Trafffic
Trafffic Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
Be the first to get rid of all your cards by finding, for each one, three cars arranged exactly the same way on the game board.
Components
- 1 game board
- 9 cars: 3 red, 3 blue and 3 yellow
- 40 regular cards, with a white background
- 20 expert cards, with a green background
- 1 green light
- 1 rulebook
Setup
Before your first game, apply the stickers to the matching coloured discs (the red cars on the red discs, and so on). The green light goes on the green disc.
- Place the 9 cars at random on the intersections of the game board. There may be no more than one car on each of the 16 intersections.
- Deal the regular cards (white background) equally among the players.
- 2 players: 20 cards each
- 3 players: 13 cards each
- 4 players: 10 cards each
- Players may place all of their cards face up in front of them immediately.
- Place the green light within reach of every player, near the board.
Playing the Game
Everyone plays at the same time. You must be quick! At the starting signal, all players look on the game board for three cars arranged exactly as on one of their cards.
When a player finds three cars arranged as on one of their cards, they say "Bip! Bip!". The game pauses for a brief moment. The player shows the other players their card and the three cars concerned, taking care to orient the card so that the view is easy. Then they get rid of that card and play resumes. A skilled player can thus chain several cards in a row. See Figure 1 for examples of valid combinations and Figure 2 for examples of invalid combinations.
Figures
Figure 1 (Examples of valid combinations): four board layouts, each with the three matching cars circled in green, shown beside the card they match.
Figure 2 (Examples of invalid combinations): examples marked with a red prohibition sign and a red cross on the card, in two kinds: mirror combinations and inverted colours.
The diagrams are described here, not reproduced. The captions and the rule text carry the rules they illustrate.
Remarks
A combination is not valid if it includes empty intersections where the card does not call for them.
If a player notices that another player has made a mistake, that is, the cars on the board are not exactly as on the card presented, they call it out as quickly as possible. They give one of their unresolved cards to the offending player, and play resumes normally.
Moving a Car
Players may move only one car at a time, and only by one intersection. To do so, a player takes the green light, places it in front of them, and moves the desired car one intersection in the direction they choose. If the destination intersection is already occupied by a car, that car takes the place just vacated: the two cars swap positions.
A player may make only one move each time they take the green light. While the green light is in front of a player, that player may not make any other moves. They must wait until another player takes the green light and makes a move before they can take it again.
It is forbidden to move a car back onto the intersection where it was before the last move: one may not "undo" the previous move.
End of the Game
The first player to get rid of all their cards wins the game.
- Once you have learned the rules, we recommend playing a three-round game, as described below. (Footnote as printed on the rules sheet.)
Expert Cards
Cards with a green background have 4 elements: one car of each colour and an empty intersection. They are harder to make. Reserve these cards for experienced players. If an expert plays against beginners, replace 3 of their regular cards (or more) with expert cards, to balance the chances.
Three-Round Game
For longer games, play three rounds. A round ends as soon as a player has got rid of all their cards. Players score as many points as the number of cards left in their hand. Record the scores on a sheet. The player with the fewest points at the end of the third round wins the game.
At the start of the second and third rounds, the leader (the player with the fewest points) exchanges as many of their regular cards for expert cards as they have points ahead of their closest rival. For example, at the start of the second round, Gabrielle has 0 points (she finished first), Maxime has 4 points and Mélanie has 2 points. Gabrielle therefore exchanges 2 regular cards for 2 expert cards.