The A-Team: B.A. Lends a Hand in the Race for the Formula
The A-Team: B.A. Lends a Hand in the Race for the Formula Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
Make your way into the Vault of a heavily guarded fortress, capture the secret formula, and make your way out again.
Equipment
- Game board
- 35 Action cards: 5 YOU ARE TEMPORARILY SIDETRACKED..., 5 ROVING GUARD CATCHES YOU..., 4 B.A. TELLS YOU WHERE IT IS..., 4 B.A. SMOOTHS THE WAY..., 5 B.A. GIVES YOU A SHOVE, 4 WEAPONS LAB, 4 SECRET WEAPONS LAB, 4 TOP SECRET WEAPONS LAB
- 4 Character cards (The A-Team Members)
- 4 plastic bases
- 1 secret formula card
- 1 red die
- 1 green die
Set Up
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Place the secret formula card on the VAULT space in the center of the board.
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Shuffle the Action cards and deal 3, face down to each player. Set the remaining cards face down by the side of the board to form a draw pile.
Your Action cards are your own secret information. Don't let anyone see any of your cards until you play them.
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Place each of the Character cards into a plastic base. (The Characters are made to face the direction in which they are moving — either in or out of the fortress.) Each player chooses one and places it, facing "in", onto START.
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Each player rolls the dice. Whoever rolls the highest number goes first. Play proceeds, in turn, to the first player's left.
Before playing, please read through all the following rules.
Playing
Except as noted below, on your turn you will do two things:
- Roll one die and move your character ahead the number of spaces you roll.
- If you like, play one of your Action cards.
It doesn't matter in what order you do these things; you can roll the die first or you can play one of your Action cards first.
Part One of the game is getting into the VAULT. The following is an explanation of the spaces and Action cards that will get you there.
Spaces
Occupied spaces. If you land on a space on your turn that's occupied by an opponent, you must immediately battle that opponent. Each of you rolls one die. The higher roll wins and moves ahead the difference between the two dice.
Example: You roll 6 and your opponent rolls 4. You win and move ahead 2 spaces (6–4=2). Follow the directions on the space where you land only if the battle occurred on your turn.
In case of a tie, roll again.
This rule does not apply to SAFETY ZONES or GUARD spaces. These spaces may be occupied by more than one player at a time.
Guard spaces. If you land on a GUARD space on your turn, you must immediately try to escape by battling the guard. To battle, roll both dice. The red die is the guard's; the green is yours. The higher roll wins. If the guard wins, you don't move. On your next turn, you battle the guard again to try to escape. If you win, you move ahead the difference between the two dice and follow the directions on the space where you land. Example: the guard rolls 2 and you roll 5. You win and move ahead 3 spaces (5–2=3).
In case of a tie, roll again.
a) If you land on a GUARD space that's occupied, you ignore that player and just battle the guard.
b) If you land on a GUARD space during someone else's turn, you must wait until your next turn to battle the guard. (How this can happen is explained under THE ACTION CARDS.)
c) You cannot use an Action card to leave a GUARD space. You can escape from a GUARD space in two ways: (1) by successfully battling the guard, or (2) by being challenged by a player on a TV MONITOR space and winning the challenge.
Narrow passageways. Narrow passageways count as one space. You can land on or move through an unoccupied NARROW PASSAGEWAY. You cannot, however, move through one that's occupied. Stop moving as soon as you land on it — even if you haven't moved the full extent of your roll. Then battle the opponent who's there. Each of you rolls one die. The higher roll wins and moves ahead the difference between the two dice. Again, follow the directions on the space where you land only if the battle occurred during your turn.
In case of a tie, roll again.
TV Monitor spaces. If you land on an unoccupied TV MONITOR space on your turn, you may — if you wish — battle an opponent. You can battle any opponent who is NOT on a SAFETY ZONE. You remain where you are. Then you and the opponent each roll one die. The higher roll wins and moves ahead the difference between the two dice. Again, follow the directions for the space where you land only if the battle occurred during your turn.
In case of a tie, roll again.
If you land on an occupied TV MONITOR space, battle the opponent who's there. You cannot battle another opponent.
Roll Again spaces. Roll again only if you land on this space on your turn. If you land on ROLL AGAIN during someone else's turn (because of a battle, for example), you do NOT roll again. On your next turn, roll once to move away — (or use a card to move).
Safety Zone spaces. If you land on a SAFETY ZONE, you are safe from all threats. While you are on a SAFETY ZONE you cannot be challenged to battle and no one can play an Action card on you.
Remember, more than one player may occupy this space at a time.
The Vault space. You do not have to land on this space by exact count; stop moving as soon as you reach it. (See PART TWO: REACHING THE VAULT.)
The Action Cards
You may play an Action card once — and only once — any time during your turn. Action cards are played face up beside the draw pile onto a discard pile. (As you'll see, sometimes Action cards are played in front of an opponent.) Whenever you play a card, take the top card from the draw pile and add it to your hand.
Instead of playing an Action card, you may discard one face up and draw another card to replace it.
Most of the Action cards are self-explanatory. They help you move your character ahead. The following cards need some explanation:
YOU ARE TEMPORARILY SIDETRACKED... You can play this against anyone who is NOT on a SAFETY ZONE. Place it face-up in front of the player. Instead of taking his or her next turn, the player discards it and does nothing else. (As you may discover later, you can play this card on yourself for strategic purposes.)
ROVING GUARD CATCHES YOU... You may play this card against anyone who is NOT on a SAFETY ZONE. You may play it against an opponent who is already on a GUARD space to send him or her back or you may even play it on yourself!
WEAPONS LAB/SECRET WEAPONS LAB/TOP SECRET WEAPONS LAB. Different symbols appear on each of these cards. The LAB spaces on the board have matching symbols. If you begin your turn on a LAB space — or land on one by rolling the die — look to see if you have a LAB card with a matching symbol. If you do, you may play that card to the discard pile and move your character ahead the number of spaces on the card.
Note that the ULTIMATE WEAPONS LAB space shows all three LAB symbols. This means that you can move from this space by using any LAB card.
Part Two: Reaching the Vault
In this part of the game, the rules are pretty much the same but the pace is different. Because only one player will have the secret formula and everyone else wants it!
a) You do not have to land on the VAULT space by exact count; just stop moving when you reach it.
b) The first player to reach the VAULT space retrieves the secret formula and slides it into the slot on his or her mover, turning the mover so that it's facing "out." Then that player immediately rolls both dice, moves the total roll of the dice back towards the entrance of the fortress, and follows the directions on the space where he or she lands.
c) Everyone else must reach the VAULT before he or she can pursue the player with the formula. So roll one die and move as usual until you reach it. Then wait until your next turn before you leave the VAULT in pursuit of the player with the formula.
After you reach the VAULT, you will roll both dice on your turn for the rest of the game, but continue to play only one Action card per turn.
d) If the VAULT is occupied when you reach it, immediately battle that opponent in the same manner described under OCCUPIED SPACES.
e) If you reach the VAULT by playing an Action card without rolling the die, you must wait until your next turn to roll both dice and leave. You cannot use an Action card to leave the VAULT.
f) If you haven't reached the VAULT, but land on a space with the player who has the formula, you immediately battle that player in the same manner as before. Even if YOU win the battle, you do not capture the formula. You must reach the VAULT before you can try to capture it.
g) Don't bother to play a ROVING GUARD CATCHES YOU card on a player who has just reached the VAULT and who has no such space to move back to.
Capturing the Secret Formula from an Opponent
If you reach the VAULT and discover that the secret formula is gone, your goal is to capture it from the player who has taken it. To do this, first you must land on that opponent's space. You do NOT have to land on it by exact count; you may stop as soon as you reach it. Each of you rolls one die. The higher roll wins possession of the formula. Then the winner must roll both dice and move ahead with the formula — the total of the two dice. Follow the directions on the space where you land only if the battle occurred during your turn.
If you land on a GUARD space that's occupied by the player with the formula, first battle that player for possession. Then, whether you win or lose, you must battle the guard to try to escape from the GUARD space.
Draw Pile
If the draw pile runs out, re-shuffle the discard pile and turn it face down to start a new one.
Winning
The winner is The A-Team member who gets the secret formula out of the fortress.