ChronoCops: Da Vinci's Universal Dilemma
ChronoCops: Da Vinci's Universal Dilemma Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Attention
Do not look closely at the game material before the game begins! Wait until you receive corresponding instructions during the game.
Game Material
- 50 large cards (the "Mission Briefing" card, the timeline stacks, the "Final Briefing" card, and 1 card that is not needed for the game). The Mission Briefing card and the timeline stacks are marked "Attention, do not shuffle and do not look at either card stack, SPOILER WARNING. First read the rules." Each timeline stack's cover sheet states: "You may not yet search the cards of this stack. To do so, you must first open this timeline."
- 72 small cards
- 12 time orbs
- 1 decoder, double-sided. Blue side: Chrono-Decoder. Green side: Hint-Decoder.
Spare parts service: You have bought a quality product. If a component is missing or there is another reason for complaint, please contact the publisher's spare parts service (www.pegasus.de/ersatzteilservice).
Idea of the Game
ChronoCops is an entertaining time-travel adventure, full of wacky humour and a lot of winks. The idea is based on so-called point-and-click adventures. You visit different times and places and face puzzling challenges there: bring items to the right places, think outside the box and clear obstacles out of the way in order to move on.
You play cooperatively, so you make all decisions together. Therefore talk things over well and give everyone enough room to let all opinions and ideas flow in before you decide anything. That is when ChronoCops is the most fun!
Setup
- Take the stack of 50 large cards:
- The top card is the "Mission Briefing"; set it ready first, without turning it over.
- From the next cards, form a separate stack for each of the 12 timelines, so that all cards with the same colour or the same symbol (regardless of whether black or white) lie in the same stack. The cards are pre-sorted accordingly; you should neither shuffle them, nor turn them over, nor look at them more closely. Lay the 12 stacks next to each other in the middle of your play area. (It is normal that the stacks are of different heights.)
- Lay the second-to-last card, "Final Briefing", next to them.
- The last card is not needed for the game; put it in the box.
- Lay the Chrono-Decoder (blue side up) ready next to the timelines.
- Take the stack of 72 small cards:
- Lay the 47 cards whose frame shows a spiral ready as a stack. These are cards that you will receive in the course of the adventure.
- Lay the 4 answer cards (A, B, C, D) next to the decoder.
- Set the 20 green hint cards aside as a stack. You only need these if you get stuck somewhere and want to be given a hint.
- The last card is not needed for the game; put it in the box.
- Lay the 12 time orbs ready as a supply.
- Now turn over the Mission Briefing and read it aloud before you continue reading this rulebook. Afterwards, follow the instructions at the end of the Mission Briefing, as described in more detail below.
The Timelines
In front of you lie 12 stacks of timelines. Each stack contains 1 cover sheet and 1 or more location cards. The cover sheet of each timeline shows whether the timeline is closed or open. At the beginning of the adventure all timelines are still closed. Whenever you receive the instruction to open a timeline, you turn over the cover sheet of the named timeline. From then on this timeline is open.
At the end of the Mission Briefing you received the instruction to open the timeline Gemini. Therefore turn over the cover sheet of the timeline Gemini, if you have not yet done so; Gemini is now open.
The cover sheet of every open timeline shows you one or more jump marks within this timeline, together with a short piece of information about who or what awaits you there.
The Jump Marks
Jump marks consist of a combination of a year and a timeline. They symbolise time rifts that Professor Knix has left behind. Each jump mark is equivalent to a specific location you may travel to. How exactly this works is described on the next page under "Course of Play".
Example: This jump mark allows you to travel to the year 1496 in the timeline Gemini.
Course of Play
After your Mission Briefing you may begin your first time travel! Decide together which location you would like to travel to. In general you may only travel to a location whose jump mark is shown on any openly displayed card. At the beginning of the adventure these are the 3 jump marks on the cover sheet of the open timeline Gemini. Later, further cards with jump marks will be added. In some stacks there are location cards to which you may not yet travel even though the timeline is open. You may never travel to a location whose jump mark is not visible.
Example: If you decide to travel to the location "1496 Gemini", take the stack of the timeline Gemini, find the card 1496 there, turn it over and lay it out.
As soon as you have decided on a location, you look for the corresponding location card in the stack of the corresponding timeline, turn it over and lay it out face up. What can happen at a location and what options you have there is described in more detail on page 5 under "The Location Cards".
When you are (for the time being?) done at your current location, you decide which location to travel to next. First lay the current location card face down back into the corresponding stack, before you look for the next location card. Since you can only be in one place at a time, only 1 location card may lie out at any one time. (The Mission Briefing is not a location card and remains permanently face up.)
It is allowed and sometimes even useful to travel again later to a location where you have already been - as long as the jump mark to this location is still visibly displayed.
In the course of the game you will open further timelines. This does not cause other timelines to be closed. Several timelines are then open at the same time, and you can continue to travel to all jump marks of all open timelines.
Important: Imagine the different timelines as parallel universes. If you change the past somewhere and thereby open a new timeline, then this parallel timeline has run differently because of your change!
Example: In the timeline Gemini you travel to the location "2022 Gemini - Game Fair". There you are supposed to buy all adventures of the new game series "ChronoCops" for Commander Karla. When you arrive, you find that nobody there knows "ChronoCops". You then travel to the location "2018 Gemini - Quarrel at Game Night", where Matthias and Martin, the later authors of "ChronoCops", argue so heatedly during a game that they never speak another word to each other afterwards - the work of Professor Knix! You make a clever decision there and prevent the quarrel. Thereby you open the timeline Taurus. Now you travel to the location "2022 Taurus - Game Fair" - and hurray, there you can buy "ChronoCops" and fulfil your assignment.
Explanation: In the year 2018, in the timeline Gemini, Matthias and Martin fall out and therefore invent no games together. Through your intervention there you have opened the parallel timeline Taurus. In Taurus, Matthias and Martin do not quarrel and soon afterwards invent the game series "ChronoCops". That is why in Taurus you can buy the games at the fair, while in Gemini nobody knows these games.
In this way you travel through time, from location to location, solving tasks and puzzles - until you meet Professor Knix and hopefully can stop him. When you are at some point asked to read the Final Briefing, your adventure ends.
The Final Briefing card: Read the back of this card only when you are explicitly asked to do so.
The Location Cards
When you reveal a location card, it is best to read the text aloud. In addition, all of you should look at the picture in the upper part of the card, as important information can sometimes be found there. Many things on the cards are self-explanatory; here are a few further explanations:
Take Card
When you see this symbol (with a number), find the corresponding small card in the stack, turn it over and lay it out face up. More details about the small cards can be found below under "The Small Cards".
Jump Marks
If you find one or more jump marks on a location card, you may travel from this location to there. But note: since you then have to put your current location card back, the jump marks are no longer visible afterwards! (Normally, however, you can simply travel to your current location card again later and then have the jump marks available again.)
Choices
On some cards you find several choices at the bottom. Depending on your decision, this can lead to different effects, for example to a jump mark or to taking a card. For some decisions you need the answer cards. How exactly this works is described on page 6 under "The Answer Cards".
Important: You do not have to make a decision immediately! If you are not sure which is the right decision, or if you believe an important piece of information is still missing, then simply make no decision! Rather travel to this location again later, when you are ready to decide.
Using Items
At some locations you can only get further if you use a particular item. How exactly this works is described on page 6 under "The Items".
Loss of Time Orbs
When you see this symbol, return the corresponding number of time orbs from your supply to the box. More details can be found on page 7 under "The Time Orbs".
The Small Cards
For the small cards, largely the same applies as for the location cards: when you receive a card, it is best to read the text aloud. If there is a picture on it, all of you should look at it. Here too you can find jump marks, open timelines, lose time orbs, etc.
Unlike the location cards, all small cards remain face up in front of you. It is best to lay small cards with jump marks next to the timeline stacks so that you have a good overview of all visible jump marks.
Sometimes you will be instructed to discard a small card again or to put it back into the stack. An explanation of the corresponding symbols:
- Take this card from the stack and lay it out face up.
- Take this card from your display and put it in the box.
- Sort this card face down back into the stack.
On some small cards you receive items. How and where you can use them is described on page 6 under "The Items".
The Answer Cards
On some location cards a decision leads you to an answer card A, B, C or D. When this happens, the Chrono-Decoder (blue side) comes into play:
- Lay your current location card against the corresponding outer edge of the Chrono-Decoder with the same timeline symbol. Make sure the coloured area lies exactly flush.
- Lay the chosen answer card with its blue side on the corresponding field in the middle of the Chrono-Decoder, in the same reading direction. It is absolutely essential that the answer card lies exactly flush with the colour transitions on all 4 sides!
It is very important that both cards fit very exactly. Even a small inaccuracy can lead to a wrong result!
Now follow the initially coloured line that leads from the location card onto the Chrono-Decoder, across the colours grey or silver to the answer card, and there to the only line that leads back in black onto the Chrono-Decoder. This black line leads you to a small card, which you take and lay out face up as usual.
Note: At crossings, always follow lines straight ahead, without turning.
Should the rare case occur that the line runs into nothing somewhere, then unfortunately you have caused a time paradox! Your actions have either not changed time at all or even changed it negatively. You immediately lose 2 time orbs! (More details on page 7 under "The Time Orbs".)
Afterwards, put the answer card and the decoder aside again.
Example: At the card "2022 Virgo" you decided on option B. You lay the location card flush on the outside and answer card B in the middle. The line from the location card leads to small card 14. You take card 14 and lay it out face up. Afterwards you put the decoder and the answer card aside again.
(The illustration differs from the game material.)
The Items
In the course of the adventure you will receive small cards showing items. (You recognise them by the silver and black lines running along the outer frame of the items, which match the lines of the Chrono-Decoder.) You must use these items at the right time or place. You are not prompted to do so, but can do it at any time when you believe you have found a sensible combination.
If you decide to use an item at your current location card, proceed in exactly the same way as with the answer cards. You lay the current location card on the outside of the Chrono-Decoder (blue side) and the item in the middle. Here too, always make sure that both cards lie exactly flush and that the reading direction is correct.
As with the answer cards, the line leading out from the location card normally leads you to a small card (or, in rare cases, into nothing and to the loss of 2 time orbs).
On some location cards no line leads out at the top. At such locations you cannot use items.
The Hint Cards
If at any point you feel that you cannot get further and need help, you can have a hint given to you with the help of the Hint-Decoder (green side). There are two different ways to do this:
- Hint for a location card: If you want a hint for your current location card, first check whether a line leads out from the top of the card, because only then can you receive a hint for it. Then lay the location card on the outside of the Hint-Decoder so that the coloured area lies exactly flush. The coloured line that leads out from the location card takes you via a yellow line to a hint card. Example: The line from "2045 Gemini" leads to hint card no. 1. (The illustration differs from the game material.)
- Hint for a small card: If you want a hint for a small card, first check whether a yellow marking leads out anywhere from the card, because only then can you receive a hint for it. Then lay the small card in the middle of the Hint-Decoder so that it lies exactly flush on all 4 sides. The line that leads out from the yellow marking of the small card takes you to a hint card. Example: The yellow marking of small card 2 leads to hint card no. 3. (The illustration differs from the game material.)
Find the corresponding green hint card in the stack, turn it over and lay it out face up. You lose 1 time orb, as stated on the hint card. If the hint card only says something that you already knew anyway, you do not have to give up a time orb.
The Time Orbs
You begin the adventure with 12 time orbs. They serve to give an evaluation at the end of your adventure:
- If a decision or change of yours was less good, this can lead to a time paradox. Usually you then lose 2 time orbs, but it can also be a different number; this will be communicated to you accordingly.
- If you have a hint given to you, you always lose exactly 1 time orb.
In the Final Briefing you learn how well you did.
Important: You can lose time orbs, but you can never lose this adventure! Should you lose all time orbs, your adventure continues anyway! Even if you would lose more time orbs than you still have, you simply keep playing and ignore all further time orb losses from then on. Your old friend Confucius already knew: "Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite unabashed!"
Tips for a Better Game Experience
- Always look at all cards very attentively and read the texts carefully! Sometimes a hint is hidden in the picture or in a single word.
- Engage with the theme and do not be afraid of "big" changes to history. Which changes in the past could lead to which changes in the future? Which information from the future could help you in the past? Which item could be usefully used at which place? Put yourself into the situation and think not abstractly but thematically!
- Do not neglect "old" timelines when you open new ones. If you get stuck, read aloud once more all locations for which you have visible jump marks. Do not wait for a specific occasion to visit a still unknown location. Sometimes you only recognise the occasion in hindsight.
- Perhaps you do not have to open every timeline. Perhaps you do not need every item you find. On the other hand: just because you have already made a decision at a location, you should not "tick it off"; perhaps it makes sense to make another choice, or you can do something else useful there!?
- Do not cling too much to the time orbs, and do not be afraid to lose one or the other time orb. And feel free to take a hint if you think you are in a dead end; this is no shame!
- In some places you need general knowledge, but never specialist knowledge. That is, if at a location you lack information for a decision which in your judgement is not general knowledge, then put the decision on hold for now and travel elsewhere; you will very probably find the required information in the game!
- For place names we deliberately used today's names. In general, this adventure does not claim to be historically accurate.