.
Settings 1: 1 Bonus card, 6 Grapes cards, 3 Cherry cards, 1 Cherry Bonus card, 4 Watermelon cards, 2 Watermelon Bonus cards, 2 Sun cards, 1 Moon card. (Deck Configuration for Settings 1 as shown on the inside of your player screen; the resulting Slot Machine with Settings 1 is built from these 20 cards.)
How to Use Your Game Sheet
Your game sheet will help you deduce each Slot Machine's Settings. Use it to record which Symbol cards (and how many of each) are part of which Slot Machine. This is the key to figuring out which Machine has which Settings!
You can keep track of which cards you've drawn however you like. However, if you're new to the game, we recommend that you check a box in the corresponding line whenever you draw a Symbol card.
Before you begin the game, write your name in the box at the top right of your game sheet. If you like, you may also fill in the Signboard zones with the letters assigned to each Slot Machine (A–F) at this point.
- Slot Machine zone: Your game sheet has 6 Slot Machine zones, 1 for each Machine. These zones are all identical.
- Signboard zone: These boxes are for writing down which Slot Machine (A–F) you're working on in the corresponding Slot Machine zone. You may fill these in at any time, and in any order.
- Answer box: Once you've identified this Slot Machine's Settings, write your answer (1–6) here, during the Spin! Phase or the Analysis Phase (see below).
- Checkboxes: Check 1 of these boxes each time you draw a Symbol card. Alternatively, use whatever other tracking method works for you!
- Bonus line: Use this line to track how many times you draw the 3 bonuses (Bonus, Cherry Bonus and Watermelon Bonus symbols) over the course of the game.
- Yellow Chip Bonus Skill spaces: Every fifth checkbox also has a star-shaped Yellow Chip Bonus Skill space above it. Check 1 of these off whenever you use a Yellow Chip Bonus Skill (see below) during the Spin! Phase.
- Bonus checkboxes: Check 1 of these boxes each time you draw a Symbol card with a bonus symbol during the Spin! Phase. There are 30 boxes in total. Always check them from left to right. Once you've checked off all the boxes, any additional bonuses you draw are not checked off on the line.
Game Flow
The game is played over 4 rounds. After completing round 4, players Reveal Settings, and the game ends. Each round is split into the following 3 phases (+ a fourth at the end of round 4):
- Reserve a Machine and Determine the Time Keeper
- Spin! Phase
- Analysis Phase
After round 4, the Reveal Settings Phase is played.
Reserve a Machine and Determine the Time Keeper
All players look over the Bonus line on their game sheet and announce how many of the boxes they've checked off.
Turn order for reserving a Machine goes from fewest to most boxes checked off. In turn, each select 1 Slot Machine. If 2 or more players are tied, the player with the lower number on their Lottery card goes first.
In round 1, you won't have checked off any boxes yet, so turn order is decided by your Lottery cards, from lowest to highest number.
Select 1 Slot Machine from the center of the table. Place its Signboard card in front of your player screen, where everyone can see it, and the Slot Machine behind your player screen, where only you can see it. The Slot Machine behind your player screen is your Reserved Machine.
The player who chooses last becomes the time keeper for that round.
Alternatively, provided all players agree, the player most familiar with the game may serve as time keeper for the entire game.
New to the game? Try Easy Mode. In addition to the standard rules explained on P.6–P.10, Strange Slot Simulator has a range of variants with their own rules. If you're new to the game, feel free to start with Easy Mode to get into the swing of the deduction process. Refer to the Easy Mode section on P.12 for details.
[The Easy Mode section (P.12) is not included in the source PDF.]
Spin! Phase
The Spin! Phase is the main phase of the game. All players take their actions simultaneously in this phase. You have a time limit of 4 minutes, managed by the time keeper.
During these 4 minutes, you may perform the following 2 actions as many times as you wish, in any order:
- A: Pull the Lever
- B. Swap Your Reserved Machine
A: Pull the Lever
Draw 3 cards from your Reserved Machine (the Slot Machine behind your player screen) and flip them face up.
Shuffling Your Slot Machine
You don't need to go overboard! Put the cards you've just drawn back in the Slot Machine, anywhere you like, then shuffle it around 3 times.
If you're worried that this won't mix up the cards as much as you'd like, you may draw your 3 cards for the A: Pull the Lever action from anywhere in the deck, rather than just from the top.
Always play fair! Never track the position of a card you've already drawn and are shuffling back in, or adjust your shuffling so you can draw a particular card.
If all players would like to establish house rules for how and how many times to shuffle your Slot Machines, you may do so. (Though we'd say that fewer rules mean more fun!)
Record which cards you drew in a Slot Machine zone on your game sheet.
If any of these was a Bonus symbol, also check off a box on your Bonus line. If you draw multiple Bonus cards at once, check 1 box for each card.
Reminder: always check boxes on your Bonus line starting from the left.
As you advance along your Bonus line, you'll eventually check off boxes with corresponding Bonus Skill spaces. Each of these allows you to use the Yellow Chip Bonus Skill once (or activates a permanent ability in the case of the 30th box).
Example: You draw 3 cards from Slot Machine A: Bonus, Cherry, and Cherry Bonus. Record all 3 in the Slot Machine zone you're using for Slot Machine A. Then check 2 boxes on your Bonus line.
Using Bonus Skills
A: Pull the Lever and advance along your Bonus line by checking off Bonus checkboxes to unlock Bonus Skills.
Yellow Chips (every fifth checkbox): Fast Stopping (Extra Draw)
- Every fifth checkbox on the Bonus line is a Yellow Chip.
- Each Yellow Chip has a Yellow Chip Bonus Skill space above it.
- When you check off a Yellow Chip, this unlocks the Bonus Skill space above it, giving you 1 use of the Yellow Chip Bonus Skill.
- To activate the Yellow Chip Bonus Skill, check 1 Yellow Chip Bonus Skill space before drawing cards during A: Pull the Lever. This allows you to draw 2 extra cards in addition to the usual 3.
- You may use the Yellow Chip Bonus Skill a maximum of once per A: Pull the Lever action. Declare aloud "I'm using a Bonus" whenever you do so, making sure all players can hear you.
Red Chip (the 30th checkbox): heading for the jackpot!
- The final checkbox on the Bonus line is the Red Chip.
- Once you've checked it off, this activates a permanent Bonus Skill that automatically applies to all following A: Pull the Lever actions.
- The permanent Red Chip Bonus Skill allows you to draw 1 extra card during A: Pull the Lever.
- Even once you've activated the Red Chip Bonus Skill, you can still use the Yellow Chip Bonus Skill.
- When you reach the Red Chip Bonus Skill space, shout out "Lucky!"
Example: You've activated your permanent Red Chip Bonus Skill and also checked a Yellow Chip Bonus Skill space (calling out "I'm using a Bonus"). This means that for this A: Pull the Lever action, you get to draw a total of 6 cards: the usual 3, plus 1 from your permanently active Red Chip Bonus Skill, plus 2 from your one-time Yellow Chip Bonus Skill.
B. Swap Your Reserved Machine
Swap your Reserved Machine (the Slot Machine behind your player screen) with a Slot Machine in the center of the table.
Gather all the cards from your Reserved Machine back into a single face-down deck, place its Signboard card on top, and return it to the center of the table.
Then choose 1 Slot Machine from the center of the table. As before, place its Signboard card in front of your player screen and the Slot Machine behind your screen.
Shout out which Slot Machine you're reserving, making sure all players can hear you.
As soon as the 4-minute time limit is up, all players must immediately put down their pencils, stop whatever action they were taking, and return their Slot Machine to the center of the table. Once all players have returned their Reserved Machine to the center of the table, proceed to the Analysis Phase.
Analysis Phase
Note: During the Spin! Phase, take care not to swap cards between Slot Machines or mix up their Signboard cards. This could make it impossible to figure out the Settings! Make sure your own Reserved Machine always has its 20 cards and doesn't get mixed up with the others.
During the Analysis Phase, all players take their actions simultaneously.
The time limit for this phase is 1 minute in rounds 1–3 and 2 minutes in round 4.
Analyze the information you gathered in the Spin! Phase to deduce the Settings of each Slot Machine. (See P.11 for tips!) As soon as the time limit is up, stop your analysis and check off the current round on the round tracker at the top right of your game sheet.
If this was round 1–3, move on to the Reserve a Machine Phase for the next round. If it was round 4, move on to the Reveal Settings Phase.
Example: Time's up for the round 2 Analysis Phase. Taro checks off "2."
Writing in Your Answers
You may fill in your Answer box during the Spin! Phase or the Analysis Phase.
When you think you've deduced the Settings of a Slot Machine, write their number (1–6) in the corresponding Answer box.
You may write only 1 number in an Answer box, but you may write the same number in multiple Answer boxes.
As soon as you've filled in all your Answer boxes, take the lowest-numbered Signboard card (1–6) from the side of the play area and place it in front of your player screen.
If you do this during the Spin! Phase and still have a Reserved Machine, return this to the center of the table.
Once you've taken a Signboard card, you may no longer edit your answers or take any other actions for the rest of the game.
Reveal Settings Phase
When round 4 ends, reveal all the Slot Machines' Settings!
Rather than checking every card, you can use the following shortcut to work out a Slot Machine's Settings:
1. No. of Bonus Cards
Count how many Bonus cards are in the Slot Machine.
- Multiply by x4 for Settings 1 and Settings 2
- Multiply by x5 for Settings 3 and Settings 4
- Multiply by x6 for Settings 5 and Settings 6
2. No. of Cherry Bonus Cards
Count how many of these are specifically Cherry Bonus cards.
- Multiply by x1 for Settings 1, Settings 3 and Settings 5
- Multiply by x2 for Settings 2, Settings 4 and Settings 6
As each Slot Machine's Settings are revealed, check your corresponding Answer box and score 1 point for each correct answer. Tally your points and write your total in the Score box at the top right of your game sheet.
The player with the most points wins the game!
In case of a tie, the player with the lowest-numbered Signboard card wins.
Example: With all Settings revealed, Taro has scored 4 points.