Globe Twister Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• The Three Stages
  • Stage A: Preparation
• The Action Cards
  • Green cards: rotate a tile without moving it
  • Blue cards: move tiles
  • Red cards: move, and then even rotate a tile
• Stage B: The Reaction
• Stage C: Reconstruction
• Assessment
• End of the Voyage
• Variants
  • To Add Variety to Your Travels
  • For a Complete Travel Log
  • To Travel Alone

Components

• 5 Souvenir Photo sheets. All have the same front (the polar region), but there are 5 different backs (Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Africa).
• 45 Puzzle tiles divided into 5 sets of 9-tile Souvenir Photos. Put each set in a bag; you do not need to sort them further.
• 1 30-second sand timer.
• 50 Action cards divided into 5 different back colors (10 cards per player).
• 5 Programming frames, each with a unique color on one side. Also described as "programming areas" in these rules, they have markings corresponding to the 9 Puzzle tile locations (3×3 grid).

Object of the Game

Program actions to reconstruct the composition of an image (in the right orientation and order). All without wasting time, being as efficient as possible.

The Three Stages

Just as any voyage requires a degree of organization (and planning), so presenting your lovely anecdotes upon your return also demands following a few rules. It will only make your tale more accurate and appreciable!

Carefully follow the 3 great stages of each turn: preparation, reaction, and reconstruction.

Tip: The front of the Souvenir Photo is more accessible than the back, which is a fisheye view. For your first few games, stick with the polar region.

Stage A: Preparation

1. Give each player one Souvenir Photo according to the chosen play mode (see the tip above).
2. Set the 9 Puzzle tiles of your Souvenir Photo in front of you, being careful to have the right side face up. Shuffle and rotate them every which way (without flipping them over!). Then assemble them into a 3×3 square.
3. Cover this square with the Souvenir Photo that you are reconstructing.
4. Everyone move left one seat, because as Lao Tzu said, "a journey always begins with a first step."
5. Give each player a same-color set of a Programming frame and 10 Action cards.
6. Place your Programming area beside your Souvenir Photo. This is where you will play your Action cards.
7. Place the sand timer in the middle of the table, where everyone can reach it.

The Action Cards

There are 3 types of Action card.

Green cards: rotate a tile without moving it

1. Rotate the tile 90° clockwise.
2. Rotate the tile 90° counterclockwise.
3. Rotate the tile 180°.

Blue cards: move tiles

1. Swap with the tile that is orthogonally adjacent in the direction indicated by the arrow.
2. Swap with the tile that is diagonally adjacent in the direction indicated by the arrow.
3. Swap 2 tiles in diametrically opposite corners.
4. Swap 2 tiles in diametrically opposed edges.
5. Move the selected tile to the other end of its row or column, pushing the other two tiles in its row/column toward its original space.

Red cards: move, and then even rotate a tile

1. Immediately place the selected tile in the right place, swapping places with the tile currently there. No rotation is allowed.
2. Immediately place the selected tile in the right place, oriented the correct way (rotating it as needed). It swaps places with the tile currently there, but that tile cannot be rotated.

Special rules for red cards:

• You can only play 1 red card in your Programming area at a time. You cannot play 2 red cards in a single turn.
• Once you have played a red card, it will be permanently discarded at the end of the reconstruction stage (see below).

Note: The brown square depicted on the card indicates the tile from which the action starts. Pay attention to the direction of the arrow!

Stage B: The Reaction

You are ready to reveal the first few pages of your travel log. Sitting in front of your Puzzle covered by your Souvenir Photo, you are impatient to captivate your audience, and to share with them, with supporting photos, the details of your incredible encounters and discoveries.

At the signal (a flag, whistle, starting gun… agree on something at the start of the game!), everyone plays Stage B simultaneously as follows:

1. Lift your Souvenir Photo and move it near your Puzzle, without changing its orientation. Thus you discover the disorder of your composition.
2. Wisely and tactically arrange your Action cards in your Programming frame…
   • …in the exact location of the Puzzle tile you wish to move/rotate;
   • …respecting the 3×3 grid (if you place a card between 2 spaces, it will be invalid!);
   • …oriented to do what you want to do (pay close attention to the orientation of the arrows!).

Note: You are not required to completely fill the Programming frame: It can contain from 0 (not an effective plan) to 9 Action cards at the end of this stage.

3. As soon as you think you have optimized your Action cards in your Programming area, immediately cover your composition (your Puzzle tiles) once again with your Souvenir Photo, and flip the sand timer. As of this moment, you can neither change any Action cards, nor peek at your Puzzle. All you can do is watch the sand timer. No one else can touch it!
4. When the sand timer runs out, Stage B is done; everyone must immediately cover their Puzzle and can no longer modify their Action cards.

Stage C: Reconstruction

The reconstruction stage can begin. Starting with the player who flipped the sand timer, one after the other, under the watchful eye of the other players, each of you does the following:

1. Reveal your recomposition in progress (your Puzzle).
2. Follow the instructions in your Programming area in standard reading order: starting in the upper-left corner, going left to right, then the next row, and the next. Perform each action on the Puzzle corresponding tile(s).

Note: Your Programming area may have some holes with no Action cards, and thus some Puzzle tiles may not be targeted. Those tiles simply do not move or change.

3. As soon as your entire Programming area has been executed (from 1 – 9), immediately cover your Puzzle with your Souvenir Photo.
4. Now the next player performs these steps.

Warning:

• Under no circumstances are you allowed to cancel the effect of an Action card.
• If you have placed an Action card such that its space or orientation is unclear, its effect is not applied; however, the card still counts as being used!

Assessment

Once everyone has completed the reconstruction stage, two situations are possible:

1. EITHER one or more players have reconstructed their Puzzle identically to their Souvenir Photo. In this case, skip to "End of the Voyage", below.
2. OR no one has finalized their Puzzle quite yet, in which case a new turn begins. Take all of your Action cards back into your hand, EXCEPT for the red card you may have played, which is instead discarded for the rest of the game. Refocus and resume your yarn about your journey from the beginning of Stage B, "Reaction".

End of the Voyage

If only one player has reconstructed their Puzzle, this person wins the game.

If several players succeeded in the same turn, the following tiebreakers, in order, determine the winner:

1. Whoever has the most red cards still in their hand.
2. Whoever used the fewest Action cards in the final turn.
3. Whoever flipped the sand timer in the final turn.

If even this has not broken the tie, then play again!

Variants

To Add Variety to Your Travels

To extend your travel experience, apply any or all of the following changes, in any combination:

1. "The Shock of Experience": Less experienced or younger players play with the front (polar) image, while more experienced players try the back (fisheye) image.
2. "The Long Voyage": Remove the red Action cards from the game.
3. "Without Borders": Play without the Programming frame, merely imagining your Programming area. An Action card straddling 2 areas will still be considered invalid.
4. "Immediate Departure": Remove the sand timer from the game. Nobody gets any extra time: As soon as you think you are done, shout, "Stop!" Everyone must stop immediately; Stage B is done!

For a Complete Travel Log

Your trek merits several anecdotes. One round just isn't enough to reconstruct your travel log.

• Play as many rounds as there are players.
• Don't consider your travel log closed until you have covered all of those regions!

To Travel Alone

• Either practice with any set of Puzzle tiles shuffled and rotated.
• Or challenge your skills by trying to solve the following puzzles. At the bottom of each grid is the number of turns and the total number of tiles altered for the solution. You are allowed to solve these with the image pointing in any direction. Be brave!

The printed challenge labels give the number of turns and the number of Action cards for each puzzle (the grid pictures themselves are not transcribed here). Stars indicate difficulty.

Tourist ★ (6 puzzles, read row by row, left then right)

• 1 turn, 3 Action cards
• 1 turn, 6 Action cards
• 1 turn, 5 Action cards
• 1 turn, 4 Action cards
• 1 turn, 6 Action cards
• 1 turn, 3 Action cards

Backpacker ★★ (6 puzzles, same reading order: row by row, left then right)

• 1 turn, 4 Action cards without red
• 2 turns, 4 Action cards without red
• 2 turns, 6 Action cards without red
• 2 turns, 6 Action cards
• 2 turns, 5 Action cards
• 2 turns, 4 Action cards without red

Globetrotter ★★★ (6 puzzles, same reading order)

• 2 turns, 8 Action cards
• 2 turns, 7 Action cards
• 2 turns, 5 Action cards without red
• 2 turns, 6 Action cards
• 2 turns, 6 Action cards
• 2 turns, 7 Action cards

Into the wild ★★★★ (3 puzzles)

• 3 turns, 7 Action cards
• 2 turns, 7 Action cards
• 2 turns, 4 Action cards