How to Play Launchpad 23
Designed by Andy Looney
Introduction: The challenge: Be the fi rst to build a complete and balanced 5 stage rocket!
The problem: Rocket parts roll out of the factory on a random schedule and are often misrouted to other launchpads!
Number of Players: 2-4
Equipment: 2 Rainbow Stashes, IceDice dice, 3x3 grid
Setup: Assign each player a launchpad. Each player chooses a piece to start their rocket with, and all players reveal their choices simultaneously. To do this, have each player take a monochrome Trio and hide the leftover pieces behind them while concealing their chosen piece in a closed fist. Players then reveal their choices all at once, and add them to their launchpads, returning the leftover pieces to the Bank.
Goal: Build a complete & balanced rocket on your pad. This will be exactly 5 pyramids, 1 of each color, all the same size.
Gameboard: If you don’t have an offi cial Launchpad 23 gameboard, you can play on any 3x3 grid.The center space is the Factory, the corners are the Launchpads, and the other squares are rocket part storage depots. (Unused pads are also treated as storage depots.)
Who Starts: The player who can best make the claim of being a Rocket Scientist gets to go fi rst.
How to Play: Players will take turns, first adding a new piece to the board (as determined by the dice) then taking 2, 3, or 4 actions (also depending on the dice), moving parts from one spot in the launch complex to the next.
Adding a Part: On your turn, roll the IceDice. Add a piece of the type indicated to the Factory. If you rolled the atom, you choose the color. If you rolled a double-pyramid, you choose between the two sizes.
Number of Moves: You get 2 moves per turn, plus an extra move if your pyramid die shows 2 pyramids, and/or an extra move if your color die is wild. Examples:
Moving Parts: You can move any piece on the board, except for those on another player’s pad. Just take the part you want from that location and move it to the adjacent space. (No diagonal moves.) Yes, you CAN move a part into another player's rocket. No, you are NOT required to use all of your moves, and you don’t have to use the new part that appeared in the Factory during your turn.
Auto-Sort by Size: After you move, restack all rocket parts by size, with smaller pieces on top of larger pieces.
Parts Shortage: If a piece you have the option to add to the Factory is not in the Bank, you can either roll again or remove the part from another player’s Launchpad. If you steal the part, it still gets placed on the Factory. If your roll gives you a choice of pyramid sizes, and only one size is available, you may choose to steal the unavailable size, or re-roll. If you re-roll, you must proceed using the 2nd roll for your number of moves, even if you can’t add a piece.
Total System Failure: You may use one move to return ALL of the pieces on your pad to the Bank.