Cyberion
Cyberion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Base Game
50 Robot cards — These cards represent the loyal workers of the factory of the Oniverse. You'll have to play these Robots wisely in order to repair all the Machines before the factory collapses. Each Robot displays 2 features: its model (Sirenbot, Stockbot, Cyclobot, Planbot or Commandbot) and its size (1 to 5).
1 Battery card — When you have exhausted the deck of Robot cards for the first time, this card allows you to reshuffle all the discarded Robots to make a new deck of Robot cards.
25 Machine cards — These cards represent the factory's damaged machines. Each Machine shows which Robots you need to discard in order to repair it. Manage to repair all the Machines and you win the game. In the base game, there are two stages of Machines (I and II).
5 Devious Cog figures — These figures represent the 5 parts of the Devious Cog that have infiltrated the mainframe and stripped the Robots of their abilities.
1 Mainframe board — This board shows the abilities of each of your 5 models of Robot. At the beginning of the game, these abilities are completely blocked by the Devious Cog figures. During the game, you have the opportunity to push these figures back, upgrading your Robots' abilities. The further you manage to push back a Devious Cog figure, the stronger the corresponding ability will be when you discard a Robot card of this model.
5 Failsafe tokens — These tokens represent the factory's integrity. If, during a turn, you fail to repair at least one Machine, the system that prevents the factory's collapse will be damaged — this is shown by the loss of one Failsafe. If you have to give a Failsafe token away but don't have any left, you lose the game!
5 Support tokens — These tokens represent the last stand help you get from the factory's mainframe to complete your mission.
Expansions
- 5 Babybot cards
- 10 Gigantobot cards
- 5 Structural Damage tokens
- 15 Stage III Machine cards
- 10 Multibot cards
- 20 Microbot tokens
- 10 Interference tokens
Base Game: Repair the Machines — Solo Rules
Setup
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Set up the Mainframe board with the 5 Devious Cog figures placed on each of their respective first (i.e., leftmost) steps of advancement.
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Prepare the Machine deck: shuffle all 15 stage II cards, then shuffle the 10 stage I cards and put them on top of the 15 stage II cards. Reveal the first 5 cards of the deck in a horizontal row: this row is called the Factory. Next to the Machine deck, leave space for one pile of cards: the Experience pile (where you'll put the Machines you have repaired).
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Shuffle the 50 Robots to form the Robot deck. Reveal the first 5 cards of the deck in one horizontal row called the Platform. Take the next 5 cards and put them face up next to the deck in the discard pile.
Note: during the game all discarded Robot cards go face up into this discard pile. You can look through this pile at any time.
Leave enough space above and below the Platform for two additional horizontal rows of the same length: the Flash and the Stock.
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Take 1 Failsafe token and put it within reach (said to be in the Reserve). Put the other 4 next to the Mainframe board (said to be in the Forge).
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Put the Battery card with its Charged side face up in the Reserve.
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If this is your first game, shuffle the Support tokens, draw one randomly, reveal it, and place it in the Reserve. Put the rest back in the box. If you've already played Cyberion, see page 9 for the number of Support tokens you're allowed to start the game with.
Difference between Platform, Flash and Stock
During your turn, the Robot cards you can use will come from the Platform, the Flash and/or the Stock.
The Platform is your "basic" source of Robots, automatically refilled at the end of each turn.
The Flash is another row that can hold up to 5 Robots, but unlike the Platform, it is not filled automatically: you'll have to trigger the ability of a Sirenbot to put cards from the deck in this row; at the end of each turn, cards still in the Flash are automatically discarded.
Like the cards in the Platform, cards in the Stock are not automatically discarded at the end of your turn; but unlike the Platform, this row of cards is not filled automatically: you'll have to trigger the ability of a Stockbot to put cards from the Platform and/or the Flash in this row.
Flow of the Game
A game of Cyberion is played over several turns. Each turn is divided into 2 steps: Intervention and Cleanup.
1. Intervention
During this step you can:
- Repair
- Trigger
- Upgrade
You can do each of these actions several times during the same turn, in the order of your choice.
Repair
Each Machine shows which Robots you need to repair it. Those Robots can come from the Platform, the Flash or the Stock, and you can combine cards from those different rows to repair the same machine. Discard all the Robots needed, and put the repaired Machine face up in your Experience pile.
Important: a Machine can't be repaired over several turns (all the Robots needed for a Machine must be discarded at once).
Trigger
Discard one Robot from the Platform, Flash or Stock to trigger the ability related to this Robot's model. The position of the Devious Cog figure on the corresponding line on the Mainframe board shows the level at which the ability will be triggered; the further right the Devious Cog is, the more powerful the ability.
- Sirenbot — This ability allows you to draw Robots from the deck and put them in the Flash. Cards in the Flash can be used until the end of your turn. The more you have upgraded the ability, the more cards you draw.
- Stockbot — This ability allows you to move Robots from the Platform and/or the Flash and put them in the Stock. The more you have upgraded the ability, the more cards you may move into the Stock.
- Cyclobot — This ability allows you to retrieve one Robot from the discard pile. The more you have upgraded the ability, the more choice you have among the model of Robots you may retrieve and the faster you have access to the retrieved card.
- Planbot — This ability allows you to look at the top card(s) of the Robot deck, put this (each of these) card(s) on the top or at the bottom of the deck, then add the top card of the deck to the Platform. The more you have upgraded the ability, the more cards you may look at and re-order.
- Commandbot — This ability allows you to Prep one Machine but will require you to discard extra Robots. A Prepped Machine needs one Robot less to be repaired. The more you have upgraded the ability, the fewer extra Robots you need to discard when you trigger it.
Note:
- In order to trigger a Robot's ability, this card has to be discarded specifically to trigger its ability. The abilities of Robots discarded to repair a Machine do not trigger.
- The size of the Robot isn't relevant here (discarding a size 1 Robot will trigger the exact same ability as discarding a size 5 Robot of the same model).
- Discarding a Support token will also trigger the ability shown on the token. In this case, the level of the ability is independent from the position of the Devious Cog on the Mainframe board, since the ability is shown on the token (and always corresponds to a level III ability on the board).
The detailed description of each of the abilities can be found at the end of this rulebook (see The Robots' Abilities).
Upgrade
Look at the current level a Devious Cog figure is at on the Mainframe board. Remove from the game the corresponding number of Machines from the Experience pile and move the Devious Cog figure one step to the right on the same row into the next level.
Examples: To move a Devious Cog from level I to level II, you need to remove 1 repaired Machine from the game. To move a Devious Cog from level III to level IV, you need to remove 3 repaired Machines.
Note:
- The stage of the Machines is not relevant here (a stage II Machine does not count for more than a stage I Machine when paying for upgrades).
- You can upgrade different models of Robots during the same turn.
- You cannot move a figure beyond level V.
When you move the Devious Cog figure from level IV to level V, you also gain one Failsafe token from the Forge. If you already have five Failsafe tokens in the Reserve, this gain is forfeited.
2. Cleanup
Do the following four steps:
- If no Machine was removed from the Factory during the turn you must remove a Failsafe token from the Reserve and put it back in the Forge. If you must do so but have no tokens left in the Reserve, you lose the game.
- If there are fewer than 5 Machines in the Factory, draw cards from the Machine deck to complete the Factory back to 5 cards. If there are no cards remaining in the Machine deck to complete the Factory, the game continues with a reduced Factory.
- Discard all Robots from the Flash (their abilities don't trigger).
- If the Platform has fewer than 5 Robots, fill it by drawing card(s) from the Robot deck, until you have 5 cards in the Platform.
If the Machine deck is empty and there are no Machines left in the Factory, you win the game.
Empty Robot deck
If the Robot deck is empty and you have to draw, discard or reveal a Robot from the deck, immediately remove the Battery from the game (or, if you prefer, flip it to its Empty side) and shuffle the discard pile to form a new face-down Robot deck.
Note:
- If this happens during the resolution of an ability, resolve as much of the ability as you can, form the new Robot deck, then proceed by drawing, discarding or revealing the number of cards needed to complete the ability. The card discarded to trigger this ability is also shuffled with the discard pile to become part of the new deck.
- When you do this, do not put the top five cards of the deck into the discard pile, as you did when setting up the game as described under step 3 of Setup.
- The Battery is used only once per game; the second time the Robot deck is empty, you must keep playing without being able to draw, discard or reveal any cards from the deck.
The Support Tokens: Adjusting the Difficulty
Support tokens can be discarded during your turn as if you were discarding a Robot to trigger its ability. The only difference is that the ability is independent from the position of the Devious Cog figure on the Mainframe board and will be triggered as shown on the token.
For your first game, take one random Support token. If you lose, you can decide to start your next game with one extra Support token (up to five tokens); if you win, you can decide to start your next game with one less Support token (down to no tokens at all).
When you think you have mastered the base game, we recommend exploring the game's expansions. All these expansions can be played independently of each other or can be combined any way you want.
Two-Player Rules
The rules are the same as the solo rules, with the following exceptions:
Setup
Start the game with 3 Support tokens.
Divide the Factory into three parts between the two players in the following way: separate the leftmost and the rightmost Machines slightly from the three cards in the middle. The three cards in the middle form the Common Factory, while the leftmost and the rightmost cards are the Single Factories.
Players share the Platform, Flash, Stock, Reserve and Experience pile.
Flow of the Game
Each player takes their full turn, alternating with their partner (determine who will go first randomly).
During a turn, a player can only repair the Machine next to them (their Single Factory), plus the three Machines in the middle (the Common Factory).
Machines never move between the Common Factory and the Single Factories. If a player has repaired Machines from their Single Factory and the Common Factory, they must first complete the Common Factory and then their Single Factory during the Cleanup Phase.
Since both players share the Experience pile, either player may use cards from this pile to make upgrades during their turn.
End of game situation: when the Machine deck is exhausted and there are fewer than 5 Machines in the Factory, put all the remaining Machines together. From now on, each player can repair any Machine from the Factory.
Expansion: The Babybots
Sometimes, two robots fall in love. And sometimes, two robots in love decide to make a Babybot... Some would say the times are dire, and it's hardly opportune... But remember the founders' fourth question-answer, engraved at the center of the Factory: Q&A 4/5 "The future?" "Babybots! Make Babybots!"
Components
- 5 Babybot cards
Setup
Add one extra Failsafe token to the Reserve. Put the 5 Babybot cards within reach in a zone called "the Limbot".
Flow of the Game
1. Intervention
You now have an additional option: Make a Babybot.
If two Robots of the same model whose total sum adds up to exactly 5 are available in the Platform, Flash and/or Stock (the cards can be in different rows), and the Babybot of this model is still in the Limbot, take all three cards and shuffle them into the Robot deck.
The Babybots
When you draw a Babybot from the deck, move the Devious Cog figure on the corresponding row on the Mainframe board one step to the right; remove the Babybot from the game (and draw a replacement card).
Note:
- If the figure on the Mainframe board has already reached the fifth level, nothing happens.
- If you move the figure from the fourth to the fifth level, take a Failsafe token from the Forge, as per the rules of the basic game.
- If this happens while resolving an ability, and this ability is improved by drawing the Babybot, you still finish resolving the ability on the level it was before drawing the Babybot.
Additional Defeat Condition
If any Babybots remains in the Limbot when all the Machines have been repaired, you lose the game.
Note: if all the Machines have been repaired and no Babybots are left in the Limbot, you immediately win the game, even if you haven't drawn all the Babybots yet.
Expansion: The Gigantobots
Taking advantage of the Devious Cog's treachery, other Entities have launched an assault on the factory. They were repelled, but the factory has sustained heavy damage. Only the Gigantobots, huge robots manned (so to speak) by other robots, are capable of repairing this. These gigantic contraptions can also be used to retrieve failsafe hardware, but each will only accept a certain model of robot as their crew...
Components
- 10 Gigantobot cards
- 5 Structural Damage tokens
Setup
Add one extra Failsafe token to the Reserve. Lay the 10 Gigantobots next to each other within reach faceup (the side not showing the Gigantobot in a hammock). Put the 5 Structural Damage tokens in the Forge.
Flow of the Game
1. Intervention
You now have an additional option: Board a Gigantobot.
Choose two Robots from the Platform, Flash and/or Stock (the cards can be in different rows). These two cards must share at least one feature (size or model). Place each Robot on one Gigantobot that shares a feature with this card. You may place both Robots on the same or on two different Gigantobot(s).
You may not place a card on a facedown ("on vacation") Gigantobot. If one of the two Robots cannot be placed, it is immediately discarded (the other one may be placed according to the rules).
When you place the 5th or 6th Robot on a Gigantobot, shuffle all the Robots on this Gigantobot back into the Robot deck, and turn the Gigantobot card face down. You may immediately choose one of the following rewards:
- Remove one Structural Damage token from the Forge (put it back in the box).
- Take up to two Failsafe tokens from the Forge into the Reserve.
End of the Game
At the end of the game, each Structural Damage token that hasn't been removed from the Forge will cost you 3 Failsafe tokens from the Reserve. In order to win the game, you must survive this loss of tokens.
Expansion: The Microbots
The Devious Cog has not only sabotaged the machines, he has also infected their systems with Microbots. A machine can now only be repaired if, among the repair crew, you have a robot capable of handling the specific Microbot. Hopefully, this won't mean adding an extra robot to each crew...
Components
- 20 Microbot tokens
Setup
Shuffle all 20 Microbot tokens to form a facedown stack. After revealing the first 5 Machines in the Factory, put one random Microbot on each Machine and reveal this token.
Flow of the Game
1. Intervention
When you repair a Machine, you have to look out for the additional condition on the Microbot placed on this card. Each Microbot features the symbol of either a Robot's model or size: this means that at least one Robot of this model or size must be discarded to repair this Machine. You are allowed to add one card to match the requirements of the Microbot, even if this card would not be needed to repair the Machine without the token.
Note: you may also add one Robot to match the requirement of a Microbot when repairing Machines that require the sum of 3 (or 4) Robot cards to be greater/smaller than a specific number. This added Robot is not counted toward the sum, and only serves to match the requirement of the Microbot.
Examples:
- To repair a Machine that requires 3 Stockbots with a Stockbot Microbot, you need to discard 3 Stockbots (not 4, since one of the Stockbots required by the Machine "covers" the requirements of the Microbot).
- To repair a Machine that requires 3 Stockbots with a size 4 Microbot, you need to discard 3 Stockbots, one of them size 4 OR 3 Stockbots and any other size 4 Robot.
- To repair a Machine that requires 3 Stockbots with a Planbot Microbot, you need to discard 3 Stockbots and 1 Planbot.
When you repair a Machine, you also acquire the Microbot on it: put the token next to the Experience pile.
You cannot have more than 5 acquired Microbots at the same time. If you would acquire a sixth Microbot, this token is immediately discarded.
You can at any time use acquired Microbots in order to trigger one or several of the following abilities:
- 1 Microbot: Discard one Microbot from a Machine and replace it with a random Microbot from the stack.
- 3 Microbots: Swap the Microbots on two Machines.
- 5 Microbots: Remove a Machine from the game. This Machine is considered repaired (so you won't lose a Failsafe token at the end of the turn) but you don't add this Machine (nor the Microbot on it) to your Experience pile.
Used Microbots are discarded. When the stack of Microbots is depleted, shuffle all the discarded Microbots to make a new stack.
2. Cleanup
After completing the Factory, place a random Microbot from the stack on each Machine card without a Microbot, and reveal the token(s).
Two-Player
Acquired Microbots can be used by both players.
Expansion: The Multibots
The Devious Cog has also managed to sabotage the machines from the inner factory. These are more difficult to repair, but fortunately you now have the assistance of the versatile Multibots.
Components
- 10 Multibot cards
- 15 Stage III Machine cards
Setup
Add one extra Failsafe token to the Reserve.
Prepare the Machine deck as follows: shuffle the 15 stage III cards and randomly remove 5 of them (put them back in the box, you won't need them in this game). Then shuffle the 15 stage II cards, randomly remove 5 of them (put them back into the box) and put the remaining 10 on top of the 10 stage III cards. Finally do the same with the stage I cards: shuffle them and remove 5 of them from the game, putting the remaining 5 on top of the 10 stage II cards. You'll have a deck of 25 Machines, with 5 stage I cards on top, followed by 10 stage II cards, followed by 10 stage III cards.
Note: do not look at the removed Machines.
Reveal the first 5 cards of the deck (i.e., the 5 stage I cards) in the Factory.
Shuffle the 10 Multibots into the Robot deck.
Flow of the Game
Multibots are more versatile than regular Robots, because you decide their size or their model when discarding them to repair a Machine.
- When you discard a Multibot with a specific size to repair a Machine: this Multibot is the model of your choice.
- When you discard a Multibot from a specific model to repair a Machine: this Multibot is the size of your choice.
Important:
- You may not discard a Multibot to trigger an ability.
- You may not retrieve a Multibot with a Cyclobot's ability.
- When playing with the Babybots and/or Gigantobots expansions, you may not use a Multibot for the following actions: Make a Babybot or Board a Gigantobot.
- When playing with the Microbots expansion, a Multibot cannot be of two models or two sizes at the same time.
Expansion: The Devious Cog
The Devious Cog has started to jam the mainframe with magnetic interferences, mixing up the abilities of your robots! Until you manage to eradicate these interferences from the mainframe, using a robot's ability comes at the risk of triggering a different ability entirely!
Components
- 10 Interference tokens
Setup
Add one extra Failsafe token to the Reserve. Shuffle the 10 Interference tokens, and place two facedown underneath each Devious Cog figure.
Flow of the Game
When you discard a Robot to trigger an ability, first check if the corresponding Devious Cog figure has an Interference token underneath it. If it does, reveal (one of) the token(s), trigger the ability represented on this token instead of the one corresponding to the Robot you just discarded, then remove the Interference token from the game. Note that you trigger the ability at the level of the Devious Cog figure.
Note: you may decide to forfeit the ability entirely or to trigger it at a lower level. Support tokens are not affected by Interference tokens.
Additional Defeat Condition
If any Interference tokens remain on the board when all the Machines have been repaired, you lose the game.
The Robots' Abilities
Sirenbot
- Level 1: Nothing happens (the card is discarded without further effect).
- Level 2: Draw the top card of the Robot deck and put it in the Flash.
- Level 3: Draw the top 2 cards of the Robot deck and put them in the Flash.
- Level 4: Draw the top 3 cards of the Robot deck and put them in the Flash.
- Level 5: Draw the top 5 cards of the Robot deck and put them in the Flash.
The Flash is a row of cards above the Platform. It can contain a maximum of five cards. If an ability would allow you to draw cards that would fill the Flash over the 5 cards limit, don't draw these extra cards. Important: the Flash is emptied during Cleanup.
Stockbot
- Level 1: Nothing happens (the card is discarded without further effect).
- Level 2: Move 1 Robot from the Platform or the Flash into the Stock.
- Level 3: Move 2 Robots from the Platform and/or the Flash into the Stock.
- Level 4: Move 3 Robots from the Platform and/or the Flash into the Stock.
- Level 5: Move 5 Robots from the Platform and/or the Flash into the Stock.
The Stock is a row of cards below the Platform. It can contain a maximum of five cards. If an ability would allow you to move cards that would fill the Stock over the 5 cards limit, don't move those extra cards. The Stock isn't emptied during Cleanup.
Cyclobot
- Level 1: Nothing happens (the card is discarded without further effect).
- Level 2: Put a Cyclobot from the discard pile on top of the Robot deck.
- Level 3: Put any Robot from the discard pile on top of the Robot deck.
- Level 4: Put a Cyclobot from the discard pile in the Platform.
- Level 5: Put any Robot from the discard pile in the Platform.
On levels 4 and 5, if the Platform is full, put the retrieved card in the Flash; if the Flash is also full, put the card in the Stock. A Cyclobot can retrieve itself.
Planbot
- Level 1: Nothing happens (the card is discarded without further effect).
- Level 2: Reveal the top card from the Robot deck and put it back on the top or at the bottom of the deck. Then put the top card of the deck in the Platform.
- Level 3: Reveal the top 2 cards from the Robot deck and put each back on the top or at the bottom of the deck. Then put the top card of the deck in the Platform.
- Level 4: Reveal the top 3 cards from the Robot deck and put each back on the top or at the bottom of the deck. Then put the top card of the deck in the Platform.
- Level 5: Reveal the top 5 cards from the Robot deck and put each back on the top or at the bottom of the deck. Then put the top card of the deck in the Platform.
From level 3 and up, you decide freely which card you want to put on the top or at the bottom of the deck. If the Platform is full, put the card in the Flash; if the Flash is also full, put the card in the Stock.
Commandbot
- Level 1: Nothing happens (the card is discarded without further effect).
- Level 2: Discard 5 Robots to Prep a Machine.
- Level 3: Discard 4 Robots to Prep a Machine.
- Level 4: Discard 3 Robots to Prep a Machine.
- Level 5: Discard 1 Robot to Prep a Machine.
The extra Robot cards you need to discard can come from the top of the deck, the Platform, Flash and/or Stock. These extra Robots do not trigger their ability when discarded. You may Prep several Machines during the same turn, but the same Machine can be Prepped only once per turn. A Prepped Machine needs one Robot less to be repaired: play as if you already had committed one Robot of the model and size of your choice to repair this Machine. When you Prep a Machine, slide it slightly out of the Factory row as a reminder. During Cleanup, slide any prepped Machine you haven't repaired back into the Factory row. When playing with the Babybots expansion, if you discard a Babybot from the deck, apply its effect (as if you just drew it) and discard a replacement card.
General note: You may discard a Robot and decide not to trigger its ability. You may decide to use an ability at a lower level than the one the Devious Cog figure is at. If you do so, you must decide at which level you want to use the ability before triggering it.
Player Aid
1. Intervention
- Repair one Machine from the Factory.
- Discard one Robot for its ability.
- Upgrade an ability.
- Make a Babybot.
- Board a Gigantobot.
2. Cleanup
- If no Machine was removed from the Factory: lose 1 Failsafe.
- Slide all Prepped Machines back into the Factory.
- Fill the Factory.
- Add a Microbot to each new Machine.
- Empty the Flash.
- Fill the Platform.
Gigantobots' Rewards — Gain 2 Failsafes OR Remove 1 Structural Damage.
Microbots' Uses
- 1 Microbot: discard 1 Microbot from a Machine and replace it with another one.
- 3 Microbots: swap 2 Microbots on 2 Machines.
- 5 Microbots: Remove a Machine in the Factory from the game (it doesn't go into the Experience pile) and discard its Microbot.
Machine cards (examples of requirements)
- 3 Robots of the Cyclobot model
- 4 Robots of size 4
- 3 Robots, the sum of whose total sizes is equal to or greater than 12
- 4 Robots sizes 1, 2, 3 and 4 OR 4 Robots sizes 2, 3, 4 and 5
- 4 Robots, the sum of whose total sizes is equal to or less than 9
- 4 Robots, in two pairs of identical sizes (4 Robots of the same size would also work)
- 2 identical Robots (same model and same size). As for all other Machines you may use one or several Multibots.
Credits
Game design: Shadi Torbey. Artwork: Élise Plessis. Layout: Studio Emli.
Thanks: Bernard, Carl, Diana, Étienne, Lea, Lines, Manu, Mino, Morten, Sébastien, Sonia, Yoann.
© 2023 inPatience, 100 Winston Churchill, 1180 Brussels - Belgium. www.inpatience.com