Aether Captains: The Search
Aether Captains: The Search Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Needed to Play
The game deck consists of 20 map cards, 17 blue action cards for the police and 17 gray action cards for the criminal.
1 criminal pawn and 3 crime scene markers (suggested color: black), 4 police pawns and 3 barricade markers (suggested color: blue).
Setup and Map Card Overview
Separate and shuffle the 20 map cards and lay them out, face up, in a grid of 5 cards by 4 cards.
Three map cards have a white diamond/blood spots icon. These are crime scene locations. These cards cannot be in the same row or column, and players should adjust the layout as needed. The criminal must visit these crime scene locations, leaving a crime scene marker on each, to win the game.
Six cards have a black circle/key icon on them. These are entrances to the sewers below Val Justinia. The criminal player can, when playing a 'Take to the Sewers' card, move from any sewer card to any other during their turn.
One card has a blue shield icon. This is the police station. The police player may spawn a new police officer to replace one wounded in the line of duty after playing a 'Call in Reinforcements' card on this map card.
Each player takes their respective action deck, shuffles it, and draws 3 cards to their hand, placing the other cards face down as a draw deck.
The police player then places his 4 pawns on any map cards except for the crime scene location cards, and keeps his barricade markers next to his draw deck.
The criminal player then places his pawn on any remaining non crime scene map card. The criminal player will go first.
Play
A player's turn consists of 3 possible actions. Players may do any one action or all of them during their turn, and may do the first two actions in any order. The third action, drawing cards, is always done last:
- Move a pawn one card orthogonally in distance (the police player will move only 1 pawn on a turn). The criminal player cannot move onto any map card occupied by a police pawn or on to any map card with a barricade marker on it.
- Play an action card, discarding it beside the player's draw deck. When the draw deck is exhausted, shuffle the discard deck and create a new draw deck.
- Draw back to 3 cards in your hand at the end of a turn.
Win
The criminal wins by either placing a marker at each of the three crime scenes or by wounding all 4 police officers.
The police win by surrounding the criminal on all orthogonal sides with police pawns, barricades or the edges of the 5x4 map. (Example: if the criminal pawn is on one corner of the map, the police can surround the criminal with pawns, or barricades, on the 2 adjacent orthogonal cards.)
Card Explanations
Police Cards
- Questioning Witnesses - randomly discard a card from the criminal player's hand (they will then start their turn with one fewer card and will not draw back to 3 until the end of their next turn).
- Set Up a Barricade - place a barricade marker on any non crime scene map card. Once all 3 barricades are placed, playing this card will allow the police player to move a barricade from one card to another.
- Call in Reinforcements - if a police pawn is on the police station map card, the police player may spawn a new officer on the police station from any of the 4 the criminal has previously wounded and sent to the 'hospital'.
- Canvassing the District - the police player looks at the top 3 cards on his draw pile and puts them back, face down, in any order they choose.
- In Pursuit - discard this card to draw an extra card at the end of your turn (player will then have 4 cards in hand and will not draw any more until they have fewer than 3).
Criminal Cards
- Mistaken Identity - move any one police pawn one map card in any orthogonal direction.
- Anonymous in the Crowd - randomly discard a card from the police player's hand (they will then start their turn with one fewer card and will not draw back to 3 until the end of their next turn).
- One Step Ahead - move across two map cards with your criminal pawn, instead of one (the criminal player may move one card diagonally if they desire. This is the only time a diagonal move is allowed).
- A Shot in the Dark - remove any one police pawn from the map and send him to the 'hospital', wounded in the line of duty.
- Take to the Sewers - if the criminal pawn is on a sewer card, the criminal player may move the pawn to any other sewer card not occupied by a police pawn or a barricade.