Raising Robots Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Player Setup
  • Starting the Game
• Gameplay
  • Game Overview
  • Resources Overview
  • Inventory
• Round Preparation
  • Energy Card Overview
  • Total Energy
• Round Phases
  • Robot Card Overview
• Upgrade Phase
  • To Unlock an Upgrade Token
  • Upgrade Types
  • To Place an Upgrade Token
• Assemble Phase
  • To Assemble a Robot
• Design / Fabricate / Recycle Phases
  • To Run a Phase Row
  • AND vs. OR
• Round End
  • Break Period
• Class Cards
  • Class Card Overview
  • Class Objectives
• Inventor Cards
  • Inventor Card Overview
• Game End
• Credits
• Solo and 2P Special Rules
  • Special Setup
  • Changes to Gameplay
  • Changes to Game End
  • Solo Challenge
• Inventor Bidding Variant
  • Changes to Setup
• Commonly Missed Rules
• Common Questions
  • Activating a Robot Timing Example
• Summary
• Icon Index

Components

• 1 Central Board
• 6 Player Boards
• 30 Phase Cards (6 sets)
• 6 Meeples
• 96 Robot Cards
• 32 Class Cards
• 14 Inventor Cards
• 1 Scorepad
• 72 Energy Cards (6 sets)
• 14 Energy Cubes
• 120 Upgrade Tokens (30 each): Speed, Communications, Efficiency, Cosmetic
• 24 Arrow Tokens
• 1 Round Marker
• 64 Resource Markers (8 each): Big Victory Point, Small Victory Point, Duct Tape, Gear, Battery, Sensor, Microchip, Program
• 22 Inventor Components

Although the base game only allows up to 6 players, the publisher added spare components where possible to more easily accommodate additional players in the future.

Setup

1. Place the Central Board in the middle of the table.
2. Place the Round Marker on the first spot of the Round Tracker on the Central Board.
3. Place all Energy Cubes in a general supply next to the Central Board.
4. Separately shuffle the Robot Cards, Class Cards, and Inventor Cards. Place each deck facedown near the Central Board.
5. Complete Player Setup as explained below.

For solo or 2-player games: Read all instructions for the game and then refer to the special rules explained in Solo and 2P Special Rules.

Player Setup

Each player needs 1 Player Board, 16 Upgrade Tokens, 3 Arrow Tokens, 8 Resource Markers, and 5 Phase Cards. Each player then chooses a color and takes the matching Meeple and 12 Energy Cards. Finally, each player makes some initial decisions as described in Starting the Game.

Player Board. Take any Player Board and place it in front of you. It has an Inventory track along the top, a Goal Cards area, Phase Areas (Upgrade, Assemble, Design, Fabricate, Recycle), an Inventor Area with a Setup Reminder, Upgrade Token circles, and a Play Area with a Design Row, Fabricate Row, and Recycle Row.

Meeple. Set the Meeple on the Inventor Area in the bottom-left corner.

Upgrade Tokens. Take 4 of each type of Upgrade Token and place them on your Player Board, matching the Upgrade Token to its spot based on the surrounding circle's color.

Arrow Tokens. Take 3 Arrow Tokens. Set these to the left of your Player Board. You will use them to track your grades on Class Cards throughout the game.

Resource Markers. Take 1 Resource Marker of each type. Place the Battery Marker and Duct Tape Marker on the Inventory section of your Player Board on the 3 spot. The remaining Resource Markers should be placed near the Inventory for future use.

Phase Cards. Take 1 of each Phase Card and place these in a stack next to your Player Board. Each player will have the same set of 5 Phase Cards.

Energy Cards. Using the player count numbers at the bottom of the Energy Cards, find the 4 cards that exclude your player count. Return these to the Game Box. Shuffle your remaining 8 Energy Cards and place them in a deck face down beside your Player Board. Each player should now have an identical set of Energy Cards, but the order will be random.

STOP! Before moving on, read the rest of the rules beginning with Gameplay. Return here to start the game.

Starting the Game

All players draw cards and simultaneously make decisions as described below. Once everyone has finished, proceed to Round Preparation to begin the first round.

1. Draw 8 Robot Cards. Choose 5 to keep in your hand. Discard the rest face-up next to the Robot Card deck.
2. Draw 2 Class Cards. Choose 1 to keep, placing it face-up to the top-left of the Player Board. Discard the other face-up next to the Class Card deck.
3. Draw 2 Inventor Cards. Choose 1 to keep, placing it face-up on the bottom-left of the Player Board in the designated area. Discard the other to the Game Box.
4. Assemble 2 Robot Cards from your hand at no Assembly Cost, placing them face-up into your Play Area.
5. Unlock 1 Upgrade Token at no cost. You may place this Upgrade Token before the game begins.

IMPORTANT: You may look at all of your Robot, Class, and Inventor Cards before selecting which to keep. For your first game, it is suggested to use an Inventor with an Easy Complexity rating (see Inventor Explanations Sheet). However, you may also choose to leave the Inventor Cards in the box for a more simplified experience. If any player feels other players' choices would affect theirs, then don't look at other players' boards until after your decisions are complete.

IMPORTANT: If you place multiple Robot Cards in the same row, then you must still pay the Extra Resource Cost indicated on your Player Board. At the start of the game, this is commonly paid using Duct Tape, but you may also discard a Robot Card from your hand.

Gameplay

Game Overview

The game is played over 8 rounds which are tracked by the Round Marker on the Central Board. Each round consists of 3 steps: Round Preparation, Round Phases, and Round End. Each step is performed by all players simultaneously. Once all players have completed a step, then proceed to the next step and so on until the Game End.

Resources Overview

• Victory Points (VPs) represent your reputation as an inventor and are needed for winning the game.
• Sensors, Gears, Microchips, and Programs represent essential robotic components and are primarily used to assemble and upgrade robots.
• Duct Tape represents a versatile resource that can be used as a substitute for other resources throughout the game.
• Batteries represent stored energy that can be used when needed and are used to increase your energy when performing phases.
• Robot Cards represent robot designs yet to be built. They may also be spent in a variety of ways, such as completing Upgrades.
• Wilds represent extra benefits and costs which are chosen by the player.

IMPORTANT: Anytime you must spend a Sensor, Gear, Microchip, or Program, you may spend Duct Tape instead.

IMPORTANT (Wilds):

• Each time you gain/spend a Wild, you immediately choose to gain/spend a Sensor, Gear, Program, Microchip, or Robot Card.
• Wilds are not tracked in your Inventory and cannot be saved for later.
• Duct Tape can be spent as a Wild, but cannot be gained from a Wild.
• If gaining/spending multiple Wilds, you may choose the same resource or different ones.

Inventory

Your Inventory at the top of your Player Board is used to track the number of resources that you have throughout the game. Any time you gain or spend resources, move the relevant marker(s) to the appropriate space(s) in your Inventory.

If you have 0 of a resource, remove it from your Inventory by placing it next to your Player Board. If a resource needs to increase beyond 10, flip the resource marker to the +10 side. For VPs, move the Big Victory Point Marker.

Resources are not meant to be limited, so in the rare situation that a resource (other than VPs) increases beyond 20, use an appropriate substitute.

IMPORTANT: Robot Cards are NOT tracked in your Inventory. Each player has a hand of Robot Cards. There is no limit to the number of Robot Cards that a player may have in their hand.

Example 1: A player has 8 VP and gains 6 more. They move their VP marker from 8 to 4, adding their Big VP marker to the 1 spot to denote the new total (14).

Example 2: A player has 9 Sensors and gains 3 more. They move their Sensor marker from 9 to 2, flipping it to the +10 side to denote the new total (12).

Round Preparation

All players prepare for the round by doing the following:

1. Draw 2 Energy Cards from the top of your deck, placing them face-up near your Player Board.

2. Place Energy Cubes. For each Battery icon shown by itself, grab an Energy Cube from the general supply and set it on top of the Energy Card. (IMPORTANT: A Battery icon with an "=2" multiplier does not get an Energy Cube placed for it — that symbol only doubles the value of Energy Cubes already on that space.)

3. Assign Phase Cards. Secretly choose 2 of your 5 Phase Cards that you wish to perform. Place these facedown, assigning one Phase Card below each Energy Card. By assigning a Phase Card, you are guaranteed to perform it this round.

   Each phase is performed at a specific energy amount, which is used to determine the actions that you can perform. The Energy Card will contribute to the Total Energy with which you perform a phase (see Total Energy).

   STOP! Wait until all players have assigned Phase Cards before moving on.

4. Reveal assigned Phase Cards by flipping them face-up.

5. Move all Energy Cubes from Energy Cards onto the matching phase spaces on the Central Board.

Tip: Focus your attention on the players with Energy Cubes on their cards when you Assign Phase Cards during Round Preparation.

Example: Blue finishes assigning Phase Cards to both Energy Cards and placing Energy Cubes onto the appropriate Energy Cards. After all players have assigned both of their Phase Cards, Blue reveals and places 1 Energy Cube onto the Assemble spot on the Central Board.

Energy Card Overview

Each Energy Card shows:

• A. Energy Value. The amount of energy used to perform an assigned Phase Card.
• B. Energy Cube Effect. Some Energy Cards have an effect shown at the top of the card, such as placing Energy Cubes onto the Central Board or modifying the energy gained from Energy Cubes.
• C. Player Count. Used to remove certain Energy Cards from the game during Player Setup.
• D. Player Color. Used during Player Setup to ensure each player has an identical set of Energy Cards.

Total Energy

To determine a phase's Total Energy, add up energy from the following sources:

• Energy Card. The Energy Card assigned to a phase provides energy equal to its Energy Value.
• Energy Cubes. Each Energy Cube placed onto the Central Board provides 1 energy for the matching phase regardless of who placed it.
• Energy Cube Multiplier. If an Energy Card has the "=2" symbol, then each Energy Cube on the assigned phase space of the Central Board provides 2 energy instead of the typical 1 energy. See the Total Energy example.
• Batteries. Batteries enable you to add energy to any phase you perform. For each Battery used, increase the energy of that phase by 1. There is no limit to the number of Batteries that can be used in this way.
  • IMPORTANT: Batteries do not allow you to perform any phase you want. You can only use Batteries to increase the energy of a phase you are able to perform.
  • IMPORTANT: You must always determine a phase's Total Energy first, so you cannot use Batteries acquired during a phase to retroactively increase its Total Energy. However, you may use Batteries gained during a phase to increase the Total Energy of a different phase later in the same round.
• Upgrades. You may receive additional energy during some phases when specific upgrades are completed on your Player Board. Like Batteries, these upgrades do not allow you to perform a phase. Rather, these upgrades increase your energy whenever you perform the phase that the upgrade applies to.

Total Energy Example:

Let's pretend the result of Round Preparation lets Blue perform the Assemble, Design, and Fabricate phases during the round. Now, let's calculate the Total Energy for Blue's Design Phase.

1. Start with the Energy Value shown in the middle of the Energy Card assigned to the Design Phase: 4.
2. Next, Blue gains +4 energy for the two Energy Cubes on the Central Board, because of the multiplier on their Energy Card.
3. Then, Blue adds +1 energy because they previously upgraded the Design section of their Player Board.
4. Finally, Blue decides to spend 1 Battery, so they can earn extra Victory Points during the Design Phase: +1.
5. Total: 7 Total Energy.

REMINDER: Blue must have 1 Battery prior to performing the Design Phase to increase their Total Energy to 7. Blue cannot use Batteries gained during the Design Phase to retroactively increase the phase's Total Energy.

Round Phases

All players simultaneously complete each phase that they are able to perform. Before going through the phases in detail, there are several important rules for performing phases that should first be explained.

IMPORTANT:

• You may perform a phase IF AND ONLY IF (i) you assign that Phase Card during Round Preparation OR (ii) an Energy Cube is placed onto the relevant space of the Central Board by any player.
• You will perform a minimum of 2 phases per round based on the Phase Cards you select during Round Preparation. You may perform more than 2 phases if other players place Energy Cubes onto phases that you did not select.
• When performing a phase, always determine your Total Energy first. Total Energy must be determined prior to beginning any actions in a phase and cannot be modified retroactively.
• Phases are always performed in the same order, beginning with Upgrade and ending with Recycle as indicated on the Central Board and Player Boards. To mark which phase you are currently performing, move your Meeple onto the relevant section of your Player Board.
• Each phase must be fully completed before proceeding to the next phase. However, you are not forced to do any actions within a phase that you do not wish to.
• Players do not need to keep pace with each other while performing phases. Player 1 may complete Assemble and Design while Player 2 completes Upgrade, Fabricate, and Recycle.

Tip: To help the game go faster, move your Meeple onto the Inventor Area of your Player Board when you are done performing Round Phases to signal to everyone when you are ready to move onto Round End.

Robot Card Overview

Each Robot Card shows:

• Robot Name.
• Assembly Cost. The cost in energy and resources to assemble a Robot Card is shown in two columns.
• Basic Robot Action. This action may be done any time the Associated Phase is performed at or above the Total Energy shown to the left.
• Upgrade Type. An unlocked Upgrade Token must match this symbol to be placed onto a Robot Card.
• Victory Points. Victory Points for Robot Cards are always awarded at the end of the game.
• Associated Phase. Each Robot Card helps its inventor perform a specific phase. When assembled, place the Robot Card in the matching row of your Play Area.
• Upgraded Robot Action. Once a Robot Card has an Upgrade Token placed on it, this action is available and may be done INSTEAD OF the Basic Robot Action if you meet or exceed the Total Energy shown to the left.

Upgrade Phase

The Upgrade Phase allows you to unlock Upgrade Tokens from your Player Board. Generally, unlocking an Upgrade Token improves two things: (i) Your Player Board actions and (ii) one of your cards (Robot, Class, or Inventor).

IMPORTANT: You may unlock more than one Upgrade Token in a single Upgrade Phase by splitting energy.

Splitting Energy: You may split your Total Energy into smaller, whole-number amounts to perform multiple actions during only the Upgrade and Assemble phases. For example, you can split 3 Total Energy into 2/1 or 1/1/1.

To Unlock an Upgrade Token

1. Pay the Upgrade Cost.
   • A. Determine the Upgrade Cost. Choose any row in the Upgrade section of your Player Board for which you have the required energy and resources (energy plus a number of Wilds). If unlocking multiple Upgrade Tokens, you may choose the same row multiple times.
   • B. Spend resources and energy. Move the appropriate Resource Markers downward on your Inventory. Any leftover energy is wasted.
2. Remove an Upgrade Token from any section of your Player Board and place it into your Inventory. If you remove an Upgrade Token from the Upgrade section of your Player Board, then immediately gain Inspiration.

Inspiration: Each time you gain Inspiration, you may immediately choose one of the following benefits:

• Draw 3 Class Cards. Keep 1. Discard the others.
• Gain 2 Wilds. They need not be the same type.
• Gain 4 Batteries.

Upgrade Types

• Cosmetic upgrades provide more Victory Points.
• Speed upgrades increase the output amount.
• Communications upgrades provide better and more flexible outputs.
• Efficiency upgrades generate similar outputs with lower energy.

To Place an Upgrade Token

At ANY time during the game, you may place an unlocked Upgrade Token from your Inventory onto a Robot Card, Class Card, or Inventor Card with the matching Upgrade Type to gain access to special actions or effects.

IMPORTANT: Once an Upgrade Token is placed, it cannot be moved again.

Reminder: Upgrade Tokens are limited, and it is possible to run out of the Upgrade Types that you need. Try to plan ahead for which Upgrade Tokens you may want to unlock and place.

Upgrade Example: A player performing the Upgrade Phase has 5 Total Energy. They would like to unlock 2 Upgrade Tokens, so they decide to split their 5 Total Energy into 3/1/1.

They decide to unlock the first Upgrade Token for 3 energy and 3 Wilds, using 3 Programs from their Inventory. Based on the Upgrade Token unlocked, the player immediately gains Inspiration. They select to gain 2 Wilds and decide to draw 2 Robot Cards.

Then they do the action in the top row, spending 1 energy and 4 Wilds to unlock another Upgrade Token. To pay the cost, they spend 2 Duct Tape from their Inventory and the 2 Robot Cards that they just received. They have no more resources or Robot Cards to spend, so the remaining 1 Energy is wasted.

Reminder: You may choose the same row multiple times, so if the player had enough resources, they could have unlocked a third Upgrade Token.

Assemble Phase

The Assemble Phase allows you to play Robot Cards from your hand into your Play Area. Robots are the backbone of your engine, unlocking new actions and providing end-game VPs.

To Assemble a Robot

1. Choose a Robot Card from your hand to assemble.
2. Place the Robot Card in your Play Area. A Robot Card must always be placed in the leftmost available space in the row matching its Associated Phase. You may assemble a maximum of 5 Robot Cards in any row. If all spaces in a row are full, then you may not assemble a Robot Card there.
3. Pay the Resource Cost.
   • A. Determine the Assembly Cost. You may choose either column in the top-left of the Robot Card to determine the Assembly Cost in energy and resources. The left column uses less energy and more resources, while the right column uses more energy and less resources.
   • B. Pay the Extra Resource Cost. The Extra Resource Cost to assemble a Robot Card is printed on some spaces in your Play Area. If you cannot pay the Extra Resource Cost, then you cannot assemble the robot.
   • C. Spend resources and energy. Move the appropriate Resource Markers downward on your Inventory. Any leftover energy is wasted.

IMPORTANT: You may split energy to assemble more than one robot in a single Assemble Phase (see Upgrade Phase, Splitting Energy).

Tip: When assembling multiple robots or unlocking multiple Upgrade Tokens in a single round, we suggest using one of your Arrow Tokens to track your energy in your Inventory.

Assemble Example: A player is performing the Assemble Phase with 6 Total Energy. They want to play 3 Robot Cards in their hand. At minimum, they need 6 Total Energy to do this. However, this requires a lot of resources: 7 Sensors, 2 Programs, 2 Microchips, 2 Gears, and 3 Wilds (including the Extra Resource Costs on the Player Board). Unfortunately, they need 1 more Sensor to be able to pay this cost.

The player decides to spend 4 Batteries to increase their Total Energy to 10, which allows them to build one of their robots (e.g., Edward) at the higher energy amount and reduce the Assembly Cost by 2 Sensors.

All-in, the player spends 5 Sensors, 4 Batteries, 2 Programs, 2 Microchips, 2 Gears, 3 Wilds (using 2 Microchips and 1 Robot Card), and 10 Total Energy to assemble the 3 Robot Cards.

Reminder: When you need to spend a Wild, you may choose to spend a Robot Card.

Design / Fabricate / Recycle Phases

The Design, Fabricate, and Recycle phases allow you to run the matching Phase Row, doing actions to help you gain resources and VPs. A detailed list of all actions and their effects can be found on the back page of this rulebook (see Icon Index).

Actions: You can easily find actions on your Player Board or Robot Cards by looking for the lightning bolt on the dark background.

• Design: Generally helps with Programs and Robot Cards.
• Fabricate: Generally helps with Microchips, Gears, and Sensors.
• Recycle: Generally helps with Batteries and Duct Tape.

To Run a Phase Row

1. Do the action(s) shown on your Player Board.
   • A. You may do ANY AND ALL Player Board actions in the matching Phase Row that are less than or equal to your Total Energy, but you must do actions one at a time, moving from top to bottom.
2. Activate robots.
   • A. You may activate ANY AND ALL robots in the matching Phase Row, but you must always activate robots one at a time, moving from left to right.
   • B. To activate a robot, do ONE robot action that is less than or equal to your Total Energy. If no such action is available, then you may not activate that robot.

IMPORTANT: You may NOT split your Total Energy for Design, Fabricate, and Recycle like you can for Upgrade and Assemble.

Tip: To avoid confusion when running a Phase Row, we strongly encourage you to move your Meeple onto each action/robot as you do them.

AND vs. OR

To clarify how to do actions throughout the game, the rulebook uses the following symbols:

• AND: Actions linked by this symbol may be performed IN ADDITION TO any other actions as long as the phase's Total Energy meets or exceeds the value shown.
• OR: Actions linked by this symbol may be performed INSTEAD OF any other actions as long as the phase's Total Energy meets or exceeds the value shown.

Running a Phase Row Example: After the previous Assemble Phase, the player is ready to perform the Design Phase. They have a Total Energy of 6 (1 from their Energy Card, +4 from Energy Cubes, +1 from the Upgrade on their Player Board). They decide to spend their final Battery to increase their Total Energy to 7. Now they may do all of the following actions in order:

• Gain 1 Program and 1 Battery (Player Board Action)
• Discard 0 Robot Cards and draw 1 Robot Card (Player Board Action)
• Gain 1 VP (Player Board Action)
• Gain 2 Duct Tape (Upgraded Robot Action)
• Then they immediately place a previously unlocked Speed Upgrade Token onto Astaire to gain 2 Gear (Upgraded Robot Action)
• Discard 1 Robot Card to gain 3 Batteries (Basic Robot Action)

Next, the player may also perform the Fabricate Phase because another player placed an Energy Cube on that spot of the Central Board. They have a Total Energy of 1 (from the Energy Cube) and decide to spend 2 Batteries that they just received during the Design Phase to increase their Total Energy to 3. This allows them to do all of the following actions:

• Gain 1 Microchip OR 1 Gear (Player Board Action)
• Gain 2 Duct Tape (Upgraded Robot Action)

Unfortunately, the player lacks the Total Energy needed to activate Nugget's Basic Robot Action and may not perform it. The player is now finished with the Fabricate Phase and all of the Round Phases.

They may not perform the Recycle Phase since they did not assign that Phase Card and there are no Energy Cubes on that spot of the Central Board.

Note: The highest amount of Total Energy needed to activate a Robot is 7. Since you may not split energy during the Design, Fabricate, and Recycle phases, there is no need to increase your Total Energy past 7 when performing these phases.

Round End

When you are finished with the Round Phases, then all players:

1. Perform any abilities that trigger during Round End. If you have multiple Round End abilities, then you determine the order.
2. Discard your 2 Energy Cards face-up next to your deck of Energy Cards.
3. Take back both of your face-up Phase Cards. These may be used again next round.

Tip: Players may also leave their previously used Energy Cards in place and flip 2 new Energy Cards on top of them each round. This can help to reduce table space and confusion. However, any previously used Energy Cards are effectively discarded and won't be used again until after the Break Period.

Tip: For faster gameplay, players may begin the next Round Preparation while waiting for others to reach this step. However, do not adjust any Energy Cubes on the Central Board until everyone is done to avoid accidentally disrupting other players.

STOP! Wait for all players to complete this step before moving on.

4. Return any Energy Cubes on the Central Board to the general supply.
5. Move the Round Marker one space on the Central Board.
   • A. If the Round Marker moves off the last space, then the game is over (see Game End).
   • B. If this causes the Round Marker to move onto the fifth round, then immediately complete a Break Period.
   • C. Proceed to Round Preparation for the next round.

Break Period

All players draw 3 new Class Cards. Keep 1 and place the others into the Class Card discard pile. Then all players shuffle their Energy Card discard pile and form a new deck of 8 Energy Cards.

Note: Since the game is 8 rounds, all players will go through their deck of Energy Cards twice in a game.

Class Cards

Players gain reputation at the end of the game by getting good grades in class.

Class Card Overview

Each Class Card shows:

• Class Name.
• Class Grade. Inventors earn VPs based on achievement of the Class Objective.
• Class Objective.
• Extra Credit. During the game, an unlocked Upgrade Token matching the Upgrade Type may be placed onto a Class Card to earn Extra Credit. Extra Credit improves your Class Grade by 1 row on the Class Grading Scale.

IMPORTANT: Class Cards with the Extra Credit-required symbol require Extra Credit to earn an A.

IMPORTANT: Extra Credit can only be earned once per Class Card.

Tip: Use the Arrow Tokens to help track your Class Grades throughout the game.

All players start the game by choosing 1 Class Card and will choose another Class Card halfway through the game during the Break Period. You may obtain additional Class Cards by gaining Inspiration. However, you may only have a maximum of 3 Class Cards.

If you have 3 Class Cards and would gain more, then you must immediately choose to either replace one of your existing Class Cards or discard all newly gained Class Cards. All discarded Class Cards are placed face-up next to the Class Card deck. If you ever need to draw Class Cards and the deck is empty, reshuffle the discard pile and continue drawing.

At the end of the game, each Class Card to the left of your Player Board awards VPs based on the Class Grade earned. To determine your Class Grade, count the number of items that meet your Class Objective and use the Class Card table to find your Class Grade. Improve your Class Grade by 1 row if you unlocked Extra Credit.

Class Card Scoring Example: Nugget counts as 1 robot for Aerospace Engineering and 1 for Acoustics. Do not count it multiple times toward the same Class Card.

IMPORTANT: When scoring Class Cards, you may count the same item toward multiple Class Cards, but you may not count the same item twice for the same Class Card.

Class Objectives

The Class Objective icon on each Class Card indicates what to count for that card's Class Grade:

• The number of unlocked Upgrade Tokens of the depicted type. The Upgrade Token does not have to be placed onto another card for it to count.
• The number of unlocked Upgrade Tokens from your Player Board. The Upgrade Token does not have to be placed onto another card for it to count.
• The number of the depicted resource in your Inventory at the end of the game. Duct Tape does not count toward the number of Sensors, Microchips, Gears, or Programs.
• The number of Victory Points in your Inventory at the end of the game.
• The number of the Robot Cards in your hand at the end of the game.
• The total number of Sensors, Gears, Programs, Microchips, and Robot Cards that you have at the end of the game.
• The number of sets of Sensors, Gears, Programs, and Microchips that you have at the end of the game. Duct Tape does not count toward the number of Sensors, Microchips, Gears, or Programs.
• The number of assembled robots in your Play Area.
• The number of assembled robots in the depicted Phase Row.
• The number of assembled robots that require the depicted resource in any column of its Assembly Cost.
• The number of assembled robots that award the depicted number of VPs at the end of the game.
• The number of assembled robots with an action that requires the depicted amount of energy to activate it. You may count a robot with a qualifying Upgraded Robot Action only if that robot has been upgraded.
• The number of assembled robots that require the depicted amount of energy in any column of its Assembly Cost.
• The number of columns in your Play Area that are completely filled with assembled robots.

Inventor Cards

Inventor Cards provide each player with unique abilities (see Inventor Explanations Sheet for details). Inventor abilities are permanent and provide ongoing benefits throughout the game unless otherwise noted by the following symbols:

• Immediate. These abilities take effect at the start of the game or immediately when upgraded.
• Round End. These abilities may be performed during Round End.
• Game End. These abilities are only resolved at the end of the game.

Inventor Card Overview

Each Inventor Card shows:

• Inventor Name.
• Basic Inventor Ability. See the Inventor Explanations Sheet for more details.
• Upgrade Requirement. Before an unlocked Upgrade Token is placed on an Inventor Card, this requirement must be met.
• Upgrade Type. An unlocked Upgrade Token matching the Upgrade Type may be placed onto an Inventor Card when the Upgrade Requirement is met.
• AND/OR. This icon determines if you may use an Upgraded Inventor Ability in addition to or instead of the Basic Inventor Ability.
• Upgraded Inventor Ability. This ability can be performed once the Inventor Card has been upgraded.

IMPORTANT (example Upgrade Requirements):

• Requires 4 Robot Cards in your Play Area.
• Requires 3 unlocked Upgrade Tokens from your Player Board. The Upgrade Tokens do NOT need to be placed onto cards. For clarity, the third unlocked Upgrade Token can be used to upgrade this Inventor Ability.

Game End

After the 8th round, the game is over. Record everyone's Victory Points on the Scorepad and add them up. Victory Points can come from the following sources:

• Each Robot Card in your Play Area provides the VPs shown on the card.
• Each Class Card to the left of your Player Board awards VPs based on the Class Grade earned. Don't forget about Extra Credit!
• The amount of VPs as marked in your Inventory.
• Each Battery and resource (including Duct Tape) in your Inventory and each Robot Card in your hand is worth 1/3 of a VP. Sum the total and round down.
• Whoever has the most Victory Points and thus the greatest reputation is the winner.

Break ties in favor of the player with the most VPs from Robot Cards in your Play Area. If still tied, then the player with the most VPs from Class Cards wins. In the rare event that there is still a tie, then all tied players share the victory.

Credits

Game Design & Development: Brett Sobol & Seth Van Orden Illustration & Character Design: Howard McWilliam Graphic Design & Cover Art: OwlGhost Studio Special Thanks: Tania, Grace, and Maverick Van Orden; Tessa, Cedric, and Arthur Sobol; Jeff and Katie Butler, Doug and Kim Gardner, Andy Yin, James Doyle, Jeremie Johnson, Riley Garrison, Harrison Dunn, Stephen and Lela Kitto, Kane Klenko, Cory Borgen, Andy Hampton, JT Smith, Stan Kordonskiy, Quince, Alvin, Tammy, Henry and Miriam Van Orden, Stephanie and Austin Secrist, Byron Porter, Cory Melin, Todd Reck, Bryce Brown, Shaun and Natasha Hartman, Tim Fowers, Dan Erickson, Josh Kutterer, Vishal Parikh, Paul Fiske, David Berg, Dan Willmer, Jeff Beck, Nick and Abby Wright.

© Nauvoo Games LLC 2023.

Solo and 2P Special Rules

Use these special rules for solo and 2-player games to simulate the placement of Energy Cubes by other players in a semi-predictable fashion.

Special Setup

• Take an unused set of 5 Phase Cards, shuffle it, and deal all 5 Phase Cards facedown to form a line in the middle of the table.
  • 2P only: Reveal the first 2 facedown Phase Cards from the start of the line.
• Add Energy Cubes onto the Phase Cards based on your player count:
  • Solo: 1 Energy Cube on the 1st (facedown) card, 2 Energy Cubes on the 2nd (facedown) card, 1 Energy Cube on the 3rd (facedown) card, 2 Energy Cubes on the 4th (facedown) card, and no cube on the 5th (facedown) card.
  • 2P: No cubes on the 1st and 2nd cards (already revealed face-up), 1 Energy Cube on the 3rd (facedown) card, 2 Energy Cubes on the 4th (facedown) card, and no cube on the 5th (facedown) card.

Changes to Gameplay

• Round Preparation: After you reveal your Phase Cards, reveal a number of Phase Cards from the start of the line based on your player count. Place the Energy Cube(s) on the matching spot(s) of the Central Board.
  • 1P only: Reveal 2 Phase Cards.
  • 2P only: Reveal 1 Phase Card.
• End of Round: If 4 Phase Cards have been revealed, then complete the steps listed in the Special Setup above. For clarity, the final Phase Card will not be revealed.

Tip: All revealed Phase Cards narrow down the possibilities for future turns.

IMPORTANT: You will repeat the Special Setup every 2 rounds until the game ends.

Changes to Game End

• For a 2-player game, the game ends normally — the most Victory Points wins.
• For a solo game, you are playing to see how many Victory Points you can get. Compare your score to the table below to determine your inventor rank.

Single Solo Game (Victory Points* — Inventor Rank):

Victory Points	Inventor Rank
<60	Keep Practicing
60–79	Beginner
80–99	Amateur
100–119	Heroic
120–139	Epic
140+	Legendary

Solo Challenge (Victory Points* — Inventor Rank):

Victory Points	Inventor Rank
<180	Keep Practicing
180–229	Beginner
230–279	Amateur
280–329	Heroic
330–379	Epic
380+	Legendary

* Victory Point ranges assume use of Inventors.

Solo Challenge

For an extra challenge, play 3 games in a row. Do not shuffle any of the cards after each game. Instead, remove all Class Cards and Robot Cards from each game (including any from your Play Area, your hand, and the discard piles). Also remove the Inventor Cards you had to choose from (if applicable).

At the end of each game, record your score. Total your score across all 3 games and compare your score to the table above.

Note: In rare circumstances where you would need to draw cards and there are none left, you may have to reshuffle and reuse some cards.

Inventor Bidding Variant

Instead of the typical way of choosing Inventors, experienced players may use this variant to select their preferred Inventor.

Changes to Setup

1. When Starting The Game, do not deal 2 Inventor Cards to all players. Instead, place a number of Inventor Bidding Tracks equal to the number of players next to the Central Board. Then, shuffle the Inventor Cards and deal one Inventor Card face-up below each Inventor Bidding Track.
2. Randomly determine the first player (or the last person who saw a robot).
3. Beginning with the first player and proceeding clockwise, players will bid for their Inventor Card. To make a bid:
   • A. Place your Meeple on any unoccupied space on an Inventor Bidding Track.
   • B. If an Inventor Bidding Track already has another Meeple on it, then you must choose a space farther to the right than the Meeple.
   • C. If and only if a player is outbid by another player (e.g., another player placed his/her Meeple to the right on the same Inventor Bidding Track), then the player who was outbid immediately picks up their Meeple. They will rebid on their next turn. If multiple players are outbid, then rebids occur in clockwise order. Rebids may be placed on the same Inventor Bidding Track or a different one.
   • D. If a player places their Meeple on the right-most space of an Inventor Bidding Track, then they immediately win the bid for that Inventor Card.
4. Bidding continues until all Inventor Cards have one Meeple above it in a valid space.
5. All players take the Inventor Card below their Inventor Bidding Track and then pay the indicated resources on the space where their Meeple is located. Be sure to also take back your Meeple.
6. Place the Inventor Bidding Tracks back in the Game Box and finish Starting The Game as described above.

Tip: You may look at your starting Robot and Class Cards prior to bidding.

Commonly Missed Rules

• You may perform a phase IF AND ONLY IF (i) you assign that Phase Card during Round Preparation OR (ii) an Energy Cube is placed onto the relevant space of the Central Board by any player.
• Batteries do not allow you to perform any phase you want. You can only use Batteries to increase the energy of a phase you are able to perform.
• You may split energy in the Upgrade and Assemble phases to unlock multiple Upgrade Tokens or assemble multiple Robot Cards during the same phase.
• Each time you gain/spend a Wild, you immediately choose to gain/spend a Sensor, Gear, Program, Microchip, or Robot Card. If gaining/spending multiple Wilds, you may choose the same resource or different ones.
• For additional emphasis, Robot Cards are included in the Wild symbol. This means that Robot Cards may be used to pay for the Extra Resource Cost when assembling a robot or for spending resources to complete an Upgrade.
• You must pay the Extra Resource Cost to assemble a Robot Card anytime you cover one of the printed Wild symbols in your Play Area, including during the Starting The Game.

Common Questions

May I do actions in the same round that they became available (e.g., unlocking an Upgrade Token, assembling a Robot Card)? Generally, yes. However, some actions on Robot Cards allow you to unlock Upgrade Tokens or assemble robots outside of the normal phases. You may only perform these actions as long as you follow the correct order of play. You may not go back to a previous phase or to a part of the current phase to perform any new actions (see example below).

How do I get more Robot Cards? Performing the Design Phase is the most common way to get Robot Cards, but you may also obtain them when you gain a Wild or do certain robot actions. On your Player Board, there are two less obvious ways of gaining Robot Cards: (i) Gaining Inspiration or (ii) doing the upgraded 4 energy Recycle action.

When can I upgrade my Inventor Card? You may place an unlocked Upgrade Token of the correct Upgrade Type on your Inventor Card as soon as you meet the Upgrade Requirement (see Inventor Cards).

When gaining multiple Wilds, can I draw a Robot Card, look at it, and then choose the remaining Wilds? Yes.

Activating a Robot Timing Example

A player is performing the Fabricate Phase with 4 Total Energy. After doing all the Player Board actions available, the player activates their Fabricate Row (left to right).

• A. Axle's Basic Robot Action allows the player to spend 3 Wilds to unlock an Upgrade Token.
• B. The player pays the cost and unlocks a Speed Upgrade Token, immediately placing it onto the next Robot (Figure 8).
• C. Next the player activates Figure 8, choosing to use the new Upgraded Robot Action and obtains 3 Batteries.

IMPORTANT: The player may NOT go back to earlier in the Fabricate Phase and do the action that was revealed on their Player Board. This will have to wait for a future turn.

Summary

Round Preparation:

• Draw 2 Energy Cards
• Place Energy Cubes on Energy Cards showing the by-itself Battery icon
• Assign 2 Phase Cards; Reveal when all players are done
• Move Energy Cubes to Central Board

Round Phases:

• Perform phases in order: Upgrade, Assemble, Design, Fabricate, Recycle
• Determine Total Energy first, then do actions:
  • Player Board (top to bottom)
  • Robots (left to right)

Round End:

• Perform Round End abilities
• Discard Energy Cards and take Phase Cards back into your hand
• Remove Energy Cubes
• Move Round Marker
  • After 4: Break Period
  • After 8: Game End

Icon Index

• Draw the indicated number of Robot Card(s) from the top of the deck.

• Draw 3 Class Card(s) from the top of the deck. Keep 1 and add it to the left of your Player Board. Discard the rest face-up next to the Goal Card deck.

• Gain the indicated number of resource(s).

• Gain either indicated resource.

• Gain the indicated number of VPs. In this case, gain 3 VP (1 + 2).

• Gain the indicated number of Wilds. Immediately turn Wilds into Robot Cards or specific resources. Multiple Wilds need not be converted the same.

• Pay the cost on the left to gain the benefit(s) on the right. You may do this conversion only once, even if you could afford to pay the cost multiple times.

  IMPORTANT: Whenever multiple icons are present to the left/right of an arrow, all are considered part of the same conversion. You only gain what's shown on the right side of an arrow after paying the cost on the left side. For example, you do not get the Duct Tape nor the Wild in the action shown unless you pay a Battery.

• You may discard any number of Robot Cards in your hand (X) to draw the same number plus one (X+1) of Robot Cards from the top of the deck. For clarity, you may discard 0 Robot Cards to draw 1 Robot Card. When upgraded, this action provides an additional 1 Robot Card and 1 Battery.

• Add the indicated energy to your Total Energy when you perform the phase associated with this effect.

• Pay the cost to assemble a robot. Remember to always pay the Extra Resource Cost (if any).

• Pay the cost to unlock 1 Upgrade Token.

• Gain Inspiration and immediately choose one of the following benefits:

  • Draw 3 Class Cards. Keep 1 and discard the others.
  • Gain 2 Wilds.
  • Gain 4 Batteries.

• Gain VPs based on the total number of assembled Robot Cards in the matching Phase Row (e.g., 1 robot = 1 VP, 3 robots = 2 VP, 5 robots = 3 VP). For instance, a player would gain 2 VPs if they had assembled 4 robots in the Fabricate Phase Row.

• Requires 4 Robot Cards in your Play Area.

• Requires 3 unlocked Upgrade Tokens from your Player Board. The Upgrade Tokens do not need to be placed on cards. For clarity, the third unlocked Upgrade Token can be used to upgrade this Inventor Ability.