Weather Machine

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Details

Sourced from: https://jmo.name/games

Player Aid Author: Jarrod Moore

Description

Leverage research and lab experience to address extreme weather facing the world.

  • Place game board in centre of table
  • Place Nobel Prize on board
  • Place initiative markers on their spaces
  • Place Prof. Lativ on his space in supply department
  • Place chemicals on matching spaces
  • Prepare workshop tiles:
    • Shuffle stack and randomly place 4 of them on board
    • Place rest in two stacks on board, one stack face-up and one stack face-down
  • Shuffle subsidy tiles and place randomly blue-side up in government area
  • Place 10 government research tokens in stacks of same type on their spaces
  • Place 3 government markers on their space
  • Prepare experiment tiles:
    • Separate by stage, keeping tiles face-down
    • Shuffle each stage, then randomly remove 3 Stage III tiles from game
    • Place Stage I stack face-down
    • Place Stage II stack face-down on top of Stage I stack
    • Place Stage III stack on top of that
    • Flip whole stack over to create face-up stack of experiment tiles
    • Deal 3 tiles to 3 experiment tile spaces on board from this stack
    • Deal 1 more tile from this stack to space below experiment deck space
  • Place assistant below the machine branch indicated by weather on tile on top of experiment deck
  • Place Lativ's 5 bots to side of lab:
    • 2P: Place one of Lativ's bots on the bottom space of each branch of the machine
  • Place 3 lab research tokens of each type in stacks in indicated spaces:
    • 2P: Place 2 in each stack, the remainder go back to the box
  • Place a lock token on each of the 5 citation spaces
  • Separate extreme weather tiles by type and place level 1 tiles on their indicated spaces
  • Place other extreme weather tiles by type next to board with level 2 tiles above level 3 tilee
  • Place 10 R&D research tokens in stacks of same type in indicated spaces
  • 2P: Place voucher marker of unused player on rightmost space of each of the following locations:
    • Government
    • Lativ's Lab
    • R&D
  • Take 1 machine part of each colour, randonly give one to each player, put remainder back in supply
  • Take 1 workshop tile from top of face-down stack per player, randomly give to each player

  • Place scoring marker on 0 space of climate points track
  • Randomly decide player turn order and place turn order marker on game board
  • Place scientist on action spaces in supply in turn order from left to right
  • Place one of your funding markers on the leftmost space of each of the government funding tracks
  • On your player board:
    • Place 12 bots on assembly line spaces
    • Place voucher markers:
      • Supply: Space 4
      • Government: Space 1
      • Lab: Space 1
      • R&D: Space 1
      • Science: Space 2
    • Place breakthrough markers on their spaces on right side
  • Place a random set of 9 goal tiles below your player board

In player turn order:

  • Each player takes a turn at the Supply location
  • You may do as many actions at this location as you want

If any players took the Take the Initiative action during their turn, adjust the turn order as normal

The game is played over a series of rounds, with each round divided into the following phases:

  • Player Turns
  • Run Weather Machine Experiment
  • End of Round

This continues until the end of game is triggered.

Your Workshop
  • This is where you store bots, chemicals and machine parts
  • You also build prototypes here with machine parts
  • Each space in the workshop can only hold one piece
  • You may move pieces around in your workshop, providing you can legally store the pieces in their new positions:
    • This includes swapping the positions of two pieces

Workshop tiles cannot be moved or rotated after placement.

When paying costs from the workshop:

  • Machine part => pay to the reserve
  • Chemicals => return either to the supply location or place in R&D (when action says to)
  • Bots => never spent, they are moved to positions on board according to action
Resource Exchanges

You can exchange resources during the game to help pay various costs:

  • Science Exchange:
    • You may spend any 3 vouchers to gain 1 Science voucher, which you can then spend as any type of voucher
  • Chemical Exchange:
    • You may pay any 2 vouchers to exchange 1 of your chemicals with 1 from the supply location:
      • The returned chemical is placed on the rightmost matching empty slot of the supply location
      • Then take the leftmost chemical of the required type from the supply location and immediately use it:
        • You are not required to be able to store the chemical in your workshop to do this exchange
  • Machine Parts Exchange:
    • You can pay any two vouchers to exchange one of your machine parts with another machine part from the reserve
Vouchers

You can only gain a voucher if you have space for it. If you don't, you lose the voucher.

Science vouchers can be spent in place of any other type of voucher.

Funding Tracks

Whenever you receive funding (by flipping over a goal tile), you gain the benefits of the funding track matching the colour of the flipped tile:

  • Blue: Government
  • Green: Lab
  • Purple: R&D

The position on each of the funding tracks will determine how many CP you earn from that track at the end of the game

You gain the benefits of each track as follows:

  • Government:
    • Gain the benefits shown below the space your marker is on and below every space to the left of that space
  • Lab:
    • Gain the science vouchers shown below the space your marker is on and below every space to the left of that space
    • Choose one of the other two tracks:
      • Treat the marker on this other track as if it had the modifier under the space applied to its position
      • Take the benefit that the marker would be eligible for as if it were in that position
      • Do not actually move the other marker when doing this step
  • R&D:
    • Gain one of the following:
      • The benefit under the space your marker is on
      • One of the benefits under a space to the left of the space your marker is on
      • Note: You only gain one benefit, not all spaces like the other tracks

A player turn consists of the following steps:

  • Use 1 Subsidy Tile or 1 Investment Tile
  • Move your Scientist Meeple
  • Perform Actions
  • Place Research Tokens

  • To use a subsidy tile: You may flip one and only one subsidy tile you have that is blue-side up to the left of your laboratory. You then immediately gain the benefit
  • Alternatively, if you have any investment tiles to the left of your laboratory, return one of them to the reserve and then do one of the following two things:
    • Set a Goal:
      • Move one of your goal tiles from below your laboratory onto an empty goal space of your laboratory matching the colour of the tile
      • Gain the benefit depicted on the space:
        • On the top spaces, only choose 1 of the 2 shown benefits
    • Receive Funding:
      • Flip one of the goal tiles already on the laboratory
      • Gain the benefits from the corresponding funding track

Each goal tile on one of your goal spaces is an objective that will be scored at the end of the game if you meet the conditions shown on the tile The reverse siide of a goal tile has a black background, which indicates that it has already been flipped over, and is still scored at the end of the game

You can have more than 6 subsidy/investment tiles next to your laboratory. Just place any excess nearby

  • You must move to a different location to the one your scientist is currently on
  • After placing your scientist, gain/pay vouchers depending on location:
    • Supply:
      • Gain the voucher depicted on the space where you place the scientist
      • Gain 1 additional voucher of the same type for each player to your left of your space
      • Gain 1 Science voucher if Lativ is at that location and also to your left
    • All other locations:
      • Gain 1 voucher of any type (including Science)
      • If Lativ is there, gain 1 Science voucher
      • Pay 1 voucher of any type for each other player on spaces to your left of your space:
        • If you cannot pay the vouchers, you cannot place your scientist in the supply location
  • If Lativ is at the location you moved to, move Lativ to the next location (in numeric order):
    • Supply (Location 1) and Lativ's Office (Location 5):
      • Move him to his designated space
    • Government (Location 2), Lativ's Lab (Location 3) and R&D (Location 4):
      • Move him to the leftmost empty action space
      • 2P: If Lativ moves to the Government or R&D location, discard a research token from Lativ's current location of the same type of weather as the branch where Lativ's assistant is
    • If all action spaces in the next location are full, he skips that location
  • If Lativ moves, check the active branch of the weather machine in the lab (the one where the assistant is):
    • If Lativ does not have one of his bots in that branch:
      • Place 1 of his bots from the area next to the lab onto any empty space of the branch
    • If Lativ already has a bot in the branch, or the branch was full:
      • Place a bot in the next branch (following the arrows)
      • If all the branches are either full or already contain one of Lativ's bots, nothing happens

The symbol on the action space where you placed your scientist determines how many actions you can take:

  • Grey /: 1 action
  • Red &: 1 or both actions

All actions are optional. You are allowed to perform no actions if you wish

If you have any research tokens on the space to the top left of your office, you must now place them onto empty spaces in your office that match the colour of the token

For each such token:

  • Place the token on an empty office space:
    • Each row of can only have research tokens of one type of weather:
      • You are allowed to start more than one row with research tokens of the same type of weather
    • If you are unable to place a research token, remove it from the game
  • Gain the benefit shown on the covered space (if any)

You can place any award tokens at any point during your turn, or save them to place on a future turn Any research tokens gained duriing the running of the weather machine must be placed immediately

In this phase, Lativ's assistant attempts to run the weather machine in the lab. The active branch is the one where the assistant is

Check if the experiment runs:

  • The experiment runs if the following are both true:
    • There is at least one experiment tile in the display matching the weather of the active branch
    • There is a bot on every space in the active branch

At the end of this phase (whether or not the experiment runs):

  • Remove the rightmost experiment tile that matches the active branch from the game:
    • Slide other tiles to right to fill gaps
    • Place tile below stack in now empty space in display
    • Place top tile in space below stack
  • Move Lativ's assistant to the next branch

The experiment rightmost tile in the display matching the active branch is known as the active experiment tile.

In turn order, each player with a bot in the active branch does the following:

  • Return your bots from the active branch to your workshop:
    • If you don't have space for a bot, return it to any empty space in the top two sections of the assembly line
  • You may pay the number of Science vouchers as shown on the active experiment tile:
    • If you do, gain climate points (CP) as depicted on the experiment tile for each bot you returned
    • Gain one of the two benefits depicted on the tile:
      • No matter how many bots you had in the branch, you still only gain one benefit
      • If you are unable to gain the whole benefit, you may take as much of the benefit as you can
    • Take a research token from below the active branch (if available):
      • Immediately place it in your office:
        • If you do not have a legal space for it, remove it from the game
      • If there are no research tokens, gain 1 Science voucher instead

After all players have completed the above:

  • Return any of Lativ's bots on the active branch to the side of the lab
  • Take the top tile of the extreme weather tiles stack matching the type of weather:
    • Place it on the corresponding place in R&D, covering any tile already there
    • Any breakthrough markers on the existing tile are returned to the box
    • Any government markers on the existing tile are returned to the Government area

  • All players with bots in the active branch may return their bots from the active branch to their workshop:
    • If you don't have space for a bot, return it to any empty space in the top two sections of the assembly line
  • Return any of Lativ's bots on the active branch to the side of the lab

During this phase, the turn order is adjusted and, if Lativ is in his office, players gain income

  • Adjusting Turn Order:
    • Order the turn order markers to match the order of the initiative markers
  • Income:
    • Each player gains the depicted benefits on each empty space of the top two sections of their assembly line:
      • The spaces marked with the green ! icon
    • Lativ then moves to Location 1

End of game is triggered when any of the following conditions are met:

  • A player takes the Nobel Prize
  • The last experiment tile is placed in the display when the weather machine experiment runs
  • The government machine is completed, meaning all bot spaces are occupied
  • All research spaces in R&D are occupied

Players finish the current round, then play one last round, with the following changes in this final round:

  • When running the weather machine, starting with the branch where the assistant is, and following the arrows, check each completed branch of the weather machine. For each branch, if there is a current experiment tile matching the type of weather, run the experiment following the normal rule
  • Skip the End of Round phase

Final scoring then commences.

In turn order, players may place research tokens and/or award tokens they have next to their laboratory onto empty spaces of their office, following the normal rules:

  • This is done to help meet goal tile conditions
  • You may also use investment tiles to place or flip a goal tile

Then players score for the following categories:

  • Climate points (CP) according to their positions on the funding tracks:
    • Score CP above or to the left of their marker
  • 5 CP for each goal tile on one of their goal spaces that they meet the conditions for
  • 5 CP if they have the Nobel Prize

The player with the most Climate Points wins

Tiebreakers are:

  • Number of awards
  • Number of published papers
  • Number of completed rows in office

Otherwise, the victory is shared

All spaces in this location allow the player to take as many actions as they want:

  • Each action can be taken more than once

  • Pay 1 supply voucher to take any face-up workshop tile from the offer:
    • The offer is 4 tiles on board spaces + the top tile of the face-up stack:
      • Immediately refill any empty space on the board
    • When the face-up stack is empty, flip the face-down stack to make it the new face-up stack

When placing workshop tiles:

  • The workshop can go as far right as you want, but must use the 3 rows shown on the player board
  • Each tile must be placed orthogonally to an existing part of the workshop
  • The semi-circles must be placed on either the top or the bottom, not on the sides
  • Any touching semi-circles must be of the same colour
  • Once placed, a workshop tile cannot be moved

Note: You cannot take this action if you do not have a free space in the workshop

  • Choose a bot from your assembly line
  • Pay the cost in supply vouchers shown at the top of the section the bot is in
  • Move it into an available space in the workshop

  • Choose a type of chemical to take
  • Take the leftmost chemical of that type from the supply
  • Pay the number of supply vouchers indicated in the section it is in
  • Place the chemical in your workshop

  • Choose a chemical from the workshop
  • Place it on the rightmost empty matching space of the supply
  • Gain the indicated number of supply vouchers based on the section it is in

  • Pay 1 supply voucher
  • Move your initiative marker to a new position:
    • Slide other markers left or right to make room

Cost: 1 Government Voucher

  • Advance your marker 1 space on Government funding track
  • Place 1 bot from your workshop onto an empty space of government machine:
    • You must have a machine part in your workshop matching the colour of the space where you place the bot
  • Take 1 subsidy tile from the same column as the bot you just placed:
    • This tile can be either side-up
    • You must not have this type of subsidy tile already:
      • If you are unable to take any of the tiles in the column, take any 1 tile from the column and discard it
  • Place it blue-side up to the left of your laboratory
  • Replace the subsidy tile you took with a machine part from your workshop:
    • The colour of the machine part must match the colour of the space where you placed your bot
  • Take a research token from below the column where you placed the bot (if available):
    • Place it on the space to the top left of your office
    • If there are no research tokens remaining in the column:
      • Take an investment tile from the reserve and place it next to your laboratory

Then check to see if the government weather machine runs:

  • If all bot spaces in a branch of the government weather machine are full, the government activates that branch of the weather machine:
    • Each player gains 3 CP for each of their bots in the just completed branch
    • Move 1 Government marker from the government area to the leftmost empty space on the extreme weather tile that matches that branch
    • If the spaces of the extreme weather tile are full, the weather is fixed:
      • Return the tile to the top of the corresponding stack next to the board:
        • Discard any breakthrough markers on it to the box
        • Return any government markers on it to the government area

Cost: 2 Government Vouchers

  • Choose a blue-side up subsidy tile from the government area
  • Gain benefits shown at:
    • the top of the column
    • the left of the row
  • Gain benefit of tile chosen
  • Flip tile over

Cost: 1 Lab Voucher

  • Advance your marker 1 space on Lab funding track
  • Do one of two things:
    • Move 1 bot from workshop to an empty space in any branch of weather machine
    • Move 1 bot from workshop to space containing one of Lativ's bots:
      • Move Lativ's bot to another empty space of same branch:
        • If no other empty spaces, return it to the side of the lab
  • Pay 1 chemical of type depicted on space:
    • Move it from workshop to rightmost empty space of supply

Cost: 2 Lab Vouchers

To perform this action:

  • Choose a row in your office with 3 tokens in it which has a breakthrough marker next to the tokens:
    • At least one of the tokens must be a research token for this action
    • If you only have two tokens in a row:
      • You may cite a previous piece of work at this time to complete the row before publishing:
        • Choose a goal tile from below your laboratory whose colour matches the space in the office you want to place the token in
        • Remove the goal tile from the game
        • Take a citation token from the reserve
        • Place it on the chosen space in your office
        • Gain the benefit of the space (if any)
  • Slide the breakthrough marker to the rightmost space of the row
  • Gain the benefit that you moved the marker over
  • Score CP for the published paper:
    • 2 CP for each research token in the row
    • 4 CP for each award token in the row
    • Citation tokens are not worth any CP
  • Take an investment tile from the reserve and place it to the left of your laboratory
  • If the citation space matching the weather token still has a lock token on it, remove it from the game:
    • If you do this, you may immediately pay 1 science voucher to gain 3 CP

Cost: 1 R&D Voucher

  • Advance your marker 1 space on the R&D funding track
  • Move 1 of your available bots from your workshop to an empty research space in any branch of R&D
  • Pay 1 chemical of the type depicted to the left of the space
  • Move it from your laboratory to the left of where you place the bot:
    • Do not pay it back to the supply
    • If placing on the bottom space of a branch:
      • Also pay 1 chemical or any 1 machine part (as shown to the right of the space)
      • A chemical spent this way is returned to the rightmost space of the supply matching the type of chemical
  • Gain the benefits shown on the space where you just placed the bot:
    • If you placed a bot on the bottom space, you gain another bot from your assembly line:
      • This is done in the same way as described in the supply location, but without paying any supply vouchers
  • Take a research token from below the column, placing it on the space to the top left of your office
  • If you place the last bot in a branch, take an investment token instead of a research token
  • If that type of weather still has a lock token on the citation space:
    • Meaning no player has published a paper for this type of weather
    • Remove the lock token from the game and you immediately pay 1 science voucher to gain 3 CP
    • From this point onwards, players can cite that type of weather

Cost: 2 R&D Vouchers

  • Choose a row in your office where you have published a paper and the breakthrough marker is on the rightmost space
  • Pay the number of science vouchers as depicted on the extreme weather tile on the board that matches the weather of the chosen row (from 0 to 2)
  • Move the breakthrough marker from that row to any empty space on the extreme weather tile
  • Gain the benefit on the space
  • Each player may have no more than one breakthrough marker on any extreme weather tile
  • If you publish another paper on the same type of weather, that breakthrough marker cannot be placed on that tile
  • Build the prototype, granting CP to you and possibly other players:
    • The machine parts required to do this are:
      • The 3 depicted below the weather machine tile
      • Any shown at the top of the tile itself
    • The required parts for this build can come from:
      • Bots on research spaces in the branch (from any player):
        • For each bot of another player that provides a part for you, that player gets 2 CP
      • Yourself:
        • All machine parts you are providing must be in the same row of the workshop
        • Gain 2 CP for each of your bots in the branch, plus 2 CP for each machine part you provided
    • Return all machine parts used to build the prototype to the reserve, along with any additional machine parts in the same row of your workshop:
      • You do not get any CP for additional parts returned this way
  • Take an award token from the reserve, and place it on the space to the top-left of your office:
    • If this was your 3rd award token, also take the Nobel Prize if still available

After performing this action:

  • If all the spaces of the extreme weather tile are now full:
    • Return the tile to the top of the corresponding stack next to the board
    • Discard any breakthrough markers on it to the box
    • Return any government markers back to the government area

Thumbnail courtesy of BoardGameGeek and the respective publisher.