Fire! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Idea
• Components
• Important!
• Differences Between Solo Mode and Cooperative Team Mode
• Setup - Solo Mode
• Setup - Team Mode
• How to Play
• Calculating Damage
• Reshuffling the Discard Pile
• Victory or Defeat?
• Alternating Turns in Team Mode
• Using the Energy Exchanger in Team Mode
• Continuing to the Next Level

Game Idea

In every Level of Fire! you shoot your Weapons at Aliens. Your goal is to destroy all Aliens before your energy runs out. If you succeed, you may start the next Level!

You can play Fire! in Solo Mode, or cooperatively with a friend in Team Mode.

Only the first few pages are needed until you can start playing!

Components

• 89 cards
• 1 rulebook

Important!

Set out the card deck with the fire symbol face up. Please do not shuffle this card deck. The cards in this deck are already pre-sorted face up. The cards for Level 1 are on top. Please only draw cards from this deck when instructed to do so. Every card of a Level carries a symbol in the lower right corner, like the one for Level 1. If you want to start the game over from the beginning, sort all cards by these symbols.

Differences Between Solo Mode and Cooperative Team Mode

Both game modes for Fire! use the same basic rules. Parts of setup and some procedures differ, so we explain those details in separate sections. The main mechanisms are the same, so you can face the challenges of all 9 Levels alone or as a team of two.

Setup - Solo Mode

1. Reveal the fire-symbol card and lay it face down.
2. Take the 5 Aliens from the deck. Lay them out in a row, as shown on the back of the fire-symbol card. The green strength values on the underside of the Aliens must face you.
3. Take the 3 green Weapons marked with the player-1 symbol in the lower left and lay them out in a row below the Aliens.
4. Take the 15 green Batteries marked with the battery symbol. Shuffle these cards and place them face down in front of you as your draw pile. You have the following 15 energy values: five 1s, four 2s, three 3s, two 4s, and one 5.
5. Put the next 13 red cards and the 1 green card for "Player 2" (marked with the player-2 symbol) back in the box. You do not need them for this game.
6. You should now see the fire-symbol card on top of the deck again. You will need this deck again once you have defeated all Aliens in Level 1 and continue into Level 2.

You are now ready to begin the battle against the Aliens!

Setup - Team Mode

1. For a better play experience, you and your friend should sit on the same side of the table.
2. Reveal the fire-symbol card and lay it face down. Take the 5 Aliens from the deck and lay them out in a row as shown. The green strength values on the underside of the Aliens must face both of you.
3. Take the 18 green cards for "Player 1" (marked with the player-1 symbol) and put the 6 cards marked with the discard symbol back in the box. You do not need them for this game. Your friend takes the next 13 red cards and the 1 green "Player 2" card (marked with the player-2 symbol). Lay your 2 Weapons out in front of you. Shuffle your 10 Batteries and place them face down as your draw pile. You both play with the following 10 energy values: four 1s, three 2s, two 3s, one 4.
4. Your friend gives you the green Energy Exchanger card (marked with the energy-exchanger symbol). Place the Energy Exchangers next to your Weapons, so that the value 2 on the underside of the cards faces you.
5. You should now see the fire-symbol card on top of the deck again. You will need this deck again once you have destroyed all Aliens in Level 1 and continue into Level 2.

How to Play

The basic rules are the same for Solo Mode and Team Mode. In Solo Mode you take one turn after another, while in Team Mode you take turns alternately. The most important basic rule: on your turn you reveal 1 Battery and place it on 1 Weapon. That's all!

How exactly does that work?

During the battle against the Aliens you use 3 Weapons in Solo Mode; in Team Mode you both use 2 Weapons each. You charge your Weapons step by step with Batteries. For every Battery you reveal, you choose one of these Weapons to place it on.

To keep track of a Weapon's charge, always place the Batteries overlapping on top of it. This way you can easily add up the energy values on each Weapon and see the number of crosshairs.

Then you reveal the next Battery and place it on a Weapon again. Every Battery shows the following information: an energy value and a crosshair symbol.

Watch out: as soon as a Weapon carries 10 or more energy, it fires automatically. You may always freely decide which Alien you shoot at. There is no fixed assignment in this game, even if a Weapon is positioned below a particular Alien.

Calculating Damage

You determine the damage of a shot quite simply:

Damage = (Total Energy − 10) × Number of Crosshairs

In other words: you must subtract 10 from the total energy before multiplying that value by the number of crosshairs. A shot with exactly 10 energy causes 0 damage!

Every Alien has 4 strength values. With your first shot you must cause enough damage to reach at least the highest strength value. If the shot's damage is high enough that you simultaneously reach the sum of two or more consecutive strength values, you hit the Alien multiple times.

Example: You have already placed 5 Batteries on the Weapon, so that it is charged with a total of 14 energy. Now you shoot with this Weapon and deal 24 damage to the Alien = (14 − 10) × 6 crosshairs. You hit the Alien twice (first the 12, then the 9). It is not enough for the 6 as well, though. You turn the Alien twice, so that the 6 ends up on the bottom.

For every successful shot you turn the Alien to the next-lower strength value, so that this value is now shown at the bottom of the card. If you hit the lowest strength value, you destroy the Alien and turn it to its reverse side, so you see the explosion.

Watch out: every shot destroys 1 Battery! After every shot you must destroy 1 Battery of your choice from the Weapon. Set that Battery aside — you may not use it again this Level. Place the remaining Batteries from the Weapon on an open discard pile.

You may now load this Weapon again with new energy.

Reshuffling the Discard Pile

Every time you have revealed and placed your last Battery on a Weapon, shuffle your discard pile and place it face down again as your new draw pile.

This way you keep playing, and have fewer and fewer Batteries available shot after shot. You may look through your destroyed Batteries and the Batteries in your discard pile at any time. Fire! is not a memory game!

Example: After the shot you destroy the 2 and set it aside. You may not use it again this Level. You place the other Batteries on the open discard pile.

Victory or Defeat?

In both Solo Mode and Team Mode you try to destroy all 5 Aliens in Level 1.

Victory: If you destroy all 5 Aliens, you win Level 1! Congratulations! You have unlocked Level 2 and continue playing! Turn the page for Level 2 and face the next challenge!

Example: You destroy the fifth Alien and win Level 1!

Defeat: If even 1 Alien survives because you have placed all your Batteries on the Weapons and can no longer shoot at the Aliens, you lose Level 1! This can happen, because after every shot you must always destroy 1 Battery!

Looks like you still have a few tricks to learn!

Repeat Level 1. Lay out the 5 Aliens again in a row and shuffle all your Batteries, including the destroyed ones set aside (15 Batteries in Solo Mode, 10 Batteries each in Team Mode).

Example: You have only a 4 left, which does not give you enough energy for another shot. As a result 2 Aliens survive and you lose Level 1. Start over again ...

The fine print: Of course you can also activate cheat mode and start Level 2 without having destroyed the 5 Aliens ...

Alternating Turns in Team Mode

If you play with a friend in Team Mode, you always take turns alternately. On your turn you reveal 1 Battery and place it on 1 of your 2 Weapons. Then it is your friend's turn. While you charge the Weapons with energy, individual turns go by quickly. You should announce "My Weapon is firing" to briefly interrupt the flow. After you have shot at an Alien, it is your friend's turn again.

Of course you should discuss together which Aliens to shoot at, which Weapons to load, which Batteries to destroy, and when to use your Energy Exchangers. Wait, what is that ...?!

Using the Energy Exchanger in Team Mode

Twice per Level, after revealing 1 Battery, you may give it to your friend instead of using it to charge one of your Weapons. Place the Battery face up on their draw pile.

If you do this, turn your Energy Exchanger to the next-lower value, so that this value is now shown at the bottom of the card. If you turn the card to 0, you may not use your Energy Exchanger again this Level.

Afterward it is your friend's turn, and they place your Battery on one of their Weapons. The Battery is now a completely normal card for them, and they may use it like any of their other Batteries. After a shot they may destroy it or discard it and later reshuffle it with their other Batteries.

You'll find a detailed example on the next page!

If you use your Energy Exchanger and/or shoot more often than your friend, you will have fewer Batteries and your draw pile will run out sooner. As a result you will reshuffle your discard piles at different times.

If by the end of a Level you have placed all your Batteries on your two Weapons and can no longer shoot (both Weapons are charged with less than 10 energy), you must pass. Your friend then takes turn after turn. If they can still use their Energy Exchanger, they can give you a Battery with enough energy onto your empty draw pile. In that case you get to go again and shoot again. Otherwise your friend continues playing alone and tries to destroy the remaining Aliens with only your moral support.

Example: On your turn you reveal the 4. You do not want to place the Battery on either of your Weapons, and instead use your Energy Exchanger to place it on your friend's draw pile. Next your friend places this 4 on their left Weapon, charging it with a total of 13 energy. Your friend shoots at the left Alien and hits it once for 15 damage = (13 − 10) × 5 crosshairs. They destroy a 2 and set the Battery aside. They place the 4 with their other Batteries on their discard pile.

Continuing to the Next Level

Level 2 – High Energy!

This Level cannot be loaded yet ...

You want to be surprised when you play the game yourself!

As the manual itself states, Levels 2 through 9 are not written out in this booklet — they are revealed level by level, through the pre-sorted deck's own special cards, as you win each preceding Level. This is the complete text of the printed rules booklet as published.