Time Splicers
Time Splicers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 65 Game Cards
- 12 Time Freeze Markers (Cubes)
- 6 Meeples (Player Tokens)
- 25 Time Crystals (Gems)
- 12 Time Jump Tokens (Lightning Bolts)
Setup
- Each player receives 2 Time Jump Tokens, 1 Meeple, and 2 Time Freeze Markers.
- Place the Time Portal card to one side of the play area.
- Shuffle the remaining cards and deal 4 cards to each player.
- Place the deck on the table and deal 1 card face up next to it, marking the start of the Timeline. (If a Time Freeze card is dealt, discard it and draw another.)
- Place the player meeples onto the starting card.
How to Play
Note: "Timeline" refers to a horizontal row of cards of the same Timeline colour, placed in ascending order.
Moving (Main Action)
On your turn, you must move your meeple by completing one of the following actions:
a. Move to an adjacent card, then draw 1 card b. Move to the Time Portal, then draw 2 cards c. Place a card and move onto it.
a. Move to an Adjacent Card, then Draw 1 Card: You may move to a directly adjacent card in the same Timeline, or to a card in a different Timeline with the same number as you are on. You must then draw 1 card from the deck.
Note: Cards of the same number in different Timelines are considered adjacent (i.e. if you are on a 5, moving to any other 5 is considered one move.)
b. Move to the Time Portal, then Draw 2 cards: You may move into the Time Portal to teleport to any place in any Timeline. (Note: This move takes 2 turns to complete.)
To begin, move to the Time Portal card, then draw 2 cards from the deck. Your first turn is now over.
On your next turn, you must move from the Time Portal to any card on the table, or place a card and move onto that card instead (either adding to an existing Timeline or creating a new Timeline).
c. Place a Card & Move Onto It: You may place a card adjacent or parallel to your position and move onto the newly placed card. Learn how to do this in the next section.
Placing Cards
Placing Cards in the Same Timeline
A card may be placed adjacent to your current card if both are the same Timeline colour. The value of the cards placed to the right must be greater, and to the left must be lesser.
You may shift the Timeline forward or backward if the placed card falls between the card you are on and an adjacent card.
Example: If you are currently on a 4 and the adjacent card is a 7, the 7 card can be shifted over to place a 6 in between the 4 and 7.
Placing Cards in a New Timeline
You may create (splice) new Timelines by placing a card of a different colour, but of the same number (or Era), above or below your current card.
Fixed Point in Time
If you place a parallel Timeline card that creates 3 of the same Era on the table (i.e. three 4's), it creates a fixed point in time and you collect 1 Time Jump token from the supply. If you place a fourth identical Era card, collect 1 Time Jump token.
Hand Limitations
Hand Minimum – 4 Cards
If you have fewer than 4 cards at the end of your turn, draw until you have 4.
Hand Maximum – 7 Cards
The maximum hand size is 7 cards. If you exceed this limit at any time during your turn, discard your entire hand, lose one Time Jump token, and draw 4 new cards from the deck. If you cannot pay the over-limit penalty with a Time Jump token, you are eliminated from the game.
Note: If the draw deck runs out of cards, shuffle the discard pile to create a new draw deck.
Special Cards
Special cards may be played at the beginning of your turn as a free action. They do not count toward the mandatory move action.
Quantum Tunnel
Use a Quantum Tunnel card to move to any card on the table as a free action before taking your move action. If this is the card dealt during setup, players may place any card next to it on their move. Remove this card once the last player has left it.
Time Jump
Use a Time Jump card or Time Jump token to move to any other card within the same Timeline. A Time Jump token may also be used to discard the cards in a player's hand and draw 4 new cards. If this is the card dealt during setup, the first player to move off it determines which Timeline will be created for all players on that card. Discard once all players have left it.
Time Freeze
Before jumping to another Timeline, place a Time Freeze card at the end of your current Timeline to prevent it from collapsing when it is empty. Place one of your Marker Cubes on the card to indicate that you placed it. Multiple players may place Time Freeze cards on the same Timeline.
When you return to a Timeline that you have frozen, immediately discard the Time Freeze card you placed and return your Marker Cube to your supply. If there are no remaining Time Freeze cards on a Timeline, it is immediately unfrozen.
Note: This card does not prevent a Partial Timeline Collapse or Complete Time Collapse.
Finding Time Crystals
Time Crystals can be found by collapsing Timelines using one of the following three methods:
a. Empty Timeline Collapse b. Partial Timeline Collapse c. Complete Timeline Collapse
a. Empty Timeline Collapse
An Empty Timeline Collapse is triggered when you leave a Timeline, there are no other players remaining in it, and it does not contain a Time Freeze card. When this occurs, discard all cards from this Timeline. If the Timeline contained 3 or more cards, collect 1 Time Crystal from the general supply.
b. Partial Timeline Collapse
A Partial Timeline Collapse is triggered when you create a 3-card sequence (1-2-3, 4-5-6, etc.) When this occurs, discard the 3-card sequence and move all meeples on those cards to the closest Era (card) to their left. If no cards remain in the collapsed Timeline, move all meeples to the earliest Era (card) in the Timeline of your choice. If there are no remaining Timelines, flip over the top card of the deck to create a new Timeline and place all meeples onto it. Collect 1 Time Crystal from the general supply.
Example: The 5 is placed between the 4 and 6. This creates a 4,5,6 and a 5,6,7 sequence. The player chooses which sequence to collapse.
- If 4,5,6 are removed, the meeple moves back to 2.
- If 5,6,7 are removed, the meeple moves back to 4.
c. Complete Timeline Collapse
A Complete Timeline Collapse is triggered when you place the 5th card in a Timeline that contains a Singularity card (13), even if the placed card is the (13). When this occurs, discard the entire Timeline.
Move all meeples from the collapsed Timeline to the earliest Era (card) in the Timeline of your choice. If there are no remaining Timelines, flip over the top card of the deck to create a new Timeline and place all meeples onto it. Collect 2 Time Crystals from the general supply.
Game End
The game ends immediately when a player finds their seventh Time Crystal, indicating they are the winner. Congratulations, you have saved humanity!