Spokes Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Initial Setup
• Setup
• How to Play
  • Example Turn
• Overtaking and Slipstreaming
  • Slipstream Example
  • Adrenaline Burst Example
• End of the Game
• Solo Modes and Variants
  • Team Mode Variant (4 and 6 players)
  • Two Bike Variant (2 & 3 players)
  • Solo Mode (1 Player)
• FAQ

Contents

• 1 Game Board in 4 parts
• 150 spokes in 6 different colours
• 6 Double-sided Player Boards
• 6 Bicycle Cylinders
• 6 Slipstream Tiles
• 6 Track Markers
• 1 Cloth Bag
• 6 Spoke Markers
• 6 Bike Markers (for Two Bike Variant)

Initial Setup

During the first setup of Spokes place six spokes, one of each colour, into the six plastic bags for each player, along with the wooden pieces and Slipstream Tile for that player. Do this even if playing with fewer than 6 players. Place the rest of the spokes in the cloth bag. At the end of each game, make sure each player bag has one of each colour spoke in it. This way the distribution of spokes on the board is always even, without too much or too little of one colour.

Setup

1. Assemble the board by slotting the 4 board pieces together.
2. Shake the cloth bag of spokes and spread them onto the board, pushing them into the gaps. There should be two left over. If they are both the same colour swap one for any other spoke on the board. Leave these in the middle of the board.
3. Each player takes a player board and a bag of spokes containing the player pieces matching the colour of their board.
4. Each player randomly adds their 6 spokes to their Player Board, places the Track Marker on '1', and makes sure their Slipstream Tile is on the Slipstream side (see Slipstreaming for more information).
5. The last player to go cycling is the start player. The player to the left of the start player places their Cyclist Cylinder on an empty space behind from the start line (the white and black line). Play will go around the board in an anti-clockwise direction, so it's best to place it as close to the start line as possible clockwise from the line.
6. Keep on going clockwise around the players until all players have placed their bicycle. Then you are ready to begin!

A note on playing Anticlockwise: In Spokes, just as in Velodrome cycling, players will go anti-clockwise around the board. To assist with remembering this, play also goes anti-clockwise around the table, and players spoke markers move anti-clockwise. All chevrons on the boards go in an anti-clockwise direction to remind players of this.

How to Play

On each players turn they do these three things in the following order:

1. Move their Spoke Marker 1, 2, or 3 spaces anti-clockwise around their wheel. On a players' first turn they choose where the marker starts.
2. Swap the last spoke they moved their marker over for a differently coloured one on the board which they can travel through (see 3).
3. Travel a single contiguous route of one colour only, which must include the spoke they just placed. They can only go over each spoke once. If they complete a lap they move their lap marker on one space. It is now the next player's turn.

Example Turn

1. Germany (Orange) moves their Spoke Marker 1 space. This means they must place their white spoke on the board. They could have moved 2 spaces to play dark blue, or 3 spaces to play yellow instead if they wished.
2. Germany swaps the last spoke their Spoke Marker jumped over, the white spoke, with the green spoke on the board. The green spoke goes where the white one was in the bike wheel.
3. Germany then moves along a white route which includes the spoke they just placed. They must travel over the colour they played, and they can stop at any point, provided they have gone over the spoke they placed. They cannot travel over any other colour. It is now the next players turn.

Overtaking and Slipstreaming

• Players can always travel through other players who are on their route, there is no blocking an overtaking player.
• Players cannot finish their turn on the same space as another player. If a player would end their turn on the same space as another player, instead they go back to the most recent empty space they travelled through and flip their Slipstream Tile to the Adrenaline Burst side (see the note below) or leave it on that side if it has already been flipped.

A player with a Slipstream Tile on the Adrenaline Burst side can flip it back over to the Slipstream side on a future turn to include a single spoke of a different colour in their route. This could be at the beginning, end, or during the middle of the route. It cannot be the spoke they placed.

Slipstream Example

1. Canada moves along the dark blue route and would end their turn on top of Germany.
2. Instead they move to the last empty space they moved over and flip their Slipstream Tile to the Adrenaline Burst side.

Adrenaline Burst Example

On a future turn Canada decides to use their Adrenaline Burst to include a green spoke in their yellow route. They immediately flip the tile back to the Slipstream side as soon as they go over green.

Note: In the rare event that a player lands on another player, and goes backwards to a space which is actually further ahead than the player they landed on, do not flip the Slipstream Tile. This can happen if a player cycles backwards for example. If in doubt, count the number of spokes needed for each player to complete a lap. The player with the fewest is further ahead. If they are equal flip the tile to its Adrenaline Burst side.

End of the Game

As soon as a player completes 3 laps that player wins!

Solo Modes and Variants

Team Mode Variant (4 and 6 players)

If playing with 4 or 6 players, players can be on a team with one other person. Use the reverse side of some of the Player Boards so teammates are the same country. Players should sit so there is one player between each teammate in a 4 player game, or two players between each teammate in a 6 player game. The rules are the same as the normal game, and as soon as one cyclist completes their third lap that team wins.

Two Bike Variant (2 & 3 players)

With 2 or 3 players, each player can control two bikes. Use the reverse of one Player Board so both bikes are from the same country. During setup each player places one bike, then each places their other bike, both in the usual order (clockwise from start player). This mode uses the Bike Markers to track which bikes have travelled last. On a player's turn, if there isn't a Bike Marker on either board, they move either of their cyclists as usual and place a Bike Marker on that cyclist's board. If there is a Bike Marker on one cyclist, they must move the cyclist without a Bike Marker, then remove the Bike Marker from the other board. As soon as one cyclist completes their third lap that player wins.

Solo Mode (1 Player)

The solo mode is a challenge to see if you can perform three laps with just 12 spokes. Setup the game as normal, then create a supply of 6 different coloured spokes from a not-in play bike. When you take a spoke from the board, discard it and take the matching spoke from this supply instead. If you've already taken that colour, leave that spoke slot empty. Any empty spoke slots in your bike should be completely ignored when moving the bike marker. If you can complete 3 laps before running out of spokes you have won!

FAQ

• Can I swap a spoke for one of the same colour? No, they must be different colours.
• Can I use a slipstream boost gained on an earlier turn to move an extra spoke, land on a player, then gain the boost again for a future turn? Yes — slipstream boosts can be chained on consecutive turns in this way.
• Can I go backwards? Yes, the only restrictions on travel are spokes must be the same colour as the one you placed, and you cannot use the same spoke more than once.