Airships
Airships Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents of the game
- 1 Game Board – showing the historical airship Hindenburg and four fields for the airship cards. The lower part has space for up to 18 expansion cards.
- 4 Company Boards – represent the companies owned by the players. These have space for expansion cards in 6 coloured departments, 1 entrepreneur card, airship cards and bonus chips.
- 18 Airship Cards – are the main source of winning points.
- 48 Expansion Cards – are for the expansion of the companies belonging to the players and are subdivided into 6 departments: Engineers (orange), Commanders (brown), Financiers (purple), Materials (blue), Hangars (yellow) and Engines (green).
- 1 "Change of Era" Card – indicates the change between "Era 1" and "Era 2" in the pile with the expansion cards.
- 4 Entrepreneur Cards – represent the players as entrepreneurs from different countries.
- 24 Bonus Chips – 6 of each bearing the national flags of the players, helping them on their way by adding a score of 1 to their luck with the dice. Also, the back of these cards is used to mark participation in the construction of the "Hindenburg."
- 9 Special Dice – used to throw for the cards:
- 3 white ones with scores 1 • 1 • 2 • 2 • 3 • 3
- 3 red ones with scores 2 • 3 • 3 • 4 • 4 • 5 and
- 3 black ones with scores 4 • 4 • 6 • 6 • 8 • 8.
- 1 Wooden Airship – indicates who has just built an airship and gives its owner an additional score of 1 when rolling the dice.
- 1 Set of Game Instructions
Aim of the game
The players build an airship company and attempt to score as many victory points as possible through the construction of airships. To do this the players have to acquire various expansion cards, such as Engineers, Financiers and Engines, which improve their prospects in airship construction.
The special feature of this game is that dice are thrown to win the cards. The expansion cards within a player's own company determine which of the dice the player can use. The card the player is trying to acquire, determines the colour and the number of dice required and the score that has to be achieved with them. The higher the number of dice the player has available, the greater the chances of achieving the required result.
Preparing the game
The game board is placed in the middle. The 6 bonus chips for each of the players, as well as all nine dice and the wooden airship are placed at the ready beside the board.
Preparing the airship cards
The airship cards are sorted according to what is on the back.
The 6 airship cards with the dark-blue backs are shuffled and four of them are laid out face-up on the 4 corresponding fields in the top part of the game board. Then the 6 airship cards with the medium-blue backs are shuffled and four of them are placed face-up on top of the other 4 airship cards. After this, the 6 airship cards with the light-blue backs are shuffled and again four of them are placed face-up on top of the cards that have already been put down. The remaining 6 airship cards are taken out of the game.
Preparing the expansion cards
The expansion cards are sorted according to what is on the back.
The 24 expansion cards from "Era 2" (dark backs) are shuffled and placed face-down as a pile at the ready. The "Change of Era" card is placed on top.
Then the 18 expansion cards from "Era 1" (medium blue backs) are shuffled and placed face-down on top of the "Change of Era" card.
The 6 Starter-Expansion cards (light backs) are shuffled and each player is dealt 1 card. The remaining cards are placed face-up on the game board in the appropriate fields. Then, additional expansion cards from the pile are placed face-up with them until a total of 6 expansion cards are on the board.
Note: If fewer than 4 are playing, surplus material is taken out of the game.
Note: The expansion cards are placed on fields with the same coloured border, as far left as possible.
Business start-up for a player's company
Each player is given a company board and the entrepreneur card for the country of his choice, which he places face-up (showing 1 white die) on the appropriate field on his board. Added to this is the starter-expansion card he has just been given. This is placed on the field with the appropriate-coloured surround.
Important! Each of the cards on the players' company board indicate (on the lower edge of the card), which and how many dice are available to the player and with the help of which further cards can be obtained. A company with many cards is therefore more productive than one with fewer cards.
At the start of the game, all players have 2 white dice at their disposal.
The oldest player starts the game. He is given 3 of his bonus chips from the bank, which he places on the appropriate field on his board. All other players are given 4 of their bonus chips.
The game
Commencing with the starting player, all players take their turn in a clockwise direction.
Each player's go is comprised of the following steps:
- Turning over an expansion card
- Acquisition of an expansion or airship card
1. Turning over an expansion card
The top card of the pile is turned over and placed in the appropriate row of the game board. It is placed on the first free field in this row (to the left). If the field is already occupied, the card is placed on the field to the right of it. If all 3 fields in any one row are full, the card from the left hand field is removed from the game and the two other cards shift along. The new card is now placed on the field that has been freed-up on the right hand edge of the board.
Note: If the pile of expansion cards has been used up, the first step is omitted. The game continues with the second step.
Note: Every new expansion card is placed on a free field of the same colour as far to the left as possible. If an expansion card is turned over for which all suitable fields are already occupied, the card is placed out of the game on the left hand side of the board. The other two cards shift to the left and the new card is placed on the vacated field.
The "Change of Era" card appears
If the "Change of Era" card appears when taking an expansion card, all players immediately turn their entrepreneur cards over, thus revealing the side with the white and the red dice. From this point on, each player now has an additional red die. The "Change of Era" card is taken out of the game.
2. Acquisition of an expansion or airship card
Choosing a card
The player now chooses one of the expansion or airship cards on the board that he would like to acquire or "roll the dice for" (see "Acquiring a card"). In the case of the airships, there are several cards in a pile, only one of the top cards may be selected.
Note: It does not matter which field the desired card is on. However, the player must at least have those dice at his disposal that are depicted on the top of the card.
Note: Before he rolls the dice, he must clearly state which card he is throwing for. After the dice have been cast, he cannot choose another card.
Acquiring a card
By throwing the dice the player attempts to acquire the chosen card. In order to do this he needs a specific score on the dice that he has to achieve with a certain combination of dice.
The required score is printed top right on each card. If the player achieves or betters the score – he wins the card. The top left of each card shows the dice to be used to achieve the score.
The cards laid out on the player's board show which dice are currently at his disposal. The player must now select the appropriate dice from the general supply in accordance with his options. If a player has a higher number of appropriate dice at his disposal than required, he may throw these too.
Example: Here, a score of at least 5 is required and this must be achieved with just 2 white dice. If a player has a third white die at his disposal, he may throw it along with the others and then select the two dice with the highest score. If the player's throw is successful, the card is placed on the player's company board. From this point on, the player now has an (additional) red die at his disposal.
Watch Out! A maximum of 3 dice of one colour can be used for each throw!
The player takes the dice in his hand and throws them. Only one throw is permitted. Then the player checks if the throw was successful.
The scores of those dice indicated on the card are added together.
If a player has thrown more dice of one colour than was necessary, he may now choose the dice of this colour, which achieve a higher score (see right).
Note: The dice are always taken from the general supply (9 dice).
Example: The cards on the player board show that the player has 3 white dice to use. He uses all 3 and throws: 3 • 2 • 2. He then chooses the two highest scoring dice because only 2 white dice can count towards the score. The two together add up to 5. That is sufficient for the player to acquire the new card.
Successful Attempt
If the total is the same or greater than the number required, the player has been successful and acquires the card, which he immediately places on the appropriately coloured field on his board.
If he already has an expansion card on that field, he removes it (it is taken out of the game completely) and places the new card there.
If the player acquires an airship card, this too is placed on the appropriate field of the company board. If there are already airship cards on the board, the new one is placed on top. The player also receives the wooden airship.
If the total is less than the score required, the player can then use the following bonuses, if he has any.
- He may use a maximum of 1 bonus chip* as +1 point.
- He may use the wooden airship +1 Pkt.
- He may use an "Engine" expansion card, which enables a bonus in the appropriate dice colour of +1 or +2 points.
* The bonus chip is put back into the general supply after use.
If the score is not achieved either without or by using bonuses, the attempt was unsuccessful.
Example: The player wishes to throw for the "Engines" expansion card (see above). He has 5 white dice as well as the imaginary white dice of his engineer and 3 red dice to use. In order to obtain the card by throwing he needs to also have a black die. Apart from this, 6 white dice is too many, since he may only use a maximum of 3 dice per colour per throw. He decides to exchange 3 of his white dice (with the help of his expansion card "Materials") for 1 black die. He now has the following dice at his disposal: He throws using the 3 red dice and the black. He doesn't throw the white dice since his "imaginary" white die is showing the best result possible i.e. 3. His score: 5 + 6 + 3 = 14. With a bonus-chip he achieves the requisite "15". He takes the card and exchanges it for the old one.
Unsuccessful Attempt
If a player has not achieved the required score, he is given one of his bonus-chips from the general supply as compensation. (If, however, there are none left - he goes away empty-handed!)
Additional Go
Once a player has finished his go (no matter if successful or not), he can take another complete go immediately (both steps) if in exchange he pays 3 of his bonus chips back into the general supply. If he currently does not have sufficient chips or does not wish to use them for an extra go, the next player in a clockwise direction takes his turn.
Note: An overview of all the expansion cards and their functions can be found on P.6.
Note: Several additional goes may be taken in succession provided that the player has sufficient bonus chips at his disposal.
The four construction phases of the "Hindenburg"
If after acquiring an airship card, the game board field "D-LZ129 Hindenburg" becomes visible (one pile of airship cards has now been used up), the players may now immediately participate in the building of the "Hindenburg".
A construction phase can be obtained by throwing the dice in the same way as an airship card. The required dice combinations are to be found on the game board, along with the victory points awarded to the owner of the construction phase.
If the throw for a construction phase is successful, the player takes one of his bonus chips from the general supply next to the game board and uses it to mark the appropriate construction phase of the "Hindenburg". (If there is no bonus chip in the supply, he must take one from his board.) The player also receives the wooden airship.
Note: Throwing for a construction phase of the Hindenburg is just as much a player turn as acquiring an airship or expansion card.
Note: Each construction phase can only be completed once.
Attention: Immediately from this point on, a player only receives the wooden airship if he completes a construction phase of the Hindenburg!
Two different victory point values are given for each construction phase. The higher value counts if the Hindenburg is completed, the lower counts if the game ends prior to completion.
Note: If the first pile with airships is used up, the picture of the Hindenburg appears. From this point players can throw for the construction phases.
End of the game and scoring
The game ends if following a turn:
a) only one card at the most is on each of the four airship card fields, or
b) if the fourth construction phase of the Hindenburg is completed.
The game is then scored.
Scoring
All players now count their victory points – these are the numbers on the golden stars and are to be found on some expansion cards, all airship cards and the construction phases of the Hindenburg. The player with the highest victory point score wins.
In case of a draw, the player having built the most airships wins. Here each construction phase of the Hindenburg is equivalent to one airship.
Note: Victory points are awarded for all cards with a golden star (i.e. all airship cards and some expansion cards). Players are also awarded victory points for completed construction phases of the Hindenburg. Here, the higher scores are awarded if the Hindenburg is completed. However, if all four phases are not completed, the lower victory point scores apply.
Note: During the game, some expansion cards on the company board will be replaced with new and better ones. The older card is removed from the game, even if it is an expansion card bearing victory points.
Note of thanks – The author and publishers would like to thank the tireless testers: Elke and Jürgen Hübler, Andrea Obermeier, Christian Schwab, Hedwig Gappa-Langer, Joachim Langer, Karen Seyfarth, Andreas Maszuhn, Silvio de Pecher and "La Tana dei Goblin", Kai Eimer, Christoph von Engeln, Sigurd Göbel, Mathias Jäger, Jürgen Janik, René Parrot, Ursula Töpler and those not listed in the above.
Overview and effect of individual expansion cards
Financiers – The "Financiers" expansion cards are marked with a purple border. These offer their owner 1 to 3 additional dice. In addition, there are also cards for each department, which are worth victory points, if a player still has them at the end of the game.
Example: The card on the left provides its owner with 1 white, 1 red and 1 black dice. The card on the right provides 1 white die. In addition, if the player still holds it at the end of the game it is worth 3 victory points.
Hangars – The "Hangar" expansion cards are marked with a yellow border. These too offer their owner 1 or 2 additional dice.
Example: The card on the right provides 1 white die. The card on the right provides 1 black die.
Captains – The "Captains" expansion cards are marked with a brown border. These too offer their owner 1 or 2 additional dice. In addition a player receives 1 to 3 bonus chips for a Captain (once only, when the card is won with the dice). The owner of the card takes the appropriate number of his bonus-chips from the supply, if available.
Example: The card on the left provides 1 black die as well as 2 bonus chips as a one-off. The card on the right provides 1 white die as well as 2 bonus chips as a one-off.
Engineers – The "Engineers" expansion cards are marked with an orange border. These offer their owner 1 additional, imaginary die with a fixed score. Of course this die cannot be thrown so it does not count towards the limit of 3 dice maximum per colour, per throw. This die can, however, be used in an exchange (via a "Materials" expansion card).
Example: The card on the left provides 1 imaginary red die with a score of 4. The card on the right provides 1 imaginary black die with a score of 7.
Engines – The "Engines" expansion cards are marked with a green border. They give their owner a bonus of +1 or +2 on throws in which dice of a certain colour are involved. There are also engines where the bonus counts for every colour of dice. A white symbol stands for white die, a red symbol for red die, a black symbol for black die and a grey symbol for any die at all.
Example: The card on the left gives a bonus of +1 per throw, regardless of the colours involved. The card on the right gives a bonus of +1 on every throw involving at least one red die.
Materials – The "Materials" expansion cards are marked with a blue border. These give their owner the opportunity to exchange his available dice prior to each throw. In this way a player can obtain dice, which his own expansion cards do not allow. This exchange is only ever valid for the current throw. In each turn the player can decide anew whether to use this exchange.
Example: The card on the left allows its owner to exchange 3 of his white dice for 2 red dice. The card on the right allows its owner to exchange 2 of his red dice for 1 black die.