Gadgeteers
Gadgeteers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
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Each player takes a screen and puts their 16 matching Tokens behind their screen: Power ×2, 1 ×8, 2 ×3, 3★ ×1, 4★ ×1, 5★ ×1.
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Shuffle the 12 Parts tiles and lay them face up in an open square. The center space is the Junk Pile. (Parts: Gloves, Mirror, Magnet, Spring, Tape, Pipe, Propeller, Battery, Gear, Crank, Lens, Boots.)
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Shuffle all 16 Gadget cards into a face-down deck, then deal out a row of Gadgets where all players can see them.
- 2 Players: 4 Gadgets in a row
- 3 Players: 5 Gadgets in a row
- 4 Players: 6 Gadgets in a row
Each Gadget card shows its Points, Type, Required Parts and Special Power.
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Shuffle the 4 Bonus cards and deal 1 to each player, keeping yours a secret from other players.
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Give the First Player Marker to the youngest player.
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Set aside all unused screens, Tokens, and cards. It is recommended that you do not use the Alternate Tokens for your first game.
How to Play
Gadgeteers is played in a series of rounds. Each round is divided into 2 Phases:
- The Parts Phase: Players place Tokens to control Parts.
- The Gadgets Phase: Players use Parts to build Gadgets and activate their Gadgets' special powers.
Parts Phase
In the Parts Phase, players compete for control of Parts needed to build Gadgets.
Players take turns beginning with the first player, then rotating clockwise. After each player has taken 5 turns, this Phase ends.
On your turn, you may place 1 Token, face down, on any Part.
Your Power Tokens won't help you control Parts, but are used to activate a Gadget's special power.
Example: The purple player is placing her 5th face down Token on the Gloves.
More About the Parts Phase
- If you have more than one Token on the same Part, their Values will be added together.
- There is no limit to the number of Tokens on a Part.
- You can peek at your own face down Tokens if you need to.
Tip: If you lose track of how many turns you have taken, count how many face down Tokens you've already placed.
Controlling Parts
The player with the highest total Token value on a Part controls it. If there is a tie for control of a Part, no one controls it.
Examples: Tape — Purple controls. Gloves — No one controls (tie). Mirror — No one controls (only a Power Token).
Gadgets Phase
In the Gadgets Phase, players use Parts they control to build Gadgets.
Players take turns, beginning with the first player and rotating clockwise, until all players pass.
On your turn you may:
- Build any number of Gadgets
- Activate any number of special powers
- Do Both (in any order)
- Pass (if you pass, you will take no more turns until next round.)
Building Gadgets
If you control all of a Gadget's required Parts, you can build the Gadget by removing all of your Tokens from those Parts:
- 1, 2, and Power Tokens are recalled to behind your screen.
- 3, 4, and 5 Tokens go to the Junk Pile for the remainder of the game.
Then place the Gadget face up in front of your screen and immediately add a new Gadget from the deck to the Gadget row.
Example: Purple builds the Gravtreads by removing her Tokens from the required Parts (Gear, Magnet, Boots): her 3★ Token on the Gear goes to the Junk Pile, her 1 Token stays, and her 2 Tokens on the Magnet and Boots are recalled.
When you remove your Tokens, other players' Tokens on those Parts remain. Those Parts are now controlled by whoever has the new highest total Token value.
Special Powers
To activate the special power of a Gadget you've built, recall any one of your Power Tokens that is on a Part and perform the action listed on the Gadget.
There is no limit to the number of times a special power may be activated, unless it is "Single Use." Single Use special powers may only be activated once per game.
(Example card: Jumpboots — Single Use: Add two Value Tokens from behind your screen to the Part your Power Token was on.)
More About the Gadgets Phase
- You can build more than one Gadget on your turn, but you must remove all of your Tokens for the first before building the next.
- A Gadget's special power becomes available as soon as it is built.
- Your Power Token can be recalled from any Part to activate a special power.
End of Round
After all players have passed, the Gadget Phase ends.
To prepare for the next round, do the following steps in order:
- If no Gadgets were built this round, add one new Gadget to the row.
- Each player has one turn (in order, starting with the first player) to recall their Tokens off of any Parts. When recalling your Tokens from a Part, ALL of your Tokens on that Part must be recalled.
- Pass the First Player Marker to the left and begin a new round.
Example: If Yellow chooses to recall this 1 Token off of the Gloves, he must also recall his Power Token. Green's 1 Token remains on the Gloves.
End of Game
When any player builds their fourth Gadget, finish that round and the game ends. To determine your score:
- Add the points from your Gadgets.
- Add 1 point for each of your Gadgets matching your Bonus Card.
- Add one point for each of your 3, 4, and 5 Tokens not in the Junk Pile.
The player with the highest score wins. If tied, the player who controls the most Parts at the end of the game wins.
Example: Purple scored 18 points — Gadgets: 14 points; Bonus Card: 2 points; 3, 4, 5 Tokens: 2 points. Since the 3 Token is in the Junk Pile, it adds no points.
4-Player Rules
For a 4-Player game:
- The Gadget row is 6 cards.
- During setup, each player removes one 2 Token and their 5 Token from play.
- Corner Parts are controlled by the TWO players who have the highest Token value on them. 3 or 4-way ties, and ties for second place do not control the Part.
Alternate Tokens
To play with the optional Alternate Tokens, during setup each player swaps a standard Token for its Alternate Token as shown:
- Power → double Power: This Token lets you Activate 2 different Gadgets' special powers at once.
- Power → Power/½: Use this as a Power Token or as a ½ Token for control of a Part.
- 1 → 4★: This Gadgeteer gets an extra 4 Token.
- 1 → 2: This Gadgeteer gets an extra 2 Token.