Here's a more detailed look at the board elements and robot interactions that will affect your robots as they race through the factory.
Board Elements
Remember, board elements activate at the end of each register. An element affects a robot only when that robot sits on it at the end of a register.
As soon as the robot moves off a board element, whether as a result of that board element, the effects of upgrade cards, or robot interactions, the board element no longer affects the robot.
Conveyor Belts
Conveyor belts move your robot in the direction of the arrows. Double-arrowed conveyor belts move robots two spaces and activate before single-arrowed conveyor belts, which move robots one space. Once a robot has moved off a belt, the belt no longer affects that robot. See the examples below.
Once Smash Bot has moved off the belt, the conveyor belt no longer affects it, so it moves one space instead of two.
If a conveyor belt would move a robot into a non-conveyor belt space where another robot sits, the robot in motion must stop on the last space of the conveyor belt. It does not push the robot in its way.
Both robots would end their move on the same conveyor belt space. In this rare instance, both robots stay where they are.
Rotating Conveyor Belts
Some conveyor belts have a curved arrow indicating a rotating section of the belt.
Robots rotate 90 degrees in the direction of the curved arrow as they move onto the curved section of the belt.
If a robot moves onto the curved section of a conveyor belt by means other than the conveyor belt itself, the robot does not turn 90 degrees.
If a robot moves onto the curved section of a conveyor belt by means of the conveyor belt, but it moves from a straight arrowed space instead of a curved arrow space, it will not turn 90 degrees.
Push Panels
Push panels push any robots resting on them into the next space in the direction the push panel faces. They activate only in the register that corresponds to the number on them.
For example, if you end register two on a push panel labeled "2, 4" you will be pushed. If you end register three on the same push panel, you won't be pushed.
Gears
Gears rotate robots resting on them 90 degrees in the direction of the arrows. Red gears rotate left, and green gears rotate right.
Board Lasers
Board lasers fire at robots who end a register in their path, starting at the red and white pointer. Lasers cannot fire through walls, the priority antenna, or hit more than one robot.
If your robot is shot by a board laser, you must take damage in the form of one SPAM damage card for each laser on that space and place it in your discard pile.
Pits
If you land on a pit, you immediately fall in and must reboot your robot.
Energy Spaces
At the start of the game, you will have placed energy cubes on these spaces as indicated by your chosen course. End your move on them to grab them!
Once an energy cube has been picked up, that energy space remains empty of energy cubes for the remainder of the game.
However, any robot that ends a fifth register on an empty energy space may take an energy cube from the energy bank even if that space was empty at the start of the game.
Checkpoints
Get here at fast as you can! Your goal is to land on each of the checkpoints in your chosen course in numerical order.
If you're the first to do so, you win! In order to complete a checkpoint, you must be on it at the end of a register, and you may enter a checkpoint from
any side. Sometimes you'll need to reach only one, and sometimes you'll need to reach six! When you complete a checkpoint, take a checkpoint token.
Walls
Robots cannot move through walls, and robot and board lasers cannot shoot through walls.
The Priority Antenna
The priority antenna helps determine whose turn it is. As a board element, it acts as a wall. Robots cannot move through, push, shoot through, or occupy the same space as the priority antenna.
Robot Interactions
Robot Lasers
Robot lasers fire at robots they are facing, as long as the laser's line of sight is not blocked by a wall, the priority antenna, or another robot.
If your robot is shot by a robot laser, you must take damage in the form of one SPAM damage card for each hit and place it in your discard pile.
Pushing Other Robots
If a robot enters a space occupied by another robot, the robot in motion will push the other robot in the direction the pushing robot is moving until it ends its move.
Robots do not change the direction they are facing when they are pushed. Robots can be pushed almost anywhere on the board, including into a pit. They can even be pushed off the side of the board! Robots cannot be pushed through walls. If a robot pushes another robot into a wall, both robots immediately end their movement.
Remember, if a conveyor belt would move a robot into a non-conveyor-belt space where another robot sits, the robot in motion must stop on the last space of the conveyor belt. It does not push the robot in its way.
As Smash Bot moves two spaces, he pushes Hulk x90 two spaces.
In this example, Smash Bot pushes Hulk x90 into a pit, so Hulk x90 must reboot.
Here Hulk x90, Hammer Bot, and Smash Bot are sitting in a row. Smash Bot moves one space and pushes the other two robots one space.
Here, Smash Bot would push Hulk x90 three spaces, but when Hulk x90 hits a wall, both robots must stop even though Smash Bot has moves left.
Falling Off the Board
If you move off or are pushed off of the board, you must reboot your robot immediately, just as you would if you fell into a pit.
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