Incoming Transmission
Incoming Transmission Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preview Edition Components
- 13 Module Tiles (Red on one side, Green on the other)
- 13 Empty Corridor Tiles (Same on both sides)
- 30+ Mission cards (68 planned in total so far with possibility of additional advanced missions in dev.)
- 20 Transmission cards (5 each of four 'Levels')
- 11 Command cards (2 of each cardinal direction, 1 Collect, 1 Deploy, 1 Repair)
- 4 Signal Boost cards
- 1 Cadet Pawn
Basic Gameplay Overview
In the standard game, Mission Control has 3 Missions that must be completed by the Cadet before time runs out and the comm system shuts down fully (measured by the Transmission Set). Mission Control will send a set of 5 Commands which will be scrambled (shuffled) before being sent to the Cadet. The Cadet must determine what order they believe is best to execute those commands, run them, and then wait for the next transmission. Complete all 3 Missions in the allotted time and the Cadet will be rescued. If they don't, they are abandoned and left to perish.
Limited Communication Alert!
Unless instructed otherwise, the only way Mission Control can communicate with the Cadet is with sets of Command cards. Mission Control should maintain a straight face and should not react or speak, despite what mistakes may be made by the Cadet(s). Cadet players working as a team may freely communicate between themselves, but they may not ask Mission Control for assistance or attempt to extract any further information from them.
To put it another way; there is a one-way communicator, and Mission Control can only observe the Cadet by scanning the base. When your information is strictly limited to what can be conveyed with 5 simple instructions, you are playing in the spirit of the game.
Setup
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Divide into 2 teams (this is a cooperative game): One person will be Mission Control. The remaining player(s) work together as the Cadet, they should sit together but opposite of Mission Control.
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Place the Hallway tiles in the pattern shown in Fig. 1. You should have 1 Hallway tile left over. Put this to the side near the Cadet player.
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Shuffle the Module tiles, Damaged (red with yellow caution symbol) side up. Then flip over the top 5 Module tiles so they are Intact (green) side up. Shuffle all the tiles again. Fill in the gaps between the Hallway tiles left to right, top to bottom. (Fig. 2) This is referred to later as the "Standard Layout".
Beginner Layout: For your first few games, instead of randomly determining Damaged and Intact tiles, we recommend arranging the module tiles using the pattern shown in the rulebook's Beginner Layout figure.
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Set the Compass tile by the side of the grid. This will determine orientation for commands, and is generally best to have North pointing 'up' from the Cadet's perspective. Do not change the orientation of this tile during the game.
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Give the 11 card Command Deck to Mission Control. It does not need to be shuffled right now.
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Construct the Transmission Deck from the provided Transmission cards as indicated below depending on your desired Difficulty Level. You will be creating a deck of 7 cards:
- Step 1) Four cards are shuffled and make up the bottom of the Transmission Deck, then
- Step 2) Three more cards are shuffled and placed on top of those.
This creates a random draw while also ensuring a growth of difficulty during the game. The remaining Transmission cards can be set aside, they will not be used for the rest of the game.
Note: Not all Level 1 cards are the same, neither are all of the Level 3 and Level 4 cards. When building the deck with those cards, draw randomly from that Level.
Modules
There are 2 types of Modules:
- Stations: Large installations. These can be Repaired, but can NOT be moved.
- Devices: These can be picked up and carried. They are denoted with a special symbol on the tile.
Damaged vs. Intact: A Damaged module (red, with the yellow "!" Caution symbol) is non-operational. The only Command you can execute on a Damaged module is Repair. An intact module (green, no Caution symbol) can be Collected, but only if it is a Device.
Examples (illustrated): Damaged Device, Intact Device, Damaged Station, Intact Station.
Mission Cards
Missions are kept secret from the Cadet until completed. Each Mission has a flavor text that tells you what two Modules need to be deployed besides each other. There is a quick-reference in the bottom right corner, referring to the large single letters on each Module tile.
Completing Missions
All missions follow the pattern of deploying one Module next to another Module. The two modules must be next to each other. Diagonals do not count. Both modules must be Intact to complete the mission.
Illustrated examples: Diagonal, Incomplete; Damaged, Incomplete; Complete.
A Mission is completed the INSTANT the conditions are met. For example, if the Cadet deploys the Android by the intact Energy Pack, completing one of the missions, and then Collects the Android, the mission still counts as having been completed, even if one of those tiles are removed afterward.
Reward
When a Mission is completed, Mission Control reveals the Mission, and the Cadet is given a Signal Boost card. (See Signal Boosts for more information.)
Command Cards
There are 4 different types of Commands:
- Directional: North, East, West, South. Each is a command to go 1 space in that direction. There are only two of each direction in the Command Deck.
- Repair: When the Cadet is on a Damaged Module, flip it over to the Intact (Green) side.
- Collect: Pick up an Intact Device (not Damaged, and not a Station) that the Cadet is currently on. Fill in the empty space with the spare Hallway tile. The Cadet can only carry one Device at a time.
- Deploy: Swap a carried device with a Hallway tile that the Cadet is currently on. The Cadet can NOT Deploy onto another Module.
Transmission Cards
After 5 Commands are selected, but before being handed to the Cadets, a Transmission card is flipped over for everyone to see. These cards represent how much interference exists in any communication attempt between Mission Control and the Station. There are 4 different levels of Transmission interference:
- Level 1: Clear Signal for one register. Mission Control gives the Cadet the Command they intend be executed in the register indicated. Then the remaining four cards are shuffled and handed over to the Cadet. Example: Mission Control wants the Cadet to go North, West, Repair, Collect, North in that order. The Clear Signal is on register 4. Mission Control hands over "Collect" before shuffling and giving the rest.
- Level 2: No clear signals, but no errors either. All 5 Commands are shuffled before being handed to the Cadet.
- Level 3: Clear Signal for one register, and one Error. Same as Level 1, except there is an Error. Before handing over the 4 last Commands, an additional Command is added randomly from the unused Command cards, then those 5 are shuffled and given to the Cadet. The Cadet must determine which Command is the error on their own, the Command determined to be the error is ignored.
- Level 4: Error with no clear signals. Before handing over the 5 Commands to the Cadet, a 6th Command card is added randomly from the unused Command cards, then those 6 are shuffled and given to the Cadet. The Cadet must determine which Command is the error and ignore it.
Signal Boosts
When a Mission is completed, the Cadet gains a random Signal Boost card. Keep this card face up and in front of the Cadet. Each Signal Boost is discarded after use. The Cadet may use a Signal Boost at any time during the Decode phase. Mission Control is allowed to speak to resolve the Signal Boost. There are 4 different types of Signal Boosts:
- Clear Signal: Cadet picks one of the five registers. Mission Control tells the Cadet which Command should be executed there.
- Cross Check: The Cadet selects one of the Command Cards they have been given. Mission Control tells the Cadet in which register it should be executed.
- Debug: Mission Control takes away the card added due to an Error.
- Abort: The Cadet sets the Commands in the order they wish to Execute. Mission Control gives a "Yes" or "No" if they want the Cadet to proceed with that plan. If "No", the Cadets can continue the Decode phase, but Mission Control can not give any further "Yes/No" confirmations, as the Signal Boost has been resolved.
How to Play
After set up has been completed, the game is ready to begin. Remember, the Missions are only known by Mission Control, and Mission Control can not communicate normally with the Cadet. Mission Control should review their Missions and carefully plan the most efficient path.
Take these steps in the following order:
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Select Commands. Mission Control secretly selects 5 Commands from the Command Deck to work towards completing the Missions. These must be viable commands. They can not attempt to run the Cadet off the map, Repair where there is nothing damaged in range, and so forth.
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Reveal the top Transmission Card. Flip over the top Transmission Card from the Transmission Deck. Follow the instructions, detailed above in the Transmission Cards section.
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Scramble and Transmit. After resolving any Clear Signals and Errors from the Transmission Card, the Commands (except for Clear Signals) are shuffled and handed over to the Cadet.
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Decode. The Cadet flips over the Commands Cards, and attempts to place them in the order they feel the Commands should be executed. If there was an Error, the Cadet needs to figure out which card to ignore. Set them in order, left to right. If there are multiple persons on the Cadet team, remember that you can talk and work together to figure this out. This is the phase in which you can use your Signal Boost cards. Note: You can NOT purposefully execute impossible commands, like using Collect on an empty corridor, or move West when you can not move any further in that direction.
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Execute. Once the Cadet is satisfied with their plan, they follow the orders as they have planned out in sequence.
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Confirmation. If a Mission has been completed, Mission Control reveals and hands over the Mission Card, as well as the top Signal Boost card as a reward (leave it face up in front of the Cadet).
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Await Commands. The Cadet returns the Commands Cards to the Mission Control. If there are still face-down cards left in the Transmission stack, return to Step 1. If there are no more Transmission Cards left and there are still incomplete Mission Objectives, then it's GAME OVER.
Game End
- Victory: All 3 Missions are completed before running out of Transmission cards.
- Defeat: Failure to complete all 3 Missions before running out of Transmission cards.
Game Play Example
The game has been set up using the Standard Layout. Mission Control has reviewed their Missions and has chosen to concentrate first on completing "IF ONLY WE HAD MORE POWER" and then "DEFECTIVE BATTERIES".
Mission Control secretly selects 5 Command Cards (shown in the rulebook's illustration), in the order in which they want the commands to be executed.
The top Transmission Card is revealed. It is a Level 1, with a Clear Signal at Register 1. There are no Errors. Mission Control gives the Cadet "NORTH", then shuffles the remaining four cards before handing them over.
The Cadet carefully considers this clue of going NORTH first. They set their Command Cards in the order they believe is correct and Execute them accordingly. (The rulebook shows the original position and the board after each of the 5 commands.)
Afterward, the Command Cards are handed back to Mission Control. The Cadet didn't exactly do what they intended, so next they will try to Deploy the Fusion Core, Repair the Android, Collect the Android, and start moving toward the Energy Pack. They select their next 5 Commands Cards.
The next Transmission Card is flipped. It is a Level 4, and a random Command card is pulled from the remaining Command cards due to the ERROR, shown in red. The Command cards are shuffled and given to the Cadet. The Cadet reveals them and Mission Control can now see that a West command was added by the Error.
The Cadet believes that they should Deploy the Fusion Core and Repair something to complete a Mission, as they were moved all the way up here so it makes sense that they are near something important. They can not reach the Biotech Lab with these instructions, so they determine it must be either the Science Lab or the Android.
This gives the Cadet two possible options; they can either Repair the Science Lab and start moving away (ignoring the Collect instruction, treating it as the Error), or they can Repair and then Collect the Android and move in another direction (treating either West or South as the Error).
The Cadet makes this logical deduction; if they were meant to Collect the Android but do not, they will have to waste a lot of time backtracking to correct that mistake. If they are instead meant to just repair the Science Lab and do not, it would not be as time-consuming to correct the mistake and they can ditch the Android later. Ultimately, they opt to collect the Android. To further reduce loss of time if it is a mistake, they decide to place West in the fifth register as that will put them near the Science Lab. (The rulebook shows the original position and the board after each of the 5 commands.)
The Cadet completed the first Mission when the Fusion Core and the Android were deployed next to each other and both Intact, even though they Collected the Android immediately after. Once the Commands are Executed, Mission Control reveals the successful Mission and gives the Cadet a Signal Boost card.
Play continues in this way until all of the Mission Cards are completed, or until you can no longer draw from the Transmission Deck.