How to Play Time Machine

Game Objective

In Time Machine Rocket, players are Time Machine test pilots, traveling through the time stream to find personalities from different historical periods and form a team. The main objective is to be the first player to reach 40 points by the end of the game.

The game consists of several rounds. At the end of each round, players tally the points from their characters and any completed Objectives. These points accumulate over the rounds. If two or more players reach 40 points (or more) simultaneously, the player with the highest total score wins. In case of a tie in total score, the player with the most characters in the last round wins. If the tie persists, the next criterion is the number of points scored in the last round. If there is still a tie, players play a final round to determine the winner.

Setup

To set up the Time Machine Rocket table, follow the steps below. You can use the back of the rulebook as a game board to facilitate organization:

1. Separate the 110 cards into the following types: 10 Objective cards, 24 Rocket cards (7 common and 3 Rocket 2X), 6 Vortex cards, and 70 Character cards.
2. The Character cards are divided into 5 historical periods (Ancient Age, Middle Ages, Modern Age, Contemporary Age, and Post-WWII Contemporary Age) and 5 categories (Humanitarian, Military, Creative, Scientist, and Explorer).
3. Create the Historical Period Piles: Separate the Character and Vortex cards by historical period and shuffle each pile separately. Arrange them in chronological order from left to right in the shared area: Ancient Age, Middle Ages, Modern Age, Contemporary Age, and Post-WWII Contemporary Age.
4. Create the Objective Pile: Shuffle the 10 Objective cards and place them face down in the shared area.
5. Create the Rocket Pile: Shuffle the 24 Rocket cards and place them face down in the shared area.
6. Designate the Play Area: Reserve a space in the shared area to open cards during turns.
7. Designate the Discard Pile: Reserve a space in the shared area for used and discarded cards, face up.
8. Each player must reserve a Player Area in front of them to place their character cards (ideally, space for 5 cards side by side) and an additional space to place Rocket cards.
9. At the beginning of each round, shuffle each of the piles separately and reveal the first Objective card, placing it face up on top of the Objective Pile. This will be the round's Objective.
10. The youngest player starts the first round, and the game proceeds clockwise. In subsequent rounds, the player to the left of the player who started the previous round will be the next to start.

Game Flow

The game progresses in rounds, and each round consists of players' turns. The youngest player starts the first round, and the game proceeds clockwise. In subsequent rounds, the player to the left of the player who started the previous round will be the next to start.

On their turn, a player must always reveal the top card of the most recent period pile (Post-WWII), unless they have Rockets to change the starting point.

A round can end in three different ways:

1. A player completes the round's Objective: If a player completes the revealed Objective, the round ends immediately. If the player completes the Objective by recruiting a character, they cannot use that character's action.
2. A player forms a complete team: A player gathers 5 characters, each from a different category (Humanitarian, Military, Creative, Scientist, and Explorer). When placing the last character in their team, the player can decide whether or not to use that character's action, but must ensure their turn ends with 5 characters of different categories.
3. End of a card pile from a specific historical period: If a player needs to reveal a card from a historical period and there are no more cards available in that pile, the round ends.

At the end of each round, players count their points, and a new round begins, adding up the accumulated points.

Actions and How to Play

On their turn, the player always starts by revealing the top card of the most recent period pile (Post-WWII), unless they use Rockets. After revealing a card, the player has two choices:

1. Take the card they revealed, recruiting that character to their team:
   • If the player already had a character of that category in their team, they must discard the previous character and place the new card in its place.
   • When placing the character in their team, the player can use its action (only characters recruited directly from the play area can use their actions).
   • The player's turn ends.
2. Reveal the next card from the same pile:
   • The player can reveal as many cards as they want until they decide to recruit a character, provided that none of the scenarios below occur:
     • If the new card revealed has a character of the same category as one previously revealed: The player is forced to recruit the newly revealed character, and their turn ends. The other cards revealed in the play area go to the discard pile.
     • If the revealed card is a Rocket: The player must start revealing cards from the next pile to the left (from the immediately preceding period). All categories that had been previously revealed reset, allowing a character of the same category to be revealed again without being forced to recruit it.
     • If the revealed card is a Vortex: The player immediately loses their turn, and the card goes to the discard pile.

Character Cards and their Actions

When recruiting a character directly from the play area to your team, you can use its action, which varies according to the category:

• Humanitarian: Take a character from an opposing player that has a number of points less than or equal to the number of points of the character you recruited.
• Military: Discard one or more characters from your opposing players with a maximum total of points equal to the number of the character you recruited. You can discard characters from different players in the same action.
• Creative: Look at the number of cards on top of the pile of the period you stopped in, according to the points of the character you recruited, and take one of those cards, if you wish (including Rocket). At the end of this action, place the remaining cards back on top of the same pile, in the order you prefer.
• Scientist: Take Rocket cards from the Rocket pile according to the points of the character you recruited. If there are not enough cards in the pile, you can take Rocket cards from your opponents.
• Explorer: Look at the number of cards on top of the discard pile, according to the points of the character you recruited, and take as many of those cards as you wish (including Rocket). At the end of this action, place the remaining cards back on top of the same pile, in the order you prefer.

Rocket Cards

The Rocket allows time travel and can be used in two ways:

1. When revealing a Rocket from the historical piles: The player is automatically moved to the next pile to the left (immediately preceding period) and must continue revealing cards from this new pile in the same turn.
2. When using Rockets from your area: If you took Rockets with Scientists, Creatives, or Explorers, they remain in your Rocket area. At the beginning of your turn, you can place one or more Rockets in the play area to advance the corresponding number of piles into the past. For example, using 3 Rockets allows you to start the turn in the Middle Ages instead of Post-WWII. Rocket 2X cards count as 2 Rockets. At the end of the turn, temporal jumps are reset, and the player must start from Post-WWII on their next turn.

Vortex Cards

The Vortex is the worst card to encounter. There is at least one in each historical period. When revealing a Vortex card from one of the piles, the player immediately loses their turn, and the card goes to the discard pile. If a Vortex is revealed during a Creative or Explorer character's action, the card has no effect, but can be considered as revealed to complete the Temporal Paradox Objective.

Objective Cards

At the beginning of each round, an Objective card is revealed. Any player can try to complete it. If successful, the round ends, and the card's points are added to the player's character points. The Objectives are:

• The Rehabilitation of Baby Hitler (15 points): Have a Humanitarian character of 5 or more points and reveal the first card of the Contemporary Age pile.
• The End of the Flat Earth (5 points): Have a Scientist character of 4 or more points and reveal the first card of the Middle Ages pile.
• The Creation of Santa Claus (10 points): Have a Creative character of 3 or more points and reveal the first card of the Ancient Age pile.
• The Terminator of the Past (10 points): Recruit a Military and be able to discard 3 characters from one or more opponents at the same time.
• The Cradle of Civilization (5 points): Have 2 characters from the Ancient Age.
• The 1st Woman on the Moon (10 points): Have 4 Rockets (Rocket 2X counts as 2) and a female character.
• The Dinosaur Tamer (15 points): Have 7 Rockets (Rocket 2X counts as 2) and an Explorer character of 1 or more points.
• The 7th Wonder of the World (5 points): Have 2 Brazilian characters from any historical period.
• Nostradamus's Prophecy (20 points): End the turn by forming a team of 5 characters, each from a different historical period.
• The Temporal Paradox (5 points): Reveal 3 Vortex in one round and take them. Vortex revealed by Creative or Explorer actions also count and can be taken.

For Objectives that require revealing the first card of a specific pile, the round ends immediately, and the revealed card cannot be recruited (and will have no effect if it is a Rocket or Vortex).

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player reaches 40 points or more at the end of a round.

Scoring is calculated at the end of each round as follows:

1. Character Scoring: Each player adds the score of all character cards in their team. For example, an Explorer 3 and a Military 5 add up to 8 points.
2. Objective Scoring: If a player completes an Objective in a round, they add the number of points from the Objective card to their character's score. For example, a Humanitarian 3, a Scientist 4, and a 10-point Objective add up to 17 points.

Points accumulate over the rounds. The player who first reaches 40 points or more is the winner.

In case of a tie (2 or more players with 40 points or more at the same time):

1. The player with the most total points wins.
2. If the tie persists, the player with the most characters in the last round wins.
3. If there is still a tie, the next criterion is the number of points scored in the last round.
4. If the game is still tied, players must play a final round to determine the winner.

Tips for Winning

• Manage your character categories: Pay attention to the character categories you have already revealed on your turn. If you reveal a character from a category that has already been revealed in the same turn, you will be forced to recruit it, which can interrupt your strategy of searching for a specific character or an Objective.
• Use Rockets strategically: Rocket cards are crucial for accessing older historical periods and can be used to avoid Vortex or search for specific characters. Saving Rockets and using them at the beginning of your turn to travel to the past can give a significant advantage, especially with Rocket 2X cards.
• Take advantage of character actions: Character actions are powerful and can change the course of the game. For example, a Scientist can give you more Rockets, a Military can disrupt opponents' plans by discarding their characters, and a Creative can help you find the perfect card in a pile. Plan your recruitments to maximize the use of these abilities.