The Runaway Robot
The Runaway Robot Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 20 Robot tiles
- 5 markers & 5 Player boards
Game Setup
- Each player receives 1 Player Board and 1 Dry Erase Marker.
- Shuffle the 20 Robot tiles and set one tile aside face-down without looking. This is the Runaway Robot.
- Each player receives a number of Robot tiles as their Personal Robot tiles (based on the chart below). Look at your tiles and place them face-down in a row, with the smallest number on the left (towards the direction of the arrow) and the highest number on the right (on the wide end of the arrow). Never show your tiles to other players!
- Each player receives a number of Robot tiles as their starting hand (refer to the chart below). These are known as Helper Robots.
- Decide on a starting player, preferably the last player to interact with AI. You are ready to play The Runaway Robot!
Example: In a 4-player game, as the first player, you receive 3 Personal Robot tiles (placed on the table) and 3 Helper Robots (kept in your hand).
As shown in your player view, if your Personal Robot tiles are 1, 3, and 15, place them in the order shown so other players know that X < Y < Z.
Tile Distribution
Refer to the chart below for the tile counts dealt in Setup steps 2 & 3. The bolded number is the count for the starting player, then going clockwise.
Simple Game
| Players | Personal Robots | Helper Robots |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5-4 | 5-5 |
| 3 | 3-3-3 | 4-3-3 |
| 4 | 3-2-2-2 | 3-3-2-2 |
| 5 | 2-2-2-2-1 | 2-2-2-2-2 |
Standard Game
| Players | Personal Robots | Helper Robots |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5-5 | 5-4 |
| 3 | 4-3-3 | 3-3-3 |
| 4 | 3-3-2-2 | 3-2-2-2 |
| 5 | 2-2-2-2-2 | 2-2-2-2-1 |
Flow of the Game
Beginning from the starting player and going in clockwise order, each player plays one of their Helper Robots to any one face-down Personal Robot. Once all Helper Robots have been played, the game is over and players will need to guess the Runaway Robot to win the game!
Playing a Helper Robot
A player chooses one of the Helper Robots in their hand. Each Helper Robot has a question and four possible answers to that question. The player then chooses one face-down Personal Robot to place this Helper in front of. The chosen Personal Robot can belong to any player, including the active player. The chosen Personal Robot can have Helpers already in front of it.
Once the Helper is placed, the owner of the Personal Robot must orientate the Helper such that the correct option of the four options is facing towards all other players. Once the Helper is placed and oriented, that player's turn is over and it is the next player's turn in clockwise order.
Example: Calla places a Helper on Lily's right Personal Robot. The question is "What colour is this Robot?" The answer is Green, so Lily places the side of the card corresponding to "green/red and divisible by 3" facing towards all other players, without revealing what card it is.
Player Boards
The player boards are designed for players to write down or cross out information as they go along. It is meant to be an aid for the players so they may use it in any way they wish. Keep your information secret from the others!
Communication Rules
Players may not reveal any information or clues about their Personal Robots as this will spoil the game. However, players are encouraged to talk about things that are open to all players on the table and any other strategies that do not reveal information.
If the number of a Personal Robot can be deduced from visible cards (i.e. it can only be a specific number), you may flip it over. You are advised to consult with your fellow players before you do this!
Example: Calla places the no. 20 Helper on her own middle Personal Robot. Within that number range, the only possible card within both range 11-13 and being red is 13, so she flips it face-up! Now, can you figure out which numbers the rightmost Robots could be?
End of the Game
When all players have placed their Helper Robots, the game ends. All players now circle the number that they think the Runaway Robot is on their player board. When all players are ready, reveal the boards.
Players win the game if 2 or more players have guessed the Runaway Robot correctly (for all player counts). Congratulations, you have outsmarted the Runaway Robot through your expert deduction skills!
Players lose the game if only one or zero players have guessed the Runaway Robot correctly. The Runaway Robot has earned its freedom! Maybe if you were more logical, the robots would respect you more :(
Variants
Expert Mode
In Expert mode, play Standard Mode with the following difference: All players need to guess the Runaway Robot correctly to win the game. The higher the player count, the harder this gets! For a 2 player Expert game, play with 6-6 Personal Robots and 4-3 Helper Robots.
Casual Mode
In Casual mode, play Simple Mode with the following difference: At any time in the game, you may point to another player's Personal Robot and declare its number, and flip it over. If it is correct, leave it face-up. If it is wrong, you lose the game immediately.
Gameplay Tips
- The order of the smallest to largest Robots is very important. Use that to your advantage!
- Some Helper Robots give more information if placed at certain positions in a robot lineup.
- Don't be afraid to use Helper Robots on your own Personal Robots. The information will be useful to others!
- List out the robots you can see from smallest to largest, or vice versa. Sometimes there is an obvious one missing!
Robot Questions
-
1, 6, 11, 16 (Circles): What is the colour of this robot?
-
2, 7, 12, 17 (Triangles) & 5, 10, 15, 20 (Hexagons): What is the specified number range of this robot?
-
3, 8, 13, 18 (Squares): What is the shape of this robot?
-
4, 9, 14, 19 (Pentagons): Which 2 of the following does the robot match:
- Number is/isn't divisible by 3
- Matches the two colors
- In this number range
This means the indicated Personal Robot is either Red or Green, and NOT divisible by 3.