�

• •

a steampunk rocket building card game• •

•game rules•

�

© 2014 Triple Ace Games Ltd. Leagues of Adventure, Rocket Race and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Triple Ace Games Ltd. © 2014. All Rights

Reserved. Bidding mechanics inspired by Cheapass Games and reworked with permission.

www.tripleacegames.com

Initial Concept: Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams

Rules: Robin Elliott & Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams

Editing: Danny James Walsh, Peter Gray

Graphic Design: Robin Elliott

Layout: Robin Elliott, Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams

Card Art: Kamil Teczynski, Marco Morte, Robin Elliott, Luka Arh, Ryan Sumo, Robot with a Smile

Playtesters: Jim Ivens, Pam Ivens, Stephen Renwick, Maggie Wade-Williams, Naomi Styles &

David Styles

CREDITS

�

Leagues of Adventure Rocket RaceA non-collectible card game of Victorian Scientific

Research, Ground-breaking Engineering, Financial Acumen, Heroic Endeavors, and a Dash of Luck

The year is 1898, and the government of Her Imperial Majesty, Queen Victoria, has declared that the British Empire shall place a man (or woman) on the Moon before the end of the century, thus ensuring the Moon becomes part of its territory. With the challenge laid, the Leagues of Adventure immediately begin working on manufacturing the parts for and constructing Moon rockets.

Do you have the financial sense, technical acumen, willingness to take risks, blind luck, and ruthless ambition necessary to win the ultimate race—to be the first human to land on the Moon?

�

AIm of ThE GAmEIn Rocket Race players compete to build and

launch a moon rocket. You win by being the first to land on the moon! To achieve this each player represents the combined resources of a League of Adventure that has taken up the challenge to construct and launch a moon rocket.

The Leagues of Adventure are gentlemen’s clubs, social clubs, scientific societies, and col-lectives of like-minded individuals striving to achieve various cultural, social, and scientific objectives, as well as earn public recognition for their deeds.

Building RocketsIn order to land on the moon you need to

assemble a rocket comprising a Capsule, a Pro-pulsion system, and a Steering mechanism, plus any Accessories you think might help you in your noble quest.

A NoTE ABouT ThE GAmE RuLESThis game uses one deck of custom cards but

has two sets of rules—a Standard version and an Advanced version—giving you two games in one. Each set of rules is explained separately.

TAKE A TRIP To ThE mooN!

�

GAmE CoNTENTS• x8 Steering Mechanism cards• x8 Capsule cards• x8 Propulsion cards• x12 Rocket Accessory cards• x6 Event cards• x6 Workshop Upgrade cards• x4 League cards• x4 Workshop Cards• x1 Advanced play turn sequence card• x60 Die-Cut card cog counters• x2 Six-Sided Dice• x1 Rules Booklet

�

Cards & Symbols

Used in the Standard & Advanced Game

Steering Mechanism (Rocket Component)

Propulsion (Rocket Component)

Capsule (Rocket Component)

Accessory (Rocket Component)

Event

Used in just the Advanced Game

Workshop (This card has no symbol)

Workshop Upgrade

League

Electrics (Scientific Discipline)

Mechanics (Scientific Discipline)

Chemistry (Scientific Discipline)

�

Standard RulesPlayers: 3-6Playing Time: 10-20 minutes

The CardsTwo main card types are used in the Standard

rules: Components and Events.Components comprise of Capsule, Propul-

sion, Steering, and rocket Accessories. Assembling these will produce a vehicle capable of transport-ing you to the Moon (in theory, at least).

Each Component has a number in the bottom right corner. This is its Reliability rating—the higher the rating, the better your chances of reaching the Moon. Ignore the symbols down the left hand side—they are used only in the Ad-vanced rules.

Events carry specific instructions that help a player or hinder their rivals. Where a conflict be-tween an Event card’s text and the rules occurs, the wording on the Event card takes precedence. Once used, Events are discarded from play. Event text prefixed (S) is for the Standard game only and (A) for the Advanced game only.

GAmE SETuPDiscard the four League, four Workshop, six

Workshop Upgrade and Turn Sequence card—you don’t need them in this version. Shuffle the

�

remaining cards and place the deck face down in the center of the table.

Each player takes ten cog tokens and places them in their build area. These form the player’s Resource Pool, which represents a mix of finances, inventors, and laborers available for acquiring Components and arranging Events. As the game unfolds this will decrease and increase (though it can never drop below zero or increase above ten tokens).

GAmE PLAyDetermine who goes first. This can be done by

the roll of a die (highest wins), bequeathing the right to the youngest player, whoever owns the game, or whoever has the highest noble title, or whatever method the players deem acceptable. That player becomes the active player.

Each turn comprises of four steps. These must be taken in order and consist of:

1. Draw2. Bidding3. Development4. Launch (if possible)

1. DrawThe active player draws one card from the deck

and places it face up for all players to see. This card is now the focus for all the players.

2. BiddingAcquiring a Component or Event card requires

�

a player to bid, just like at an auction. Instead of money, you bid using the cog counters that form your Resource Pool. The active player bids first on the target card, with subsequent bids moving left around the table.

You can bid any amount up to the number of your cog tokens in your current Resource Pool. Subsequent bids must be higher than the previ-ous bid for that card. You don’t have to bid on a Component or Event card, but if you pass you cannot rejoin the bidding for that card later.

If everyone declines to bid, the Component or Event card is discarded and a new card is drawn from the deck and bidding begins on the new card, starting with the active player.

Whoever places the last, and therefore high-est, bid takes the Component or Event card. The player puts it face up in their build area and places tokens from their Resource Pool equal to the winning bid on the card. That card is now in Development.

Note that you can have multiple types of each Component. You’re allowed to prepare several rockets for launch, and any card you win is one denied to your opponents.

Should the deck run out at any time, shuffle all discarded cards to form a new deck.

3. DevelopmentAll players remove one cog token from each

card in Development except the card that was won during the last bidding phase. Cog tokens

�0

are returned to that player’s Resource Pool. When the last token is removed from a card it is Complete and ready to be used.

4. Launch (optional)Starting with the player who won the last auc-

tion and going left around the table, players may now declare that they are ready to launch a rocket (or even multiple rockets).

Pre-flight Rocket ChecksThere are two basic conditions you must meet

before you announce your launch.First, a rocket must contain one Capsule, one

Propulsion, and one Steering Component (and only one of each). You may add up to three Ac-cessories of your choice as well. Accessories are not compulsory, but they boost your chances of victory.

Second, all Components must be Complete—you cannot assemble a rocket using Components that are still in Development. You don’t have to do this immediately you have the minimum required Components assembled—you can delay launch-ing while you work on other Components.

Assuming you meet those conditions, you are good to launch!

Rocket LaunchAll players launching this turn place the vari-

ous Components that make up their finished rocket to one side so everyone knows exactly what Components are in the rocket. They then

��

add together all the individual Reliability scores to get a Reliability total.

Each player who launched rolls two six-sided dice and adds them together.

If his dice result is equal to or lower than his rocket’s Reliability total then that player has suc-cessfully landed on the Moon, an event verified by Earth-based telescopes! If that player was the only player who launched a rocket this turn, that player wins!

If the player rolls higher than their rocket’s Reliability total then something has gone badly wrong, causing the rocket to land back on Earth. See Rocket Failure below.

Rocket failureThe player whose rocket failed gathers up all

the Component cards used in their moon rocket and shuffles them. The player to their left then picks one at random—that Component suffered a catastrophic malfunction. Discard the failed Component. Failing to reach the Moon isn’t the end of your game—you simply continue to ob-tain rocket Components until you are ready to try another launch.

Natural fails & Natural SuccessesA natural roll of 12 is always a failure, no mat-

ter how high the Reliability rating, while a natural roll of 2 is always a success.

multiple LaunchesMore than one player might launch a rocket

��

at the same time. If this happens, all the players launching a rocket follow the rules above. Who-ever rolls lowest on the dice and rolls equal to or lower than their Reliability rating wins the game.

In the event of a tie, the game is a draw and both players get to share in the prestige heaped on them by a proud Queen Victoria and jubilant public. If you don’t like ties, then the players roll again until there is a clear winner.

Do it all Again!The player who won the last auction now becomes

the active player. That player draws the top card of the deck and begins the next bidding phase.

PLAyING EvENT CARDSWhen the last token is removed from an Event

in Development, the Event is ready to play as per the instructions. You can turn it face down if you like in the hope your opponents will forget what card it is. Events never form part of moon rockets.

��

Advanced RulesPlayers: 2-4Playing Time: 20-30 minutes

The CardsThere are five card types in this version of the

rules.Components: These are the same as in the

standard game and comprise of four sub-types: Capsule, Propulsion, Steering, and Accessories. Assembling these will produce a vehicle capa-ble of transporting you to the Moon (in theory, at least). Each Component has a number in the bottom right corner. This is its Reliability rating. The higher the rating, the better your chances of reaching the Moon. Down the left are one or more symbols, each with a number. These indi-cate the scientific research points you must pay to purchase that Component.

Events: These cards carry specific instructions that help a player or hinder his rivals. Where a conflict between an Event card’s text and the rules occurs, the wording on the Event card takes prece-dence. Once used, Events are discarded from play. Event text prefixed (S) is for the Standard game only and (A) for the Advanced game only.

Leagues: These are the Leagues of Adventure striving to build a space worthy rocket. Each League has skill levels of 1, 2, or 3 in the three scientific disciplines.

��

Workshop: Every discerning League needs a Workshop in which to build its rocket. One Work-shop is very much like another, so you won’t find any differences in these cards. The numbered tracks are your research points in the three scien-tific disciplines. Research points can never drop below zero or increase above 4.

Workshop Upgrades: To give your League an edge you can add Workshop Upgrades. It takes you away from your main objective, but this might pay off in the long run. Workshop Upgrades boost your League’s scientific skill rating, making it easier for you to gain research points.

Scientific DisciplinesRocket Components and Workshop Upgrades

are acquired by researching the correct scientific discipline or a combination of the disciplines. There are three scientific disciplines to research:

All Components, Accessories, and Workshop Upgrades have a scientific research cost to them. Players spend research points generated in their Workshops to acquire the various cards.

GAmE SETuPThis version uses all the cards.Each player chooses a League card, takes a

Workshop card and places these in front of them in their player area. Any spare Leagues or Workshop cards are discarded from the game. Place the Turn Sequence card face up on the table as a reminder of what the active player can do during their turn.

��

Leag

ue

League

Play Area Layout - Advanced Rules

All other cards are shuffled together to form one deck and placed centrally.

Each player requires 3 cog tokens to represent the changing research levels on their Workshop

��

cards during the game. All players begin with zero Workshop research points in each of the three disciplines.

Your play area should look like the diagram on page 15.

GAmE PLAyDecide which player starts the game. This

could be the oldest or who owns the game, or just roll the dice—the highest result on the dice allows that player to go first.

During his turn, a player has several actions he can perform. A player can choose one from actions 1, 2 or 3 and one from actions 4 or 5 each turn. The turn sequence is as follows:

1. Launch (not going to happen on the first turn!)

OR2. Scientific Research

OR3. Event Acquisition

THEN4. Component Acquisition

OR5. Discard

(only if no cards were taken during the active player’s turn)

Deal 5 cards face up in a row. There must be five cards face up at all times. As soon as any card is picked up during play it must be replaced immediately.

��

Once a player has finished his turn, play con-tinues clockwise, with each player completing a full turn sequence until a rocket is launched suc-cessfully to the Moon. The player who achieves that goal is declared the winner.

TuRN SEquENCE IN DETAIL

1. Rocket LaunchThe launch, rocket failure, and natural roll

rules for the Advanced game are exactly the same as the standard game. See page 5.

2. Scientific ResearchAcquiring rocket Components in the Advanced

game is very different to the bidding system as used in the Standard game. Each League card shows the three different science disciplines—Electrics, Mechanics, and Chemistry. The num-bers found next to each of science discipline on the League cards represents that League’s basic skill level for each discipline. Players must per-form scientific research to enable the acquisition of Components for their rocket. An active player who did not launch a rocket this turn may con-duct Scientific Research.

A player who elects to perform Scientific Re-search during his turn gets one free research point in any science discipline they choose. They must record any increase (or decrease) in research by moving the appropriate cog token along the track on their Workshop card.

��

Scientific BreakthroughA player choosing to perform Scientific Re-

search may also benefit from a Scientific Break-through. In order to achieve this momentous breakthrough, the active player rolls one six-sided die. They then compare the result to each skill value on the League’s card plus any Workshop Upgrades they have in play. The player gains one additional research point in the corresponding track on their Workshop card for each scientific skill the die result is equal to or lower.

Play Example: Fiona starts her turn with one point in her Mechanics total. She elects to perform Scientific Research this turn.

She automatically gains one free point to as-sign how she wishes. She chooses to increase her Chemistry. She now makes her Scientific Break-through roll by rolling one die. The result is a 2.

She first compares this to her Electrics skill plus any Workshop Upgrades. Her Electrics skill is a

��

3 and she has a +1 Electrics Workshop Upgrade, giving her a total skill of 4. Since the die result is lower than her skill, she gains one additional Electrics research point in her Workshop.

She then compares it to her Mechanic skill plus any Workshop Upgrades. That skill is only a 1 and she has no Mechanics Workshop Upgrade, so she makes no breakthrough.

Finally she compares the die result to her Chemistry plus any Workshop Upgrades. Her Chemistry skill is a 2 and she has no Chemistry Workshop Upgrades. As the die roll is equal to this she gains one additional Chemistry research point in her Workshop.

If she had rolled a one on the die she would have gained a Workshop point in every discipline.

3. Event AcquisitionThe active player may pick up an Event card if

they did not launch a rocket or perform Scientific Research—taking time to sabotage your oppo-nent is fun, but you cannot research your rocket at the same time. Event cards are chosen from any among the five face up cards in center of the game area. If no Event cards are face up, then you cannot select one.

You must draw a new card to replace the Event you just picked up.

Place the Event face down next to your League. You can play the Event as indicated on the indi-vidual cards.

�0

4. Component AcquisitionThe active player may acquire Components to

add to their rocket build area. In order to acquire Components, the active player simply spends the science research points gathered and recorded on their Workshop card. You can buy as many Components as you want during your turn, so long as you have the science research points to pay for them.

The scientific cost of the Component card is shown on the left hand side. Some Components have a cost from just one science discipline, while others require a combination from multiple dis-ciplines. As you use up your research points buy-ing Components you must move the appropriate marker along the track of your Workshop card to show your new science totals.

As soon as you buy a Component card you must replace it. If you can afford it, you can buy the card you just turned over!

5. DiscardIf the active player has not picked up any cards

during their turn they may now choose and dis-card one of the five face up cards.

optional RulesThREE STAGE mooN TRIP

These rules can be used with either the Stand-ard or Advanced Rules. With this optional end-ing reaching the Moon is no longer a matter of a

��

single Reliability roll. Space out three tokens on the table. These represent stages required for a successful Moon landing—the Launch, the Flight, and the Landing respectively.

flight SequenceWhen you are ready to launch, place your as-

sembled rocket by the Launch token and make a Reliability roll. If you succeed, move your rocket to the Flight token.

After the next bidding phase ends (Standard rules) or at the start of your next turn (Advanced rules) you make a second Reliability roll. Suc-cess moves the rocket to the Landing stage. Note that this does not preclude you from perform-ing Scientific Research or Event Acquisition in the Advanced rules—your rocket is in the hands of its brave lunarnaut, allowing your League to concentrate on other things, such as preparing a second rocket in case the first one fails!

After the next bidding phase concludes (Stand-ard) or on your next turn (Advanced), you make a third and final Reliability roll to determine whether you have landed safely on the Moon.

If any of the three Reliability rolls fails, the rocket crashes back to Earth as normal.

Event CardsThe Emergency Toolkit and Saboteur Event

cards are still one-use cards—they may affect any one flight stage chosen by the person playing the

��

card, but not all three, and not just the Launch phase as written on the card..

WoRKShoP BooSTThis rule is for use with the Advanced rules

only and speeds up play.Instead of starting with zero research points in

their Workshop, each player begins with research points equal to each of his League’s three scien-tific skills. This means it is possible to purchase more advanced Components earlier on, rather than waiting to build up your Workshop’s re-search points through Scientific Research.

The Society of Aeronauts, for example, begins with 1 point in Electrics, 2 points in Mechanics, and 3 points in Chemistry in his Workshop. The Daedalus Society would start play with 2 research points in each scientific discipline.

© 2014 Triple Ace Games Ltd.

LeagueLeagueAegis of Terra

“Considerreaching the Moon

a test for our eventual conquest

of Mars.”

3 1 2Art by Ryan Sumo

LEAGuE

Sample Cards

��

An

ti-G

ravi

tyP

ain

t Va

nes

“We

sim

ply

exte

nd o

r re

trac

t th

e va

nes,

and

the

ant

i-gr

avit

y ra

ys

emit

ted

by t

he p

aint

wil

l tu

rn t

he

craf

t.”

3

STE

ER

ING

ME

CH

AN

ISM

Art

by R

yan

Sum

o©

201

4 Tr

iple

Ace

Gam

es L

td.

1 3

3

prop

uls

ion

© 2

014

Trip

le A

ce G

ames

Ltd

.

Pow

er o

f th

e A

tom

“The

glo

w i

s a

min

or s

ide-

effe

ct. I

’m

sure

you

r sk

in w

ill

retu

rn t

o no

rmal

in

due

cou

rse.

Any

way

, not

hav

ing

to

brin

g fl

ashl

ight

s sa

ves

wei

ght.

”

Art

by L

uka

Arh

3 1

caps

ule

© 2

01

4 T

rip

le A

ce G

ames

Ltd

.

Ste

am

ship

Boi

ler

“It

wei

ghs

a to

n, b

ut i

t is

ex

cept

iona

lly

stur

dy, a

nd t

he e

xtra

w

eigh

t w

ill

indu

bita

bly

help

us

whe

n la

ndin

g.”

2A

rt b

y M

arco

Mo

rte

3

STEER

ING

mECh

ANIS

mCA

PSu

LEPR

oPu

LSIo

N

��

accessory

© 2

014 T

riple A

ce Gam

es Ltd.

Art b

y Ryan

Sum

o

Retra

ctable

Sprin

g-Loa

ded Legs

“The legs will either cushion our

landing or propel us back into space. It is hard to tell w

hich right now.”

1

2

© 2014 Triple Ace G

ames Ltd.

“bring me m

y steam w

rench”

+2

steam

powered tools

worksh

op accessory

Art by Luka Arh

Add to your Leagues Science Skill.

3

© 2014 Triple Ace G

ames Ltd.

Sa

boteur

“Let us see how far they get w

ithout this vitally im

portant screw!”

Play this card as soon as one opponent launches his M

oon rocket. H

e adds 2 to his Reliabilty R

oll.

Art by Marco M

orte

ACCESSoR

yW

oR

KSho

P uPG

RAD

EEvEN

T