FOMO: Foragers of Mechanical Oddities
FOMO: Foragers of Mechanical Oddities Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Before starting the game, give each player a deck of 10 cards representing one of the 5 Scavengers vying to become the new chief. All decks are equal.
Collect all 24 Mecha cards (both with the silver and rainbow backs). Shuffle the deck.
Game Overview
Players take turns playing numbered Scavenger cards from their hands, trying to place higher bids than the other players and collect Mecha cards.
The game ends (at the end of the round) when the Mecha Deck runs out.
The player with the highest score wins! If there is a tie, the player with more Mecha cards wins. If there is also a tie, both win!
Blue Mecha Cards provide positive score points. Red Mecha Cards reduce your final score, but can lead to an exciting alternative win condition.
Rounds
Each round represents a daily "hunt" where Scavengers search for loot.
At the start of each round, deal 4 face-down Mecha cards to the table. This will be called the "Reward Stacks". Depending on the number of players, the position of these on the table can change (the details can be found in the back of the 1st player card).
Starting with the 1st Player, turns proceed clockwise. On your turn, choose a Scavenger Card from your hand and place it next to a Reward Stack. This action will be called "bidding," and the following rules apply:
- You may bid on any stack without a bid.
- You may bid over another player's bid by placing a card with a higher value over the top of theirs.
- You may not bid on top of your own card (if it is the top bid).
- If you cannot bid (or do not want to), discard a Scavenger Card to the central discard pile instead.
Once all players bid 3 times, the round ends. The player with the top bid in each stack takes the Mecha cards in there as a reward.
In a 4P game, the reward stacks are placed in the table facing each player.
At the end of the round, all played Scavenger cards are moved to the discard pile. If players have either one or no Scavenger cards in their hands, return to players all their Scavenger cards in the discard pile.
Mecha Cards
We are not looking for junk! Bring back pristine working Mechas only!
Mecha cards are the key to winning in FOMO.
Blue cards represent fully functional Mechas, and they increase your end-game score. These cards are only scored in sets according to their type.
Positive score card types are illustrated by a shape in the top of the card (and by their drawings). The set value is printed at the bottom of the card.
- A set of 1 of each type is worth 3 points (pink circle + cyan diamond + yellow star).
- A set of 3 of the same type is worth 5 points (e.g., star + star + star).
Red cards represent broken Mecha parts. They reduce your end game score by the value listed in the corners of the card. They can, however, lead to an alternative win condition.
Once any Mecha card is acquired, place it in a face-down stack near you. You can manipulate the order of the cards in this deck freely. The card on the top of this deck is vulnerable to the Hook (explained below). The number of cards in this deck is open information, so if any player asks, tell them the truth.
The Giant Mecha
In contrast to the normal win condition of having the highest total value of Positive Mecha Cards, if any player collects all 5 parts of the Giant Mecha the game ends and they immediately become the winner!
There are two sets of parts: one with the "-1" and another with the "-2" value. Parts of any value can be used to assemble a Giant Mecha. If two players collect all parts, whoever has the lowest negative value among the Mecha parts becomes the winner (e.g., -8 beats -7)!
The Hook
The Scavenger job is not a clean one. Look away for a second, and your loot will be gone!
The Scavenger card with the value 4 in each deck is unique, and it is called "The Hook". Once this card is placed as a bid, its owner may pick any Mecha card at the top of an opponent's Mecha Stack (without looking), and place it face-down in the reward stack where this card was played.
Players can target their own Mecha cards with the Hook.
Whoever wins the final bid in each stack takes all the cards in that reward stack!
Peeking
Without reading the subtle information in your opponent's moves, you will end up very lost.
Peeking at cards in FOMO is the only concrete way to have information about the reward stacks; however, there are only 3 ways this happens:
- At the start of the round, players peek at the reward stack placed in front of them. They cannot peek again once the bid starts.
- Whenever players use the special card of value 1, they can peek at the card in the stack that this card was played.
- The 1st player in each round has a special peeking ability.
1st Player
Going first is a blessing and a curse. Only the brave lead the way!
The 1st Player position in FOMO is very important. To mark who is the 1st player during every round, the game comes with a 1st player card, which should always be kept on the table, in front of the 1st player.
The 1st player has a special peeking ability that changes according to the number of players playing the game. Check the back of the 1st player card for a detailed explanation of it.
The Tank
Knowing when to deploy the big guns is key to victory!
Each Scavenger deck comes with a card of value "10", known as "The Tank". This card can only be used once during the game.
Instead of placing them in the discard pile after the round ends, place these cards face-up near the Mecha deck (so that all players can see the ones that the players have already used).
Special Mecha Cards
There are three types of Special Mecha cards in the game. They have a different background style from the normal Mecha cards (rainbow texture).
They are acquired and played as any other Mecha card. The only difference is that they have very strong effects and will draw a lot of attention. Here is a breakdown of their abilities and how many of each there are:
- The Unicorn (x1): Multiply the positive score by 2. Apply its modifier before counting the negative points from the red cards. This card cannot be part of a set.
- The Shapeshifter (x2): This card counts as any type of Mecha card to help complete a score set.
- The Poltergeist (x1): This card has a value of "0" and can count as any part of the Giant Mecha to help complete the set. If there is a Giant Mecha score tie, the player with a Poltergeist loses it.