Description
For generations, the rats of an old junkyard have told each other the great legend of a moon made of cheese, and they want nothing more than to reach that inexhaustible treasure. One day the rat children in the junkyard discovered a comic book describing the first moon landing, and so a plan was born: build a rocket and conquer the moon of cheese!Luckily, the junkyard has everything the rats need to build their rocket, and the other animals are willing to support this daring venture – at least if they're well paid. Of course, all the rats work together to achieve this mighty goal. But each rat family competes to build the most rocket parts and train the most "rattronauts", so they can feast on as much moon cheese as possible.In First Rat, each player starts with two rats and can raise two more. On your turn, you either move one of your rats 1-5 spaces along the path, or move 2-4 of your rats 1-3 spaces if they end on spaces of the same colour. Your rats can never share the same space, and if you land on a space with another player's rat, you must pay them one cheese. After moving, you collect resources (cheese, tin cans, apple cores, baking soda, etc.) matching the colour of the space you occupy, or move your light bulb along the light track, which will increase your income on future turns. (More light in the junkyard makes it easier to find things!)If you end your movement near a shop, you can spend resources to buy a backpack or a bottle cap – or steal an item instead, after which the rat returns to the start of the movement path. You can also spend resources to build rocket parts (and score points) or spend cheese in bulk as a donation (and score points).When you collect apple cores, you move through the rat den to pick up comics or stored food, or raise one of your rats from the nursery. Alternatively, you automatically get a new rat when one of your rats reaches the launch pad and boards the spaceship. When a player puts their fourth rat on the spaceship – or places their eighth scoring marker on the board – the game ends and the player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most "rattronauts" in the rocket wins.First Rat includes a solo mode and variable game setups described in the rulebook.
