RoboRally

RoboRally was first published in 1994 by Wizards of the Coast.

Designed by Richard Garfield. These Postal Rules by Neil Tomkinson 1997.

RoboRally is a robot race game in which each player attempts to be the first to touch a series of flags by manoeuvring a robot across a dynamic race course. Robots move by following a set of program cards. As Robots move simultaneously many interactions can occur, causing robots to end up in strange positions.

A Turn

• Players receive current positions of all robots, plus damage status, checkpoints reached, and last archive square.
• Players also receive the selection of program cards for their robot.
• Players program their robots and send their programs to the referee. They also send conditional orders about firing, repairing, and special abilities.
• The referee resolves the five phases of the programming, moving robots, and noting damage to them.

Information Received Each Turn

• Current position of each robot in the game, including the facing of each robot.
• Current damage of each robot in play.
• Any locked program cards for each robot.
• Set of program cards that the player can program his/her robot with. The number of cards given is 9 minus any damage points scored on robot. If less than five cards are given, some cards from last turn are locked (and are reported to everyone). Note some optional weapons may mean cards are locked before damage is greater than 4.

Program Cards

The program cards are of the following types:-

• Move forward 1, 2, or 3 spaces. (Cards denoted Move-1, Move-2, Move-3 in orders)
• Move backward 1 space. (Denoted Back in orders)
• Rotate 90 degrees left or right. (Denoted Left, Right in orders)
• Rotate 180 degrees. (Denoted U-Turn in orders)

(Note the rotate cards do NOT move the robot from the space it currently occupies).

As well as the type, a program card has a Priority. This resolves conflicts in moving simultaneously. Cards with HIGHER priorities are performed (fully) BEFORE cards with lower priorities. All cards have a different priority. Priorities are noted in orders as P123 (where 123 is the priority).

Card Mix:-

• 18 x Move-1
• 12 x Move-2
• 6 x Move-3
• 6 x Back
• 18 x Left
• 18 x Right
• 6 x U-Turn

Programming

• Five cards of program are needed. These must be specified in order (written as phases a-e).
• The cards must be taken from those provided for this turn.
• All five cards must be given (i.e. you cannot use a null program where the robot does nothing)
• Some cards may be locked due to damage. These cards cannot be overridden. E.g. If 5 points of damage have been scored upon the robot phase e card is locked, and only four cards are received, so these four cards must be placed in phases a-d.

Turn On Factory Floor

Each turn is made of 5 phases (a-e), with robots performing one card, the elements of the race course moving, and firing of lasers to damage robots.

In detail a turn consists of five phases, each involving

• Robots move according to the card for the phase. Higher priority cards go first.
• Express conveyor belts move one square
• Express conveyor belts move their second movement. Normal Conveyor belts perform their one movement.
• Pushers push one square if active this phase.
• Gears turn 90 degrees.
• Crushers crush if active this phase.
• Board-mounted AND robot-mounted laser beams damage robots.
• Checkpoints touched. Robots still active and on checkpoints or repair sites are now deemed to have touched them.

After the fifth phase a special check is made. All robots on checkpoints or repair sites are repaired.

Damage

• Each robot can take 9 points of damage.
• The tenth point of damage destroys the robot.
• Each point of damage reduces the number of program cards the player receives by one.
• Each point of damage OVER 4 locks a card stopping it from being changed between turns. Other players can see the locked cards, so have an idea about what the robot will be doing at some point during the turn. Cards are locked in the order e -a. (some option cards allow players to lock cards out of sequence, so it is possible to have the first card locked before later cards).
• A robot may lose an option card (if it has one) instead of receiving a point of damage.
• Damage can be repaired at the end of a turn, if the robot is sitting on a checkpoint or repair site. 1 or 2 points can be repaired this way.
• If a robot decides to power down for a turn it does not move. It repairs ALL its damage points BEFORE any movement of other robots, but will not move or fire. A player may decide to power down his robot when supplying orders for a new turn, knowing its position, damage and cards dealt.
• Destroyed robots come back (if the player has any lives left) at the LAST checkpoint or repair site that the robot touched at the end of a phase. Robots reactivated in this fashion come back with 2 points of damage. The robot also loses an option card. Players can write conditional orders stating they will return powered down, but by default players will receive a hand, and will have to play it.
• Robots can also be destroyed by running into a pit, off the edge of the factory floor, or by a crusher.

Virtual Robots

Only one robot can exist in a factory square at a time. This means robots that run into each other will push each other around (this is the reason for priorities on cards - who pushes who). Since every robot starts on the same square, and since destroyed robots could reactivate on the same square as another robot, the robots first appear as virtual robots. Virtual robots behave like normal robots but do not interact with each other (cannot push each other, cannot hit each other with lasers). Virtual robots interact with the board as normal (conveyors work, lasers work etc.). At the end of a turn, if a virtual robot is on a square all by itself, it then becomes a real robot and can interact with all other real robots. Note that reactivated robots can appear as real robots if no other robot exists on the square they reactivate on.

Options

As robots move around the factory floor, opportunities arise to pick up option mounts (finishing turn on 2-spanner repair site). Option mounts are beneficial to a robot (shields, extra fire-power, tractor beams, etc.). Some option mounts, such as shields, and turret weapons have to be specified in the orders, as to what direction, or whether they are to be used. Others will have to have conditional orders (such as use tractor beam if opponent will fall into pit through my use). Some options (weaponry) are always in use. When people get options, they will also receive a description of how to write orders for it. An option can be destroyed instead of taking a damage point, but orders must be written for this. When a robot is destroyed, it loses an option.

Factory Floor Guide

The races take part on a factory floor. This section details all the elements found on a factory floor and how they interact with robots.

Pits - These are bottomless shafts. Any robot entering one of these squares is destroyed. Open edges of the game area also act like bottomless shafts.

Walls - Factory walls. These block robot movement and laser fire. Robots that attempt to move through a wall simply stay where they are. No damage is incurred running into a wall.

Checkpoints - These are the targets that robots must touch in order to win the race. Each checkpoint is numbered and they must be touched in order. A checkpoint is only touched if the robot occupies it at the end of one of the movement phases. Passing through the checkpoint does NOT count. When a checkpoint is touched, it becomes the place where a destroyed robot will reactivate. If a robot is occupying at the end of a turn, ONE point of damage is repaired.

Repair Sites - If a robot occupies one of these at the end of a movement phase, the repair site becomes the place where the robot will be reactivated when destroyed. If a robot occupies one of these at the end of a turn, the robot is repaired. The number of spanners indicates the number of points repaired. If 2 spanners are shown, the robot may opt to take an option card instead of being repaired (this must be noted in the orders).

Express Conveyor Belts - These conveyor belts move robots two squares. They move robots in the direction of the arrow. This movement occurs at the end of each movement phase.

Turning Express Conveyor belts - As belts round corners robots being moved are also turned. If a conveyor belt pushes a robot onto this square, the robot is rotated 90 degrees in the indicated direction. In these examples the robot must be pushed from the North. Being pushed in from the West does not turn the robot.

Conveyor Belts - These conveyor belts work exactly like express conveyor belts, except they only move robots one square at the end of each movement phase.

Pushers - If a robot is in the pusher square when the pusher activates, the robot is pushed into the adjacent square (in this example, the square above). Multiple robots can be pushed, so a chain of robots could be pushed by one pusher. Pushers only operate on certain phases. The race map will detail what phases pushers will operate on.

Gears - Robots sitting on gears at the end of a movement phase are rotated through 90 degrees, in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Crushers - Crushers exist on some conveyor belts. If a robot is on the square when a crusher activates, the robot is destroyed. Crushers only activate on certain phases. The race map will detail what phases crushers will operate on.

Lasers - Robots caught in a laser beam at the end of a phase receive a point of damage for each beam in the square. Robots are NOT damaged by moving through a laser beam, and laser beams are blocked by walls and other robots. If two robots are in line with a laser, the robot closer to the laser mount will be hit, but not the other. Lasers DO affect virtual robots.

Sample Orders

Fred Turn 3

Cards

• a - Move-3 p345
• b - U-Turn p23
• c - Left p98
• d - Back p123
• e - Left p97 (Locked)

If I finish on 2 spanner repair & damage > 3 repair, else take option card.

Extra Tiles For Grand Prix

OIL SLICKS - If a robot attempts to end its movement on an oil slick, it continues to slide in the direction of its movement until it is stopped by a wall or another robot that is not on an oil slick, or until it is no longer on an oil slick. If a robot slides into another robot which is on an oil slick, both robots slide as described above. Note that a robot does not slide until it attempts to end its movement on an oil slick; robots that are still moving behave in the normal manner. If a robot begins its movement on an oil slick, the first square of movement is negated. Oil slicks have no effect on rotate cards.

PORTALS - A robot that enters a portal during the execution of a movement card immediately moves to the other portal of the same colour, and continues its movement from there. If another robot occupies the moving robot's destination portal, the portal does not activate and the robot continues to move as if the portal were open floor.

LEDGES and RAMPS - The thick brown lines separate one level from another. Where there is no ramp, a robot crossing from the upper to the lower level takes two damage points. If it lands on another robot, this robot is pushed and it also takes two damage points. The ledge is treated as a wall if coming from the lower level. If a ramp is present then it is treated as an extra square when going up. If the robot stops on the extra square, it slides back down. Going down, the ramp simply negates the 2 damage.

REPULSOR FIELDS - A robot that runs into a repulsor field is pushed directly away from the field for the number of square equal to its movement card, and loses any remaining movement from that card. A robot that is pushed into a repulsor field by another robot is pushed directly away by the number of squares equal to the pushing robot's card (the pushing robot loses any remaining movement). Repulsed robots may push other robots. Repulsor fields only operate if a robot runs into or is pushed into them.

CHOP SHOP - If a robot ends a REGISTER phase on a chop shop, it may either scrap an existing option and draw a new option to replace it, or may recharge one option. If a robot ends a TURN on a chop shop it may do the above OR draw an additional, new option card. In the postal game, newly obtained options cannot be exchanged in the turn in which they are drawn.