ࡱ> Y bjbjWW %==]$`bbbbbb$````<@ o/`(Margin 0.5 all around) TABLE OF CONTENTS Congratulations! .......................................... 1 Objectives...................................................... 2 Robots........................................................... 2 Cards.............................................................. 2 Laustenfownd .............................................. 2 Getting Started Guide.................................. 2 Setup............................................................. 3 Choosing Robots ....................................... 3 TakingTums ................................................. 4 Scanning for Items .......................................6 Energy and Stealing. ...................................6 Winning ........................................................7 XJGT Rascal Reference Manual.................8 Game Levels...................................................8 Cards...............................................................9 Item Cards .................................................... 9 Special Cards ............................................. 10 Luck Cards ................................................. 10 Global Events ............................................. 11 Actions ........................................................12 Moving........................................................ 12 Teleporting ................................................. 12 GoingHome ................................................ 13 Control Options ....................................... 13 Stealing and Shields. ............................... 14 Damage....................................................... 14 Variations................................................... 15 Strategy Hints............................................ 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------ CONGRATULATIONS! And thank you for purchasing the new and improved Robotics Unlimited XJGT Rascal(TM) _ the latest in robot technology. We're sure that you'll be overjoyed as you experience the thrill and excitement of hunting for r'are artifacts on the distant planet Laustenfownd from the safety of your own home. With our astounding, patented E-Z Control(TM) software, you and up to three of your friends can control your Rascals with an ordinary personal computer. Amaze your friends As our revolutionary IDIP (Interplanetary Digital Image Processing) System(R) shows the Rascals exploits on Laustenfownd in living color. Because of the danger inherent to scavenging, our patented E-Z Control software keeps you constanfly apprised of your Rascal's physical condition as well as the ever-changing operating conditions on Laustenfownd The artifacts you'll need to find are assigned by Robotics Unlimited's patented Random Supply and Demand Generator(R) at the beginning of every mission. Be the first scavenger to find and return home with all of your assigned artifacts, and Robotics Unlimited's founder and president, Roy Rascal himself will personally send you an electronic message of congratulation. Good luck and happyscavenging. 1 OBJECTIVES Robot Rascals is a game for two to four scavenger hunters that combines the best elements of a computer strategy game and a multi-player board game. Scavengers search for artifacts that are randomly assigned through the use of item cards, while game play is affected by luck cards and random "global events" controlled by the computer. The winner is the first player to return home with all of the artifacts shown on the item cards in his or her possession. The game can be broken down into three basic elements: Robots Each scavenger in Robot Rascals controls a Robot Rascal. The robots are used to rove around the planet Laustenfownd looking for items. All robots have the same abilities: they can locate items, steal items from other robots, and erect shields that protect their items from being stolen by other robots. Cards There are two sets of cards used in Robot Rascals. The Item deck represents artifacts that can be found on the surface of Laustenfownd. The luck cards give players the chance to improve their hands, often at the expense of other players. Laustenfownd This is the world, the "board", where you hunt for items. The computer displays an overview of Laustenfownd on the left and an enlarged map of the area around your robot in the center. During your turn you use the joystick to move your robot around the board in search of the items shown on the item cards you hold. GETTING STARTED GUIDE This section is an overview of how to play a beginners game of Robot Rascals for players who want to get started quickly. For detailed information on all aspects of the game including the standard and advanced levels, and adding new twists to Robot Rascals read the "XJGT Rascal Reference Manual" later in this manual. 2 To start the beginners game of Robot Rascals, first boot the game disk by following the instructions on the Command Summary card. While the game loads, use the instructions in the following sections to set up the rest of the game. Setup Begin with the deck of cards labelled "Luck Cards" and remove the following: "Pass the Trash Right," "Pass the Trash Left," and all three of the "Force a Blind Swap" cards. Shuffle the remainder of the luck deck and place them face down (for a super-beginner game where hands do not change after the deal, remove the whole deck of luck cards). Remove all four white cards from the "Item Cards" deck: "Killer Kard," "Cosmic Cheat," and both of the "Wild Cards". Shuffle the remaining item cards and deal 4 to each scavenger. Put the remaining item cards face down, then take out the top card and place it face up to start the discard pile. When the game finishes loading press the joystick button to accept the beginner level. Next select the number of players by pushing the joystick forward or pulling back to change the number of players, and press the joystick button when you are satisfied. Choosing Robots Now each player gets to prepare for the game. Don't worry about who will be player 1, player 2, and so on. The computer picks a random playing order for each round of turns. 1. Each player enters his or her name (either type it in or follow the scrolling instructions at the bottom of the screen and use the joystick). 2. Each person chooses a Robot Rascal (just follow the scrolling instructions; there are 10 to choose from) and selects the energy level the Rascal will be allotted at the beginning of each turn. (Leave it set at six for your first game. You can change it later to balance games between experts and beginners. The higher a player's energy allotment relative to other players, the easier it is to win.) 3. Each player picks a color for his or her robot. 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Taking Turns After everyone has chosen a robot, the computer announces a global event in effect for the first round and picks a player to go first. Each round, the computer randomly changes the order in which players take their turns. During a turn, first take a luck card, follow the instructions on it, then use the joystick to move your robot up, down, left, right, or diagonally on the map in the center of the Screen. The center map shows a blownup view of your robot and its immediate vicinity. The map to the left shows the entire playfield on Laustenfownd, with your robot identified as a dot that flashes twice as fast as the other players' robots. (See the illustration Of Laustenfownd below.) Your robot moves slower in the boulders and the swamps (and can be damaged in the standard and advanced games). If you're unsure of what a luck card lets you do, see "Cards" in the "XJGT Rascal Reference Manual" section for a full explanation of all the Luck cards. 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Watson's Wood Your Rascal can move at full speed with the chance of damage four times greater than on the plain | | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X XXXXXXXXXXXXXX | XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXX X X XXXXXXXXXX XX |X XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX X X XXXXXXXXXXXXXX VXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXX X Open plain X XXXXXX XXXX XXXX !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! X The Dismal Swamp Your pascal can move at X T XXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX T !!!!!!!!!!! X Your Rascal can move at a full speed and stands X XXXXXX XXXX XXXX !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!<-X----quarter of its normal little chance of being---------- X--------> XXXXXXXXX XXXX !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!X speed in the swamp and damaged while moving X XXXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX !!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! X damage is three times as through the plain regions X XXXXXXXXXXX !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!X likely as in Watson's Wood X XXXXXXXXXXX !!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!X Home X XXXXX H H !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! X There are four robot X XXXXX T !!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! X homes at the center of X XXXXX H H !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! X Laustenfownd. clustered X XXXXX ^ !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! X around 1 single teleport X XXXXX |____________________________ X___terminal. See "Actions XXXXXXXXXXXXX X for a full explanation of Bunten's Boulders XXXXXXXXXXXXX X using teleport terminals. Your Rascal can move at XXXXXXXXXXXXX X Teleport Terminal half speed and damage is---- X----------> XXXXX X There are five teleport twice as likely as in XXXXXXXX T XXXXXX XXXX T <--------------- X---terminals on Watson's Wood. XXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXX X Laustenfownd. One at the XXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXX X center and four at XXXXXXXX XX ^ XX XXXX X opposing positions on the X XX | XX XXXX XXXX X playfleld. See "Actions" X XX | XX XXXX XXXX X for a full explanation of X XX | XX XXXX XXXX X using teleport terminals. X XX | XX XXXX XXXX X XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX | Lake The XJGT pascal is not an amphibious unit and cannot enter lakes. Getting caught in a lake after a "Lakes Dried Up" global event randomly teleports your pascal to a new location. Laustenfownd You can take shortcuts on Laustenfownd by moving into one of the five teleport terminals. When the robot steps onto a teleport terminal, the terminal activates and begins radiating teleport energy. Use the joystick to point the energy beam in the direction you want to teleport, then push the joystick button to send the Rascal to the receiving teleport 5 in the chosen direction. You can teleport to any corner terminal from the center terminal, and from a corner terminal to the center or to either adjacent corner terminal. Scanning For Items To search for a particular item, stop moving, press the joystick button, and when the robot control menu appears, select SCAN by pressing the button again. To select the item you are scanning for, move the joystick and choose the icon onscreen that matches the icon in the upper right-hand corner of one of your item cards. Press the joystick button and your robot scans for that item. The faster your robot rotates while scanning, the closer you are to the item. When your Rascal finishes scanning it points in the direction of the item and the word up, down, right, or left appears in the message box. Keep moving and scanning until your robot locates the item and pulls it in with a tractor beam. Energy and Stealing All actions like moving, scanning, and teleporting cost energy unless a global event that's in effect says otherwise (see "Global Events" below). When a robot's energy bar disappears that player's turn is up. You can end a turn early by selecting Quit from the robot control menu. As long as the robot is not in a home base at the center of Laustenfownd, the remaining energy can be saved for the next turn or it can be used to put shields around the robot. Each shield costs one energy unit. Shields can be knocked down by other robots by bumping into the shielded robot. Each bump costs the attacking robot one energy unit and has a 50% chance of knocking down one shield. After all the shields are down items can be stolen from the defenseless robot by bumping it again. (One more thing, it costs energy to enter home and your Rascal's battery doesn't work there, but no one can steal from it while it is there.) 6 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x Information-Shows the Rascal who is currently taking a x x x x turn, the global event in effect, and the current turn x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x Control- This is an x x x x enlarged view of the x x x x play--field window that x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x shows your robot and x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x Playfield - x x it's immediate sur- x x Status - x x x x Shows the x x roundings. The x x Displays an x x x x playfield on x x Rascal always appears x x enlarged view x x x x Laustenfownd x x at Home on the first x x representation x x x x x x turn. For subsequent x x of your robot x x x x x x turns it appears x x and it's physical x x x x x x where you left it on x x condition. x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x the last turn. x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x Hold - Shows the collected artifacts x x x x stored in your robot's hold x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x Messages - Shows helpful information about the operating x x x x condition of your Rascal and game play in general. Watch this x x x x area during your turn for helpful messages from x x x x Robotics Unlimited. x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Winning The first player who collects all of the items shown on the item cards they currently hold and returns home with them wins. The winning player must press the Win Key (see your Command Summary card) to be proclaimed the winner. If a player presses the Win Key by mistake, press the Oh-No-You-Don't key (see your Command Summary card). Players who jump the gun have their turn terminated and their Rascal stripped of its power and zapped to a random location on Laustenfownd. 7 XJGT RASCAL REFERENCE MANUAL Game Levels There are three game levels in Robot Rascals: beginner, standard, and advanced. Beginner -- At the beginner level Rascals cannot be damaged, their tractor beams are three times stronger than at the advanced level (so it's easier to find things), items can't be placed or thrown into the lakes, and only good global events occur. All special (white) artifact cards (Killer Kard, Cosmic Cheat, and both Wild Cards) should be removed from the item card deck. "Pass the Trash Left," "Pass the Trash Right," and all three "Force a Swap" cards should be removed from the luck deck. (For a super-beginner game in which hands do not change after the deal, don't use the luck cards at all.) Standard -- At the standard level Rascals have half the chance of being damaged as they do at the advanced level, items can't be in the lake, tractor beams are twice as strong as at the advanced level, and the "No Home," "Items Reversed," and "Lakes Dried Up" global events don't occur. The "Killer Kard" should be removed from the item deck and both "Pass the Trash" cards should be removed from the Luck deck. Advanced -- At the advanced level everything goes. The full deck of item and luck cards should be used, any global event can occur, items can begin in lakes or can be dropped in the lakes during play (just stand next to the lake and select drop), Rascals have a moderate chance of being damaged, and their tractor beams are weak. In addition, there is also a second way to win at the advanced level. If a player returns home with the same number of negative items as the cards that were dealt, they win. For instance, if four item cards were dealt to each player, anyone can win by either collecting the four items that match the assigned cards, or by ignoring their cards and returning home with four bad items. Finally, in the advanced game players can choose yellow as the color for their robot and become almost invisible against the background of Laustenfownd. Good luck. 8 Cards The following sections describe all of the cards used in Robot Rascals. Item Cards -- Item cards are distributed by Robotics Unlimited's Random Supply and Demand Generator (patentpending) to assign the items your Rascal must search for. They are divided into four card categories; neutral, bad, good, and special cards. Neutral Items: These cards match items which have no effect on the operation of your robot. There are a total of 12 neutral items. Pixel Pencil Digital Donut Transistor Taco Laser Lamp Hologram Hat Micro Magnifier Buffer Boot Cobalt Cola Silicon Salad Denim Disk Chocolate Chip Magnetic Money Bad Items: These cards match items which have a negative effect on your robot, usually interfering with one of its functions. The bad effect is present only when Your robot holds the item, not simply because you hold the card. There are a total of six bad items. Artifact Effect Teleport Trap No teleporting Energy Eater Low energy Binary Blinders No scanning Action Anchor Move slower Helpless Handbag No shields Battery Bug No battery Good Items: These cards match items which have a beneficial effect on your Rascal, usually increasing one of the robot's capabilities. The positive effect occurs only when your Rascal holds the artifact. There are a total of six positive artifacts. 9 Artifact Effect Portal Passkey Free teleports Dynamo Diamond Extra energy Gamma Glasses Free scan Velocity Vitamin Move faster Super Shield Extra shields Bionic Battery Extra battery Special Cards: These cards do not represent items; they seem to be the result of some bug in the Random Supply and Demand Generator hardware. We sincerely apologize for this quirk. Our patented Robotics Unlimited technicians are hard at work trying to correct this problem, but until they do, the special cards can be an integral part of your scavenger hunts. There are a total of four special cards. Card Effect Wild Card This matches any item you have in your hold. (There are 2 of these cards.) Cosmic Cheat This card doesn't need a matching item, so the holder needs one less item to win. Killer Kard No item matches this card; you must pass it to another player or discard it to win. (Unless you're going for the 4 bad item win available in the advanced game.) Luck Cards -- Each scavenger chooses a luck card at the beginning of the turn. There are seven types of luck cards; each provides a way to change the item cards you or your opponents hold. When you change anyone's item cards, you change the items that player must find in order to win. 10 Take a Card: Allows you to take a new item card from either the face up (discard pile), or the face down stack, then discard a card - either one of your existing item cards or the new one you just drew. Steal a Card: Allows you to draw an item card from any other player. Then either give the card back if you don't want it, or give that player one of your other item cards. Force a Swap: Allows you to designate two players who must simultaneously draw one item card from each other's hands. You can include yourself as one of the two swapping players. The participants cannot swap back unless both agree. Force a Show: Allows you to choose another player who must show his or her item cards to all the other players. The chosen scavenger must hold up the cards one at a time and call out the name of each item in turn. Pass the Trash to the Right:Every player passes one item card to the player on his or her right. (You can't look at the card passed to you until you have passed a card. Pass the Trash to the Left: Same as "Pass the Trash: Right" but in the Opposite direction. No Luck: Drawing this card means no players can change their hands this turn.. Global Events At the beginning of every round of turns, global events occur on Laustenfown that affect the operation of the robots. For instance, if an "Items Reversed" event occurs, then all of the good items become their negative Counterparts and vice verse. If your Rascal is at home when a "Home is Closed" event happens, it is teleported to, a random location on Laustenfownd and no Rascal can enter its home during that round. 11 Global events are also controlled by the game level you are playing. For instance, only helpful events such as "Free Teleports, or "High Energy" occur at the Beginner level. Robotics Unlimited has recorded a total of 14 global events that occur on Laustenfownd. High Energy Low Energy Free Teleports No Teleporting Fast Movement Slow Movement Home is Free Home is Closed Free Scanning No Scanning Lakes Dried Up Items Reverse No Stealing No new Shields Actions There are four actions that your Rascal needs to perform repeatedly as you play Robot Rascals; moving, teleporting, going home, and using control options. These actions are described in the following sections. Moving -- Move your Rascal by pushing the joystick in the direction you want to go. Teleporting - Move your robot onto the base of a teleport terminal. The terminal activates and begins radiating teleport energy. Use the joystick to move the energy beam in the direction you want to teleport. Push the joystick button to send your Rascal to the receiving teleport in that direction. You can teleport to any corner terminal from the center terminal, and from a corner terminal to the center or to either adjacent corner terminal. Teleport Tip: Your Rascal doesn't have to leave the terminal it just arrived at in order to scan. To teleport elsewhere after the scan, jiggle the joystick to move your robot enough so the teleport terminal reactivates. 12 Going Home --If your Rascal has collected all of your assigned items, or if it is damaged, you must get it home. Move your Rascal onto the blue dome to enter the dwelling. If your Rascal requires repairs, the repairs are made by one of Robotics Unlimited's certified technicians. See "Winning" above if you have collected all of your items. At home, other robots can't steal from you; but you also can't save up energy for the next turn. Control Options -- Additional actions your Rascal needs to perform during your turn are accessed through the control options menu. Bring up the control options menu by pressing the joystick button without moving the joystick. (Your robot doesn't use energy while the control options menu is up.) The control options menu appears in the terrain window and contains the following options: Scan: Selecting this option brings up an additional menu that shows all the existing items on Laustenfownd. Selecting an item from the menu puts your Rascal in scan mode. If the robot scans quickly, the selected item is very close. If the scan is slow, the item is far away. When your Rascal ends its scan it points in the general direction of the item and a direction message appears in the message window. The Rascal remains pointed in the direction of the artifact as it moves; it is "on a point." Eventually the robot drops "off the point" and the message in the message box disappears. This signifies that it's time to scan again. Continue this process of scan-move-scan-move and your Rascal will eventually come to the location of the item. When you scan at the item location, your Rascal finds the item and pulls it into the hold with a tractor beam. Move: Selecting this option returns your Rascal to free movement mode. Use this option if you accidentally bring up the control options menu when you really want to move. 13 Drop: Selecting this option allows you to remove an item from your robot's hold and drop it to the ground In the advanced level game, your Rascal throws the selected artifact into the water if it is standing next to a lake (see "Game Levels; Advanced"). Quit: Selecting this option ends your turn before your Rascal's energy is depleted If your robot has enough energy left, you can create defensive shields (this option isn't offered if a global event or robot damage precludes it). Defensive shields make it harder for an opponent's Rascal to steal from your robot during its down- time. Surplus energy remaining after you have erected shields is stored in your Rascal's battery where it increases by 50% by your next turn. For instance, if your Rascal has an energy level of 6 when you quit your turn, that energy will have increased to 9 and is added to the new energy your robot receives at the beginning of your next turn. If you end your turn at home, your energy will not be stored Stealing and Shields You can steal from any other scavenger's Rascal by bumping it with yourown If the other robot has erected shields, each of your bumps has a 50% chance of knocking down a shield. If the Rascal has no shields, or YOU' Rascal has penetrated them, you are presented with a list of the items in that robot's hold and you can then take any one item. To take another item, bump into the defenseless robot again Note:.This doesn't change the item assignment for any scavenger; item assignment is only affected by luck cards. See "Cards" above. Damage In the standard and advanced games, your robot can sustain damage while moving on Laustenfownd. A shield generator can break, making it impossible to put up shields; the energy producer can break, so you only get half the energy allotted to You each turn; the motor can break, cutting your speed in half; and the controller can break, making it very difficult to steer. Any damage you sustain is repaired when you return home. 14 Your robot's state of repair is shown on the schematic in the status box onscreen. A flashing spot on the head means "damaged controller"; on the feet it means "damaged motor"; on the body it means "damaged energy generator"; and if there's a flashing aura around your robot, the shield generator is damaged. VARIATIONS Because the cards play a key role in Robot Rascals, you can create variations just by changing which cards you use and the rules that govern them. You can deal hands of either three or five item cards for shorter or longer games, for instance. Or, you can add or subtract luck cards to change the element of chance in the game. Here are five variations and, of course, you can invent your own. Bill's Poker Shuffle the item cards and remove one. If it is the Wild Card, Cosmic Cheat, or Killer Kard, return it to the deck and pick again. Place the chosen card face up where all can see -- it is now the "common card." Now deal four cards to each scavenger as usual. To win, a scavenger must find the four assigned items, as well as the item on the common card. Roll 'em Deal four cards as usual, and at the beginning of turns 2, 4, 6, and 8, all scavengers place one of their cards face up where everyone can see it. Play proceeds normally except that the face up cards can't be stolen or swapped as a result of the luck cards. Another variation would require that items matching the face up cards can't be stolen. Pass the Trash Deal four cards as usual, but at the beginning of all even numbered turns (2, 4, 6, etc.), all scavengers simultaneously pass one card to the scavenger on the left. 15 Pass the Killer Once fhe Killer Kard is in someone's possesion: it Can only be passed to another player with a "Steal a Card" or "Pass the Trash" luck card-it cannot be discarded to the discard pile while using a "Take a Card" luck card. Happy's Hand you can't discard a bad item card unless you can show that you currently hold one or more additional bad item cards However, you can pass bad item cards to other scavengers regardless of how many you currently hold. 16 STRATEGY HINTS In addition to this wonderful Scavenger's Guide, the astounding, new and improved XJGT Rascal, and the revolutionary E-Z Control software, you are also entitled to the following strategy tips. Collected from Robotics Unlimited's most successful veteran scavengers, we have compiled this section to help our new scavengers enjoy the most profitable scavenging ventures possible. And, if you call before midnight tonight, you'll also receive the amazing new Pocket Scanner absolutely free! Dan "Mr. Energy" Bunten I almost hate to give this away in case my opponents are reading, but my most important hint is to save energy! Always leave at least a quarter tank of energy in your robot at the end of a turn. You earn 50% interest on what's left in your battery and this combined with the new energy should keep you well stocked. In fact, I generally try to slowly build up my energy until I'm leaving half a tank each turn and getting almost a full bar the next turn. With this much energy, I can take advantage of any opportunity to make a "sweep" win. (A win that develops too slowly -- or "shows" too soon -- gives other folks too many chances to stop me.) Don't worry about holding bad item cards, they discourage other players from stealing your cards. Also, if you have both a good and bad item, they cancel each other out and act as two neutral items. (And in case of an "items Reversed" global event, you won't be hurt.) Always end your turn with a scan. This way if the next global event is "No Scanning," you already have a good idea of where your item is located while other players waste a turn. Try to learn to read your scans. If your robot does a really slow scan, you can usually assume the item is diagonal from you. Keep an eye on other players and what they are looking for. If it's a good item, they may find it for you. If it's a neutral item, they may decide to give you that item card later and then you'll know where it is. If they find out an item is in the lake, remember it. They may try to give you that card later and you don't want to waste time looking for it. If they're after several bad items, make sure they haven't located them and are waiting for 17 a turn when they can pick them all up and return home for a "win with bad items." (This can be a good strategy for you , however.) Finally, here's a trick for players that keep messing with your hand. If someone steals a card from you that you already have the item for, go to the nearest lake and toss that item in. Mark "Merciless" McElroy Be ruthless. Twist every aspect of the game to your advantage. Steal to irritate, not just to survive. Steal from players with three or more items that might be close to winning. Steal when someone is near enough to steal from you or finds an item that you need. But don't get carried away, stealing takes time and energy. When you steal cards, notice who's been too quiet lately. They might have the cards you want. When people steal cards from you, threaten to change any card they take into a "killer card" by chucking that item in the lake. Try to get other people to agree to "swap back" when forced to swap, but rarely agree to their offer of the same deal -- when people don't want to swap cards they usually have something you could use. Don't be afraid to pick up the Killer Card from the discard pile. With all the passing that goes on, chances are you'll be able to get rid of it, and in the meantime it tends to keep people from stealing cards from you. Gang up on people that are close to winning. If you see someone with three items, make sure everybody else knows about it so you won't be the only player trying to steal something to keep them from winning. Alan "Nice Guy" Watson My two children (ages 5 & 7) and I like to play our version of Robot Rascals at the "STANDARD" level, but using the "BEGINNER" card setup. My five year old doesn't like other players changing the cards he holds, and both kids dislike stealing items and having items stolen. The resulting game keeps the challenge of finding items with risk of damage, but reduces conflict between players. The kids get extra energy so I don't win all the time. In fact, I don't think I've won yet! Maybe I should get the extra energy... 18 I spent a lot of time with the robots while making and playing Robot Rascals and was surprised to find that they had feelings and ideas about themselves, humans, and the game. Let me share Some of my discoveries with you. Belbot was the original Rascal. "The old one knows all," and perhaps that's why he's rather arrogant. Sphero was designed for smooth,open terrain and was never meant to be a Rascal. But it plays with such enthusiasm and effort and wanted to be a Rascal so badly, that we had to give in. Ize has rhythm and knows how to use it. Trac is a mover on any terrain. Send him anywhere, but keep him moving. The only thing Trac likes about scanning is going in circles. Liz suffers from an identity problem.and doesn't think she looks like a robot-or anything else for that matter. I think sheb looking for more than artifacts when she plays. Birt seems preoccupied with form, paying more attention to the performance of a given task than the purpose, He may require more human guidance than the others. Tiny was shy until he realized that size wasn't important and now he's 100% Rascal. Dont underestimate Tiny. Robbo is a robot's robot. He originally entered the game as a toy, but his ability to play around lessened as his game skills grew. Robbo is now precise and accurate-but is he a Rascal? Millie is a good looker (that's a good scanner in rascal terms) but there's more to Mille than just a good scan. Her calm and efficient manner make her a tough competitor. I've known Mule longer than any of the others. Even though he's as stubborn as ever, he's never been happier. Now he doesn't have to be kept in a corral or led by a tether. 19 What do M.U.L.E., The Seven Cities of Gold, Heart of Africa, and Robot Rascals Have in Common? Ozark Softscape, of course. M.U.L.E. not only gave serious competition to multi-player board games, but also racked up a total of nine awards. The Seven Cities of Gold, with its geographically correct dynamic game map kicked off a whole new genre of entertainment software and won a total of seven awards in the process. Heart of Africa took computer gaming into the deepest darkest jungles of Africa -- and the theaters of Europe. It was the first software package to be previewed on the silver screen in European theaters. Now there's Robot Rascals. "I wanted to do a game I can play with my family when we get together at Christmas," says Dan Bunten. "M.U.L.E. is just a little too complicated to include the younger family members. So the challenge was to make a game that I can enjoy with even the trickiest of my M.U.L.E. playing companions, but still enjoy if I'm playing against 7 year-olds." Is there an award for "First Great Family Computer Game"? Maybe not now, but we have a feeling there may be one soon... CREDITS Game Design and Programming: Dan Bunten and Alan Watson (Ozark Softscape) Producer: David Grady Assistant Producers: Shelley Day and Happy Keller Technical Director: Jeff Johannigman Product Manager: Chris Garske Art Director: Nancy L. Pong Package Design: William Gin Package Art: John Mattos Documentation: David K. 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