Triathlon Series Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• The Setup
  • Start!
• The Management Phase
  • Event Cards
  • Game Flow
• The Skills
  • Training Decks
• Developing Technical Skills and Levels
  • The Timeline
  • Special Cards
• The Splits
  • Swim Split
  • Bike Split
  • Run Split
• The Race Day
• The Transition
  • How to Play the Transition
  • The Split
• The Final Sprint
• The Finish Line

Game Components

1. Game Board (1)
2. Swim Training Deck (33)
3. Bike Training Deck (33)
4. Run Training Deck (33)
5. Mindfulness Tokens (4)
6. Energy Tokens (4)
7. Individual Boards (4)
8. Ranking Cards (3)
9. Event Cards Deck (36)
10. Transition Cards Deck (12)
11. Dice Pool (12)
12. Timeline Board (1)
13. Time Tracker Token (1)
14. Time Penalty Tokens (20)
15. Die Tokens (20)

Age 14+. Playing time 90'+. Players 2-4.

The Setup

This turn based game takes place in your real life. You are an amateur triathlete struggling to find the time for training and steady your mental and energy state to be as ready as you possible can for the race.

The game-flow is divided into two major phases.

A card based management phase where you need to develop:

• your technical skills - swim / bike / run
• your energy level
• your mindfulness level

A dice based triathlon phase, when you use all skills gained during the management phase.

The first and the second phase alternate all throughout the game.

Start!

1. Place all the components as pictured on the cover.
2. You receive an individual board, one energy and one mindfulness token.
3. Place the Time Tracker Token on the 00:06 position on the Timeline Board.
4. The game starts when you turn over the first Event card of the pack.

At the beginning of the game, you receive an individual board and two tokens. These tokens must be put on your board at their corresponding axes, in the first position, on the left side.

Your initial level of dice is RED - RED - RED (technical skill - energy level - mindfulness level) and your goal is to find ways to become GREEN - GREEN - GREEN.

Level of dice:

• RED: beginner
• YELLOW: intermediate
• GREEN: advanced

The Management Phase

After placing all components, you receive an individual board and two tokens (energy and mindfulness). These tokens must be put on your board at their corresponding axes, in the first position, on the left side.

Your initial level of dice is RED - RED - RED (technical skill - energy level - mindfulness level) and your goal is to find ways to become GREEN - GREEN - GREEN.

The game starts when you turn over the first Event card of the pack. Read it aloud and place it face up so that the other players can see it.

If the card is an Individual Event, you play it like this:

1. You draw a card from one of the suggested Training decks that you keep to yourself (icon on the left - swim, bike or run).
2. You adjust the energy and mindfulness levels (icons on the right).

If it is a Group Event, all players have to follow the steps above. Then your turn is over.

Event Cards

Event cards help you collect cards from the Training packs and can increase and decrease the energy and mindfulness levels.

Group Event card (example: "After Race Party"):

• All players draw a card from one of the suggested Training decks (1 card from the SWIM Training Deck or 1 card from the BIKE Training Deck).
• All players adjust their energy level (move the token two spaces to the left, within the limit of the board).

Individual Event card (example: "Be Yourself"):

• YOU draw a card from the suggested Training deck (1 card from the BIKE Training Deck).
• YOU adjust the mindfulness level (move the token one space to the right).

Game Flow

1. First Management Phase
2. Triathlon Start - T0
3. Swim Split
4. Swim Ranking
5. Second Management Phase
6. Swim/Bike Transition - T1
7. Bike Split
8. Bike Ranking
9. Last Management Phase
10. Bike/Run Transition - T2
11. Run Split
12. Run Ranking
13. The Final Sprint
14. The Finish Line

IMPORTANT: You have to go through Transition, Split and Ranking before passing the turn to the next player. Triathlon Start (T0) is played as a Transition (T1 & T2).

The Skills

Before drawing an Event card, you can use the collected Training cards.

Training cards illustrate five types of icons: Swim, Bike, Run, Energy and Mindfulness.

To develop your technical skills and increase your energy and mindfulness levels, you discard any combination of Training cards, following these rules:

Change	Cost in discarded cards	Result
Swim die: from RED to YELLOW	3 Swim icons	Swim die moves from RED to YELLOW
Swim die: from YELLOW to GREEN	3 Swim icons	Swim die moves from YELLOW to GREEN
Bike die: from RED to YELLOW	6 Bike icons	Bike die moves from RED to YELLOW
Bike die: from YELLOW to GREEN	6 Bike icons	Bike die moves from YELLOW to GREEN
Run die: from RED to YELLOW	3 Run icons	Run die moves from RED to YELLOW
Run die: from YELLOW to GREEN	3 Run icons	Run die moves from YELLOW to GREEN

• Energy: any card with the Energy icon means moving the token one space to the right - from RED to GREEN.
• Mindfulness: any card with the Mindfulness icon means moving the token one space to the right - from RED to GREEN.

Training Decks

Each training deck contains:

• Swim Deck
• Bike Deck
• Run Deck

*If the deck is exhausted, you can reshuffle the used cards into a new deck.

Swim Training Session card: 1 Swim icon.

Bike Training Session card: 1 Bike icon.

Run Training Session card: 1 Run icon.

Personal Trainer card: 3 Bike icons OR 2 Run icons.

Developing Technical Skills and Levels

You can only develop your Technical skills gradually (first RED - YELLOW, then YELLOW - GREEN).

You cannot pass from RED to YELLOW and YELLOW to GREEN during the same round. Once your level is up a color, you receive a die token of the same color that you have to place on your board on the designated Technical skill.

Only the INJURY (Individual Event) card can decrease your level of Technical skills. As a consequence, ALL die tokens that you have on the board are changed to the color shown on the INJURY card (i.e. all die tokens GREEN to RED).

Your Energy and Mindfulness levels CAN grow from RED to GREEN during the same round.

One full round of a Management phase is complete after the last competitor plays an Event card. After each round, the time tracker token moves a space, from 00:06 towards START. Before drawing an Event card you can modify the time left till the race day by discarding the Timeline card and moving the time-tracker one space forward or backward, according to your strategy (see Timeline sketch).

The Timeline

• After the split is played, the time-tracker token returns to the first position 00:06.
• After each round, the time tracker token moves a space, from 00:06 towards START.
• Every time the time tracker token reaches START 00:00, the upcoming player starts the race.

Special Cards

The manual shows the following cards with their icon requirements (the icons under each card):

• Workout Bonus - Energy icon + Bike icon.
• Mindfulness & Energy - Mindfulness icon + Energy icon.
• Tri-Mentor - three Mindfulness icons + three Energy icons.
• Timeline - Before drawing an Event card you can modify the time left till the race day by discarding the Timeline card.
• Photo Finish - See The Finish Line.

The Splits

Swim Split

To improve your SWIM skills, you can collect cards with the Swim symbol from the SWIM Training deck when an Event card allows it.

You can also find cards with the Swim symbol in the Bike and Run Training deck (Personal Trainer and Workout Bonus cards), but not as many.

Swim (Start T0 / Swim Split / Swim Split Ranking) is the first to play and starts when the Time Tracker Token gets to 00:00 for the first time.

Bike Split

Bike is the most exhausting split and, to be able to develop the necessary abilities, you need to double the number of trainings collected. Penalties collected during this round are also double.

To improve your BIKE skills, you can save cards with the Bike symbol from the Bike Training deck, when an Event card allows it.

The cards with the Bike symbol are also available in the Swim and Run Training packs (Personal Trainer and Workout Bonus cards), but not as many.

Bike (Transition T1 / Bike Split / Bike Split Ranking) plays second and starts when the time-tracker reaches 00:00 for the second time.

Run Split

To increase your RUN skills, you can collect cards with the Run symbol from the Run Training deck, when an Event card allows it.

More cards with the Run symbol are available in the Swim and Bike Training packs (Personal Trainer and Workout Bonus cards), but not as many.

Run (Transition T2 / Run Split / Run Split Ranking) plays third and starts when the time-tracker reaches 00:00 for the third time.

This round is followed by the Final Sprint.

The Race Day

Every time the time tracker token reaches START (00:00) the upcoming player starts the race. To make it even easier, let's assume it's you!

YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH TRANSITION, SPLIT AND RANKING BEFORE PASSING THE TURN TO THE NEXT PLAYER.

At this point, you take from the dice pool three dice corresponding to Technical Skill - Energy - Mindfulness colors that you can see on your individual board. These are the dice you will use in the transition phase.

The Transition

Each Transition phase is played as follows: you turn over three transition cards valid for all players. Each of these cards has a number in the middle (0, 1, 2) and icons on the lower side.

All you have to do is to roll your dice with the combination of the numbers written on the cards. After each successful roll, any die-card match is taken out of the game.

The transition (preparation for the split) is the phase when you can lose time, action marked in the game by the adding of a fourth die.

• If you succeed on the first roll, you enter the race without delay and keep just the three dice.
• If you succeed from the second roll, you add a GREEN die.
• If you succeed from the third roll, you add a YELLOW die.
• Otherwise, you get a RED die.

How to Play the Transition

Before the first roll you have the opportunity to upturn your matching chance. You can get rid of one, two or even all transition cards paying the "price" illustrated on each card by discarding some of the Training cards gained so far. (The price example shown in the manual is one Swim icon + one Mindfulness icon.) This way it will be easier to hit one or two cards, using three dice.

Results of the transition:

• If you succeed on the first roll: no die to add.
• If you succeed on the second roll: you add a GREEN die.
• If you succeed on the third roll: you add a YELLOW die.
• After that: you add a RED die.

You have to roll your dice the following combination: the three transition cards are 0, 1, 0. Your dice correspond to your individual board: GREEN, RED and YELLOW.

Worked example from the manual:

• First roll: GREEN 1, RED 2, YELLOW 1. Remaining cards: two cards with 0.
• Second roll: GREEN 0, RED 1. Remaining card: one card with 0.
• Third roll: RED 2. No match, so you get a RED transition die.
• Your dice for the split are: GREEN, RED, YELLOW and RED.

The Split

You play the split with the dice you got from the transition (three or four dice). Roll all dice at the same time. The sum of all dice represents your place at this round. Check the ranking card corresponding to the round and adjust your energy and mindfulness levels as per corresponding place. At this time you also receive the time penalty token.

Worked example from the manual: the dice roll GREEN 0, RED 2, YELLOW 1 and RED 2, so the place is 5. The ranking card for that place gives the level adjustments, and the player receives a time penalty token (2).

If you are awesome enough to roll 0-0-0 or 0-0-0-0 you score "season's best" and you erase all the delays you accumulated so far (during all rounds). The energy and mindfulness levels remain unaffected. After, you pass the floor to the next player.

After all the players follow the sequence Transition - Split - Ranking, the time-tracker token returns to the first position (00:06) and the entire process is rerun for another Management phase. The first split is Swim, then Bike and Run.

The Final Sprint

After the Run split with the updated ranking (of energy and mindfulness levels, and delays) the final sprint takes place. This is the last round, played as a transition with a little twist. Instead of another die, you get a time penalty token.

Once again, you chose from the dice pool the ones corresponding to your board (run-energy-mindfulness). You turn over three transition cards and try to roll the dice with the combination of numbers written on the cards, with a minimum number of trials. After each successful roll, any die-card match is taken out of the game.

• If you make it from the first roll, you get no time penalty token.
• If you succeed from the second roll, you get time penalty token value "1".
• On the third trial, you get a time penalty token value "2".
• After that, you get the time penalty token value "3".

BEFORE the first roll you have the opportunity to upturn your matching chance. You can get rid of one, two or even all transition cards paying the "price" illustrated on each card by discarding some of the Training cards gained so far. (The price example shown in the manual is one Swim icon + one Mindfulness icon.) This way it will be easier to hit one or two cards, using three dice, just like in the Transition phase.

The Finish Line

After the Final Sprint, all players count their time penalty tokens and the winner is revealed.

If there are two players with the same overall ranking position and one of them has the Photo Finish card (there is only one Photo Finish card in the game, in the Run Training pack), he or she wins the position and the other player drops a place.

THE PLAYER WITH THE LEAST PENALTIES IS THE TRIATHLON WINNER.

To make it even easier, let's assume it's you!