Purple Haze: Tunnel Rats Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Set Up
  • Board Set Up
  • Team Set Up
• How to Play
  • Using the Mission Booklets
  • Mission Objectives
  • Profile Cards
  • Tough Bastardness
  • Tunnels
• Crawl
  • Rest and Recover
  • Team Formation
  • Choose Exit
  • Decide to Scurry
  • Reveal New Tunnel Card
  • Discard TB Cards
  • Removing and Recovering TB Cards
  • Roll Threat Die and Update Threat Level
  • Resolve TB Encounter
  • Trait Tests
  • Resolve Event
• Combat
  • Combat Sequence (Round)
  • 1. Rats Choose Weapon
  • 2. Determine Initiative
  • 3. Determine Combatants
  • 4. Resolve Combat
  • Applying Damage
  • Discarding TB Cards (in Combat)
  • Reshuffle Cards and Start Next Combat
• Optional Rules
• Glossary

Components

Cards

• 6x Rat Profile cards
• 18x Tough Bastards cards
• 54x Combat cards
• 3x double-sided Pistol cards
• 32x Tunnel cards

Markers and dice

• 6x double-sided Initiative markers
• 4x double-sided Forbidden/Reminder markers
• 12x Damage markers
• 1x double-sided TB deck marker (+1 / +2 side)
• 1x Team marker
• 1x Threat marker
• 5x Standard VC markers (17+)
• 2x Elite VC markers (16+)
• 3x Position markers (LEAD)
• 6x Tunnel borders
• 1x Threat die
• 3x Trait dice (gray)
• 3x red cubes

Also included: 1x Threat tracker, 1x Rulebook, 3x Mission Booklets, 2x Player Aids and 5x Zipper bags.

Set Up

TR has a standard board and team set up, as set out below. Additional Mission-specific set up requirements are set out for each relevant Mission in the Mission Booklets.

Board Set Up

1. Reminder markers. Place the 4 Reminder/Forbidden markers near the play area.
2. Initiative markers. Place the 6 Initiative markers near the play area, green face up.
3. TB Deck marker. Place the TB Deck marker near the play area.
4. VC markers. Place the 2 Elite and 5 Standard VC markers near the play area.
5. Trait dice. Place the 3 gray (Trait) dice near the play area.
6. Threat track & die. Place the Threat track, Tracker marker & Threat die near the play area.
7. Tunnel cards. Separate the Standard Tunnel cards into 3 piles by their Level (1 to 3). Separate out the Tunnel Event and Entrance cards into a separate pile. Keep them face-up for now. The Mission specific set up rules will explain how to construct each Level's Tunnel card deck.
8. Team marker. Place the Team marker by the Tunnel cards.
9. Tunnel Boundary cards. Place the 3x left and 3x right Boundary cards in the center of the play area, 21 inches (54cm) apart from each other. (You can measure this by placing 6 Tunnel cards horizontally next to each other.) Place them in a column 1 to 3.
10. Tough Bastard cards. Set aside card TR18 (BOOBY TRAP). Shuffle the rest of the TB cards. The Mission-specific set up rules will explain how many cards to use for the Draw deck for the Mission. One of these cards must be TR18.
11. Combat cards. Shuffle the deck of Combat cards and put it off to the side, face-down.
12. Damage markers. Place the 12 Damage markers in a pile near the play area.

Team Set Up

13. Profile cards. For each Mission, shuffle the 6 Rat Profile cards face-down, and draw 3 of them to form your Team.

Optional rule: Although the Missions do not have a formal narrative link with each other, you may want to complete them in chronological order and use the same Team of Rats throughout. In this case, if a Rat is Taken Out on Mission 1 or 2, draw a random replacement from the pool of unused Rats at the start of the next Mission.

14. Position markers. Place the drawn Rats in a column or row near the play area. The Rat in the first position is always your Lead Man. The Rat in the second position is the Backup Man, and the Rat in the third position is the Support Man. These roles and positions are relevant for certain Events and Combat. Place the relevant markers on each Rat Profile card.
15. Pistol cards. Keep the Pistol cards near each of the Rats.

How to Play

The overall sequence of play is as follows:

1. Mission set up
2. Player turn – Crawl
3. End of Mission

Mission choice: There are 3 Missions in the game. Choose the Mission you wish to play. If you are playing them consecutively, pick the next in order.

Using the Mission Booklets

To play a game of TR you will need to refer to the relevant Booklet at the start of each Mission and throughout the game. It provides:

• Mission rules for set up and specific rules to be applied during the Mission.
• The objectives of the Mission.
• The Mission Briefing and the Events that will be triggered at certain points during a Mission. The Events are numbered.
• Choices required to advance the story, and related tests you may need to complete.
• The consequences of your choices and tests, including Combat, Damage, and Log Entries to track.
• The end of the Mission outcome, including Success Points earned.

As you move through the Tunnel Complex you will need to refer back to the Mission Booklet when you move onto Tunnel Event cards. Each Event is numbered and has several associated entries (paragraphs of text) in the Mission Booklet; you'll need to read the text and resolve any decisions or tests required.

When reading the Event text, stop reading when you reach a horizontal line in the entry. Single dotted lines separate decisions and their potential outcomes. If you read past the line before making the decision, some of the suspense and surprise of your decision may be lost. Double lines represent the end of an entry.

Many of the entries give you multiple options to choose from, but you should always continue reading until you reach the text: → CONTINUE THE MISSION. This signals that you have reached the end of that particular Event, and that you can begin the next turn.

Decisions or tests you make during Events may result in you obtaining Log Entries highlighted in YELLOW that you should note down on a piece of paper. At certain points you will be asked if you have noted a particular Log Entry. Whether you have or not will determine which text in the Mission Booklet you read next.

The core of each Mission Booklet is the narrative text that explains the developing story. In a multiplayer game you may want to nominate a single person to take responsibility for managing the Mission Booklet — including reading all the narrative text to the other players — or you may take it in turns.

Mission Objectives

Once you have completed the set up, read the introductory text to the Mission, and once you understand the Mission objectives, you can begin to play.

Each Mission will have the same sequence of play. You will 'Crawl' between Tunnel spaces, resolving Events, TB Encounters or Combat in some of them, until the Mission ends.

The Mission will end either because:

• You are on the Entrance card or another discovered exit from the Tunnel Complex at the beginning of a Crawl and declare the Mission over, in which case you read the End of Mission outcome, or
• You have failed the Mission.

You can fail the Mission in 3 ways:

• There are no remaining TB cards to Remove.
• You decide to end the Mission without leaving the Tunnel Complex.
• You have 2 of your 3 Rats Taken Out.

Note: If you fail the Mission you do not read the End text. If you wish to find out what happened at the end of the Mission, you will need to attempt it again.

The End of Mission outcome will award you Mission Success points based on your performance. This provides a benchmark to try and improve on in future plays.

Profile Cards

Each Rat's Profile card contains the following information:

1. Name
2. Health
3. Traits
4. Unique Ability
5. Box for Position marker

Health: Each Rat has a Health of 10. This means if they take 10 or more Damage they are Taken Out (see Taken Out, below).

Unique Ability: Each Rat's Unique Ability impacts his performance in some way during the Mission. Some are once per Mission, and in which case have a space for a red cube to note when they have been used.

Traits: Each Rat has the following Traits, and ratings for each of them: Survival, Charisma, Perception, Intelligence and Willpower. These ratings vary by Rat. They establish their level of expertise in addressing the different types of challenges they will face on their Missions. Traits are used to make Trait tests (see Trait Tests), when called for by Events or TB Encounters.

Tough Bastardness

Tough Bastardness tracks the Rats' ability to withstand the mental pressure of being in the tunnels. It can be considered a reflection of 'panic'. It differs conceptually from Threat (see Roll Threat Die and Update Threat Level).

While Threat tracks the external environment, Tough Bastardness is what's going on in the Rats' minds. Mechanically this also acts as a timer for the Mission.

Tough Bastardness is tracked through the Discarding of TB cards. Once you can no longer Discard cards from the TB Draw deck because they are all Removed, the Mission is failed: the Rats have lost their courage and can no longer continue the Mission.

Depending on the Mission, the Rats will begin the game with a face down TB Draw deck of between 9 and 11 TB cards.

Tunnels

There are 2 types of Tunnel cards:

• Event
• Standard

Each Tunnel card contains the following information:

1. The Exits from the Tunnel card
2. The number of TB cards you must Discard when first moving to the Tunnel card
3. The Level of the Tunnel card (only present on Standard Tunnel cards)
4. The Event number to be resolved (only present on Event Tunnel cards)

You will attempt to complete the Mission objectives by creating and exploring a Tunnel Complex through placing Tunnel cards.

Crawl

There is no starting map in TR. You will always begin each Mission on the Entrance card, placing your Team marker on that card. Your Team of 3 Rats moves as a single group, as tracked by the Team marker.

You create the Tunnel Complex you are exploring by choosing:

• A. Which direction you wish to go (left, right, up or down (if possible)), and
• B. Which of the 2 Exits in the chosen direction you wish to take.

The process of moving between Tunnel cards is called a Crawl. Once you have resolved all the steps of a Crawl, you begin the next turn.

If you take an Exit that leads to a space that currently does not have a Tunnel card, you flip and place the top Tunnel card of the relevant level deck in that space.

There are fixed left and right Borders to the Tunnel Complex, meaning the maximum width of the Tunnel Complex you can create is 6 cards wide. A Tunnel Complex will be a maximum of 3 levels deep, as set out in the Mission set up, so 18 Tunnel cards maximum in size.

When you Crawl, you follow these steps in order (it is important to follow these steps precisely!):

1. Decide to Rest & Recover (optional)*
2. Change Team formation (optional)
3. Choose Exit
4. Decide to Scurry (optional)
5. Reveal new Tunnel card (if relevant)
6. Move to selected Tunnel card
7. Discard required number of TB cards *
8. Roll Threat die and update Threat level
9. Resolve TB Encounter if Threat Die red (or yellow or red for newly revealed Tunnel card). Leave it face-up on Draw pile once resolved /*
10. Resolve Event (if relevant) /**
11. Resolve Random Combat (if relevant) *

* If this requires you to Discard the last card in the Draw deck, Remove that last card instead and form a new Draw deck.

** Flip back face-down any resolved TB cards when Discarding them.

*** Remember the Event is ongoing until you reach → CONTINUE THE MISSION.

Rest and Recover

Before any movement the Rats can take a rest to recover from the physical strain of the tunnels. If you Rest & Recover:

• Discard up to 6 TB cards.
• Remove Damage equal to the amount of TB cards discarded, split evenly among the Rats, with you deciding where odd numbers are applied.

Note: This can Remove 1 or more TB cards.

Team Formation

At set up you choose the position of your 3 Rats in the column or row. The first position is the Lead Man. The second position is the Backup Man, and the third position is the Support Man. This represents your Formation.

The Formation serves 2 purposes. Narratively you are seeing the Mission through the Lead Man's eyes; he is telling the story when you resolve Events. Mechanically, the Lead Man may be called upon to take more Trait tests, and may be specifically targeted by Elite VC in some Combats, so he is more likely to take Damage.

Consequently, you may want to alter the Formation, for example to rotate the Lead Man out before a Crawl to protect him if he has taken Damage and is close to being Taken Out. If you choose to reverse the Formation, just switch the Rats around in the column/row and re-assign the markers.

Choose Exit

Each Tunnel card contains 2 Exits on each side. This does not include Standard Level 1 or 3 cards, which (apart from the Entrance card) do not have Exits on the top or the bottom of the card, respectively.

Place your Rats marker on the Exit you wish to use. You can use any Exit on the card, unless otherwise instructed, though you may not Exit onto a Border card. Note that Event cards may be revealed on Level 1 or 3. Ignore any exit on the top or bottom, respectively, of these cards.

Example: The Team begins the Mission on the Entrance card. Both Exits on the left lead to a Border, and so are prohibited. Every other Exit is allowed. The players decide the Rats will take the bottom left Exit. The Team marker is placed over that.

Decide to Scurry

Prior to Exiting into an existing Tunnel card you can decide whether the Rats will Scurry as part of their Crawl action.

If you Scurry, when you roll the Threat die after moving on to the selected next card:

• +1 additional Threat if you roll yellow or red on the Threat die roll.
• If the Threat die roll is green or gray, add the +1 TB card marker to the Draw deck.

Note: you can only Scurry into revealed Tunnel cards. The effect if successful is that you Discard 1 TB card less on the next Crawl. If unsuccessful your quick movement attracts more enemy attention.

Reveal New Tunnel Card

If the Team is Exiting into a space where there is no current Tunnel card, draw the top card of the Tunnel card deck for the Level being entered, and attach it to the card the Rats are Crawling from. Move the Team marker onto the new card via the chosen Exit. If the connection leads to a Dead End on the new card, the only option available is to take another Crawl action and Exit back to the Tunnel card you exited from.

Note: it is possible that you create a Tunnel Complex where the random placement of Dead Ends means that it is impossible for the Rats to exit into a newly revealed Tunnel card. In this situation, discard the newly revealed Tunnel card. Take a card at random from the unused Standard cards of that Level. If the card you are discarding is an Event card, place the correspondingly numbered Initiative marker on the newly placed Standard card to show which Event has been triggered in that tunnel.

Example: In Mission 1 the Rats only explore two levels. In the situation below the Rats have revealed the bottom right Tunnel card, and the alignment of Dead Ends means there is no way for the Rats to proceed rightwards in this Tunnel complex. In this situation the newly revealed Tunnel card is removed and a new one drawn at random from the unused pile of Standard Level 2 cards.

Discard TB Cards

A revealed Tunnel card has 1 or 2 red flashlight icons on the top left of the card. You must Discard this many cards from the Draw deck after moving the Team marker to the new card.

If the Rats return to an already revealed card you only Discard 1 TB card, even if there are 2 red flashlight icons on the card.

Play note: It is recommended you place discarded TB cards in a horizontal pile next to the vertical Draw deck to avoid mixing them up.

Removing and Recovering TB Cards

TB cards can be Discarded by Crawling, Rest and Recover, Events, TB Encounters and Combat. If in any case you are required to Discard the last TB card in the Draw deck, do not Discard it, but instead place it in a separate 'Removed' pile by the side of the play area. Then form a new Draw deck from the Discard pile.

If you have to continue to Discard (e.g. you had to Discard 2 TB cards and there was only 1 left in the Draw deck, which you Removed) then immediately Discard the outstanding discards from the newly formed Draw deck.

You may be required by an Event, TB Encounter or Scurry action to Recover a TB card. If so, place a "+1 TB card" marker on its +1 or +2 side on the Draw deck. The next time you are required to discard a TB card, discard or flip this marker instead (it counts as a TB card for Discard purposes).

Roll Threat Die and Update Threat Level

Threat is a general measure of the risk facing the Rats posed by enemy presence and activity. The level of Threat, which is traced on the Threat track, may increase or decrease due to the Threat die, certain Events or TB Encounters.

After moving the Team to the selected Tunnel card and discarding the required TB cards, roll the Threat die and update the Threat level accordingly.

The faces on the Threat die have these results:

• 1x green (-1 Threat)
• 2x gray
• 2x yellow (+1 Threat)
• 1x red (+2 Threat)

Example: A yellow is rolled on the Threat die so the Threat level increases by 1.

Resolve TB Encounter

After updating the Threat level, if the Threat die face is yellow or red and the Team is moving to a newly revealed card, or red for an existing card, you must resolve a TB Encounter. Reveal the top card of the Draw deck and follow the instructions to resolve the card. Note this occurs even if the newly revealed Tunnel card is an Event card; it happens before you begin to resolve the Event.

Encounters are various types of random minor incidents that take place while your Rats are attempting to complete the Mission. Some have no effect. Others require that you make decisions and potentially resolve Trait tests. In some cases this can take place over several steps. In this case do not read the step below before making your decision (unless you want to spoil the surprise).

Once you have resolved the TB Encounter leave the card face-up on top of the Draw deck. When you Discard it, flip it face-down.

Play note: If you are required to resolve a TB Encounter that you have already resolved this Mission, you may exchange that card with a randomly drawn card from the Discard or Removed piles, and resolve the new card instead.

Trait Tests

To make a Trait test roll 3D6 (the Trait dice). Each result equal to or less than the testing Rat's rating in that Trait is a success.

Most Trait tests have an associated difficulty level ("DIFF"). To succeed in the test the number of successes achieved must be equal to or greater than the DIFF level.

Example: The 'RICE' TB card requires that a random Rat takes a Perception Trait test at DIFF2. "Ghost" Z. Norman is randomly selected for the test. His Perception is 3. He rolls a 3, 2, and 4. That counts as 2 successes (two results were equal to or less than his Perception of 3), enough to pass the DIFF2 test.

Resolve Event

If the Team moves onto an Event card that you have not already resolved (treat resolved Event cards like Standard cards, unless otherwise instructed) refer to the Mission Booklet and read the text on the relevant entry (see Using the Mission Booklets).

Some Events contain Trait tests or Combat that you need to resolve. The Event may increase or decrease Threat, or require you to return to previously revealed Tunnel cards.

Important: If during the resolution of an Event you are required to roll the Threat die and you roll a yellow or red you update the Threat level but do not resolve a TB Encounter.

Similarly, if, during the resolution of an Event, the Threat level reaches 9, you do not immediately resolve a Random Combat (see Combat). Instead, check the Threat level once the Event is fully resolved (i.e. you reach the text → CONTINUE THE MISSION). If it is still at 9 you then resolve the Combat.

Comprehensive Crawl example: The Team begins on the Entrance card. They choose the bottom left exit. The top card of the Level 2 deck is drawn and placed so it connects to the Entrance card. Unfortunately the Rats have entered a Dead End. The Team marker is moved onto the new card via the chosen Exit.

The Team takes a Crawl to move back to the Entrance card. Because this is an already revealed card they only Discard 1 TB card when they do this. They flip the just resolved TB card face-down and place it on the Discard pile. Then they roll the Threat die: it's gray so there is no change to the Threat level and no need to resolve a TB Encounter.

The only option for them is to return to the Entrance card. Before moving the Team marker back to the Entrance card, the players Discard 2 TB cards as required by 2 red flashlight icons on the newly revealed Tunnel card. Then they roll the Threat die. They roll a yellow and move the Threat level up by 1. Because they rolled a yellow on a newly revealed card they need to resolve a TB Encounter (for revealed cards it only happens on a red). They reveal the top card of the Draw deck and resolve it, then leave it face-up on the Draw deck.

They then take a new Crawl action to return via the other downward Exit to the Level 2 card, again Discarding 1 TB card and rolling the Threat die. They roll a green this time, so Threat reduces by 1.

They have made it to the 2nd Level!

Combat

Combat occurs between the Rats and VC. Combat can be triggered both by Events and if the Threat level is at 9 at the end of a Crawl action (after resolving any Encounter or Event). The latter is known as a Random Combat. For both types you need to refer to the relevant Event text for how the Combat is set up.

Combat works on the same basis as the classic card game Blackjack (also known as Pontoon or Twenty-One).

Threat impacts on Combat. Higher Threat improves the VC's chances of winning the Combat.

Unless otherwise instructed, Combat occurs over a series of rounds until all the VC are eliminated, or there is only 1 Rat left not Taken Out (in which case the Mission is failed). Each round involves a series of one-on-one Combat interactions between the Rat and the VC, known collectively as the Combatants.

You use Initiative to determine who attacks who. In the first round, one side (VC or Rats) may automatically have the Initiative, if that is set out in the Event text. Otherwise it is randomly determined.

Combat is resolved by drawing cards from the Combat card deck. This is a deck of 52 standard playing cards and 2 Jokers. The goal of each Combatant is to get closer to 21 than their opponent. If the Rat wins, the VC is removed. The Rat will take Damage if he loses, or if the VC loses but doesn't go bust.

The Event text will instruct you how many VC are participating in the Combat, and how many are Standard and/or Elite. Take the relevant VC markers from the supply. Place them roughly parallel to the Rats. The Event text will say if a particular VC attacks a particular Rat. Otherwise the order you place the VC isn't important. If there are more than 3 VC participating, place the remainder in a VC Reserve near the column. It may also be helpful to place a Reminder marker here.

Combat Sequence (Round)

1. Rats choose weapon (before Round 1 only)
2. Determine the Initiative
3. Determine the Combatants
4. Resolve Combat interaction:
   • Deal cards on behalf of non-Initiative Combatant
   • Deal cards on behalf of Combatant with Initiative
   • Apply any Damage to the Rat / Remove the VC (if relevant)
   • Discard TB cards (if using Pistol / VC draws a '10' card with a card-effect symbol)
   • Flip Combatants' Initiative markers to red side
   • Reshuffle all the Combat cards
   • Return to step (3) if there are Rats / VC remaining with green Initiative marker
5. If any VC remain (including in Reserve) and all the Initiative markers are red, return to step (2) to begin a new round of Combat. Otherwise End Combat. If End Combat move Threat Level to 1.

1. Rats Choose Weapon

Prior to the start of the first round of Combat, you decide for each Rat individually if they will use a Knife, Pistol, or Pistol with Silencer. They must use this weapon for all rounds of this Combat.

The Pistol is the most powerful weapon, but has the most negative consequences, both during Combat and potentially later in the Mission when you resolve certain Events.

The default weapon is a Knife. If they choose a Pistol, place the Pistol card by their Profile card as a reminder (Silencer-side up if using a Silencer).

The different weapons have different effects on Combat and Tough Bastardness. The following is applied to each Combat interaction:

• If Knife: no additional effect.
• If Pistol:
  • Once per Combat interaction you may discard any Combat card this Rat has drawn, at any point during the draw (including if you have gone bust), then draw 2 new cards, keeping one and discarding the other. You may then continue to draw new cards if desired.
  • Discard 2 TB cards. You do this regardless of whether you use the above Combat card discard: it automatically happens for each Combat interaction involving a Rat using a Pistol.
• If Pistol with Silencer:
  • Once per Combat interaction you may discard the last Combat card this Rat has drawn (including if you have gone bust), then draw 1 new card. You may then continue to draw new cards if desired.
  • Discard 1 TB card. You do this regardless of whether you use the above Combat card discard: it automatically happens for each Combat interaction involving a Rat using a Silencer.

Design note: Silencers were not always favored by Tunnel Rats as while they limited the muzzle flash and, to some degree, the noise of the shot, they made the pistol more unwieldy and harder to draw.

2. Determine Initiative

Initiative is very important in Combat. It is randomly determined at the start of each round (unless otherwise stated by the Event text). It represents the element of surprise, quick-thinking, a favorable position, and so forth.

Mechanically it determines:

• The order in which Combatants act
• Who the VC attack
• Who draws cards first
• Who wins ties

To determine Initiative, take as many Initiative markers as there are Combatants (e.g. if there are 2 VC and 3 Rats, take 5), up to the maximum of 6. Do not count VC in Reserve.

Randomly deal these green-side up to the participating Rats and VC markers. This number is their Initiative this round for that Combatant. If the Event text instructs that one side (e.g. "the VC") has the Initiative, randomly distribute the 1 to 3 Initiative markers to that side, and the 4 to 6 Initiative markers to the other side (adjusting depending on the number of Combatants on each side).

In any Combat between a VC and Rat, the Combatant with the lowest numbered Initiative marker is considered to have the Initiative.

Reposition: Starting from the 2nd round of combat, prior to the determination of Initiative, you may choose 1 Rat to Reposition. This Rat is automatically given the highest numbered Initiative marker for this round. The other Rats and the VC receive the remaining Initiative markers as normal.

At the start of the next round (if there is one), the Rat that Repositioned is automatically given the '1' Initiative marker. Note that a different Rat may Reposition each round.

Example: It's the start of the second round of Combat. 3 Rats are facing 3 VC (none were eliminated in the first round of Combat). Rat W. Hawk "Light" Repositions. He is automatically given the '6' Initiative marker. The other Initiative markers are randomly distributed as normal. 1 VC is eliminated that round. At the start of round 3, W. Hawk is given the '1' marker. Another Rat R. A. Hood "Mole" Repositions. He is given the '5' Initiative marker. The other Initiative markers are randomly distributed. If the Combat goes to another round, "Mole" will take the '1' marker.

VC Reserves: Some Combats will set up with more than 3 VC. In this case, determine the Initiative for the 3 VC participating in the first round of Combat, as set out in the Mission text. The other VC are the VC Reserve. If any starting VC are eliminated in a round of Combat, they are replaced by VC from the VC Reserve at the start of the next round of Combat, until there are no VC left.

3. Determine Combatants

A Combatant's Initiative marker is green-side up until it attacks an opponent, or is attacked by one. At that point, the marker is flipped to its red side. A Combatant with a red-side up marker cannot attack this round, but can be attacked.

Each Combat interaction is resolved in turn. The Combatant with the lowest-number green Initiative marker will attack a chosen opponent. Then the Combatant with the next lowest green Initiative marker will attack, and so on. This will continue until all the Initiative markers are red, or there are no VC left, or there is only 1 Rat left (in which case the Mission ends in failure).

When a VC attacks it will always attack, in priority order:

1. The Rat specified by the Event. If none is specified:
2. The Rat with the lowest-numbered green Initiative marker. If there is no such target:
3. The Rat with the most Damage. Otherwise:
4. Randomly determine.

You as the Rat can decide which VC you wish to attack.

Note that:

• A. The same Combatant can be attacked multiple times in a round by different opponents, and
• B. A Combatant may attack an opponent with a lower-numbered Initiative marker than himself. In this case the opponent has the Initiative.

4. Resolve Combat

The goal of each Combatant is to get as close as possible to a total of 21 by drawing cards from the Combat deck without this total exceeding 21 (to go 'bust').

Once the Rat or VC no longer wishes to draw any more cards, they 'stick'.

The non-Initiative Combatant draws Combat cards first. Once they have decided to 'stick' or go 'bust', the Initiative player draws until they 'stick' or go 'bust'.

Certain cards have a particular effect. This is set out on the Card Effects table on Player Aid 3. Refer to this when drawing the cards. (Player Aid 3 is not included in this file; see the source note.)

A Rat can draw as many cards as you desire to try to reach 21. However, you must draw until you get a combined value of at least 13 (even if the VC has drawn first and gone bust).

You draw on behalf of the VC, applying the following criteria:

• If Elite VC:
  • draw cards until the VC has a total value of 16+ (at which point the VC sticks)
  • then add 1 to the total if it is under 21
  • then apply the effect of Threat (if relevant)
• If Standard VC:
  • draw cards until VC is at 17+ (at which point the VC sticks)
  • then apply the effect of Threat (if relevant)

If the Threat level is High, do not apply the Medium effect:

• If Threat is Medium: +1 to the total if it is under 21.
• If Threat is High: +/-1* to the total to bring it closer to 21 (if already at 21, ignore this).

*Note this applies even if the VC has gone 'bust.' If this brings their combined total down to 21, their going 'bust' is ignored for all purposes.

Applying Damage

Once both Combatants have drawn their cards and either stuck or gone bust, the winner is determined. The winner is the Combatant that got closer to 21 (or a 5-Card Charlie – see Player Aid 3). In the event of a tie the Combatant with the Initiative wins.

Refer to the Applying results table on Player Aid 4 for how you calculate Damage by Combat outcome. (Player Aid 4 is not included in this file; see the source note.)

Design note: So the benefit of having the Initiative is two-fold – you know the opponent's total value that you need to beat, and you win ties.

If a Rat takes a total of 10 Damage they are Taken Out. This means they are removed from the game due to injury / K.I.A.

Re-assign the Position markers if a Rat is Taken Out. You must always have a Lead Man, and a Backup Man if possible.

Discarding TB Cards (in Combat)

After applying Damage, discard TB cards if:

• The Rat in the Combat was using a Pistol / Pistol with Silencer and/or
• The VC drew a Combat card with a card-effect symbol (the symbol is listed on Player Aid 3).

Reshuffle Cards and Start Next Combat

Assuming they were not eliminated or Taken Out, following the Combat interaction, flip to its red side the Initiative marker of both the Combatant that initiated the attack and the Combatant they attacked (if not already red). Neither can attack again this round (though they can still be attacked).

Then reshuffle all the drawn Combat cards. If any Rats or VC still have the green side of their Initiative marker up, determine who are the new Combatants.

If there are no VC (including in Reserve) or only 1 Rat remaining, the Combat ends, and the Threat level is moved to 1, unless otherwise instructed. Otherwise, start a new round by returning to step 2 and determining Initiative order for the round.

Optional Rules

If you want to increase the challenge of the Combat, or the Mission overall, you can use the following optional rules:

• Threat: Treat all Combats as if the Threat Level was High (red).
• Mission: Add 1 less TB card to the starting TB deck than instructed by the Mission set up.

Glossary

• Backup Man (p. 10): The Rat in the middle of the Formation.
• Border (p. 10): The left and right edge of the Tunnel Complex. Rats may not Exit into a Border.
• Combat Interaction (p. 16): Where both Combatants draw Combat cards, trying to get closer to 21, and after which Damage is applied to the Rat and/or the VC is removed, and the Initiative marker of both flipped to the red side.
• Combatants (p. 16): The attacker and defender in a Combat.
• Crawl (p. 09): The process by which the Rats move between Tunnel cards.
• Damage (p. 20 and Player Aid 4): The negative physical consequences to a Rat of crawling through a tunnel and fighting the enemy. A Rat who receives 10 or more Damage in a Mission is Taken Out.
• Dead End (p. 11): Where the connecting Exit is a dead end with no path to other Exits on the card. If entered the only option available is for the Rats to take another Crawl action and Exit back to the previous Tunnel card.
• Discard (p. 12): The process of moving a TB card from the Draw deck to the Discard pile. Required by Crawling onto new Tunnel cards, and some Events, TB Encounters, Rest & Recover, and Combat.
• Discard pile (p. 12): The pile that TB cards are Discarded to.
• Draw deck (p. 08, p. 12): The deck of TB cards that you draw from when required to Discard.
• Event (p. 06, p. 14): A series of entries in the Mission Booklet that you resolve, forming the core story of the Mission. An Event is triggered when an Event Tunnel card is revealed for the first time.