Time Bomb Evolution
Time Bomb Evolution Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 6 Loyalty Cards (4 SWAT, 2 Terrorist)
- 36 Wire Cards (6 Success (Disarming), 30 Evo (5 copies of 6 colored bombs))
- 1 Clipper Card
- 6 Numbered Cards (1 each of 0-5)
Number of Players: 4-6 Ages: 10+ Playtime: 1-30 min
Objective
- SWAT: Disarm the time bomb.
- Terrorists: Detonate the time bomb.
Setup
1. Determining Loyalties
Different combination of Loyalty Cards are use with different player counts.
| Players | SWAT | Terrorists |
|---|---|---|
| 4, 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 6 | 4 | 2 |
Shuffle the Loyalty Cards, according to the number of players, and deal one, face down, to each player. Without showing the other players, each player checks his role determined by his Loyalty Card then places his card face down in front of himself. In a 4-player game there will be one card leftover. Return that card to the box without looking at it.
2. Wire Card Distribution
The number of Wire Cards varies with the number of players. First we prepare the Evo Cards. The number of different Evo Cards used depends on the number of players. (Any combination of Evo Card colors may be used.) Mix all of the Evo Cards of the colors being used together, and, keeping them face down, remove a certain number, again based on the number of players.
| Players | Evo | Remove |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 20 (4 Colors) | 4 cards |
| 5 | 25 (5 Colors) | 5 cards |
| 6 | 30 (6 Colors) | 6 cards |
Then add a certain number of Success Cards to the Evo Cards, based on the number of players.
| Players | Success | Evo |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 16 |
| 5 | 5 | 20 |
| 6 | 6 | 24 |
Add Success Cards based on the above chart and shuffle them well with the Evo Cards and deal all those cards to the players.
3. Determining the Start Player
The player who most recently evolved will be the start player. The start player takes the Clipper Card and places it in front of himself, so that all players can see it. From now on the player with the Clipper Card in front of them is the Clipper Trooper.
Game Flow
All players mix their Wire Cards face down and line them up in front of themselves. During the game if a player rechecks their Wire Cards that player must again mix their Wire Cards face down and line them up in front of themselves.
The Clipper Trooper selects any player other than himself, and clips one of that player's wires. During this time all players should discuss which player's wire to clip, but the final decision belongs to the Clipper Trooper.
The Clipper Trooper chooses one card from the chosen player's face down Wire Cards and places the Clipper Card in front of it. The chosen Wire Card is flipped face up for everyone to see.
The selected wire has been cut. If the end game conditions (explained later) have not been met then discard the selected card to the center of the table. Separate the Evo and the SUCCESS cards, so that it's always clear how many Success Cards have been cut. Sort the Evo Cards by color so that it's clear how many have been cut. Also keep the cards in order so you can see how many Wire Cards have been cut this round.
The player holding the Clipper Card, who was holding the card that was just clipped, will be the next Clipper Trooper and that player decides the next Wire Card to clip.
The round ends when the number of wires clipped is equal to the number of players (i.e. 6 in a 6-player game). Then all unclipped (face down) Wire Cards from all the players are collected, keeping them face down, then they are reshuffled and redistributed, equally, to the players, and a new round begins. (Each round players will have one less card than the previous round.)
The player with the Clipper Card (the player who's Wire Card was last clipped in the previous round) is the first Clipper Trooper for the new round.
End Conditions
The game ends when any of the following 3 conditions are met.
- All of the Success Wires have been clipped.
- The Swat players win. (The time bomb has been disarmed.)
- 4 of the same color Evo Cards have been clipped.
- The Terrorist players win. (The time bomb has been detonated.)
- 4 rounds have ended.
- The Terrorist players win. (The time bomb's timer has caused an explosion.)
At the end of the 4th round there are enough cards left over for an additional round, but the game ends without playing a 5th round.
Optional "Evolution" Rules
Differences from the standard game are described.
1. Explosion Prevention
When a Success Wire is clipped, the Clipper Trooper who clipped the Success Wire chooses one color of Evo Card that has been cut this round to protect. When one color of Evo Card has Explosion Prevention that type of bomb doesn't go off even if 4 or more of that color Evo Card is clipped.
To show the Evo Card type that will gain Explosion Prevention place the Success card in that Evo Card row.
- An Evo Card type that currently has Explosion Prevention can not be selected.
- If there are no legal choices then no Explosion Prevention takes place.
- If there is a legal choice then one must be chosen.
2. Special Evo Card Bomb Effects
When 4 of the same color Evo Card is clipped the bomb explodes, but additionally each different type (color) has a special effect.
Evo Card (Green Bomb)
The Green Evo Cards explode after only 3 cards. When Green Evo Cards have Explosion Prevention then they do not go off.
Evo Card (Purple Bomb)
The Purple Evo Cards will explode when 2 are clipped in a row. If one is clipped as the last Wire Card of a round and then next round's first Wire Card is a Purple Evo Card this will also cause an explosion. Explosion Prevention can not stop this kind of explosion.
Evo Card (Red Bomb)
Whenever a Red Evo Card is cut, the next Clipper Trooper randomly draws a Numbered Card. The number shown on the card is counted clockwise from the player drawing the Numbered Card. That player's Wire Card must be clipped. It is possible to be forced to clip one's own Wire Card in this manner. If the player to be clipped has no cards then no card is clipped, but they become the next Clipper Trooper and the game continues.
If the Red Evo Card is the last Wire Card clipped in a round then the Wire Cards are dealt as normal and then the Numbered Card is drawn by the Clipper Trooper. This effect happens even when Red Evo Cards have Explosion Prevention.
The Numbered Cards to use by Players Numbers are listed below.
| Players | Numbers |
|---|---|
| 4 | 0-3 |
| 5 | 0-4 |
| 6 | 0-5 |
Evo Card (Blue Bomb)
Whenever a Blue Evo Card is cut, the Clipper Trooper who cut it must choose and remove one Explosion Prevention. The Success Card that was indicating Explosion Prevention must be moved to it's own row to show this change.
If there are no Evo Cards under Explosion Prevention then this ability is ignored. If this causes the condition of a bomb explosion to be met then that bomb explodes.
This effect happens even when Blue Evo Cards have Explosion Prevention.
Evo Card (Yellow Bomb)
Yellow Evo Cards can never have Explosion Prevention.
Evo Card (Pink Bomb)
For each Pink Evo Card that has been cut the number of Wire Cards that can be clipped in the 4th Round is reduced by one.
This effect happens even when Pink Evo Cards have Explosion Prevention.
Note
Players are encouraged to speak assertively, persuade, deny and generally lie your pants off!
Credits
- Game Design: Yusuke Sato
- Graphic Design & Illustration: Kotaro Kawa
- Testing: Asozandaihunnka, Ami201, Inoue Bulldozer, Yusuke Ota, Kensuke Ota, Kengo Otsuka, Kotaro Kawa, Katsuya Kitano, Simpei Sako, Ryo Homma, Yusuke Sato
- Translation: Nathan Hunley
- In cooperation with: New Board Game Party