BARRAGE

Hey there! Welcome to Barrage. In this game, you and your friends get to be international companies trying to make the most of the water in an Alpine region filled with rivers. It’s pretty neat, but it’s not easy! You’ll need to plan your moves carefully because your resources aren’t always available. The goal is to store as much water as you can and gain the most power. Think you’re up for the challenge?

SETUP

Alright, let’s get things set up. First, put the map in the middle of the playing area. Don’t worry about the side icons for now – we’ll get to those later. Next, place the energy track and management board next to the map. And don’t forget about the mixers and excavators – they go beside the map to help you with your supply. Finally, separate the credits into different piles based on their values and organize them into the supply. All set? Great, let’s get started!

When the water falls, it enters the main supply. I gotta admit, there’s a bit of magic to it. But before we get into that, let’s talk about setting up the game.

We start by shuffling all the Headstream tiles, those little squares that are full of possibilities. Then we pick four of them and place them on the Map, each in its assigned spot. Now, let’s spice things up a bit by adding some Bonus tiles. We choose five random ones and put them where they belong on the Energy Track. Oh, and don’t forget the Objective tile, it has a special place on the Energy Track too. It adds a little twist to the game.

Now, let’s talk about Contracts. These babies are crucial, so we don’t want to skimp on them. We randomly draw Contract tiles and make sure we have one less than the number of players. These tiles find their home on the Management board, where they’ll keep us on our toes.

There’s one last tile we need to place, and it’s called the Neutral Dam tile. These tiles come in different types, each with its own special power. We draw one of each type and put them in their assigned building spaces. Now we’re all set and ready to play.

Player Setup

Alright, now it’s time to get personal. Each player is assigned a Company and an Executive Officer based on the player order. Once that’s done, they gather all their game components in their company’s color. It’s like getting ready for a big adventure.

First, I’ll assign myself the USA board, which is red, and I will be Wilhelm Adler. You will be assigned Germany, which is black, and you will play as Jill McDowell. Next, Solomon P. Jordan will have the green Italy board, and finally, Viktor Fiesler will play as France with the white board.

Now, let’s prepare for the game. Each player will start with 6 Credits, 6 Excavators, 4 Concrete Mixers, and a Contract tile. We’ll place the Energy markers on the starting space of the Energy Track. The VP markers will go on the number 10 space of the scoring track. And now, we’re ready to begin!

GAMEPLAY

We’ll play the game over five rounds, with each round having five phases. We must follow the phases in order.

Phase 1

When it’s time, we all need to complete this phase at the same time. You and other players will get some money, which is shown on your Company board. To get the money, you have to build structures. And the more structures you build, the more money you’ll get.

During the first round, we put two water drops on the Headstream tile. Just so you know.

Phase 2

Now, this phase is a bit different. We each take turns doing things. But before you can do your thing, you have to place your Engineers on a free space. How many Engineers you need depends on what you want to do – it can be up to three. Once you place the Engineers, you can do your action. But here’s the catch: if you don’t have enough Engineers, you can’t do the action. So make sure you have enough!

Once I finish my turn, my chance to take actions is over. I have to pass if I don’t have any Engineers left to use. Once everyone has passed, this phase is done.

Phase 3

After the action phase ends, it’s time for the water to flow. The drops of water on the headstream tiles follow the regular rules and slowly fill up the dams they flow into. A dam is considered full when it holds the maximum number of water drops it can handle.

The remaining drops of water continue to flow and fill the next dam. This phase ends when all drops have been placed or lost as they reach the lower basin.

Phase 4

When it’s time to calculate the scores, we add up the points. The player in the top position on the energy track receives six Victory Points, while the player in second place gets two Victory Points. Additionally, players receive credits based on their position on the energy track.

If your marker is in the current round or beyond, you score a bonus tile. If it’s in a previous section, you score four points less than the bonus tile. The left bonus tile is then removed, and once all the tiles are gone, the game ends.

Phase 5

The player with the least energy becomes the first player in the next round. All the new Advanced Technology tiles are placed face up in their assigned spots. This phase doesn’t happen in round 5.

END OF GAME

After five rounds, the game concludes. Players calculate their Victory Points from their Objective tiles and any remaining resources they have. The player with the highest number of Victory Points wins!