Skyway Robbery Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setting Up the Game
  • The First Recruits
• Restocking the Cards on the Board
• Play Overview
• Actions
  • Anonymous Tip
  • Use Skill
  • Acquire Asset
  • Pickpocket
  • Local Heist/Jail Break (ILLEGAL)
  • Turf War/Side Job (ILLEGAL)
  • Repeat Action
• Completing Illegal Actions
  • Using Airship Crew
  • Vents
  • Cutting the Power
• Ending a Round
• Moving the Airship
• Ending the Game
• Expert Rules
• Example of a Local Heist

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 10 Location Tiles
• 10 Location Boards
• 1 Airship Token
• 1 First Player Token
• 5 Player Boards
• 5 Dirty Trick Cards
• 10 Extra Dirty Trick Cards
• Goal Cards: 10 Loot, 9 Side Job, 9 Turf War
• 14 Defense Cards (+9 Unusual)
• 35 Action Cards (7 per player)
• Asset Cards: 9 Airship Crew, 32 Equipment, 49 Gang Members
• 30 x 2 Reputation tokens, 30 x 1 Reputation tokens
• 30 x $1K Ingots, 30 x $5K Ingots
• 5 Alarm dice

Setting Up the Game

A. Give each player a matching set of Action Cards, a Player Board and a Dirty Trick Card (choose either side of the Player Board for its unique Dirty Trick or choose randomly). You may ignore Dirty Tricks if it is your first game. If you are a very experienced player, and want a dirtier game, you can deal out an Extra Dirty Trick card (or two!) to each player.

B. Determine the airship's route for the game by shuffling the ten location tiles and randomly selecting five. Place them on the Airship Track from least to greatest (going left to right). If this is your first game, it is recommended that you use only the odd-numbered tiles.

C. Separate Gang Member and Equipment cards with a location symbol that matches the selected location tiles (B) and set these together on the indicated slot. Location-specific cards without an icon matching one of the five chosen locations for the current game should be removed from the game.

D. Shuffle the remaining Gang Member cards together and place them on the board in the indicated slot.

E. Separately shuffle the Equipment Deck, Turf War Deck, Side Job Deck, Airship Crew Deck and Defenses Deck (only include the Defense cards marked UNUSUAL if you are an experienced player). Place these decks as indicated.

F. Fill each open card slot on the Airship with one face up card of the indicated card type (from the appropriate deck). Do not fill slots in the Dock---these will only be filled at the start of round two, when the first location has been reached.

G. Find the Loot Cards matching the five locations (B) and place them in their board slot in a face-up stack in order, matching the locations.

H. Place the Airship token at the start (left) of the airship track along the top of the board.

I. Note: Do not place a Location Board until the end of the first turn.

The First Recruits

Finally, place the Ingot and Reputation tokens beside the board and give each player $8K worth of ingot tokens. Deal three Gang Member Cards face-down to each player. Each player then selects one of these cards, places it face-up, pays for it (or places it in the Brig (J) without paying anything) and passes the other two cards to the left. Each player then buys (or discards to the Brig) another card. The final card is deposited into the Brig. All hired Gang Members are then picked up, forming the players' hands. The player with the highest amount of remaining ingots receives the Starting Player Token. If there is a tie, roll all five dice. The player who rolls the most exit-door (running man) symbols will be the starting player.

Example: The Demolitionist costs $7K. This is paid into the supply. Pass the remaining cards to the player to your left.

Restocking the Cards on the Board

During a typical round, cards will often be removed from the board. Asset Cards (Gang Member, Equipment, and Airship Crew) may be purchased. Defenses may be bypassed. Turf War and Side Job Cards may be completed and collected.

Whenever a card is removed from the board, it must be immediately replaced with the indicated type before the next Action Card is resolved. The Brig must always contain a minimum of two Gang Member Cards. Add Gang Member Cards from the deck if necessary.

Reshuffle the Gang Member Discard Pile, Equipment Discard Pile and/or the Defense Discard Pile as necessary.

Used Airship Crew Cards are removed from the game.

Defenses which have been bypassed on a location board (from a successful Local Heist) are not restocked until the following round when the airship enters a new location.

Location-specific cards may only be restocked so long as another card matching the current location is available. See page 11 for how to use location-specific cards. These cards are to be discarded into the normal Gang and Equipment discard piles and are treated as normal cards for the remainder of the game (i.e., they may become part of the normal Gang and Equipment decks if reshuffling occurs).

Play Overview

Each round consists of three steps:

1. Secretly select three Action Cards and place them face down in your player board slots according to the desired order of resolution. The left card is #1; the middle is #2; the rightmost is #3.

2. Once all players have selected their three Action Cards, the Starting Player for that round reveals and resolves his first card, followed by the player to the left, and so on around the table. The last player to play their first card then plays his second card, followed by the others to the left. Finally, the last player to play his second card is first to play his third card, followed by the others to the left. (The manual's example shows the order cards would be played in a three player game.)

3. Pass the Starting Player Token to the left and move the airship token one space to the right, replacing a Location Board and associated cards as necessary. See page 11.

Actions

Anonymous Tip

This action allows you to catch your opponents red-handed. One Alarm die (see Completing Illegal Actions below) will be added to any illegal cards (Local Heist/Jail Break or Turf War/Side Job) revealed by opponents after the Anonymous Tip card has been played. You will also collect a 2 Reputation for each die added. Each Anonymous Tip card stays in effect until the end of the round, so if a player reveals an illegal action after three other Anonymous Tip cards that round, she would add three alarm dice to her illegal action. Players with Anonymous Tip cards would then each collect 2 Reputation.

For example, if Giles plays the Anonymous Tip card before Rawa reveals a Turf War/Side Job card, Giles would place one Alarm die on Rawa's illegal card when it is revealed. Rawa may still choose to perform his action; however, it will be a bit more difficult. If Esma had played her Anonymous Tip before Rawa's card was revealed, she would also place an Alarm die on Rawa's card.

Use Skill

Some Gang Members feature a skill symbol in their card text. These cards grant you access to unique skills. Follow the instructions on these cards to use the skill. Note that Gang Members may not use their associated skill unless the Use Skill card has been played. Some Gang Members can either be used to bypass Defenses or to use a skill. Once a card has been used in a round, it cannot be used again until the following round.

Acquire Asset

This card allows you to acquire an Asset Card from the board. You may hire an available Gang Member card, Equipment card, or Airship Crew card by paying the indicated cost. Airship Crew may also be claimed by threatening them, paying no money. Play a card or cards with Strength equal to or higher than the amount indicated on the Airship Crew card. Any card used to threaten an Airship Employee may not be used for any other purpose this round.

Remember: Always add a new card from the deck to replace the one you just bought (or flip the top location-specific card if one remains, see page 11). Newly-purchased Asset Cards go directly into your hand and may be used in the current round if the appropriate Action Card follows.

Pickpocket

This action could be a good idea if you are short on cash. Simply take $2K worth of ingot tokens from the supply. This action does not count as an illegal action and does not even require a Gang Member to perform.

Local Heist/Jail Break (ILLEGAL)

This card gives you a choice. The Local Heist action allows you to carry out the heist at the current location. To do this, you must play Gang Members and Equipment Cards with icons matching the Defenses on the Location Board (see Completing Illegal Actions below). In addition to any Defenses on the Location Board, you must also find a way through the Vault or Code Defense. This is a permanent Defense found at all locations. If you are successful, take the matching Loot Card and the indicated Ingot tokens. Do not replace the Location Board or its cards until the following round when the airship travels to the next location.

Jail Break allows you to bust arrested Gang Members out of the Brig (see Completing Illegal Actions below). If you are successful, take two Gang Members from the Brig and add them to your hand. This does not cost any money. In the event that one or more of your Gang Members are arrested while in the process of performing the Jail Break and you are still successful, all arrested Gang Members are added to the Brig only after you have selected two new Gang Members to add to your hand. Gang Members in the Brig can be added to your hand regardless of who employed them previously. Be sure to replace bypassed Defense Cards immediately and, if necessary, add Gang Members such that at least two Gang Members are in the Brig.

Since the Brig is immediately reset upon a successful Jail Break (as well as the Turf War and Side Job cards), multiple players may be able to complete a Jail Break in the same round. With careful planning, you might be able to do several illegal jobs per round.

Turf War/Side Job (ILLEGAL)

This card also gives you a choice. The Turf War action helps you gain Reputation by protecting your turf and roughing up local thugs. Play Gang Members and Equipment Cards such that the total Strength Rating is equal to or higher than that indicated on the Turf War Card (see Completing Illegal Actions on page 9). If successful, take the Turf War Card and keep it until the end of the game.

The Side Job action earns you extra money and Reputation. A Side Job is similar to a Local Heist in that you need to play cards with icons matching the Defenses shown (see Completing Illegal Actions below). One major difference is that the Defenses appear directly on the Side Job Cards as opposed to on individual Defense Cards. If you are successful, take the Side Job Card and the money indicated. When you complete a Turf War or a Side Job, be sure to immediately replace the card you took with a new one from the appropriate deck.

Repeat Action

This action allows you to repeat one of the other two Action Cards you previously played this round. If the Action Card you select gives you a choice of two actions, you may choose either regardless of which one you did earlier in the round. If you choose an illegal action, any Anonymous Tips cards in play add extra Alarm dice to this action. You may choose to repeat an Anonymous Tip. If you do, each illegal action revealed after your Repeat card will add an alarm die to your opponent's action and allow you to collect a 2 Reputation.

Players may choose to not resolve an Action Card. For example, if a player has too many alarms on his Local Heist action, he may decide that the heat is too high for his original plan to succeed. Also, a player may not be able to use an Action Card in some cases.

Completing Illegal Actions

The four illegal actions (Local Heist, Jail Break, Turf War and Side Job) are resolved in a similar fashion:

1. Play Gang Member and Equipment Cards from your hand with matching Defense icons to those on the Defenses you need to bypass. Each Gang Member can carry one piece of Equipment (unless otherwise stated). Specify which Crew Member is carrying which piece of Equipment. Only two Crew Members may participate in an illegal action without penalty, though each Gang Member may be able to disable several Defenses. Extra Gang Members may be played; however, each additional Gang Member over the limit of two adds one Alarm die (unless otherwise stated).

2. Show clearly how your cards disable each Defense. Some Defenses (e.g., Poison Darts) can be disabled in either of two ways (e.g., Poison OR Darts). Defenses need not be cleared in any specific order. In the case of the Turf War action, show that your total Strength is equal to or higher than the Strength on the target Turf War Card.

3. Some Crew Members and Equipment cards are LOUD and set off the Alarm. Cards like this add an Alarm die to the Action Card for each corresponding Defense they disable. Add any Alarms triggered by Gang Members or Equipment used to any Alarms gained from Anonymous Tips. Roll the number of Alarm dice equal to the total number of Alarms. Each roll of the handcuffs symbol sends one Gang Member (your choice) to the Brig. Rolling an exit-door symbol incurs no penalties. Any Equipment carried by that Gang Member is sent to the Equipment Discard Pile. Some Gang Members allow you to remove a number of Alarm dice.

4. If at least one Gang Member (not an Airship Crew) makes it through without being arrested, the mission was a success. Take the card and money indicated. Remove all bypassed Defense Cards (to the Defense Discard Pile) and immediately add the indicated number of new Defenses or other cards (in the case of a Local Heist, do not remove the Location Board or its Defenses until the following round). If no Gang Members made it out, the mission failed and all Defenses remain in place regardless of being temporarily bypassed during the unsuccessful attempt. Once Gang Member and Equipment cards have been used to complete a mission, they must remain in your play area and cannot be used for any other reason during the current round.

The Turf War action does not require players to bypass any Defenses. However, it is an illegal action and subject to Anonymous Tips and any resulting Alarm dice. Roll any Alarm dice that apply before claiming the Turf War Card. The two-Gang-Member limit also applies to the Turf War action.

Using Airship Crew

Airship Crew work very much like Gang Members, but with a few exceptions. Airship Crew are usually limited to certain types of jobs. They may not carry equipment. They do not count toward the two-Gang-Member limit and do not incur additional Alarm dice. They may only be used once --- remove them from the game after they have been used. Airship Crew cannot be sent to the Brig to satisfy a bad Alarm roll, nor is any mission successful if only an Airship Crew remains.

Vents

The Locations and the Brig both contain ventilation systems that can be exploited. Gang Members that feature a Vent icon may skip any one Defense in a location or the Brig. The Vault/Code may not be skipped by using the Vent. The Vent may only be used one time per mission to skip one Defense.

Example: Britannia decides to break into the Brig and add some slightly meaner Gang Members to her rather old and stuffy squad. She plays the Physicist to bypass the Light Rays, and then plays the Engineer (for his understanding of Vents) to use the Vent. This lets her get past the Gears. She could have used that Vent to get past any one Defense that was in her way.

Cutting the Power

During the course of performing a Local Heist, Jail Break or Side Job action, players may attempt to cut the power using cards that carry a Power icon. Powered Defenses vulnerable to this approach are marked with a blue border. Power Supplies are each guarded by a separate Defense Card. In order to cut the power, you must first bypass this Defense. Once this Defense has been bypassed, a Gang Member or Equipment with the Power symbol can be used to cut the power to the target area. This immediately renders all Powered Defenses in that area inert. Bear in mind that the two-Gang-Member limit is in full effect during this procedure. If the power has been cut during the course of a mission, the Defense Card guarding the Power Supply must be replaced at the end of that action as you would for any other bypassed Defense Card (location Power Supply Defense Cards are replaced at the start of the following round). The next player may be able to cut the power again.

Example: The Undersea Museum's Power Supply is defended by Guards. If that Guard Defense is bypassed, then a Gang Member or Equipment with the Power symbol could cut the power to both the Gears and Magnetic Field Defenses, which are both powered (outlined in blue). Too easy. Unfortunately the Sharks aren't connected to the power.

Ending a Round

Once all players have resolved their three chosen Action Cards, the round ends. Collect any Gang Member and Equipment cards in your play area (unless otherwise forbidden to do so) and return them to your hand. Pass the Starting Player Ticket to the left. Move the Airship Token one space to the right (see below). If none of the end conditions has been met, start a new round by secretly selecting three Action Cards.

Moving the Airship

The Airship Track at the top of the board represents the progress of the airship along its Grand Tour. At the end of each round, players must move the Airship Token one space to the right along this track at the top of the board. If the Local Heist was successfully completed this round, move the airship token directly to the start of the next location tile. Each time the airship reaches a new location tile (indicated with a numbered house-shaped icon), either by advancing one space at the end of a round or because of a successful Local Heist, place a new Location Board along with any indicated Defense cards.

Also, remove any face-up cards from the Dock area of the board (placing them in their respective discard piles) and add new ones. Discarded Turf War cards should be placed at the bottom of the Turf War deck. Discarded location-specific cards go to their respective non-specific discard piles. For example, a location-specific Equipment card goes to the Equipment discard pile. Return face-down location-specific cards to the location-specific deck.

Locate all the location-specific Gang Member and Equipment cards with a house-shaped symbol with a number matching the new location. Shuffle these and deal them face-down into their respective location-specific Gang Member or Equipment slots. Flip over the top card in each slot. Location-specific Gang Members and Equipment cards do not have separate draw pile spaces on the board. When a new location-specific card is needed, flip over the top card in that slot. If there is none, leave the slot empty.

Ending the Game

The game ends at the conclusion of the round in which the airship reaches the end of the track (Home) OR the Loot card corresponding to the last location has been taken.

Play until the end of the round in which either of these conditions occurs. Once the game has ended, each player should add up his total Reputation. Be sure to note any special cards with endgame bonuses. Finally, count an additional Reputation point for every $2K worth of ingot tokens you possess. The player with the highest total Reputation is the winner. If there is a tie, the player with the most Gang Members is the winner.

Expert Rules

If you find the game too easy or just want an extra challenge, add the following EXPERT RULES:

1. During Setup, after determining the five locations for the game, remove all location-specific cards not matching the chosen locations. Place them back in the box. Separate remaining location-specific Gang Member and Equipment cards and shuffle them into the normal Gang Member and Equipment decks. There will be no location-specific decks.

2. Fill the Dock as normal, but fill the location-specific slots with cards from the normal decks.

3. EVERY Illegal action begins with one Alarm Die already in effect. Additional dice are added as normal.

Example of a Local Heist

Cards played to steal the Power Crystal from the Glacier Research Facility.

To begin with, the Power Defense can be ignored since Poison Gas does not depend on a power source. Weingart begins by playing the Guide, which bypasses the Poison Gas. He then plays the Extreme Explorer with the Drill. This gets him past the Ice and the Vault/Code (players must bypass either the Vault or the Code). Unfortunately, the Drill is Loud and incurs an Alarm die. Since the Guide does not count as part of the two-gang-member limit and cannot go to the Brig, Weingart sends the Boxer along for the ride. The Boxer does not really help accomplish the mission, but he can act as the fall guy if someone is caught. Had Weingart already used two Gang Members, adding the Boxer would have added yet another Alarm die --- not a very appealing prospect.

Finally, Weingart must roll the Alarm die --- he rolls a handcuffs result, which means a Gang Member has been nabbed by the Facility's Security Forces. Looks like the Boxer will be going to the Brig! A small price to pay, the heist attempt is still successful because the Extreme Explorer made it out with the Power Crystal. Master Criminal Donar Weingart takes the card and $4K worth of Ingot tokens. He sends the Guide out of the game, as Airship Crew cards can only be used once. Remember that the Guide could not have been sent to the Brig to satisfy the bad die roll. The Extreme Explorer and Drill remain in Weingart's play area until the end of the round when they return to his hand. This Location Board is not replaced, nor is the Power Defense card. At the end of the round, the airship moves all the way to the next location regardless of how many porthole spaces were left in Location Four's location tile. Only then can the Location Board be replaced along with the Power Defense card and all the cards in the Dock.