ENIGMA is a mysterious world that presents you with fantastic puzzles. Futuristic conduit systems, three-dimensional constructs, and daring balancing acts are waiting to be decoded by you.
Through the power of your creative energy, you shed light on the mechanical shadow world frozen in space. The power cells that you bring to light allow you to discover what secrets are actually hidden behind ENIGMA's puzzles. Who will restore the OTHER SIDE of ENIGMA to life?
Components
- 108 double-sided ENIGMA puzzle tiles
- 1 starting tile
- 1 scoring wheel
- 4 puzzle chambers
- 16 networkers
- 1 start player marker
- 27 Puzzle Components
- 1 sand timer
- Rulebook
Setup
Place the game pieces as depicted here.
Sort the ENIGMA puzzle pieces by category and place them on the corresponding chamber.
The youngest player receives the start player marker.
Object of the Game
All players simultaneously solve different puzzles. If you succeed before the sand timer runs out, you may flip over your puzzle tile and connect it to the ENIGMA conduit system.
After that, you position your networkers cleverly on the colored power cells so that your creative energy gives you as many points as possible on the scoring wheel. As soon as (at least) one player reaches 15 points, the game ends and the player with the most points is the winner.
Game Play
The game proceeds over several rounds. Each round consists of the following phases:
- Choosing an ENIGMA puzzle tile
- Solving the puzzles
- Turning over and placing the solved ENIGMA puzzle tiles
- End of the round
1. Choosing an Enigma Puzzle Tile
Beginning with the starting player and then in clockwise order, each player chooses one of the four tasks.
Everybody takes the respective puzzle components and puts the top tile of the corresponding puzzle chamber in front of them, with the conduit side up. (At this time, nobody is allowed to look at the puzzle side of their tile yet!)
Important: each puzzle category (puzzle chamber) may be chosen by only one player per round.
The conduit side of the tile depicts a part of the ENIGMA conduit system with colored power cels. The other side of the tile contains a puzzle.
2. Solving the Puzzles
Now, all players flip the puzzle tile they have drawn to its puzzle side and simultaneously start to solve their puzzles.
As soon as one player is successful, that player turns over the sand timer.
Now, the other players have the time indicated by the sand timer to solve their puzzles. When the timer runs out, all players must stop immediately.
3. Turning over and placing the solved Enigma puzzle tiles
Now, all players together check who was able to solve their puzzle. The players who managed to do this are allowed to turn over the tile with the solved puzzle and place it on the table. Everybody who failed in solving their puzzle in time puts their tile back into the game box.
All players who correctly solved their puzzle now go through steps A) to C), one player at a time, in clockwise order beginning with the current start player.
A. Placing the Tile
Turn your ENIGMA puzzle tile to its conduit side and place it on an empty spot so that it is adjacent to at least one other puzzle tile already on the table. (The tile placed must have at least one common side with any other tile already laid out).
Each tile placed expands one or more conduit systems on the table. A conduit system consists of power cells that are connected to each other through conduit channels.
A conduit system is considered open if it contains at least one conduit channel that does not yet have an end. A conduit system is considered closed if all its conduit channels have an end.
Black has successfully solved his puzzle and is allowed to place his puzzle tile on the table.
B. Placing a Networker
Immediately after placing the tile on the table, you may take a networker from your supply, and put it in one of the power cells of the tile you just placed - provided there is no other networker in a power cell of the same color inside this conduit system!
Note 1 : According to the above-mentioned placement rule, normally a single conduit system can hold only 1 networker per power cell color.
However, if two existing conduit systems become connected through the placement of a tile, it is possible that there will be more than one networker in power cells of the same color inside the same conduit system.
Note 2 : If you have no networkers left in your supply after placing a tile, you cannot place a networker on it.
After that, Black takes a networker from his supply and places it on a power cell on the tile placed.
C. Scoring the Closed Conduit System
Now, all closed conduit systems are scored. Each player scores points for each networker that they have placed in the closed conduit system.
You earn one point for each power cell (of the closed conduit system) that has the same color as the power cell on which one of your own networkers is located.
Advance your figure the respective number of spaces on the scoring wheel.
Once the power cells have been scored, remove all networkers from the closed conduit system.
Black has placed the tile in such a way that a conduit system is closed. He scores 2 points for the two red power cells in the closed conduit system.
White scores 1 point for the blue power cell in the closed conduit system.
All networkers on power cells in this conduit system are returned to their owners.
Green's networkers stay on the board, since those conduit systems have not yet been closed.
The Puzzle Categories
Below, you will find a short description of the puzzles in all four categories:
Weight Puzzle
You try to balance the scales by placing weight pieces in the cups of the scales. The small number below a cup indicates how much a piece in a cup weighs. You have to place the pieces in the cups in such a way that the total weight on both sides of the scales is equal.
The number of weight pieces you have to use is depicted in the lower right corner of the tile. You must use all weights shown there!
Example: This tile shows that the player has to use 5 weights to solve the puzzle. If you place 1 weight in each of the two cups on the left, the scale will tilt to the left side by 19 (13+6 =19).
If you then place 1 weight in the first cup and 2 weights in the second cup on the right side, this will bring the weight on the right side to 19 as well (5+7+7=19). The scales are now correctly balanced and the puzzle is solved.
Fragment Puzzle
You have to place all seven fragment pieces on the puzzle tile in such a way that the pieces completely cover the outlines on the puzzle tile.
Conduit Puzzle
You have to place the conduit pieces on the puzzle tile in such a way that all conduit channels are connected or closed. The correct solution might consist of several independent conduit channels.
Note: There are 9 conduit pieces overall. However, some of the puzzle tiles depict conduit pieces with a red "X". This means that the corresponding pieces must not be used; you have to put them aside while you are solving the puzzle!
Angular Piece Puzzle
You have to put together all 4 angular pieces in such a way that the structure you are building - when seen from straight above - looks exactly like the picture on the puzzle tile. The structure should be built next to the puzzle tile, to make it easy for all players to compare it with the picture.
You have to place all angular pieces either directly on the table or on another angular piece. The solution is not legal if there are gaps between the angular pieces.
End of the Game
Players check if one of them has reached 15 or more points on the scoring wheel. If so, the game ends immediately and the player with the most points on the scoring wheel wins.
In case of a tie, the tied player who has the most unscored networkers on the board wins the game. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.
If all players have less than 15 points, the game continues. Players return the puzzle components to the corresponding puzzle chambers. The start player marker is passed to the next player in clockwise order. Then a new game round begins.
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