El Ministerio del Tiempo Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Part A, Background Introduction
• Part B, Contents
• Part C, Ultimate Goal
• Part D, Pre-game setup
• Part E, Briefing
  • The Main and Secondary Game Boards
  • The Gaming Cards
  • The Mission Cards
  • The Protagonists Cards
  • The Enemy Tiles
• Part F, The Gameplay
  • Phase One: Movement
  • Phase Two: Anachronism
  • Phase Three: Enemies
  • Salvador's Office
  • Phase Four: Cards
  • Playing a Place Card
• Part G, End Game
  • A. By mission complete
  • B. By other measures

Part A, Background Introduction

The ministry of time (MDT) is under the constant threat of different enemies. Normally, the threat comes from different individuals who wish to twist the written history into his or her favor, such as a defeated king travelling back to kill his enemy before maturation. However, if the history is changed, unimaginable consequences may happen.

In this game, you will act as a MDT agent who preserves history from being changed. During your adventure, you must demonstrate your physical and mental skills to fight off powerful enemies, in order to do that, you must play your cards well to get victory points.

Each MDT agent shares the same ultimate goal but have their own mission to mind. The agent who achieved greatest success will become the next director of MDT.

Part B, Contents

1. One main game board.

2. One secondary game board.

3. Two 6-sided dices.

4. Eight protagonists cards (i.e, main character—the good guys)

5. Eight protagonists figure stands

6. Eight round protagonist's symbols

7. One Lola Mendieta figure stand

8. Four office tiles (i.e, the ones with "-4PA", "1X card","4 card" on both sides)

9. Eight mission cards

10. 56 playing cards

11. 30 enemy tiles (i.e square ones)

Part C, Ultimate Goal

Each player must try to complete as many missions as possible while avoiding appearing at the wrong time (i.e, anachronism). Meanwhile, do everything possible to stop the enemies from taking control of the MDT. The agent with most victory points (VPs) will be crowned the next director of MDT (and wins).

Part D, Pre-game setup

• Place the main game board (the round one) in the central of the table.

• Shuffle the enemy tiles and place one on each door of the main game board, facing down.

• Every player (this game is for 2-4 players) must choose one protagonist and claim the corresponding figure stand, protagonist card and the round symbol. Put your figure stand on one of the special doors (with blue, red or green balls). (Tips from Pin: If you are playing this game for the first time within a game of three, I strongly recommend you to play Pacino, Alonso and Amelia Foch. These three characters are the main characters of the series.)

• Place the secondary game board (the rectangle one) next to the main game board now.

• Place the office tiles on the four white circles of the secondary game board.

• Shuffle all playing cards, forming a deck, and place it on the table next to the main gaming board.

• Every player must draw a random mission card and keep it secret until the end of the game. The remaining ones shall be placed back into the box (the package).

• Set the dice aside.

• Deal five gaming cards to each player, which forms his/her "hand". Then, each player place their protagonist figures onto the little circle marked "PA" (located on the secondary game board). They can be stacked (i.e, placed on the same circle).

At this point, each player shall have one mission card and five gaming cards. Remainder of the table should look this way: (the picture is for reference only, there should be five cards deal, and the dice is also not in the picture)

We are ready!

Part E, Briefing

The Main and Secondary Game Boards

The main game board represents the helical staircase where you can travel through doors to go through time. Behind each door lies an entrance that leads to the time indicated above the door, some of which are identified with different colors. These colored doors represent special doors that can take you from one side of the stage to the other side, or to Salvador's office.

The secondary game board represents Salvador, the current MDT Director's, office. It has storage space for discarded gaming cards: places (lugares), objects (objectos), characters (personajes) or events (eventos). Additionally, there are four office tiles in his office, which benefits whoever comes across.

Don't worry, we will soon get back to these. Right now, let us take a look at the circle "PA" and the following eleven circles marked from 1 to 10 (and a plus). This PA sequel records your mistake as an agent. As you may recall, your mission is to preserve the history, BUT, if you, yourself, destined to appear in 2020 suddenly went to the 1700s with an iPhone, you immediately generate one chaos. Therefore, we have this PA sequel to record anachronism, named "Anachronism point counter". If you maxed out, you will be sent to the Huesca Jail and lose.

Lastly, there are five bigger square slots in the office. These slots are for enemies sneaked into the office. If five gets in, the ministry will be captured, and everyone all lose!

The Gaming Cards

1. Category: There are four categories, namely places, objects, characters or events. On your mission card, you will have to complete certain amount of each category to score more points.

2. Year: Each card will be assigned with a year that the event/ place/ objects/ people takes place.

3. Victory Points (VPs): At the end of the game, if you "control" this card, you will earn the corresponding amount of VPs.

4. Skill Points: Each card will have a skill (either intelligence, charisma or knowledge) and a value. To control a card, you need to better the skill point indicated.

5. Name and Photo.

6. Effect and Urgent Seal: Some of the playing cards may have special effects upon revealed, some others permanent. To determine, check whether "URGENTE" is present. If so, it is an upon-revealed effect. If not, the effect will last.

7. Discard Bonus: When facing enemies or skill tests, you can discard the playing card to gain additional dice points. So, a +2 discard bonus changes a dice roll of 2 to 4.

The Mission Cards

Each agent has one non-transferable mission card that contains "requirements". Requirements are of four types: Enemies, Objects, events or characters. When a player meets all the requirements, he may report to Salvador and score full score indicated at the bottom of the mission card. If not, partial will be given, which is located in the near-bottom. Take a look at the picture. Suppose Ming completed the two events but failed the rest, he will take 4 points (the second number).

The Protagonists Cards

This is your profile. You will have five stats:

1. Facing enemies during combats that requires combat skills;

2. Facing objects that requires intelligence to understand how to operate;

3. Using knowledge to find a solution out of an event.

4. Using Charisma to lure historical figures to follow your protagonist.

5. When investigating, research point determines how many cards you may draw.

The Enemy Tiles

There are two types of enemies. Common enemies and Special enemies.

A typical Common Enemy look this way:

On the bottom left lies a number denoting the combat value required to defeat it. The color, however, is associated with the door. In the illustration above, a blue 6 signals that this common enemy needs 6 or more combat value to be defeated, and it goes through the blue door on the helix staircase. Hence, if it ever reaches the blue door, it will sneak into the square slots in Salvador's Office.

The special enemies are more dangerous, with super power.

Susana Torres is a defected ex-MDT agent who now puts trouble to our missions. Whoever reveals Susana WON'T have to fight her, because she would have already snuck into office and remove one office tile, meaning that one of the perk to be in office is now gone. Fortunately, she doesn't stay in office, so she WON'T be occupying one of the enemy's slots.

Paul Walcott is a henchman of Darrow. Darrow is an evil organization that orchestrates planned time chaos by changing historical events for its clients. When Paul is revealed, the oldest object (as in, the year indicated on it) that the revealer controlled will be stolen and thus discarded (without bonus, since Paul left without fighting). After that, Paul will sneak into Salvador's Office and take one slot.

John Bennet is also a henchman of Darrow. He works reversely to Paul as he will steal the newest object the revealer controlled. He will also take a slot in Salvador's Office.

Heinrich commands Nazis. They both are tireless and stubborn. When they are revealed, you have to kill them in the first match, or else, they will immediately take a slot in Salvador's Office.

Thibaud and Darrow are the two big bosses. When revealed, no combat will be triggered. Instead, they will be placed in the center of the helix staircase. From now on, all other enemies faced will have their combat value +1. (not including those without combat points), If both are revealed, then +2.

Lola is a two-way spy, which becomes our biggest weakness. When revealed, remove this tile from the game, but put Lola's figure stand on the door you revealed her.

From now on, Lola will be automatically controlled by whoever is taking his/her turns. When the agent is moving his own figure, he/ she has to move Lola too: moving left for even number, moving right for odd. For example: Alonso rolled a number of 5, therefore, while moving his own figure stand for 5 doors, he will also have to move Lola right for 5 doors.

After the initial reveal, at any times when Lola passes through an agent during her own movement (including stops), that intersected agent will receive an anachronism point for obstacles caused by Lola.

Napoleon did not merely hold a 3 combat value. Instead, the player who faces him will have to roll a dice for him, and the result +3 is the actual combat value of Napoleon (at that time, will be reset after each combat).

Moran is quite elusive. While he already has a relatively high combat value, if you lose to him, you will receive a point of anachronism for his tricks played on you.

Part F, The Gameplay

Choose anyone to go first. If you have trouble picking one, pick someone who looks most alike Salvador. After that, the game will move clockwise.

Phase One: Movement

How to move: To start your turn, roll two dices and choose one of the values obtained, then move your figure on the main staircase. You can pick to go left or right, but once you started moving, you cannot change your direction midway. You must also use all your steps, unless you reach the end of the staircase, in that case, you will "bounce back" and continue to exhaust the remaining steps.

The Transportation Door: If you pass through the colored special doors, you can choose (or not) to spend one remaining step to transport to another door with the same color on. After that, resume your movement, but you can choose to go left or right upon your transported site.

Salvador's Office: If at least one of your dice is 1 or 6, you obtain a key to Salvador's office. This key is valid for this turn only. To use the key, another dice that you rolled must be able to allow you reaching any colored special door (you don't have to stop on one). If you choose to enter the office, you will lose all your remaining moves.

Once you entered the office, take your figure stand off the staircase and puts it anywhere on the Salvador's office's board. It signals that you are now starting a shift in the office. If your turn begins in the office (i.e, last round, you went to the office), you must leave the office, and you may not re-enter an office again this round, even if you can. Salvador won't be happy seeing you tagging alone!

To leave, pick any colored special door (doesn't have to be the one you went in) and resume the movement phase normally.

Example: Alonso gets a 6 and a 4 in his dice roll. With the 4, he is able to reach the door 1590, which is a colored special door, and with the 6, he has the key. So now, he can choose to go to Salvador's office (he can also choose not).

Phase Two: Anachronism

After you finished your movement, you can attempt to control or investigate a card. To do so, play a card you intend to control or investigate in front of you. You can either declare to investigate (which means you don't need to play a card), play your hand, or pick one card from the top of the disposal decks in Salvador's office (you may choose category). Then, you must calculate your anachronism point (PA) if you choose to control.

PA stands for the penalty for playing cards that is out of reach of where you at. If you played a card that happened exactly during the year of the door that you are at, you won't get penalized, else, for every door away, you will receive one PA point. An example:

Amelia rolls a dice and ended up in 1815. He attempts to control the card "Martin Cerezo", which is in 1898. From 1815 to 1898, there are two doors: 1840 and 1890. Therefore, Amelia are three doors away from the right time, and will receive 3 PAs.

Note that if you are penalized with PA, you will not move to the correct door, you will carry on at the same place your movement ceased.

If, at any moment of the game, even temporary, that you exceeds 10 PA point (not including 10), you lose immediately. All your cards go to the corresponding discard piles (but you can choose how to place them, even though it likely won't matter to you). Return your figures, enemy tiles and mission (facing down) back to the box. You are now contained in the Huesca Prison for your continuous violation of MDT's policy.

Phase Three: Enemies

Facing an enemy: After finishing counting anachronism, you now finally enter the door, but woah, there might be enemies! Check the door you are at, if there is a square tile, unveil it, and most likely you have to fight it (unless it is literally ministry's well).

To fight an enemy, you roll a dice and add the result with your combat point. If the computed result matches or exceeds your enemy's combat value, you defeated it, congratulations! Take the tile and you now control this enemy. Sometimes, certain enemies cannot be defeated or will have special effects. Consult the rulebook for more.

If you face an enemy that is already uncovered, proceed with the previous steps.

If you somehow face multiple enemies, face them one by one in any order you like.

If you find no enemy, nothing happen. However, since the ministry closed the door and wish no change to the current, any controlling attempt that will be described later will become more difficult (+2 to any requirements).

Discard Bonus: If you have difficulties fighting off enemies, you may discard your hand to gain a discard bonus. A discard bonus will apply to any dice rolling attempt apart from movement stage, that is, combat, intelligence, charisma or knowledge bonus. You can still discard your card after you completed your dice roll. Any cards discarded will be placed in Salvador's office. Let's look at an example:

Irene revealed an enemy with a strength of 7. Irene's combat value is 2, she rolled a dice and gets 3. That brings her total to 5. She have two options now: discard one card and gets 2 bonus to beat the enemy, or let the enemy go.

Note: Any enemy let go will NOT immediately go to Salvador's office (unless it is one of those indicated), they will wander on the staircase for a while.

Letting the enemy escape: Remember if five enemies sneaks in the office, everyone lose. If you let an enemy escape (either by losing the battle or you simply choose to before discarding), it will move towards the nearest door that is colored the same with its tile, for one door. If somehow the distances are the same (i.e the midpoint of two doors), the agent who faced it decides which way to go. If the enemy reaches the destination, it will sneak into Salvador's office.

Salvador's Office

We have talked about how to access it. Now, when you enter the office, you must either choose one of the available office tiles and perform its special power, or deliver your mission:

• Deduct 4 PAs.

• Draw 4 cards (from the pile on the table).

• Transfer your enemy tiles into VP, one per enemy. After you do so, turn your enemy tile that it faces down.

  Note that if you captured more enemies after you do this in future rounds, those enemies will not be automatically converted. You must visit the office again. You may choose how many enemies to convert. Note that converted enemies will not be viewed as an enemy anymore, which may affect your mission.

• Play a card from the discarded pile disregarding the anachronism stage. You cannot choose to play a "place".

You can also choose to deliver your mission.

Phase Four: Cards

You have two options here: Investigate or Research. You can choose to perform one once per turn.

1. Investigate: Draw cards from the deck on the table (not the discard pile). The amount of cards you may draw depends on your protagonist's research value. One research value= one card per investigation.

2. Take Control: To gain control of a card, you must take a skill trial. The card that you have played in phase two will carry a requirement, in a format such as "Charisma, 7". This means that to pass the test, you need to reach 7 in Charisma to take control of this card.

To start this act, roll a dice and add its value to your base ability stated in your protagonist card. You may also discard cards for disposal bonus. If you pass the trial, you will gain control of the card, and therefore receive VPs in the end if you remain control. Remember that if a door is closed (due to no enemy on the door), the difficulty will be added by 2.

Example: Angustias declared to take control of a card "The last battle of Cid". The card requires a knowledge of 6. Since Angustias landed on a door without enemy, now she needs 8. She threw a 3 and she herself has a knowledge of 3. Now, if Angustias wish to pass the test, she will have to discard a card to get her total to 8.

If you did not pass the trial, the card you played will be discarded.

Once you control the card, check if the card has an "URGENTE" on it. If so, you may (you can choose not to) enjoy the effect it has immediately (an example will be "draw 2 cards"); else, you may enjoy the effect every round as long as you remain control of it (including this turn).

Playing a Place Card

If the card that you have declared to play is a place card (i.e. Seville), you do not need to undergo a trial (although you need to either match the time of the place or exchange with the price of APs), instead, you immediately can and must choose between one of the two acts, as written on every place card:

• Draw 3 cards AND deduct 2 APs

• Go to Salvador's office to use the office tile, or to deliver missions.

After you played the place card, discard it on the top of the place card deck. If you played a place card from the discard pile, place the place card at the bottom of the discard pile.

If all playing cards are exhausted, collect all cards from the discard pile, shuffle, and form a new deck.

Part G, End Game

A. By mission complete

If any agent fulfilled all requirements on his mission, he can deliver it to Salvador. To do so, he or she must either use the 1-6 key method or use a place letter. Once verified, the game will carry on until everyone plays equal amount of turns, then the game concludes. The first player to deliver his mission will gets 2 extra VPs apart from the mission complete VPs.

For example, Sam and Tom both completed their missions, while Mich completed 4 out of 5. Sam starts first, he rolls a 6 and a 5 to reach Salvador's office. He can now deliver the mission and get 10 points for completing and 2 for being first. The game will carry on until Tom and Mich both finishes their turns. Tom will also get 10 points for completing, but no first-player bonus. Mich will receive partial VPs as mandate on the mission card.

In addition to the mission VPs, each agent will lose one VP for every AP they have on the meter. Luckily, every agent will also gain VPs based on cards they controlled, plus the enemy tile points (which were converted beforehand, if not, no point will be awarded), one point per enemy. The not-played hand card, even with VPs on it, do not count towards the final tally.

B. By other measures

The game may also end when:

1. All enemy tiles (including the wells) are revealed (maybe not defeated);

2. You need to reform a deck from discard pile, but even the discard pile is exhausted;

3. 5 enemies have sneaked into the office.

For the first two scenarios, carry on until everyone plays same amount of turns (and ignore any card drawing descriptions), then calculate the score as usual; for the third, everyone lose immediately.

The agent with most VPs will be the new MDT director!