Distop-IA Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• How to Play
• Game Components
• Setting Up the Game
• Turn Order
• Setting Up the Next Turn
• End of the Game
• Variants and Advanced Mode
  • Collaborator Cards
  • Mission Cards
  • Alternative Border Cards

How to Play

In this game, you must transport goods from district to district and smuggle them across the border. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Game Components

30 contraband cards. These come in three types: Hobby, Education and Survival.

8 border cards. The front and back are different. There are four sets of border cards — Meadow, City, Coast and Mountain — each with a different arrangement of point values around the border (see Alternative Border Cards, below).

5 guard cards.

4 mission cards. These are available in three languages. Use the cards for your language and put the rest back in the box.

• Catastrophe — +5 points for the player with the most Survival contraband cards at the end of the game.
• Save a Sibling — +5 points if you pass through all 8 districts while playing contraband or guard cards.
• Police Sting — At the end of the game, lose 1 point for each contraband card you have. No player scores points for cards.
• Curfew — +5 points for the first player to collect 6 contraband cards of any type before the deck runs out.

4 collaborator cards. These are available in three languages. Use the cards for your language and put the rest back in the box.

• Spy Pets — When playing contraband or guard cards you just picked up, cross any one of the 4 border cards.
• The Shelf Raider — When you win contraband cards from a district, also take the next card from the top of that district's stack.
• Rebel Robot — Before playing contraband or guard cards, also pick up the top card from one of your neighboring districts.
• Grandma the Hacker — For one turn, play cards in a clockwise direction.

2 character cards — The Teacher and The Collector.

Setting Up the Game

1. Take 4 of the same type of border cards (for your first game, we recommend the Meadow cards, marked with a star) and place them in a row between the two players in alphabetical order (A, B, C, D). These cards represent the districts — 4 on each side of the border.

2. Deal one character card to each player.

3. Shuffle the guard cards and contraband cards together to form a 35-card deck.

4. Deal 2 cards from the deck into each district. Make sure the point values and contraband type icons on each card are visible. You cannot place contraband cards on top of guard cards. If the first card dealt into a district is a guard, leave that single guard card alone and do not deal any additional cards to that district. However, you can deal guard cards on top of contraband cards already in a district.

   If 3 or more guards are dealt on the same side of the border during setup, reshuffle the deck and deal again. Place the remaining deck face down to one side of the play area — you will draw from this deck during the game.

5. In advanced games, place a mission card and a collaborator card on one side of the table. (Choose these cards at random, or pick the ones you want to play with.) For your first games, play without these cards.

6. The player with the fewest guards on their side of the border goes first. In case of a tie, the player who has gone the longest without looking at a screen takes the first turn.

Turn Order

Players alternate taking turns. No player ever takes two turns in a row. On your turn:

1. Pick one of your 4 districts. Take all the contraband and guard cards from that district — this becomes your hand for that turn.
2. Play 1 card at a time from your hand, moving counterclockwise through the districts. Start with the district on your right and follow the arrows shown on the border cards. If you reach a district that already has a guard card:
   • a. If you have a guard card in your hand, you must play a guard in that district.
   • b. If you do not have any guards in your hand, skip that district, since you can NEVER play contraband cards on top of a guard!
3. After playing all the cards in your hand, check your opponent's side of the border. For each of their districts where you played contraband cards (not guards), compare the number of contraband cards in that district to the number printed on its border card.
   • a. If there are more contraband cards than the number on the border card, take contraband cards from the top of the stack in that district until the number of remaining cards matches the number on the border card. Place the cards you took face down under your character card — you've won them!
   • b. If the number of contraband cards is less than or equal to the number on the border card, do not take any cards from that district.

IMPORTANT! You can never win: guard cards, contraband cards in districts on your side of the border, or cards that are under guard cards.

An example turn. Anna, who is playing as the Teacher, picks up the 3 cards in her district B. She plays a contraband card of her choice in her district C. Since there is a guard in her district D, she skips this district and plays a card of her choice in her opponent's district A, on the other side of the border, and another card in her opponent's district B. Since there are now 4 cards in her opponent's district A, and the number on that border card is 3, she takes the top card from that district and places it under her character card. It doesn't matter how many cards she has on her side of the border. Then, the next turn begins.

Setting Up the Next Turn

When you pick up cards from one of your districts, it usually becomes empty. If it does, draw a new contraband card from the deck and place it in that district.

• If it's a contraband card with a siren icon: Say "Beep-beep-beep!" when you draw it. Then, move all guard cards one district horizontally (to the right or to the left) closer to the card with the siren icon — but never move guards across the border during this action. Move guards on both sides of the border, starting with those closest to the siren card. Do not move a guard card if it's in the district directly across the border from the siren card's district. If a district has more than one guard, only move the top guard. Leave any others in place. One guard can be placed on top of another.
• If it's a guard or contraband card without a siren icon: Simply leave it in that district.

Do not draw any cards from the deck if all districts still contain cards, or if a district is empty only because guards moved from it in response to a siren.

If the end-game conditions haven't been met, the next player takes their turn.

Example: setting up the next turn. Anna draws a card from the deck and places it in the empty space in her district B. Since it's a contraband card with a siren icon, Anna says "Beep-beep-beep!" All guards move 1 district toward the new siren card. The guard in Anna's district D moves toward district C and is placed on top of the contraband cards already there. The guard directly across the border from the siren card does not move. The guard in Pau's district D moves one space and ends up on top of the guard already in his district C. Now it's Pau's turn.

End of the Game

The game automatically ends when:

• The last card in the deck is drawn, or
• A player has at least one guard in each district on their side of the border.

At the end of the game, each player totals their points. Each player takes all remaining cards from their districts (both contraband and guard cards) and adds them to the stack they've been collecting under their character card.

1. Separate guard cards from scorable contraband cards according to your character. Scorable cards are contraband cards with icons that match those on your character card. Discard any contraband cards that don't match your character — you don't score points with them.
2. For each guard card you have, remove one scorable contraband card of your choice.
3. Add up the point values of your remaining scorable contraband cards.

The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player with fewer guard cards wins.

In advanced mode, add or subtract the point values shown on the mission card to your final score.

Example: final scoring. At the end of the game, Pau collects all the cards on his side of the border, plus all the cards he placed under his character card: the Collector. He discards all Education cards, since his character only scores points for Hobby and Survival contraband cards. Pau had 2 guards on his side of the border at the end of the game, so he must discard 2 scorable contraband cards. He chooses to discard an alarm clock (worth 1 point) and a board game (worth 1 point). His total score is 14 points. Since Anna has more points than Pau, she wins the game.

Variants and Advanced Mode

You can increase replayability by using a different set of border cards or adding collaborator and mission cards to the game.

Collaborator Cards

In each game, you can choose a different collaborator card. Place it in the center of the play area, next to the row of border cards. Each collaborator card has a special ability that either player can use. When a player uses the ability, they place the collaborator card next to their opponent's character card. From that point on, only their opponent may use the ability. The collaborator card continues to move back and forth between players after each use. The collaborators are:

• Spy Pets: When playing contraband or guard cards you just picked up, you may cross any one of the 4 border cards. Then, continue playing cards in a counterclockwise direction.
• Rebel Robot: Before playing contraband or guard cards, also pick up the top contraband or guard card from one of your neighboring districts. Then follow the normal rules to play all cards in your hand. If the district you took the extra card from is now empty, do not refill it with a card from the deck.
• Grandma the Hacker: For one turn, play cards in a clockwise direction (to the left).
• The Shelf Raider: When you win contraband cards from a district, also take the next card from the top of that district's stack.

Mission Cards

In each game, you can pick a different mission card. Place it in the center of the play area, next to the row of border cards. Each of these cards contains a different mission that adds or subtracts victory points at the end of the game. The missions are:

• Police Sting: At the end of the game, lose 1 point for each Survival contraband card you have. In this variant, no player scores points for Survival cards.
• Catastrophe: The player with the most Survival contraband cards at the end of the game gains 5 bonus points. If players have the same number of Survival contraband cards, no one receives the bonus.
• Curfew: The first player to collect 6 contraband cards of any type before the deck runs out gains 5 bonus points and places this mission card in their play area.
• Save a Sibling: The first player to pass through all districts while playing contraband or guard cards receives a 5-point bonus at the end of the game. In other words, if a player picks up contraband cards from their district C and, after playing them all, has passed through all 8 districts and returned to or gone beyond their own starting district, they place this mission card in their play area to show they've earned the bonus.

Alternative Border Cards

In addition to the standard border cards labeled 3/3/3/3 (Meadow), you can also play with alternative border cards:

• City: 3/4/2/3
• Coast: 5/4/3/2
• Mountain: 5/2/3/5

Always set up the cards in alphabetical order (A, B, C, D) and never mix border cards from different sets in the same game.