Vault Assault
Vault Assault Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objectives
The Robbers attempt to steal a precious diamond, and then loot the bank vault while evading the Cops.
The Cops attempt to chase down the Robbers, confiscate their loot, and arrest them.
Components
- 1 Rulebook
- 1 Round Marker
- 5 Diamond Tiles
- 9 Getaway Car Tiles
- 16 Dice:
- 6 Cops
- 10 Robbers
- 54 Vault Tiles
Game Setup
2-player game = 1 Cop & 1 Robber
The Cop takes all red and blue dice, returning 1 Diamond Die to the box. The Robber takes all 5 dice of one set, black or white.
3-player game = 1 Cop & 2 Robbers
The Cop takes all red and blue dice, returning 1 Diamond Die to the box. The Robbers each take all 5 dice of one set, black or white.
4-player game (teams) = 2 Robbers & 2 Cops
One Cop takes 3 red dice, and the other takes 3 blue dice. One Robber takes 3 black dice, and the other takes 3 white dice.
Place all Vault Tiles facedown in the center of the table and 3 Getaway Cars in front of each player/team. The first Cop takes the Round Marker and keeps it for the entire game.
Game Play
Each player is considered to be using a team of Cops or Robbers, so for simplicity in the rules, they will normally be referred to in the plural form. Players will be rolling their dice as fast as they can, attempting to accumulate matching symbols and using the corresponding action. Each roll, players may choose to keep any number of dice, and reroll any number, but once a player uses an action, the used dice must be rerolled (with the exception of the Hostage action).
Turns
Each turn is played over two phases: Diamond Heist and Vault Assault.
Play continues until the Robbers have Escaped, or are Arrested (see Getaway Cars below).
At the end of a turn, players/teams pass their dice clockwise and begin a new Diamond Heist with the objective that corresponds to their dice.
Rounds
A round consists of each player/team having played as the Cops once.
To track the rounds, every time the Cop dice return to the player holding the Round Marker, it is flipped over.
There are 3 rounds in a 2- or 4-player game, and 2 rounds in a 3-player game.
Diamond Heist
Stolen diamonds are kept beside Getaway Cars and cannot be taken with the Steal or Dye Pack actions. At game end, each Diamond Tile is worth $40,000.
Cops
The Cops protect the Diamond by placing all 4 of their Alarm dice faceup in a row in front of them. Next, while hiding those dice behind their free hand, the Cops must decide where they will hide the Diamond. To make their choice, they put the Diamond die faceup anywhere in the row of alarm dice. Lastly, as a trap, they flip an Alarm die to the Dye Pack side.
In a 4-player game, use the second special die as the trap.
Robbers
The Robbers begin the Heist by placing all of their dice with Wires faceup in a row in front of them. Each Robber must decide which wires to cut to try and avoid the alarm and steal the Diamond. To make their choice, each Robber flips over a die. After the Cops compare, the Robbers may continue flipping more dice until they find the Diamond, hit the trap, or decide to stop (see diagram on pg. 4).
A 3-player game is not a team game, so Robbers hide their chosen dice from other Robbers.
Comparing Dice
Once the Robbers have flipped a die, and without revealing their hidden dice, the Cops compare the order of their dice to the Robbers' to see what was triggered.
- If the flipped die lines up with an Alarm die, the Cops will start the Vault Assault with one piece of their first mosaic preset. The Robbers can decide to give up or to try flipping another die (which could result in the Cops starting with multiple pieces preset).
- If the flipped die matches the Dye Pack die, that Robber hit a trap and must turn that die to the Hostage side.
- If the flipped die matches the Diamond die, that Robber takes a Diamond Tile from the box.
In a 3-player game, the Cops compare dice starting to their left and proceeding clockwise. Only 1 diamond is given out per turn; 1 player may continue if the other hits a trap, and the Cops only get 1 preset mosaic piece for each round of attempts by either or both Robbers who hit an Alarm.
After the Robbers have chosen to give up, hit a trap, or stolen a Diamond, the Cops show their dice and players continue to the Vault Assault.
Examples
- If Player/Team 2 hit a trap, they turn that die to the Hostage side and end their attempt at the Diamond Heist.
- Player 3 found the diamond's location, so they immediately take a Diamond Tile and all players proceed to the Vault Assault.
Team game: Simply add a 6th die, and each team member uses 3 dice of their colour with the same objectives.
Alignment
To correctly check the order, Cops visually line up the backside of the Robbers' dice with the backside of their dice.
Vault Assault
Cops must roll and properly assemble each mosaic, in stage order, before yelling and continuing to the next action:
- Stage 1 – Fuel Up: Yell a donut flavour.
- Stage 2 – Dispatch: Yell a street name.
- Stage 3 – Crime Scene: Yell "Surrounded!"
- Stage 4 – Arrest: Yell "Arrested!" before the Robbers begin to yell "Escaped!"
The Cops also have a Special Die with the Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and Stage 4 pieces, which allows them to use it as any piece (that is, a "wild card") in the matching mosaic.
- Dye Pack (x 4): Yell "Bang!" and remove 2 Vault Tiles from any Getaway Car(s) and place them on yours.
The Cops may only use one Dye Pack action before each stage, for a possible total of 4.
(The source's Cops action table labels this action "Die Pack"; the rest of the rulebook calls it the Dye Pack, so "Dye Pack" is used here.)
Robbers roll their dice and may set aside any number in an attempt to use one of the following actions:
- Steal (x 4): Take 1 Vault Tile from any other player's Getaway Car and add it to one of yours.
- Loot (x 4): Take 2 Vault Tiles from the bank and add them to your Getaway Car(s).
- Hostage (x 1): Yell "Hostage!" and set this die aside. Cops must immediately reroll all their dice.
- Backup (x 2): Yell "Backup!" and take your Hostage die back into your hand.
- Escape (x 5): Yell "Escaped!" before the Cops finish yelling "Arrested!"
Robbers may use their actions in any order.
Robbers may change their mind and reroll any dice set aside, provided it was not used for a Hostage action.
Each Robber may only set aside one Hostage at a time.
The only way to gain a die set aside by a Hostage action (or by a trap during the Diamond Heist) is by using the Backup action.
Robbers may choose to Escape at any time.
Once Escaped, a Robber is safe from the Dye Pack action, but not the Steal action.
When the last tile is removed from the bank, that player must yell "Empty!" and all players immediately begin rolling dice to Escape or Arrest.
If playing a team game, a sixth die would be in play.
In a 4-player game, teammates will have to combine dice to complete each action or mosaic. Communication is key!
Getaway Cars
To Escape with their loot, each player must stack stolen and looted Vault Tiles faceup on their Getaway Car(s) and cannot alter the order of the tiles once they are placed.
Any Robbers taking Vault Tiles from another player's Car can only choose from the top (visible) tiles.
When a Dye Pack action is used, the Cops may take a tile from any number of players' Cars, but only 2 Vault Tiles total. Getaway Cars must be in reach of all players, and tiles cannot be hidden away from the Cars.
When Robbers are Arrested, the Cops choose one Getaway Car to impound by placing the Vault Tiles from it onto their own Car(s) and flipping the Robbers' Getaway Car tile over to the opposite side. Those Robbers will have one less Car for the remainder of the game.
The Cops may not look through the stacked tiles. They have to make a guess about which is the most valuable car to impound.
In a 3-player game, the Robbers must Escape independently. And if the Cops Arrest them both, they will impound 1 Car from each Robber!
All loot remains on non-impounded Getaway Cars between rounds, and isn't returned to the bank or counted until the end of the game.
Special Tiles
Security Measures
In an attempt to deter criminals, the bank has hidden various traps in the vault. When Robbers draw one of these Vault Tiles, they must immediately remove that tile from the game and do the following:
The four trap tiles (shown in the printed layout as a grid, read left to right and top to bottom) each have their own effect:
- Run around the table once. (Or roll x 4.)
- Return a visible Vault Tile from the top of one of their Cars to the bank, placing it facedown.
- Roll with their wrists together until the end of the turn.
- Roll with the opposite hand until the end of the turn.
Sticky Fingers
If any one player/team has both of these tiles at the end of the game, they may steal one Diamond Tile from another player or the bank. Having only one of these tiles is not worth anything at the end of the game.
Game End
After the set number of rounds, or once the bank has been emptied, the game ends and players add up the total value of the Vault Tiles on their Cars, along with any Diamond Tiles.
The player/team with the most valuable loot wins!