TF22: LOAD!
TF22: LOAD! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Aim of the Game
The aim of the game is to maximise the loading of RCU containers on your spaceship in order to maintain container majorities and by doing so score the most points at the end of the 3 game rounds.
Game Components
- 2 spaceship cards with 5 container slots each
- 40 RCU containers: 10 each in the 4 basic colors
- 28 container cards: 7 each in the 4 basic colors (1x face value 0 and 2x face values 1, 2 and 3)
- 2 score cards: front 1-40, back 41-80
- 2 miniature score markers: Robot Combat Units (RCU's from the TF22 universe)
- 1 player aid card showing the container stacking possibilities
Setting Up the Game
Each player takes 1 score marker, 1 score card and 1 spaceship card and places them in front of him. The 40 RCU containers and the player aid card are set aside as common stock within the reach of both players. The 28 container cards are shuffled face down, then the top 4 are discarded also face down (they are not needed in this round). Finally the remaining 24 container cards are dealt equally between the players (12 each). You are now ready to play!
Gameplay (Round 1)
Each player secretly chooses 1 container card from his hand and holds it face down on the table. Once both players have made their choice both cards are revealed simultaneously.
The player who wins the battle gets both container cards and puts them face down on his personal discard pile. (see → Battle)
He then loads or reloads 1 RCU container in the 'battle winning color' on his spaceship. (see → Load → Reload)
This is repeated until all the container cards have been played (12 turns in all). Now follows the first scoring (of 3). (see → Points → Bonus Points)
Battle
The values of the container cards are determined as follows:
- Green beats Blue or Red
- Blue beats Red or Yellow
- Red only beats Yellow
- Yellow only beats Green
If both container cards show the same color, the larger face value wins. (eg: Red 2 beats Red 1, Green 3 beats Green 0 etc.)
The same color and same face value are a tie. In this case, each player puts his container card face down on his discard pile, but without obtaining a new RCU container nor the right to reload one.
Load
There are 5 RCU container slots on each spaceship. Each slot can only be loaded by stacking the RCU containers as follows:
- Green stacks on Blue or Red or Yellow or an empty slot
- Blue stacks on Red or Yellow or an empty slot
- Red stacks on Yellow or an empty slot
- Yellow stacks on an empty slot only
2 RCU containers of the same color can never be stacked!
Note: Even if Yellow beats Green, a yellow RCU container can only be stacked on an empty slot! Therefore, the maximum, optimum load per spaceship consists of 5 complete stacks consisting of 4 RCU containers each (a green on a blue on a red on a yellow).
Note: Once an RCU container has been loaded onto a spaceship, it can never be unloaded!
Reload
During the game loading a new RCU container onto a spaceship may become a) impossible or b) unwise.
In this particular case you may instead reload 1 previously loaded RCU container, provided the general loading rules are observed, and that the RCU container that is to be reloaded is:
- in the 'battle winning color', and
- taken from the top of a stack!
Example: Buzz wins a battle with Blue, but instead of loading a new blue RCU container he chooses to reload an existing blue one. Since he has the appropriate slot on his spaceship he may do so. Right after this he wins another battle with Blue, and decides to reload the same blue RCU container right back to its old spot, which again he may do.
Joker
During the game it may happen that, despite winning a battle, your spaceship can neither be loaded nor reloaded in the 'battle winning color'. In this case:
- the other player gets both container cards and
- chooses the 'battle winning color' from these 2 cards and
- may load or reload 1 RCU container in this 'joker color'!
Note: If the other player is also unable to load or reload his spaceship (in either of the 2 colors), then both cards are discarded face down along with the 4 cards from the beginning of the round, and will not be considered for the scoring at the end of the round!
Points
At the end of each round, players verify in which color they have an absolute majority of RCU containers on their spaceship. Then each player takes his color matching container cards from his personal discard pile, sums up their face values and notes the corresponding result with his score marker on his score card.
Note: If there is a tie in one (or more) container colors, no player gets points for his container cards in these color(s)!
Example: After the first round Neil and Buzz have loaded RCU containers such that Neil has a majority in green RCU containers. The other 3 colors are tied, none of them scores. Points: Neil has one Green 3 and one Green 2 container card in his personal discard pile, so he gets 5 points. All other cards in his pile are worthless. Buzz gets 0 points.
Rounds 2 & 3
Before reshuffling the container cards, do not forget to add those discarded at the beginning (or during) the previous round.
Then proceed as in round 1.
All previously loaded RCU containers remain unchanged on each spaceship!
And remember, a previously loaded RCU container may be reloaded each time you win a battle, as long as the loading and reloading rules are observed. (see → Load → Reload)
At the end of each round scores are settled. (see → Points)
End of the Game
The game ends after round 3. Container majorities are checked and scored one last time. Finally each player checks if he has earned himself any bonus points or not.
Bonus Points & Winner
At the end of the game each complete stack of RCU containers is worth an additional 3 bonus points (maximum of 15 bonus points per player)!
The winner is the player with the most points overall at the end. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest bonus points wins. If there then is still a tie, both players win.
Bluff?
In TF22 - LOAD! you may never tell if your opponent is bluffing or not!