The Networks: Telly Time
The Networks: Telly Time Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The Telly Time module uses these components from the expansion:
- 15 Extra Marker Cubes (3 per player)
- 6 Genre Grid Tiles
- 2 Pass Track Tiles
- 6 Pilot Season Cards
- 36 Show Cards (18 A shows, 18 B shows)
Setup
During normal setup, make these changes:
- Leave the base game genre board and show cards in the box. They will not be used.
- When setting up the setup board, cover the pass track with the pass track tile marked with your player count.
- When setting up the show deck, use only the Telly Time show cards, stacking the A shows on top of the B shows as normal. With 1-3 players, remove all A shows marked 4 from the game.
- Each player takes the extra 3 marker cubes of their color (so they have 14 total).
- Instead of dealing Pilot Season cards normally, follow the alternate steps below.
Telly Time Pilot Season
- Shuffle the 6 Telly Time Pilot Season shows and deal 1 to each player. Each player looks at the genre of their show and takes the genre grid tile that has that genre in the center square.
- Instead of advancing on the genre track matching your Pilot Season show, place a marker cube on the center square of your genre grid.
- Place your genre grid tile above your player board to create a 4th timeslot. Place your Pilot Season show in its preferred timeslot and fill your other 3 slots with your starter shows.
- Remove the 6 show cards from the base game Pilot Season deck. Shuffle the remaining 14 stars and ads and deal 3 to each player (or 2 with 5 players). Each player chooses 2 to keep, earning cash bonuses and paying costs normally.
Your Genre Grid
The first time you would advance on each genre track during the game, instead place a marker cube on the matching square of your genre grid.
Each time you complete any line of 3 squares on your grid (a row, column, or diagonal), immediately gain the genre bonus at the end of that line. If you complete multiple lines at the same time, you gain the bonus for each completed line.
Once you've filled a genre square on your grid, you may still produce shows of that genre, but you do not fill any new genre squares when you do.
Example: Arkady produces a drama show and completes a column. He draws 2 stars and signs 1 for free.
Example: Virginia completes both a column and diagonal at the same time. She gains both a network bonus AND wild bonus. (Moguls aren't being used; see next page.)
Empty & Filled Squares
Each player gains bonus cash and viewers from their genre grid each round, based on the number of squares they have filled. You always receive both bonuses each round, regardless of what you select on the pass track.
- Cash Bonus: When you pass, get $1M per empty square on your genre grid.
- Viewer Bonus: When scoring your lineup, score +1 viewer per filled square on your genre grid.
Example: Arkady passes and selects the 6 on the pass track. He has 5 empty squares, so he gets $5M immediately. When the round ends, he scores +6 from the pass track, and +4 from filled squares.
Mogul Bonus
When playing with the Moguls module, the second time you complete a line of 3 squares during the game, gain a mogul bonus instead of the genre bonus at the end of that line. Draw 2 moguls and choose 1 to keep (just like when you land on a mogul token; see pg. 2).
If you complete your first 2 lines at the same time, choose which of them you complete "first" and gain its printed bonus, then gain a mogul bonus instead of the printed bonus for the other line.
When playing without the Moguls module, ignore the mogul bonus icon on your genre grid tile. When you complete your second line, gain the bonus for that line normally.
End-Game Scoring
When scoring end-game viewer bonuses, ignore the "Genres" row. Score all other end-game bonuses normally.
Weekend Timeslots
Your new weekend timeslot acts the same as your other 3 timeslots. Some shows in the Telly Time deck have weekend as a preferred timeslot.
Wild Timeslots
If a show has 2 preferred timeslot icons, it can be placed in either timeslot without penalty. If it says "ANY" where its preferred timeslot would be, it can be placed in any timeslot without penalty, and you ignore any timeslot penalty it would suffer due to other effects.
Illustration captions: "This show's audience wants to watch it at primetime OR late night." / "This show's audience will watch it no matter when it's on."
New Genres & Show Effects
Telly Time introduces 3 new genres of shows, each with a unique show effect that appears on all shows of that genre.
- Kids: You can't place Kids shows in your primetime or late night timeslots (even using network cards).
- Quiz: When you score a Quiz show, you may pay cash to score up to 5 bonus viewers at a cost of $1M each.
- Chat: When you score a Chat show, add up the current viewer values of all stars on all other shows in your lineup. The show gains that many bonus viewers (example below).
Example: "Lay All Your Chat On Me" scores a total of 9 viewers (3 for the show itself + 6 from 2 stars on other shows).
Solo Mode
If your opponent draws a solo card that says "Prefers show of YOUR best genre," it chooses the leftmost show that would allow you to complete a line on your grid. If there isn't one, it chooses the leftmost show in the display.
Telly Time Clarifications
For interactions with moguls, see Mogul Clarifications, pg. 3. For interactions with executives, see each executive's clarifications section.
- Big Game: Cash from your genre grid does not count as ad income.
- Catalog Buyout: You may place a marker on any empty genre square, including Kids, Quiz, or Chat.
- Flexible Schedule: This effect can't be used to place Kids shows in primetime or late night timeslots.
- Market Research: Place a marker on the genre of the show you discard. If all 3 genres you draw already have markers, discard a show without placing a marker.
- Preempted Timeslot: Only double the cash or viewers you get from the pass track, not your genre grid.
- Variety Channel: Instead of resolving this effect as stated, score 2 viewers for each genre that appears on at least 2 shows in your lineup and/or reruns. Include Kids, Quiz, and Chat genres.
- Versatile Actor: You may change a show to Kids, Quiz, or Chat. The show does not gain that genre's show effect.
- Writeoff: When counting viewers on a Chat show, count bonus viewers from other stars in your lineup. When counting viewers on a Quiz show, don't count any bonus viewers.