Alternative ground plates
ADDITIONAL ROBO RALLY RULES AND BOARD ELEMENTS
This page mostly consists of content from the old roborally.com site including additional board elements, option cards, and additional rules. This version of the text has some additional content and some editing and clarifications.
Gameplay Variants
New Board Elements
For printable copies of already designed Robo Rally boards that use the new board elements below, see Gareth Taylor's collection at tartarus.org/gareth/roborally/boards/.
Additional Option Cards
Option card fronts are included in sheets here. I believe that there was also a printable sheet to create backs as well on the old roborally.com site, but I don't have a copy that sheet. The sheets below also have images for any new kinds of ammo needed for the cards.
Timing Summary
"Survival of the fittest"
The goal here is simply to outlive your opponent.
Basic Idea is that 2 (or more) robots play in one team. There are several different types of team play.
Team Game 1 - Tag Teams
Every player can program one robot or each player controls a whole team (depending on the number of players). Every flag has to be touched by one robot of the team, not every robot has to touch every flag to win. Play-time is usually shortened, as one robot can head for flag No. 2 while another robot heads to flag No. 3. Sometimes a team can touch two flags in a single register phase.
4 - 8 Players: Divide the players into groups of 2 (thus you should have an even number of players). Each partnership needs to cooperate on who is working on which flag. Open discussion between teammates is strongly encouraged. You can optionally decide to allow players in the same team to swap program cards. It produces some interesting gameplay situations (and interaction between players) to make team players share their cards: Every team receives a number of program cards based on their robots' damage. Then the players have to decide how to divide the cards.
2 Players: Each player controls a team of 4 robots. There are no archive copies - a destroyed robot is out of game! So it is possible to win by killing all 4 robots of the opponent's team as well as by being the first to touch the last flag.
Team Game 2 - Runner
Divide the players into two teams. Each player controls one robot. For a team to win, one robot needs to touch all flags in order. The way this variation normally works out is that at least one robot goes for flags and at least one robot plays defense by gathering option cards and trying to interfere with the other team.
Team Game 3 - Flag Toggle
Divide the players into two teams. Place flags as desired but the order of the flags does not matter. Whenever a team member touches a flag, put a marker representing the team on the flag (and remove the opponent's marker from the flag if present). If you own more than one copy of Robo Rally, you can use flags from two different games to mark who "owns" which flag. The team that "owns" all of the flags AT THE SAME TIME first wins. Caution - be careful how many flags you use because it may be near impossible for one team to own 8 flags simultaneously.
Team Game 4 - Head to Head Match
This variation has two players playing head to head, but going for different flags. We suggest playing on only one (appropriate) board. Recommended: Trapdoor (very tactical, chess-like, but rather short game), Pneumatic System (lovely chaos), Balance, Squares, The Arena and from the WotC-boards Exchange, Island or Colliseum.
Flags are usually placed on conveyor belt spaces to start. Whenever conveyors move robots, any flags on conveyor belts also move at the same time. This can cause a flag to be moved up to 3 spaces during any particular register phase (if on gold conveyor belts). When a flag moves off the board or into a pit, it is returned back to its original starting place. Note: flags always move - they never get blocked by "conflicting" movement with robots.
NEW BOARD ELEMENTS
They look different, but these are just normal squares, they do not affect robots at all. Treat them as open ground.
Function: Robots starting their move on Antigrav Fields begin to soar. The robot is flying for the rest of the whole turn. He lands after the fifth register phase or immediately after he received a point of damage.
Timing: For the rest of the current turn unless the bot is forced to land.
Function: Platform slopes under load causing robots to slide. The platform is divided into 5 areas (including the center). On the outer 4 areas, robots cause the platform to slope down to that side. In the picture, there are 2 robots in the left area of the platform, one bot in the right, one bot in the center, and one bot in the top. Therefore, the platform slopes to the left and all 5 bots slide one square to the left. Robots sliding off the platform do not take damage.
Timing: At the end of the Robots move-Sequence (BEFORE belts, pushers, gears, ...).
Function: This big gear with a wall in the middle works like a secret door. As long as robots stand on the gear, it turns 180° every register phase (so yes: robots looking to the wall still look against it after the gear has turned).
Timing: Effect occurs simultaneously with other gears.
Function: Black holes attract everything, especially moveable objects like robots! All robots in a straight line with the hole get pulled one square closer to the void. The hole affects the entire board so its range can be up to 11 squares (even through walls). However, robots cannot be pulled through a wall. Treat the square containing the black hole itself as a pit/drain.
Timing: Right before gears start to turn.
Function: Open bridges are treated as pits - robots cannot pass them. In the register phases indicated by the numbers on the bridge, it closes and is treated like open ground for that register phase.
Timing: Bridges open/close after players reveal their program cards but before the robots move.
Function: Pushing the red button (running against it) starts the machine. It produces a Tamagotchi, a virtual copy of your robot, on the antenna-side of the wall. Put the virtual plate of your robot on the square facing towards the wall. Both Tamagotchi and robot execute all following program cards. The Tamagotchi disappears when it touches the copy machine on his side at the square he arose. If either the Tamagotchi or the robot get killed, both die immediately. Treat the Tamagotchi in any way like a virtual robot.
Timing: The machine can be activated in the Robots move-Sequence.
Function: Rotates 90 degrees. The arrows on it indicate if it rotates clockwise or counterclockwise. In the picture, the green Twitch is looking east but after the crossgear is rotated, he ends up looking south towards the brown HammerBot. Note that the brown HammerBot does not get pushed by the Crossgear (not quite logical, but that keeps the gameplay fast and simple).
Timing: Effect occurs simultaneously with other gears.
Function: Robots can move over or stop and move on next turn like over normal ground squares. But robots trying to execute a rotate card while standing on the square sink in and lose one life.
If you want to make things trickier, you can keep a couple of pit-tokens beside the board and put one on each crumbly ground square after a robot breaks in. This way, there will be more and more pits on the board during the game!
Timing: In the reveal program cards sequence.
Function: Deep Water works like normal water, but robots standing in or moving through deep water take 1 point of damage. Note: Deep water is shown in the left square; orinary water is shown in the right square.
Timing: Like normal water. Damage occurs during the Resolve Laser-Fire sequence.
Function: On the indicated register phases, the elevator is in its up-position; otherwise, it is on ground level. In both cases, treat it like a normal ground (for that level). When the elevator is up, robots can stand under it or move through the square. But when the elevator comes down, it has a crusher-like effect on robots under it! Robots falling onto the elevator when it is in down-position suffer two damage (just like moving off a cliff).
Timing: Elevator changes position simulaneously with active crushers.
Function: Robots ending their move on an energizer square get energized. In subsequent register phases, they execute their program cards at double speed (i.e., two cards per phase). When the robot runs out of programmed cards, he continues to execute his program starting with the card in register 1 again. Priority of cards is determined by the priority of the first card to be executed during that register phase.
Timing: Energizer is active in all 5 register phases. Effect on robot (once it is energized) occurs in all remaining register phases of the current turn.
Function: Blocks robots' movement like a wall, but allows robot-mounted weapons to shot through (but not options like drones, ...)
Timing: Always (it's a wall...)
No explanation needed, the blue belts move the robot up the ramp to the next level in the Board Elements move-Sequence.
Function: Flip Belts transport robots one square per register phase, but in different directions. Direction changes every time a robot steps through a light barrier. Choose the starting direction of the flip belts at random (toss a coin).
Flip Gears work in parallel with Flip Belts. Whichever side the flip token is facing determines the direction that the gear turns.
If the light barrier is obstructed (i.e., a robot is sitting within the beam), the Flip Belts do not move and the Flip Gears do not turn during that register phase.
Timing: Flip Belts move after all other belts in the Board elements move-Sequence. Flip Gears turn at the same time as other gears.
Function: Fog blocks robots' line of sight. As they cannot see robots in the fog or on the other side of the fog, they don't fire weapons at them. A robot standing in a foggy square has no line of sight at all (and thus never fires). Fog does not affect robots' (or drones', ...) movement.
Timing: Occurs when a robot moves into a foggy square or has a line of sight at it.
Function: Robots ending their move on a grave take one point of damage. Graves are also the starting squares for ghosts!
Timing: Occurs every register phase in the Resolve Laser Fire Sequence.
Function: Pushes one or more robots until they hit a wall or leave the board (so your robot could get moved up to 12 squares max). Like ordinary pushers, it does not damage robots.
Timing: In active register phase (indicated by the numbers) in the Board elements move-Sequence.
Hyper-speed (Gold) Conveyor Belt
Function: Transports robots as usual, but three squares per register phase.
Timing: First square before all other belts, second square simultaneously with the first square of the blue belt, third square simultaneously with blue belt's second square and the first and only square of the red belt.
Function: Ice squares cause robots to slide according to their kinetic momentum. Once a robot enters the frozen area, place its virtual token in the middle of the spin chart. Until the bot leaves the ice, always execute the program cards on the spin chart. The real robot then moves according to the summed-up move on the spin chart (always execute the movement part first, then the rotation).
Robots may move cautiously on Ice without change. Rotate Left and Rotate Right function normally. A Move 1 will function normally except that another robot cannot be pushed.
Faster movement will be affected by the reduced friction on Ice. A robot executing a U-Turn on Ice will spin completely around so that his facing does not change.
A Move 2 through an adjacent robot will cause both robots to slide until they leave the ice, hit a wall, or hit another robot. A Move 2 onto a square occupied by another robot will cause that robot only to slide as above. A Move 2 into two robots will not push them at all. A Move 2 with no other robots within the first two squares will slide as above.
A Move 3 has the same effects as a Move 2, depending on whether another robot(s) is moved thrrough or landed on. It cannot push 3 robots. A Move 4 (via Fourth Gear) cannot push 4 robots.
In addition to the above effects, a robot beginning a turn on Ice receives one fewer card than normal, unless that would require a register to be locked.
Function: Slings a robot 6 squares away in a direction indicated by the numbers. In the fifth register phase, the robot is catapulted straight up and lands on the same box/square again. Optional: The robot receives 2 points of damage due to the rough landing (comparable to the Big Jet-option).
Timing: Jack pops out in each and every register phase in the Board elements move-Sequence.
Function: Hot lava erupts from the depth of these pits and damages robots. NORMAL RULE: Robots in the 4 adjacent squares around the pit receive 1 point of damage. EXPERT RULE: The lava damages robots in all 8 squares surrounding the pit.
Timing: Lava bursts out in the indicated register phases in the Robots move-Sequence.
Function: Changes the direction of the green flip belts and green flip gears. If one or more robots moved through a light barrier in the current register phase, the flip belts and flip gears move in the opposite direction than previous register phase. If none of the light barriers was interrupted, the flip belts and flip gears keep on moving in the same direction. If a light barrier is interrupted constantly by a robot ending its move in it (or turning, ...), the flip belts and flip gears do not move at all! They start again when all light barriers are free again (of course in the opposite direction that they were last moving one or more register phases ago).
Timing: Whole turn (all five register phases)
FAQ-answers:
Function: Works like ordinary walls except that robots can shoot weapons througt it. It does not block any robot-mounted weapons (unlike force fields or energy walls), only robots' (or drones') movement.
Timing: Always (like a wall...)
Function: A robot moving onto or over an active Mag-Lock ends its movement and loses any remaining motion. Robots on an active Mag-lock cannot move and any programmed movement cards are ignored. Locked robots cannot be pushed and are not considered to be flying. If a robot is pushed onto an active Mag-Lock, it becomes locked and cannot be pushed any further. A locked robot may still use any weapon or any other option card except for cards that enable the robot to move away from the Mag-Lock.
Timing: Occurs during the Robots Move segment of the register phase.
Function: Pulls all robots that are in a straight line with the Magnet one square closer.
Timing: Occurs in the board elements move sequence after the belts move and before the gears turn.
Function: Destroys robots standing on the square during the register phases as indicated by the number(s). In addition, it pushes robots one square away from it if standing on a square next to it during an active register phase.
Timing: Same as regular crushers.
Function: Damages robots who step through or end their move in it. The damage immediately locks the register of the actual phase.
Timing: Damage occurs in the Robots move-Sequence.
Function: A robot executes its program card mirrorwise, as long as it is looking into a mirror (no matter at wich distance). For example, a Rotate right becomes a Rotate left, a Back-up becomes a Move 1 (foreward) and a Move 3 results has a triple Back-up result! Only U-turns remain the same.
Timing: These effects occur in all Robots move-Sequences in which the robot has a mirror in his line of sight. (That means your robot may be pushed by another robot with a higher priority move, so that suddenly your robot has a mirror in its line of sight and suddenly moves its program card(s) mirrorwise!)
In addition to this, if your robot has a line of sight to the mirror in the Resolve Laser-fire Sequence, your laser fires at its mirror image and the mirror reflects this shot back for one point of damage!
Function: Molten Ore Flows transport robots like currents, but a robot that ends its move in a molten ore flow takes 1 point of damage.
Timing: Occurs in the Board Elements Move sequence simultaneous with currents.
Function: Works exactly like ordinary flamers, but robots keep on burning and receive 1 point of damage at the beginning of every subsequent register phase until they step in or through a Puddle or water. If an already burning robot steps into or through another Napalm Flamer, the damage adds up!
Timing: Like original flamers.
Function: A robot ending his move on a rubber square cannot stop immediately, he is bouncing the amount of squares he just moved again (unless he hits a hard wall or normal ground). For example, with a Move 2 he moves 4 squares in a row although the priority remains that of the Move 2. Robots also standing on rubber squares start bouncing too and are pushed all the way with him.
Robots moving/bouncing on rubber squares and hitting a rubber wall move into the wall and then bounce back on the square they came from. This counts as a one-square-movement! The rest of his movement the robot is bouncing backward away from the wall (still looking at it).
Rubber squares and walls cannot be destroyed by any laser, bomb, weapon or robot.
Timing: Affects robot movement in the Robots move-Sequence.
Keep track of each robot's actual speed by giving the player face-down point of damage tokens. When the robot has 10 tokens (the maximum speed), the player doesn't receive any more tokens.
Function: The Particle Accelerator Ring accelerates every atom of a robot. At the end of the first register phase, the robot is given one token and moved 1 square clockwise following one of the lines. In the next register phase, the bot gets a second token and is moved 2 squares (assuming it's still on a ring). The robot continues to gain tokens and further accelerate each subsequent register phase. Once the robot is moving 10 squares, instead of accelerating further during each register phase, the robot takes 1 point of damage. Note: although the lines move diagonally, robots do not get rotated by the Particle Accelerator.
Timing: Acceleration kicks in right at the beginning of the Board-Elements-Move-sequence before belts, etc.
Function: Pistons have two positions - up or down. All pistons of the same color always move into the same position. A down piston is treated like normal ground. A robot entering a square with an up piston pushes it down, forcing pistons of the other color to move up! A robot in a square with an upcoming piston slides down to an adjacent square in the direction indicated by the arrow on the piston (never diagonally) without rotating.
Timing: Happens on the fly during robot and board elements move sequences. This is likely (and designed) to happen multiple times during one register phase.
Function: Extinguishes flaming robots. A robot stepping in or through a puddle does not take damage from the napalm at the beginning of the subsequent phases. A robot starting his move in a puddle has its first square of movement negated (like in water).
Timing: Affects robots in the Robots move-Sequence.
Function: A robot ending its move on a Repeater must execute its current program card once again - IF it is movement card. If the repetition causes a robot to end on another repeater, the movement card is repeated yet again.
Timing: Occurs during the Robots Move segment.
Function: Like on Repair sites, robots can store their archive here (but neither repair nor exchange/gain options). In addition, at the end of phases 1-4, the robot may choose to replace his next programmed register (i.e., 2-5) with a card of his choice (that is still in pile). A robot ending on a reset site at the end of the fifth register phase gains one program card of his choice for the next turn (but replacing one of his random cards - an undamaged robot receives 8 usually dealt cards in addition to his free choice-card)
Timing: Always (like Repair sites and Chop shops)
Function: Every register phase, these belts rotate in position indicated by the numbers on the belt. Then they behave exactly like the normal belts of their color. The arrows are used to visualize the various directions that the belt may move to; the actual direction may change each register phase.
Timing: Belts rotate in position at the beginning of the Board Elements Move-Sequence.
Function: This time, the entire room rotates 90 degrees clockwise every turn. Rooms without robots in them do not rotate!
Timing: Rotation takes place in the End-of-Turn-Sequence.
Function: Smoke blocks robots' line of sight (like fog). As they cannot see robots on the other side of the smoke, they don't fire weapons at them. A robot standing in a smoke square has no line of sight at all and thus never fires. Smoke doesn't affect robots' (or drones', ...) movement. Smokestacks are ordinary pits - just rounder :-)
Timing: Smoke takes effect when a robot moves into a square with smoke or lhas a line of sight to it.
Function: A robot ending his move in a soporific gas cloud immediately falls asleep. While sleeping, treat him as powered down (Yes, he is regenerating damage). The robot keeps his unexecuted movement cards of the current turn, because after five register phases he awakes (more or less) refreshed to execute the rest of his program. For example, a robot ending after the second register phase in a gas cloud, wakes up in the third register phase of the next turn and executes his third, fourth and fifth program card (remaining from the previous turn) like nothing had happened. (Reminds me of Grandpa Simpson, doesn't it?)
Timing: Affects robot movement in the Robot move-Sequence (in several turns).
Function: Robots running or being pushed into a Spikey Wall receive one point of damage.
Timing: Takes effect as it occurs.
Function: Every robot attempting to end its move on the sand slips down one square (without changing the direction he is looking in). In the corners of the crater, the robot slips down diagonally.
Timing: Affects robot movement in the Robot move sequence as well as in the Board elements move-Sequence.
Function: The figure indicates the number of robots the trapdoor can carry (in its 4 / 9 squares). If one more robot tries to pass or end his move on it, he sets off the trapdoor - it immediately opens (killing all other robots on it) and the robot ends his move being the only one on the (again) closed trapdoor. Trapdoors can open/close several times in one register phase depending on the robot movements and their priorities!
Timing: May occur in the Robots move-Sequence as well as in the Board elements move-Sequence.
Function: Turrets are little weapons rising in the center of a pit. They can rotate or shoot. After program cards are dealt, pick 5 of the unused cards at random to determine the behavior of all turrets on the board. Rotate cards cause the turrets to rotate (use a token to keep track of the turrets' current position. A move card causes the turret to fire a normal laser beam.
Robots trying to enter a turret square fall into the pit. In all other aspects, turrets behave like a wall: they block robots' line of sight and weapons, and they cannot be destroyed or moved.
Timing: The program cards for the turrets are revealed along with the players' cards. The turrets then either rotate in sequence C when the gears rotate or shoot in sequence D simultaneous to the board-mounted lasers.
Function: Every robot ending its move in the line of a ventilator gets blown. The number of squares it is moved is equal to the number of ventilators that are connected in parallel (1 to 3).
Timing: Ventilators are active in the indicated register phases in the board elements move-sequence.
Function: Waterfalls transport robots with the current over a cliff. For each level a robot falls, it takes 2 points of damage.
Timing: Occurs in the Board-Elements-move-sequence simultaneously with currents.
Option Card Set 1
Option Card Set 2
Option Card Set 3
Option Card Set 4
Option Card Set 5
Option Card Set 6
Option Card Set 7
Option Card Set 8
Option Card Set 9
Option Card Set 10
Option Card Set 11
Option Card Set 12
Option Card Set 13
Option Card Set 14
TIMING SUMMARY
A Reveal
Program Cards
Players reveal their program cards
B Robots Move
Robots and Ghosts are moved in order according to card priority
