Rob 'n Run Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Material
• Game Overview
  • Playing goal
  • Game setup
  • Game flow
  • Communication
• Game Elements
  • Clue cards
  • Tools
  • Bags
  • Safes
  • Quarters
  • Gold
  • Dealer (hidden behind the hydrants)
• The Alarm Systems
• The Robberies
  • Preparation of a robbery
  • Flow of a robbery
  • 1. Clue phase
  • 2. Crew phase
  • 3. Alarm phase
  • Example of a robbery
• Evaluation of the Robbery
  • Example of an evaluation
• Game End
  • Rating
• Tools with Name
• Expert Scenarios
• Create Your Own Scenario
• Special Rules for 2 Players

Game Material

• 4 quarters
• 1 escape route
• 2 double-sided police stations
• 1 screen (3 parts to assemble)
• 70 safes
• 16 clue cards
• 72 cards: 56 tools, 5 bags, 4 summaries, 7 tools with names
• 4 dealers
• 1 policeman, 1 getaway car
• 1 rubbish bin
• 12 alarm cubes (2x white, 3x yellow, 3x green, 4x red), 20 gold bars
• 32 wooden pieces
• 2 plastic stands, 1 game rules, 1 quick intro

Game Overview

Playing goal

As a gang of thieves you try to escape with your pickings from the police and reach the airport. Of course, you still break into the town's banks, casinos and museums on your way to collect even more gold. With every successful robbery you come closer to your goals. You win the game as a group, if you reach one of the 3 airport terminals without getting caught by the police. Will you manage to get away?

Game setup

The setup of Rob 'n Run is described in detail in the separate quick intro. In the first game we recommend playing the scenario 1: "The training". After that you can create your own scenarios.

Game flow

As boss and crew members you commit one robbery after the other, always trying to crack the town's safes. "To crack a safe" means that the boss gets the needed tools of the correct type and number. A robbery consists of one or more rounds. It either ends when all safes are cracked, or when the red alarm system is activated because you have given too many "wrong tools" to your boss. The role of the boss changes in clockwise order after every robbery.

Communication

Rob 'n Run is a game with restricted communication. During a robbery the clue cards are the only connection between the boss and the crew. Also the crew members may in general not talk about their (often different) knowledge. The tools of the crew members are always hidden.

If you win even the most difficult scenarios every time you are either geniuses or unbelievably lucky devils!

Game Elements

Clue cards

With the clue cards the boss tries to inform the crew members about the needed tools.

Tools

There are 7 different tools. Each has 8 copies inside the tool stack.

Bags

The bags get also shuffled inside the tool stack. When the boss gets a bag from his crew members, each member may draw tools depending on the player count. With 4 or 5 players each member draws 1 tool per bag and with 3 players 2 tools per bag. In a 2 player game there are no bags at all.

Safes

The thought of their contents makes your hearts beat faster. In order to crack a safe you need its pictured tools. Unfortunately only the boss knows which tools are needed. The boss gets the tools from the crew members. Each safe needs at least 3 and at most 5 tools to be cracked, with a maximum of 4 different tools. A single tool may be needed at most 4 times for any safe.

Quarters

There are 4 quarters which are arranged around the escape route. Each quarter consists of 1, 2 or 3 buildings in which you find the safes. There is also a dealer hiding himself in each quarter.

Gold

It is your goal to end the game with as much gold as possible. But all gold is useless if you get caught by the police. You get gold if you crack a safe. You can spend gold either for clue cards (it costs 3 gold to turn a clue card from back to front) or for dealers.

Dealer (hidden behind the hydrants)

If the boss takes the last safe from a quarter during the preparation of a robbery, the appropriate dealer is put onto the escape route. At the end of the robbery's evaluation the dealer makes an offer to eliminate 1 or 2 cubes from the same coloured alarm system on the police station. For this service the dealer has to be paid with gold. The green and white dealers demand 2 gold for the first and 3 gold for the second cube, so 5 gold altogether. The red and yellow dealers demand 3 and 4, altogether 7 gold.

The Alarm Systems

On the police stations there are 4 different coloured alarm systems.

1. Yellow alarm: The yellow alarm system indicates how many of the 6 clue cards the boss randomly displays face up during the preparation of a robbery. The remaining clues are hidden.
2. Green alarm: The green alarm system indicates how many tools every crew member gets from the tool stack in the preparation of a robbery. Everybody holds their cards secretly.
3. White alarm: The white alarm system indicates how many tools (or bags) the boss gets from the crew in the crew phase.
4. Red alarm: The red alarm system shows the maximum number of "wrong tools" that may lie in the alarm stack. If there are more tools in the alarm stack, the alarm is triggered.

For all alarm systems the lowermost visible number is active (see example).

Important: Make sure to use the correct police station based on the number of players (as shown in the top left). The bag icon below the player count is a reminder of how many cards each crew member draws if a bag is played during the crew phase.

Example: the pictured cubes are on the police station. Therefore the following specifications apply:

• Yellow: In the boss preparation 4 clue cards are visible. The other 2 clues are hidden.
• Green: Every crew member gets 6 tools.
• White: In the crew phase 4 tools must be played in total.
• Red: There can only be 3 tools maximum in the alarm stack. 4 or more and the red alarm system is triggered!

The Robberies

Preparation of a robbery

First the next player in clockwise order becomes the boss. The new boss decides which building is robbed. The safes are secretly taken from the building and put behind the boss' screen. Only the boss may look at them. If the last safe of a quarter is taken, the matching dealer is put on the escape route.

The boss also takes the 6 clue cards, shuffles them, and reveals as many as the yellow alarm system allows. The remaining clues lie hidden.

Every crew member gets as many tools from the newly shuffled tool stack (61 cards) as indicated by the green alarm system. The crew members hold their cards secretly.

Flow of a robbery

After the preparation every robbery goes over one or more rounds. Every round consists of the following 3 phases:

1. Clue phase (boss)
2. Crew phase (crew members)
3. Alarm phase (boss)

After that the robbery is evaluated.

1. Clue phase

In this phase the boss may use one or more revealed clue cards. When using a clue card the boss sticks to their text and the instructions on the card. After use the card is turned face down. The boss may also activate hidden clue cards for 3 gold each and use them. Hidden clues get paid for out of the pickings (already used clue cards may also be bought again). Afterwards the boss tells the crew to begin the crew phase.

Note: The boss is not forced to play a card in this phase, they can go to the crew phase at once.

2. Crew phase

In this phase the crew members secretly play as many tools (or bags) as the white alarm system indicates. The member to the left of the boss starts. During the crew phase every crew member might have several turns. When it is your turn you have 3 possibilities:

a) play 1 card of your hand face down to the middle of the play area b) exchange all of your hand cards (each crew member may only do this once per crew phase!) c) pass

When there are enough cards played the alarm phase follows. Otherwise, it is the next crew member's turn. If all crew members pass in a row, the next member must play a card or exchange their cards, if possible. When exchanging you put all your cards face down on the rubbish bin and draw the same number of cards from the tool stack. When the stack is empty, shuffle the cards in the rubbish bin to make a new tool stack.

Rare case: If no crew member has cards in hand, one last alarm phase starts. After that the robbery ends and is evaluated.

3. Alarm phase

The boss takes the cards that have just been played face down by the crew, shuffles them and separates them as follows:

a) Tools that are needed for the safes behind the screen are displayed face up. Place copies of the same tools in rows. b) The boss puts tools, that are not needed for safes aside, face down. These tools form the alarm stack. For example, if the boss needs only 2 flashlights, the 3rd flashlight goes to the alarm stack. The crew shall not know which tools are put in the alarm stack. c) The boss plays bags openly. For every bag each crew member gets 1 card from the tool stack (with 3 players 2 cards each).

After the boss has separated all cards he checks the following conditions:

1. Have all tools for the safes been collected? Then the robbery ends and is evaluated.

and / or

2. Does the alarm stack contain more cards than the red alarm system allows? Then the alarm is triggered. The robbery ends and is evaluated.

If none of the two conditions is fulfilled, another round is played beginning with the clue phase. In the next alarm phase the new tools are put together with the ones from former rounds - either face up in rows (if needed for the safes) or face down on the alarm stack.

Example of a robbery

Round 1

Clue phase: The boss has a safe with 3 security cards and 2 dynamites behind the screen. The clue cards 1, 2 and 3 are revealed face up. Unfortunately you have no gold to buy further clues. The boss decides to play the clues 1 and 3: "You need the tool security card." and "You need 2 different types of tools." The boss ends the clue phase.

Crew phase: Now the 3 crew members have their turns: crew member 1 has no security cards and therefore decides to exchange. Member 2 plays a security card face down. Member 3 plays a security card. Member 1 still has no security card. Another exchange in this round is not possible. Not knowing what to play member 1 passes. Member 2 plays a bag face down. Member 3 passes, Member 1 passes. Member 2 plays a flashlight face down. 4 cards have thus been played and the crew phase ends.

Alarm phase: The boss takes the 4 cards and briefly shuffles them. The boss places the 2 security cards in a row. The flashlight is not needed and therefore starts the face down alarm stack. The boss reveals the bag and puts it aside. With 4 players every crew member gets a card from the tool stack. The safe is uncracked and the red alarm has not been triggered. Therefore another round follows.

Round 2

Clue phase: The boss plays the last clue: "You don't need the tool stethoscope".

Crew phase: The crew members altogether play another 4 cards: 1 security card, 1 acid, 1 battering ram and 1 dynamite.

Alarm phase: The boss places the security card and the dynamite face up in the rows. The other 2 tools go on the alarm stack. Fortunately, 3 wrong tools are allowed. Another round follows.

Round 3

Clue phase: Without gold or open clues the boss proceeds to the crew phase.

Crew phase: The crew members know that either 1 security card or 1 dynamite is needed (only 2 different types). Altogether they play 2 dynamites, 1 security card and 1 bag.

Alarm phase: The boss places the dynamite in the row with the other dynamite and puts the bag aside. The other two tools go on the alarm stack. The safe is cracked, but the alarm is also triggered.

Evaluation: The robbers get 3 gold and advance 1 step on the escape route (both for the cracked safe). The police advance 2 steps (1 step always and 1 step for the triggered red alarm system). (Details on the next page.)

Evaluation of the Robbery

When all safes are cracked or/and the red alarm system has been triggered, the robbery gets evaluated. This happens in 6 steps:

1. For every cracked safe the robbers get the gold and advance 1 step on the escape route with their getaway car.
2. Cubes that are reached along the escape route get placed on the same coloured alarm system (starting from the bottom) on the police station.
3. For every uncracked safe the robbers place a new safe from the safe stack on a building. New safes may not be put on empty buildings and there may not be more than 3 safes on any building. If this is impossible no safe is placed.
4. The police advance the following steps:
   • 1 step. (Always, because their investigative work proceeds!)
   • 1 additional step for every uncracked safe
   • 1 additional step if the red alarm system has been triggered in the alarm phase.
5. If there is a dealer on the escape route, the robbers may buy 1 or 2 cubes from the matching coloured alarm system on the police station. Afterwards the dealer is out of the game, even if no cubes have been removed.
6. The old safes are removed from the game.

Example of an evaluation

In the alarm phase the red alarm system has been triggered. The boss has enough tools collected to crack the safe shown to the right. The robbers get 3 gold and advance 1 step. The yellow and the red cube are placed on the police station. The police advance 3 steps altogether (1 step always, 1 step for the uncracked safe and 1 step for the triggered red alarm system). The robbers must place a new safe for the uncracked one, and may decide if they want to pay the green dealer in order to get rid of 1 or 2 green cubes on the police station. In either case the dealer is out of the game. After this the preparation of the next robbery starts.

Game End

You lose the game if the police catch you on the escape route. This is true even if that happens on a terminal square! You win the game if you reach a terminal square and the police cannot catch up! Otherwise the next robbery follows.

Rating

• 0-3 gold: At least you are free!
• 4-7 gold: Not bad for a start!
• 8-11 gold: Respect, you can make a living!
• 12+ gold and terminal 2 or 3 is reached: Perfect! We have a new challenge for you!

Tools with Name

Many players like to have a little memory aid. Place the 7 named tools at the side of the playing area. If it is certain, that a certain tool will not be needed anymore, turn that card. Be aware that you should not turn a card if the information is not known to every crew member!

Expert Scenarios

When you have enough experience, you might want to try the "Expert Scenarios" (see game setup page 2). Do not be disappointed if you cannot solve them. In this case failure is just a part of the job. The main difference is that 3 of the clue cards are forbidden. It is part of the challenge to choose the 6 most helpful clues out of the 13 remaining.

If you cannot win a certain scenario, you may make it easier by starting with more than 3 gold and / or less alarm cubes.

Create Your Own Scenario

The creation of a scenario has already been briefly described in the game setup:

a) Clue cards: Choose 6 clue cards freely. b) Dealers: Place the 4 dealers (hydrants) freely onto the 4 quarters. c) Alarm cubes: Place the cubes on the police station and on the marked squares (skid marks or oil spots) on the escape route. Choose their colours as you want. There must be at least 1 cube on each of the 5 squares. Also the number of cubes on any square should be equal or decrease as you approach the airport. In general a scenario is more difficult if you start with more alarm cubes on the police station.

Variation 1: Define the number of alarm cubes on the police station and on the marked squares of the escape route. The color of the cubes and the dealers are placed randomly.

Variation 2: Each boss randomly draws 6 new clue cards before the robbery starts (difficult!).

Take notes or a picture of your scenario. That way you can try it again or share it with your friends.

Special Rules for 2 Players

Rob 'n Run is not a memory game. Each player may take notes, but keep them secret from the other players.

In a 2 player game there are two special rules:

a) The clue cards 6, 9, 13, 14 and 16 are out of the game. They have a 3-5 player icon. b) You play without the bags. Instead, at the end of each crew phase the crew member draws as many tools from the stack as they have just played according to the white alarm system.