Chrononauts FAQ

Please add questions about, and answers to, Frequently Asked Questions about Chrononauts (or EAC, or UberC) here.

[edit] Chrononauts FAQs

Q: Can someone Memo a Memo? (i.e. can you stop someone playing a "Memo to Your Future Self" by playing a Memo - or using the Cake card's Memo ability?)
- A: Andy said in an email on the Chrono list, 28 April 2008: "Yes, a Memo can indeed be used to stop another Memo. And it's mighty satisfying when you do!" (read the email here)

Q: During the uber-paradox, when "the future is inaccessible," can players still alter history after 1962? (in hopes of reaching a winning condition after restoration of the timeline)
- A: During the uberparadox, that history doesn't exist, so it cannot be altered. (What history?) You must clear the uberparadox before making changes.

Q: Do paradoxes after 1962' (during the uber-paradox) count towards the 13 paradox limit?
- A: No. Any Paradoxes after 1962' are counted as part of the one big paradox that is the UberParadox. http://twitter.com/AndrewLooney/status/1718792532

Q: If the Louisiana Purchase is changed to the New Orleans Purchase (1803'), and Maryland's secession vote carries through (1861'), the Alaska Purchase of 1867 is Paradoxed, opening the door for the Cuba Purchase that same year. But, as long as the Rebels Retreat in 1862, the North still wins the Civil war, causing there to be reconstruction in 1866. However, the Cuba Purchase of 1867' was negotiated by CSA Secretary of State Robert E. Lee. It seems that these two events are mutually exclusive, and yet they can appear on the Timeline at the same time. What gives?
- A: All I can say is, sometimes Alternate History works in mysterious ways...

Q: Can someone Get There First and steal your completed Mission or ID?
- A: No. The flipped up card (Mission or ID) is only an outward, physical representation of the work that you've done. It's the work that matters. No one can steal the work you've accomplished. The work itself is done, past, finished... intangible, therefore unstealable. The flipped up card is only a representation of the work, not the work itself.

Q: Are Gold Watches susceptible to GTF or INE?
- A: No. Like face-up Mission or ID cards, a Gold Watch is just a token of your 25 years service for the TRA. It can't be stolen.

Q: If you get your Gold Watch before completing a mission, and that mission is Midas Mission or Futuristic Alchemist, does the Gold Watch count as something gold?
- A: No. (See previous question.)

Q: Should a new Mission or ID be drawn upon completion of the first?
- A: No. You keep your old one, it's just face up now. You're still you, but everyone knows you now, and your mission becomes a reminder of past accomplishments, like a diploma on the wall.

Q: Can the Chrono-FRED and Head in a Jar allow you to win without completing the other two parts of the game?
- A: No. If you win with Fred and the Head then you keep the Mission or ID card as if you'd accomplished that Mission or gotten home with that ID. You still need to win two other ways.

Q: What happens to Chrono-FRED or the Head-in-a-Jar when their goal is complete?
- A: When you get a FRED/Head victory, you take that Mission/ID for your own, and discard both the Gadget and your own uncompleted Mission/ID. However, if you have FRED or the Head but accomplish your own Mission or ID, you reveal your card and then simply retain the Gadget. At that point, it becomes useless to you; but FRED and the Head retain their mission/ID cards, and they stay in your possession. The Head is still who he is, and FRED is still programmed to complete that Mission, so the Gadgets stay in play as always.

Q: Can Voluntary Re-assignment be used to replace ChronoFRED's mission?
- A: Yes. You can also make the Head in a Jar's Parents Never Meet.

Q: Does the Lost Ark of the Covenant count as Gold for the Midas Mission?
- A: Yes. ("It's Gold!" was added in the 3rd printing.)

Q: What the deal with the Most Toys card from Lost Identities? Should the numbers change when playing UberChrononauts?
- A: That's a good question. (That's what you say to buy time while you think of what answer to give.)

Q: How does Crazy Joe work in UberChrononauts?
- A: In regular Chrononauts, the game ends immediately if the Universe is destroyed, with everyone losing -- unless Crazy Joe was in the game, in which case he wins. However, in UberChrononauts, the game wouldn't be able to continue if Crazy Joe meets his goal, and since the UberGoal requires you to accomplish more than just your character's conditions, the universe needs to be kept from collapsing in order for the game to work. Fortunately, there's this special team of Time Police agents, who've been pursuing Crazy Joe across the timesteam for eons, who will suddenly show up to solve this problem if it occurs. Here's what happens: Crazy Joe is credited for having destroyed the Universe, which teeters on the brink of destruction but doesn't actually collapse. (The player keeps the ID card face up on the table thereafter, indicating that this part of the UberGoal is complete.) Then the Time Police rule is used (see below) to put the TimeLine back in order enough for the game to continue. (And while they're busy keeping Time intact, Crazy Joe gets away scot-free! Laughing maniacally, of course.)

Q: What is the Time Police Rule?
- A: It's a special rule created for the Crazy Joe Uber-Situation above, which can also be useful in tournaments for non-Uber Chrono games. If the Universe is on the brink of destruction, and it would be awkward for the game to end without an actual winner, a special team of Time Police agents will suddenly step in to save the universe. This is done by giving all players an imaginary Restore History card, which each player must immediately use in turn on the Red Linchpin of their choice. After everyone has done their share of repair work, the Time Police will vanish and the game continues as usual with the next player. But the Time Police will not return. If the Universe is destroyed a second time, it really does get destroyed, and all players are considered losers.

Q: How does the Really Clean Time Machine's ability work with the modified draw rules of UberChrononauts?
- A: You draw two cards, look at them both, and decide to either keep them both or put one of them back onto the draw pile, taking instead the top card from the discard pile.

Q: The UberChrononauts rules card says "On your turn, Draw 2, Discard 1, and Play 1." Does that mean you draw 2 cards, keep 1 and discard the other, or do you draw 2 cards, add them to your hand, discard any card you choose from your hand, then play a card?
- A: The latter. It's kind of like a game of Fluxx, if the rules at the time were Draw 2 plus a New Rule called Discard 1 which, if it existed, would require you to discard 1 card between the Draw and Play parts of your turn.