BUS Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Game Start
  • Game Turn
  • Movement/Speed Limit
  • Picking Up Passengers
  • Progress Area
  • Dropping Off Passengers
  • Construction Site
• Ending the Game
• Challenging Play
• Credits

Components

30 Cards:

• 3 Bus Cards — 2-sided, with a "Construction Site Used" symbol on the back.
• 15 Passenger Cards — each shows 2 passengers and a point value (1-5).
• 12 Street Cards.

Setup

1. Shuffle the 12 Street Cards and create a shared "City Grid" (4 squares) by randomly placing cards to create the game board.
2. Shuffle the 15 Passenger Cards and place them in a stack in the playing area, then flip 2 Cards face up.
3. All players take a Bus Card and choose a side of the City Grid for their own "Progress Area."

Playing the Game

On the Street Cards, there are 6 Passenger Destinations (1 in each of the 6 Passenger Colors — red, orange, green, blue, yellow, and pink), 3 Bus Stops, and 1 Construction Site. Each player controls a Bus to pick up passengers and drop them off while using a side of the City Grid as their own "Progress Area" to track their progress and earn points.

Game Start

Choose a Start Player. He must place his Bus "Construction Site Used" side down on any Street Card with a Bus Stop, then choose a face up Passenger Card OR the top card from the deck and place it on the "Picked Up" side in his Progress Area. During the Game Start and throughout the game, Passenger Cards are replaced immediately so that there are exactly 2 Passenger Cards face up to choose from at any time. The next player(s) in clockwise direction performs the same action. Buses may occupy the same Street Card during this step and throughout the game.

Game Turn

Players continue taking turns in clockwise order. On a player's turn, he must move his Bus on Street Cards, the number of spaces (or less) that equal his Speed Limit. During his movement sequence, he may drop off passengers to earn points. He MAY pick up new Passenger Cards or use the Construction Site if he ENDS his movement on a Card with the corresponding image.

Movement/Speed Limit

Buses move on Street Cards throughout the City Grid. The Arrow on a Bus indicates the forward direction the Bus must move, and it may never make a U-turn. A player's "Speed Limit" is the maximum number of Street Cards he may move his Bus on a single turn, and is established by the lowest speed shown among all his Passenger Cards in progress. A player may move less than his Speed Limit. If a player has no Passenger Cards in progress, then he has no Speed Limit to restrict movement. A Bus may not end its movement sequence on the same Street Card in which it began.

Picking Up Passengers

When a player ENDS his movement sequence on a Bus Stop, he MAY choose a face up Passenger Card OR draw one from the deck. Then, he must place it on the "Picked Up" (left) side in his Progress Area. The maximum Passenger Cards a player may have IN PROGRESS is 3. Once the deck and face up Passenger Cards become exhausted, players may not acquire new Cards.

Progress Area

Each Passenger Card has 2 passengers, which players track separately by placing the card on the correct side in their Progress Area. A player's Progress Area is divided into 2 sides, under the 2 Street Cards on their side of the City Grid. Passengers placed under the Left Street Card are "Picked Up," while passengers under the Right Street Card are "Dropped Off." Players may have 1 passenger "Picked Up" and 1 passenger "Dropped Off" by placing the card between the 2 sides of their Progress Area. Players reflect this progress in the opposite order that passengers are shown by placing the card upside down. Passenger Cards are scored at the end of the game IF both passengers on the card have been dropped off (Passenger Card is complete).

Example: A player has 3 Passenger Cards in progress showing speeds of 5, 4, and 3. The lowest of all these speeds is 3, which is this player's current Speed Limit.

Sample Player Progress Area — A: The Red and Blue Passengers are picked up. B: The Orange Passenger is picked up and the Yellow Passenger is dropped off. C: The Red Passenger is picked up and the Yellow Passenger is dropped off.

Dropping Off Passengers

To drop off a "Picked Up" passenger and earn points, a player's Bus must travel through (or end its movement sequence on) a Passenger Destination of the same color. The passenger is automatically dropped off and the Passenger Card(s) can be moved to the "Dropped Off" side in his Progress Area. Once both passengers have been moved to the "Dropped Off" side, the card is complete and flipped FACE DOWN. The speed on completed Passenger Cards no longer applies and the Speed Limit on a player's next turn will be the lowest speed on his Passenger Cards in progress. A player's Speed Limit does not change during a turn.

Construction Site

A player may land on the Construction Site Street Card at any time. ONCE during the game, he may END his movement sequence on the site to swap 2 Street Cards that are unoccupied by a Bus. Then, he flips his Bus over with the arrow facing in the same direction, showing he may not use the site again.

Ending the Game

After a turn in which a player has 5 or more Passenger Cards completed, that player triggers the end of the game. Then, each player gets one more turn (including the player who triggered the end game). Players flip over their completed (dropped off) Passenger Cards and total their point values. Incomplete Passenger Cards have no value. The player with the most points wins! In the case of a tie, the player with the most completed Passenger Cards is the winner!

End Game Example: On the last turn of the game, Roy (Brown Bus with a Speed Limit of "2") moves his Bus 2 Street Cards (from A to B to C) and drops off his Yellow Passenger during this movement sequence (step B as shown below). Sue earned 14 points. Roy earned 12 points. Completed Passenger Cards are flipped face up for end game scoring. The Yellow Passenger is dropped off during movement. C. Roy ends his movement sequence.

Challenging Play

All rules apply, except a player's Bus must be on the same side of the street as the Bus Stop, Passenger Destination or Construction Site to take the corresponding Action. Additionally, a player taking the Construction Site Action may choose to rotate a single Street Card that is unoccupied by a Bus instead of swapping 2 Street Cards. In either choice, the orientation (as determined by the side of the Street Card a Symbol is on) may be altered during this Action.

Credits

Game Design and Graphic Design: Chris Handy

Thanks to Playtesters: Jenn Handy, Steve and Teri Sartain, The Widmans, Paul Butler, Ryan Handy and John McCloud.

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