FMP scan

SUMMARY

Your goal is to leave Full Metal Planète carrying as much ore and as many units as possible.

CONTENTS

1 playing field representing one sector of the Full Metal Planète

15 tide cards

84 metal pieces:

100 colored markers for identifying which unit is controlled by which Freighter

8 colored cubes to count the action points saved by each player

1 turn marker cube

1 rulebook

100 pieces of ore

1 black plastic box with many uses - the box is a current turn indicator, a cemetery for destroyed units, a pool for material yet to be created, and a display unit for tide cards

MISSION SUMMARY

You land your Freighter on Full Metal Planète on a mission which will last 21 or 25 turns.

On every turn you have a certain number of action points which you can use - but no matter how many action points you have, each turn lasts for a maximum of three minutes.

In each turn you can do the following:

If all goes well, you can lift off in turn 21 or 25 (your choice). You get 1 point for every unit and 2 points for every piece of ore you manage to take from the planet with you. The player with the most points wins.

THE PLANET

THE PLAYING FIELD

The playing area is composed of 851 hexes (only complete hexes are used).

The dotted lines mark the zone boundaries for arriving Freighters. The open sea is blue, the plains are light brown, the reefs are blue with light brown dots, swamps are light brown with blue dots and mountains are gray. The type of each hex depends on its dominant color: if you are not sure, look at the maps.

THE ORE

The ore is spread all over the playing field. Ore can be transported into the Freighter to gain points or it can be used by the Weather Hen to transform it into additional units.

A piece of ore occupies a hex, so it is an obstacle to movement.

With low tide, the ore can be picked up from any type of hex. With normal tide, the ore can not be picked up from reefs. With high tide, ore can not be picked up from reefs or swamps.

The ore can be manipulated in the following ways:

THE TIDES

Tide cardsEvery turn is subjected to one type of tide: normal, low or high.

The management of the 15 tide cards (five normals, five lows and five highs) will be explained in the chapter "Mission start".

Consequences:

When the tide is low, reefs can not be used by marine vehicles (high-speed motorboats and barges) and terrain vehicles can use them.

When the tide is high, swamps can not be used by terrain vehicles and marine vehicles can use them.

When the tide is normal, swamps are plains, and reefs are sea: swamps can be used by terrain vehicles and reefs can be used by marine vehicles.

The units surprised by a change of tide are neutralized:

Units "surprised" by an unfavorable tide can do nothing, absolutely nothing. They are immobilized, but can be captured, destroyed and act as obstacles - they are neutralized until the tide changes favorably.

It is possible to voluntarily strand a marine vehicle or get a terrain vehicle stuck: in that case, the unit must stop on the first hex which is temporarily unusable by it, and it becomes neutralized.

HOW TIDE AFFECTS THE PIECES 
REEFSSWAMPS
marine unitsterrain unitsmarine unitsterrain units
LOW TIDEdisabledoperationaldisabledoperational
NORMAL TIDEoperationalstuckdisabledoperational
HIGH TIDEoperationalstuckoperationalstuck

PLAY MECHANICS

ACTION POINT SYSTEM

Basic credit

Each player has a basic credit of fifteen action points, which he or she can spend to move as many parts as he or she wishes.

Cost in action points for each action:

Bonus:

Super-bonus:

Attention

TIME

Each player has a maximum of three minutes' time in which to make his or her actions. After that time the player can not perform any actions. If a unit is being moved when the time runs out, it must remain on the hex it occupied at the last second. Destroyers can complete their shots or captures if they were already in the required positions before the time ran out.

After a turn has ended the next player's turn will immediately start. Timing is performed by the player who has just finished his or her turn. If a player asks how much time is remaining on his or her turn, the question must be answered. All players should be able to see the stopwatch at all times.

It is very important to strictly stick to the three-minute rule, even if it creates errors: panic is one of the ingredients of Full Metal Planète.

TRANSPORTERS

Transporters

BARGES, CRABS, LOADING AND UNLOADING

There are two kinds of transporters:

Transportable elements are:

Only the barge can transport a crab or a Weather Hen.

Loading is performed from a hex adjacent to the transporter.

Unloading is performed to a hex adjacent to the transporter.

Loading and unloading always cost 1 action point.

To load or unload a crab which carries item(s) costs only 1 action point. To modify its contents while on a barge does not cost any action points.

Any unit carried by any transporter is automatically neutralized.

The target hex where units or items are unloaded must be empty or occupied by a pontoon or another transporter which has enough free cargo slots to accept the unit or item.

To re-enter or leave the Freighter with a transporter that carries items costs only 1 action point.

A transporter can not load or unload a unit or an item from/to a hex if that hex is under unfavorable fire.

A transporter can load and then unload without moving.

It is not possible to unload anything in open sea.

Items and units can be unloaded onto sunken reefs or swamps, but in that case the items and units will become neutralized until the tide changes favorably.

A unit or item on a sunken hex can not be loaded (except a pontoon).

Loading and unloading diagram

WEATHER HEN

MANUFACTURING UNITS

Weather HenThe Weather Hen can create new parts: it stops on a hex next to an ore, loads the ore and lays a tank, pontoon or crab taken from the reserve to an adjacent hex. The ore piece used goes back to the box. The creation of a new unit costs two action points: one point to load the ore and another one to lay the item.

The Weather Hen can load ore, then move, and this way lay the new unit further away, even in another turn.

When the Weather Hen loads or lays units it must follow the same rules as a transporter.

One Weather Hen can lay two parts in one turn. It can not lay two crabs or two pontoons in the same turn.

If so required, the Weather Hen can unload unconverted ore (so it can be used as a normal transporter for ore).

Note: The number of reserve units in the box is designed so that in the beginning each player can create the same units. It will then be a question of whether to try to bring the maximum amount of ore into the Freighter or to try to get stronger by transforming it into more units.

TIDE PREDICTION

When the tide changes, any player who has an operational Weather Hen can check out the future tide: a player who has two Weather Hens can look two tides ahead, etc.

The Weather Hen is inoperative inside the Freighter, on a barge, under unfavorable fire or when stuck in a hex.

PONTOONS

PontoonsPontoons, inert units, are used to cover reef, swamp or open sea hexes.

A pontoon can be unloaded or loaded from/to a transporter (or from the Freighter), whatever the tide.

One pontoon is used exactly like a plains-type hex.

A pontoon must always touch at least one ground hex.

It is possible to connect many pontoons together, as long as the first one touches a ground hex. In this case, if the first pontoon is destroyed or loaded, the remaining pontoons are destroyed. Also, if a ground hex that is the only support of a pontoon or a structure of pontoons sinks because of a change of tide, the pontoon or the whole structure is destroyed.

If a pontoon is destroyed, everything on top of the pontoon is also destroyed.

A pontoon can never be unloaded or loaded on a hex under unfavorable fire.

A pontoon is a neutral unit. Once unloaded, it can be used by any terrain vehicle. Because of that, an enemy transporter can load a pontoon without capturing it first.

If a pontoon is unloaded onto firm ground, it can still be used.

High-speed motorboats and barges can not travel to a hex that contains a pontoon.

Destroyers

DESTROYERS

Destroyers can destroy any element (unit or ore), except Freighters and their contents (however, Freighters' turrets can be destroyed). Destroyers are used to destroy, capture, push back enemies and to defend. There are four types of destroyers: high-speed motorboats, tanks, long shooting range supertank T-99 familiarly called "Heap" and the turrets (fixed).

DESTROYING ELEMENTS

Principle: any element reached by the simultaneous shooting of two destroyers of the same player is destroyed and put at the cemetery.

Mechanism

Turrets, tanks and high-speed motorboats can reach two hexes from their own position.

The Heap can reach a target three hexes away from its own position.

A normal tank located on a mountain hex can reach a target three hexes away (even if the target is on another mountain).

The Heap, even if transported, can never go on a mountain hex.

When a turn ends, two tanks can not be parked on two adjacent mountain hexes.

A destroyer can shoot over any obstacle or terrain, including sea, ore, Freighter, mountain etc.

A destroyer has ammunition to fire only twice per turn (other actions can occur between the two shots). Every destroyer is restocked with ammunition at the very start of the following player's turn.

Destroyers can not destroy their own units except pontoons.

If destroyers open fire at a hex, everything on that hex is destroyed.

Remember: it is always required to have two destroyers to destroy any target. A single destroyer can not destroy or defend anything. Because of this, it costs 2 action points to destroy any target: one point per destroyer.

Definition: a hex is "under unfavorable fire" for a player when it is in range of two or more destroyers of the same opponent.

Destroyer fire zones

A unit can never be placed or moved under unfavorable fire. Only one destroyer can come under unfavorable fire, and only when attacking:

ATTACKING A SECTOR DEFENDED BY UNFAVORABLE FIRE

When a player operates in such a sector, the destroyers never arrive at the same time (even though the firing is simultaneous). There is always the first and the second. The first unit can never be placed under unfavorable fire. The second unit can move inside the unfavorable fire zone if it will stop at once when inside the zone, and instantly open fire (with the first unit). After firing its shot(s), and before any other movement, the second unit must have destroyed enough defenders not to be under unfavorable fire any longer. Only then can the attacking player make other moves.

The "Theory of the Second Unit" can be summarized as follows: a destroyer can move under unfavorable fire if after moving inside the fire zone it can remove the fire zone by destroying the enemy.

If the second unit arrives transported, it must be unloaded outside the fire zone and then it must - by its own means - move inside the fire zone.

(Not all attacks use the "Theory of the Second Unit" - if, for example, two destroyers are targeting an undefended unarmed unit, then there are no fire zones and the target can be destroyed more easily.)

CAPTURING UNITS

Principle: two destroyers owned by the same player, when in contact with a unit of a different color, can capture the unit.

The capture takes place instantly by changing the captured unit's color marker. Capturing costs 1 action point.

When capturing a unit, the destroyers performing the capture and the unit being captured must be outside of an unfavorable fire zone (a player can thus protect a unit from capture by covering it with a fire zone).

The captured unit is immediately operational for any action.

If a destroyer is out of ammunition, it can still capture a unit.

If a transporter is captured, all its cargo is also automatically captured and changes color without the need to spend any additional action points.

Remember that it is not necessary to capture a pontoon in order to use it.

The capture of a Freighter is very different.

RETREAT AND NEUTRALIZATION

A player's destroyers can hold an enemy unit under their fire without destroying or capturing it. The player can then decide to NEUTRALIZE that unit (as with the tide) by turning it over where it stands.

A neutralizing destroyer must stay where it is until the end of its turn, unless its owner has captured or destroyed the neutralized unit in the meantime. Although it can not move, a neutralizing destroyer can still fire or capture. When the player's turn comes again, he/she can move the neutralizing destroyers.

On his/her turn, the player whose unit is neutralized can try to de-neutralize it: he/she can move it one hex, as long as the new hex (or pontoon) is outside of the fire zone and empty. Otherwise the neutralized unit can do absolutely nothing. Only other destroyers can de-neutralize it.

Turrets can not be neutralized. They can shoot, even when inside an unfavorable fire zone.

Destroyers can neutralize several units at once.

Retreat and neutralization diagram

THE FREIGHTER

The FreighterThe Freighter, composed of a central bubble and three pods with turrets, occupies four hexes on the map.

Besides its turrets, the Freighter and its cargo are indestructible. The Freighter is the home (and the only starting point) for all its units.

Any element that is inside the Freighter must be placed outside the map, visible to all players.

A Freighter can only land on plains or on swamps (the tide does not have any effect on it).

ENTERING AND LEAVING THE FREIGHTER

All units re-enter and come out of the Freighter from one of its three pods to any suitable adjacent hex (units can not exit via the central bubble).

Once ore is loaded into the Freighter, it can not be unloaded or transformed into other units.

If a loaded transporter enters or exits the Freighter, it only costs 1 action point. Loading or unloading the transporters does not cost points when done inside the Freighter. On the same turn, a unit can enter the Freighter via any pod and exit via any available pod.

The Freighter can be considered as a normal transporter, BUT

CAPTURING THE FREIGHTER

When its three turrets are destroyed, the Freighter and all its units pass under the control of the first player who manages to enter the Freighter with a destroyer. The Freighter keeps its original color.

As soon as the Freighter is captured, the player who performed the capture gets 5 more action points to his basic credit. If desired, those extra 5 action points can be used at once.

A player who controls several Freighters continues to play only one time, in his turn.

If a player loses one of his/her Freighters, his/her basic credit decreases by five points (example: if a player has three Freighters but loses one of them, his/her basic credit decreases from 25 to 20 points).

Any player who no longer has a Freighter loses the game. In that case his/her extra bonus cubes are returned to the box.

Only the player who has just captured (or recaptured) a Freighter can rebuild its turrets:

The player who captures a Freighter controls all the captured units (in the Freighter and on the map) jointly with his own parts. All units preserve their connection with their original Freighter.

Example: A player captures a Freighter and thus acquires new units under his command. In this case, if some of the new units are inside an unfriendly fire zone, the new owner of the Freighter must, before any action, put the units of his new army out of the unfriendly fire zone. The parts which could not be moved out of the fire zone are neutralized.

Remarks:

CHANGE OF COLOR

The color markers of units are receivers which obey only one transmitter: the Freighter of the same color.

There are only two ways to change the color of a unit:

(A player who controls two or more colors has these two ways to manage the colors of his units.)

A Freighter always preserves its original color (its transmitter), even if it is captured by another player.

MISSION START

Mission startSpread ore all over the map, one piece of ore every three hexes. Then remove all the ore that is placed on open sea hexes.

The reserve: The units created by Weather Hens will be drawn from the common reserve, which must contain:

Tide cards: Shuffle the 15 cards, take out 6 cards and place nine cards in the "future tides" slot. Do all that without looking at any cards.

FIRST TURNS

Turn 1: Arrival of the Freighters

Put the turn indicator cube into the first turn slot, and draw lots for the order in which the players land on the planet.

Each player has three minutes in which to land his/her Freighter, marked with his/her color, inside a "landing zone": one of the two islands or a ground section between two dotted lines. A Freighter occupies four hexes, and the following rules must be followed when placing the Freighter: leave at least a one-hex-wide passage at the edge of the map; land only on plains or swamps (or a mix of both). Two Freighters can not land on adjacent landing zones (an island is not a contiguous zone).

Your places around the table are determined by the locations of your Freighters, so change chairs if needed.

Check that you have all the units in front of you (not on the map): a barge, a crab, a Weather Hen, two high-speed motorboats, four tanks, one Heap and a pontoon. Mark your units with your color.

Turn 2: Deployment (without action points)

Move the turn indicator cube into the second turn slot. All players together have three minutes, at the same time, to deploy all or some of your units on the ground. You can place your units on any suitable hexes, as long as the hexes are inside your landing zone. The pontoon and marine vehicles must touch the coast of their Freighter's landing zone. Transporters can be deployed loaded with other units.

On this turn, the tide is considered normal, but beware that it might change for the worse!

Turn 3: Five Action Points

Move the turn indicator cube into the third turn slot.

Draw lots for the first player; the draw is final. The turns will be taken in clockwise order.

Take the first tide card from the deck and place it visible in the "current tide" slot. That card indicates the tide for this third turn. The players whose Weather Hen is operational (not inside the Freighter, on a transporter or stuck/neutralized) may look at the second card which indicates the tide for the next turn. If every player has their Weather Hen functioning, the cards can simply be turned over, visible, on the top of the "future tides" deck. After that, the turn begins:

You perform your actions, one by one, with 5 action points and three minutes.

Turn 4: Full Hassle, Ten Action Points

The "future tide" card becomes the "current tide" card.

Everyone who has an operational Weather Hen may check the next tide.

Every player can use 10 action points.

Turn 5

Did you remember to move the turn indicator?

From now on, every player can use up to 15 action points.

The "future tide" card moves to "current tide" and the next one is checked by those who can do so. This continues until the 25th turn (at the beginning of the 11th and 19th turns when the "future tides" deck is empty you must shuffle all the cards - except the "current tide" card - and take out six cards before looking at the future tide, etc.)

Turn 6

Turn indicator, tides, 15 action points, action heats up as you become a true Full Metal Pilot.

Look out for those players who have already saved action points!

MISSION END

Turn 21

The 21st turn's departure is done in the following way: at the beginning of the 21st turn, every player secretly puts a unit or a piece of ore in his/her closed hand. The unit means that the player's Freighter will remain on the planet until the 25th turn; the ore means that the player's Freighter leaves immediately.

Each player holds out a closed hand over the middle of the map, one hand for each Freighter he/she controls, and then all players open their hand(s) at the same time.

Those who decided to leave take off immediately, without playing their turn, with what their Freighter contained at the end of the 20th turn.

A player who has more than one Freighter can take off some of his/her Freighters and leave other Freighters on the planet. If a player has, for example, two Freighters and takes off one of them, his/her basic credit will drop from 20 action points to 15 action points.

The players who left can count their score: 2 points per ore, 1 point per unit in the Freighter (each turret is worth 1 point). The identically colored units that the players left behind on the planet are neutralized: the remaining players can come to destroy or capture them.

Mission endTurn 25

If one or more players decided to remain on the planet, they play the 21st turn and continue as usual.

They must take off their Freighters on turn 25, after having played their own turn.

Caution: by playing the 25th turn, it is possible not to have enough action points at the end of the turn to lift off. Takeoff requires the player to have at least 1 action point, and 1 extra action point for every broken turret. For example, a Freighter with two broken turrets needs 1+(1+1)=3 action points to take off.

After the 25th turn every player counts their points the same way as those who took off on the 21st turn did.

The player who has the most points wins.

If two or more players have the same number of points, the one who has the most Freighters wins. If they are still equal, the one who brings back the biggest load of ore wins.

Remember: Any used action point is lost forever. If, after having spent all the action points, a player can not take off his Freighter, it will remain on the Full Metal Planète where it will rust until the end of time.