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Drillers · Reference sheet

Drillers reference sheet

Overview

  • 1–4 players, ~60–90 min; competitive deck-builder/mine crawler [p.3 — Game Overview]
  • Goal: score the most victory points by collecting minerals, drilling mine tiles, and building your deck [p.3 — Game Overview]
  • Core loop: Operations (move/drill/play cards) → Surfacing (sell/buy/repair/refuel) → Upkeep (discard, draw 3) [p.3 — Game Overview]
  • 7 floors: surface + mine entrance + 5 underground floors; deeper floors are locked behind barrier tiles [p.4 — Setup]
  • Game ends when a player fills their progress track; all others take one final turn [p.13 — End of the Game]
  • Tiebreaker: most credits → most fuel [p.13 — Scoring]

Setup

Mine

  1. Unfold main board; place minerals on each floor as printed [p.4 — Setup]
  2. Place 1 face-up starting floor card on floor 1; deal 1 face-down deep floor card on each deeper floor [p.4 — Setup]
  3. Place 1 barrier tile on each of the 4 lowest floors (floor number must match) [p.4 — Setup]
  4. Sort corridor tiles into 5 stacks by floor indicator; place each stack on its floor [p.4 — Setup]

Surface

  1. Place shop board above mine; sort cards by icon — damage stack aside, 4 shop decks face down, reveal 2 cards per shop [p.4 — Setup]
  2. Place 2 advanced cards face down under the floor 3 deep floor card (without looking) [p.4 — Setup]
  3. Place milestone tokens and all credits next to shop board [p.4 — Setup]

Each Player

  1. Place mech on surface; build starting deck (shuffle 7 cards + 1 DAMAGE, place TORSO on top) [p.5 — Setup]
  2. Dashboard: fuel cap on '10', fuel gauge on '10', storage cap blocking 3rd slot, 3 drones (1 face-up) [p.5 — Setup]
  3. Distribute starting credits and cards by turn order (see table below) [p.5 — Setup]
Order 2P 3P 4P
1st 2C / 3 cards 2C / 3 cards 2C / 3 cards
2nd 4C / 4 cards 3C / 4 cards 5C / 3 cards
3rd — 5C / 4 cards 4C / 4 cards
4th — — 7C / 4 cards

Turn structure

Each turn has 3 phases in order:

  1. Operations — Play cards and use default functions to move, drill, collect minerals, and use drones. Any order, as many times as affordable [p.6 — Operations]
  2. Surfacing — Only if you end Operations on the surface: sell minerals, repair (once), discard cards, upgrade rig, refuel, buy cards [p.10 — Surfacing]
  3. Upkeep — Pay 1 fuel per extra card kept (1 free); clear play area to discard; draw 3 cards; refill shops [p.12 — Upkeep]

Actions

Moving & Drilling (Operations)

Action Cost Effect
Move 1 floor 1 movement Up or down 1 open floor
Collect mineral 1 drill Take mineral from your floor to storage
Excavate corridor Drill cost shown on stack Add minerals from tile to floor; place tile in progress track
Remove barrier Drill cost on tile Remove barrier, reveal floor card, move to new floor free

Default Functions (any time during Operations)

Action Cost Effect Limit
Gain movement 3 fuel +1 movement Unlimited
Gain drill 4 fuel +1 drill Unlimited
Take damage — Gain 3 fuel; add DAMAGE card to discard Once per turn
Exhaust mine tile — Resolve effect on tile; flip face down (worth fewer points) Unlimited

Surfacing Actions

Action Cost Effect Limit
Sell minerals — Move storage minerals to market; gain credits shown Unlimited
Repair 5 drill Remove 1 card from hand/play area/discard/top of deck Once per surface
Discard card — Gain 2 credits per card discarded from hand Unlimited
Upgrade storage 3 credits Move storage cap 1 space right Per space
Upgrade fuel cap Credits shown on next space Move fuel cap right Per space
Buy card Cost printed on card Place on top of deck (permanent cards go beside dashboard) Unlimited
Refuel — Fill fuel tank to cap Once
Shop refresh Shop refresh tile (once/game) Replace all cards in 1 shop with new ones Once/game

Scoring

Points gained:

  • Each mine tile in progress track: points printed in top-right corner (face-down/exhausted tiles score less) [p.13 — Scoring]
  • Each mineral in market, overflow zone, and storage: fixed points by mineral type [p.13 — Scoring]
  • Every 5 credits remaining = 1 point [p.13 — Scoring]
  • Each milestone token + unused shop refresh tile: printed value [p.13 — Scoring]

Points lost:

  • Mech position at game end: points shown on each floor (deeper = more lost) [p.13 — Scoring]
  • Each card in deck with negative points printed in upper right corner [p.13 — Scoring]

End of game

  • Triggered when a player's progress track tiles meet their overflow zone cubes (or reach the end if overflow is empty) [p.13 — End of the Game]
  • Triggering player takes the final milestone token (worth 10 pts); all others draw 1 card [p.13 — End of the Game]
  • Triggering player finishes their current turn; every other player takes one final turn; triggering player does NOT take another turn [p.13 — End of the Game]
  • Mechs still underground at end of final turn lose points based on depth [p.13 — Scoring]
  • Most points wins; tiebreak: most credits → most fuel [p.13 — Scoring]

Glossary

  • Fuel Cap: Tile blocking the maximum fuel your tank can hold; upgradeable during Surfacing [p.5 — Setup]
  • Storage Cap: Tile limiting mineral storage spaces; upgradeable for 3 credits [p.10 — Surfacing]
  • Progress Track: Row on dashboard filled left-to-right with mine tiles; filling it ends the game [p.6 — Dashboard]
  • Overflow Zone: Minerals placed here shorten your progress track; full columns sell here at reduced price [p.10 — Sell Minerals]
  • Barrier Tile: Blocks access to a floor; removed by spending drills equal to the printed cost [p.7 — Drilling]
  • Corridor Tile: Excavated to add minerals to a floor and fill your progress track [p.7 — Excavate Corridors]
  • Floor Card: Revealed when a floor opens; provides ongoing mandatory effects for the rest of the game [p.12 — Floor Cards]
  • Milestone: Token earned by the first player to cross a milestone line; worth points; others gain credits or cards [p.12 — Milestones]
  • Drone: Dashboard token; flip face-down during Operations to sell 1 mineral or buy 1 card [p.9 — Drones]
  • Solid Fuel: Card cost requiring you to move 1 mineral from storage to overflow zone instead of paying credits [p.8 — Cards]
  • Battery: Required (alongside credits) to purchase advanced technology cards; spent by exhausting a mine tile with a battery icon [p.11 — Advanced Technology]
  • Permanent Card: Horizontal card placed beside dashboard (not in deck); usable once per Operations phase [p.11 — Permanent Cards]

FAQ

  • Q: When do I shuffle my discard into a new deck? — A: Immediately when your deck is empty, not when you need to draw [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: Can I use a permanent card the same turn I buy it with a drone? — A: Yes [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: Can I use default functions while resolving a card's main effect? — A: No — only before or after playing a card [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: Can I discard minerals from storage to make room? — A: No [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: What if the damage card stack is empty when I take damage? — A: Remove the top mineral from the rightmost non-empty market column and return it to supply [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: Can I use leftover movement/drills or play cards after surfacing? — A: No — extra movement and drills are lost; cards can only be played during Operations [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: Can I use the shop refresh tile when buying with a drone? — A: No — shop refresh tile is Surfacing phase only [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: Can I excavate mine tiles if my progress track is full? — A: Yes — place them to the right of your dashboard [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: What if my overflow zone is full? Can I still sell minerals? — A: Yes — they still score points and credits but no longer shorten your progress track [p.18 — FAQ]
  • Q: Are floor card effects (e.g. LAVA CAVE, SULFUR CAVE) mandatory? — A: Yes, all floor card effects are mandatory [p.18 — FAQ]

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