Traffic Jam
Traffic Jam Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 72 transport cards
- 6 wooden cars
- 3 time-of-day cards
Transport card parts: joy points (top left); time of day (morning / day / night, shown at the top right); type of transport; size of transport (icon at bottom left); condition for receiving joy points (icon at bottom right).
Time-of-day cards (Morning, Day, Night) are double-sided; players may use either side in the game as they see fit.
Time of Day
You can set off on a trip in the morning, during the day, or at night.
The game has 24 cards with morning traffic, 26 cards with daytime traffic and 22 cards with night traffic.
During the day traffic is usually heavier, but you can get more joy points from the trip. At night there are fewer cars, but a night trip brings less joy. A morning trip is the most balanced option.
Important: the traffic on the morning, daytime and night roads does not affect each other. A traffic jam may occur on one road, on two, on all roads, or on none of them.
Setup
- Give each player 1 wooden car (players choose the colour themselves).
- Place the 3 time-of-day cards (morning, day, night) on the table in a column so that to the right of each there is free space for several cards. These will be the morning, daytime and night roads.
- Shuffle all the cards and deal 6 to each player. Place the remaining cards next to the time-of-day cards. This is the transport deck. Leave free space next to the transport deck for discarding played cards.
Example setup for 4 players (illustrated): each player has a car in front of their hand of cards; the deck and a discard space are on the left; the three time-of-day cards with their roads are in the centre.
The Trip to the Country and Back
The game consists of 3 rounds.
Each round of the game consists of a trip to the country and a trip to the city (there and back).
In each round the players play 6 cards. 3 of them are played during the trip to the country, and the remaining 3 during the return to the city.
Each trip consists of the following stages.
1. The First Vehicles Appear on the Roads
Players each choose 1 card from their hand and place it face down in front of them. When everyone is ready, the cards are revealed and placed on the corresponding roads. The order in which cards are added does not matter. This is how players learn about the traffic on the roads before deciding at what time it is best for them to travel.
2. Unexpected Traffic and Choice of Transport for the Trip
Each player chooses two cards from their hand, places them face down in front of them, and puts their car figure on one of these two cards. In this way players mark the transport they use for the trip and which brings them joy points depending on the traffic on the road. The second card unexpectedly adds a new vehicle to the road, of which players did not know when choosing their transport for the trip.
When all players are ready, reveal the cards and add them to the corresponding roads. The order in which they are added does not matter.
Important: keep the car figures on the cards until the end of the trip.
3. Assessing Traffic on the Road
Determine how many spaces on the road are occupied by the vehicles that went out in the morning, during the day and in the evening. Add up the numbers that define the size of the transport ([size 0] / [size 1] / [size 2]) on all the cards of each road, and compare the total with the number of players. If the sum is equal to or less than the number of players, the traffic on the road is considered FREE FLOWING. If the sum is greater than the number of players, a TRAFFIC JAM has occurred on the road.
4. Receiving Joy Points
Some transport cards bring joy points when traffic is free flowing [free-flowing icon], and some, on the contrary, when it is in a traffic jam [traffic-jam icon].
Each player checks the joy-point condition on the transport card marked by their car figure. If the traffic on the road where the card is located matches this condition, the player takes back their car figure, takes the marked card and places it in front of them. If not, the transport card stays where it is, and the player only takes back their car figure.
Transport cards left on the roads are placed in the discard pile. The time-of-day cards stay in their places.
Note: place the cards that brought the player joy points in front of you in a face-down pile. This is the player's victory pile.
Example of Scoring for 4 Players
Key: a star icon means the player receives joy points; a crossed-out circle means the player does not receive joy points.
- Morning road: total transport size 1+1+1+1=4, traffic FREE FLOWING. Cards shown: Pig cabriolet (3 joy points), Cat buggy (3), Giraffe truck (4), and a red car with a car figure on it (2); the joy-point condition is met on the last card (star).
- Daytime road: total transport size 1+1+1=3, traffic FREE FLOWING. Cards shown: 3, 4 and 3 joy-point cards; the last card (yellow car) does not receive joy points (crossed-out icon).
- Night road: total transport size 1+2+2+0+0=5, a TRAFFIC JAM occurred. Cards shown: 3, 4, 3, 2 and 2 joy-point cards; the last two (balloon, green car) receive joy points (star).
New Round
After the players have played 6 cards each, completing trips to the country and back to the city, a new round begins. Deal 6 transport cards to each player again and make new trips to the country and back.
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of the 3rd round.
Players count the joy points on the transport cards in their personal victory piles. The player who scored the most joy points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most transport cards in their victory pile wins. If the tie still remains, all these players are declared winners.
Have a good trip!
Description of Transport Cards
Van
- Size on the road: 2.
- Brings joy points when traffic is FREE FLOWING.
Cabriolet and Buggy
- Size on the road: 1.
- Bring joy points when traffic is FREE FLOWING.
Truck
- Size of the first truck on the road: 1. Size of each subsequent truck on the same road: 2.
- Brings joy points when traffic is FREE FLOWING.
Bus
- Regardless of the number of buses on one road, their size is 1 (the card icon shows 1 for the first bus and 0 for the others).
- Bus cards are stacked on top of each other.
- Brings joy points when traffic is FREE FLOWING.
Motorcycle
- If there is no other motorcycle on the same road, the size of the motorcycle is 0.
- If there is another motorcycle on the same road, the size of the motorcycle is 1.
- Brings joy points when traffic is FREE FLOWING or in a TRAFFIC JAM.
- (A second motorcycle condition line is printed as: brings joy points when traffic is FREE FLOWING.)
Hot-Air Balloon
- Size on the road: 0.
- Brings joy points when traffic is FREE FLOWING or in a TRAFFIC JAM.
- Points are awarded if there is no other hot-air balloon on the same road.
Ice Cream Truck
- Size on the road: 1.
- Brings joy points in a TRAFFIC JAM.
- Points are awarded if there is no other ice cream truck on the same road.