BIOTIX
BIOTIX Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
You are lab assistants carefully trying to grow a culture of highly unstable, volatile BIOTIX (patent pending & pronounced 'biotics'). However, only the researcher with the most fruitful experiments will be recognized by Dr. Johannae. Add BIOTIX to your own petri dish to create a flourishing culture, and sabotage the experiments of others by adding BIOTIX to their dishes, pushing their populations dangerously close to triggering bio-reactions and catastrophic explosions of all kinds.
Materials
- 1 lab report and procedural guide (rulebook)
- 1 bio-containment box
- 1 specimen bag
- 48 BIOTIX meeples (8 each of 6 types)
- 1 Sticker sheet (apply 1 to each meeple as shown; align stickers following the shaped edges of the meeple)
- 1 Timer token
- 5 petri dish cards (sides for 2-4 or 5 players)
- 3 BIOTIX characteristic cards
BIOTIX Characteristics (2-4 players card)
| BIOTIX | Bio-Reaction Trigger | Bio-Reaction Effect | Intrinsic Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migratory (blue) | 4+ | Give 1 Migratory in your dish to each player & Trash the remainder. | 2 |
| Attractive (red) | 3+ | Trash your Attractive & take any 2 Biotix from other players. | 3 |
| Repulsive (green) | 4+ | Trash your Repulsive & one more of your own Biotix. | 5 |
| Magnetic (purple) | 3+ | Trash the Magnetic Biotix in every player's dish. | 10 |
| Explosive (yellow) | 2+ | Trash your Explosive and give away 1 of your other Biotix. | 15 |
| Aggressive (black) | n/a | When given an Aggressive, replace any one of your other Biotix with it. It mimics that Biotix. |
Eureka Paradox bonus: 30 (5 players: 25). (The Explosive trigger is faint in the source scan; its Intrinsic Value of 15 is confirmed by the Appendix text.)
Methods
- Give each lab assistant a petri dish card. (5 players: use back side)
- Place the characteristic cards between players as a shared reference.
- Place all the Blue, Red, Green, Purple and Yellow BIOTIX into the specimen bag.
- See Appendix for 2-player adjustment to the number of BIOTIX placed in bag.
- Remove all Black (Aggressive) BIOTIX from the game. See Appendix for advanced rules governing their use.
- Determine who will be the first player by having each player say a word or two aloud. Whoever sounds the most scientific, goes first.
- This player takes the Timer token and places it on the '3' spot on the countdown track of their petri dish card (or the '2' spot for a 5-player game).
- Give this player the specimen bag. The lab assistant holding the specimen bag is called the "active player."
Procedure
Step 1. Procurement
On your turn, draw 2 BIOTIX, at random, from the specimen bag.
Step 2. Placement & Bio-Reaction Check
One at a time, place the BIOTIX that you drew. You may choose the order in which the organisms are placed. For each, you may either place the BIOTIX on your petri dish card in a space matching its color, or give the BIOTIX to an opponent of your choice to place on their petri dish card.
Bio-Reaction Check
Each time a BIOTIX is placed, you must check for and resolve any resulting Bio-Reactions. A Bio-Reaction occurs whenever a population of BIOTIX reaches its Trigger Number. Each species of BIOTIX has its own Trigger Number and a unique effect, as listed on your BIOTIX characteristic card.
Example: Migratory BIOTIX have a Bio-Reaction Trigger of 4+. Any time a player has 4 or more Migratory on their petri dish, its bio-reaction is triggered. (Migratory BIOTIX at maximum capacity of 3; addition of a 4th triggers a reaction.)
Bio-Reactions may occur on any player's turn and are resolved immediately, one BIOTIX at a time to the completion of a reaction. Note: Bio-Reactions may cause chain reactions as they resolve. Should more than one be activated at a single time, resolve each, from the active player's left and then proceed around the table.
When both drawn BIOTIX have been placed and there are no further Bio-Reactions, pass the specimen bag to the player on your left for them to begin their Turn. NOTE: Avoid passing the bag until all Bio-Reactions have resolved, as this will make it easier to remember who had been the active player.
Trashed: When a BIOTIX is Trashed, place it hidden into the bio-containment box. Trashed BIOTIX are not placed back into the specimen bag until after scoring.
Step 3. Timer token advance
If you are the player with the Timer token on your petri dish card, you will move the token one space down on the countdown track every time that the specimen bag is passed to you (not including your first turn of the game). When the token is pushed off of the #1 spot (showing your character portrait), place the Timer token into the specimen bag prior to drawing your BIOTIX for the turn.
Play continues, passing the bag and drawing BIOTIX, until the Timer token is drawn from the bag. The Timer token signals the End of The Day. Any BIOTIX drawn with the Timer token are Trashed. Then, the player places the Timer token on the '3' spot of their countdown track (or the '2' spot, if a 5-player game).
Results
- At the End of The Day, players tally the Intrinsic Value of the BIOTIX that they have cultivated on their petri dish card and record this data (using paper and pen or any other preferred means) as their score for The Day. The Intrinsic Values are listed on your petri dish and BIOTIX characteristics reference cards.
- Each lab assistant then chooses two BIOTIX from their petri dish card and Trashes them. This practice is 'engineered decay', to ensure that the next generation of Biotix can survive.
- Place all Trashed BIOTIX, including those Trashed and placed in the Bio-containment box, back into the bag. Shuffle them by giving the bag a good shake. Give the bag to the player holding the Timer token and have that player begin the next Day of Research.
The Eureka Paradox
If at the end of the 2nd Day of Research, a player is 20 or more points behind the leader, they may conduct side research in an effort to catch up. Those players write down a BIOTIX species and a number from 1-3 on a piece of scrap paper and hide it under their petri dish. If at the end of the 3rd Day, they have that exact number of the named BIOTIX, they gain a 30 point bonus to their score (5-player, 25pts). Aggressive BIOTIX count as the BIOTIX they mimic.
Note: Don't count on this bonus handing you the 'win'. However, it will give you a fighting chance if the Intrinsic Value of your petri dish is high enough.
Conclusion
After completing 3 Days of Research, tally each player's scores from each Day to discover which Lab Assistant has their name attached to the published paper! Should there be a tie, the tied players leave all BIOTIX on their petri dish cards (skipping engineered decay), refill the specimen bag, and receive three Turns each to end with the best BIOTIX culture in their dish. Should this also result in a tie, both their names will be added to the paper for a win.
Appendix
The Duality Principle (2 Player Variant)
As you set up the game, remove one of each type of BIOTIX from the game. Play proceeds as normal.
The Aggro-Invasive Principle (Advanced Rules with Aggressive BIOTIX)
Add the black Aggressive BIOTIX to the specimen bag at the start of the game in equal number to the other species. When a player draws an Aggressive BIOTIX, they may choose to keep it for their dish or give it to an opponent, as usual. You will note, however, that there are no black spaces within a petri dish for them to occupy. Therefore, they are placed on the black space to the upper left of the petri dish they will invade. If two are given to a player, both are placed there and resolved one at a time. An Aggressive BIOTIX must replace and mimic one of the BIOTIX already occupying the petri dish they invade. To invade, simply choose a BIOTIX in your dish to Trash and put the Aggressive BIOTIX in the space that the Trashed BIOTIX had occupied with the following conditions:
a. The player who receives the Aggressive BIOTIX decides which previously placed BIOTIX it will replace.
b. Aggressive BIOTIX cannot take the place of other Aggressive BIOTIX.
c. If no other species of BIOTIX is available to replace, the player may choose any open space in their petri dish, of any color, to place the Aggressive BIOTIX upon.
Example: an invaded player chooses to swap a previously played Migratory for the Aggressive; the replaced Migratory BIOTIX is Trashed.
In general terms, Aggressive BIOTIX are bad to have, as they count against your score. Aggressive BIOTIX have an Intrinsic Value of -2. So, if an Aggressive replaced an Explosive BIOTIX, the Aggressive BIOTIX would score -2 points instead of the 15 points an Explosive would normally score (NOT 15-2=13). In all other ways, however, Aggressive BIOTIX are treated like the species they have replaced, including counting towards the Bio-Reaction Trigger for that organism.
In those reactions, Aggressive BIOTIX are Trashed or passed as though they were the BIOTIX they mimic. However, when passed as a result of a Bio-Reaction, they do not retain the mimicked color and are placed on the black spot of the target opponent's dish and treated as Aggressive BIOTIX again.
Example: Kendra receives her 4th Migratory BIOTIX, one of which is an Aggressive BIOTIX, which is mimicking a blue Migratory. Therefore, a Bio-reaction is triggered allowing the Aggressive BIOTIX to be given away as any Migratory BIOTIX would be. But unlike a Migratory, when it is given to an opponent, it is not placed as a Migratory. It is placed as Aggressive BIOTIX on their black spot and the receiving player chooses one of their BIOTIX to replace.
Complete Take Over: Be careful not to allow a player to score only Aggressive BIOTIX. If a Day ends when a player has ONLY black Aggressive BIOTIX in their dish, each Aggressive BIOTIX is worth 5 points instead of -2.
Sequence of Play
- Draw 2 BIOTIX from the bag.
- a. Place your 1st BIOTIX on a petri dish & resolve all resulting Bio-Reactions. b. Place your 2nd BIOTIX on a petri dish & resolve all resulting Bio-Reactions.
- Pass the Specimen bag (and the Turn) to the player on your left.
- When the bag returns to the first player, advance the Timer token.
- Place the Timer token in the Specimen bag when it is pushed off the Countdown Track (space #1).
- When the Timer token is drawn, tally the scores for the Day.
- After three 'Research Days' of play, the high score wins.