120-minute plan · 4 players · Break a repeating day A tiny station repeats the same departure three times. A parcel ramp opens too late for an accessibility bridge, while two platform crews follow contradictory versions of the timetable. Content notice: Missed connections and repeating time. All passengers remain safe on the platform; nobody is stranded in danger.
Each morning has five work beats, four in the short game. At two remaining beats the departure gate closes to new bridge work; passengers already boarded may depart. Learn the signal order and the bridge crew’s clearance rule in the first round, then reset. The accessible route requires clearing parcels before assigning the bridge crew, then boarding and dispatching from the signal office. The local-transfer plan instead spends two transfer tickets and one beat booking seats, then one beat escorting people to the sheltered local platform. Tickets and all temporary crew work return each reset; the original schedule and clearance knowledge remain. After the third morning the prism stops repeating and everyone waits comfortably for a later service.
The timetable prism has three recorded mornings. A copied schedule swaps parcel and bridge slots. The signal office stores the original order: bridge, board, parcel. Timetable knowledge survives resets, but tickets, ramp clearance, crew assignments and the departure gate reset. Reordering the signal with both crews ready permits an accessible departure; transferring passengers to a later local service is slower but valid.
Agree on subjects to soften or skip. Each player names an ordinary skill and a reason to help. Evidence does not require a successful roll; uncertainty changes time, cost or obligations. A porter drops a blue ticket, catches it, and drops it again. The same train sighs at the same platform. A prism above the clock lights the first of three pale faces.
120 minutes: Try the express or accept the local Opening agreement: 10 minutes Investigate the copied order and painted lane: 30 minutes Record the first morning and reset: 25 minutes Choose and complete a real connection: 45 minutes Closure and debrief: 10 minutes Earn both retained facts before reset. The local route uses both transfer tickets and two beats, trades arrival time for certainty, and need not consume all three recorded mornings. Starting information: Three recorded mornings Starting state: Recorded morning = 1; Station work beats = 5; Transfer group tickets = 2; Original signal order known = false; Bridge clearance rule known = false; Parcels clear of bridge lane = false; Bridge crew ready = false; Passengers boarded = false; Departure gate closed = false; Local seats booked = false; Passengers at local platform = false With 4 players: share the roles of mapper, evidence keeper, speaker and timekeeper.
If the gate closes before bridge deployment, reset while a face remains or book the local. If transfers have been spent on an abandoned attempt, reset restores them; without another face, the sheltered wait remains available. Never count an unescorted booking as a completed trip.
Read aloud: The ticket falls in exactly the same spiral. GM: Show all three round boxes and two transfer counters. Reset brings people here with the same tickets and no crew assignments.
Read aloud: Three colored bars are labeled bridge, board, parcel. GM: Reading the original earns order knowledge. Dispatch only after actual boarding; owning the correct timetable alone cannot move passengers.
Ask: Which job was moved ahead of the bridge? Requires: Available. Spend 1 Station work beats. Original signal order known: true. Reveal The original three bars Result: Nemi marks the copied parcel slot as the transposition.
Ask: Send the express only now that everyone is aboard? Requires: Passengers boarded is true. Result: Nemi advances the signal after Sol’s completed boarding report. Closure: A departure in the right order
Read aloud: The blue cart line crosses the white bridge line. GM: Inspecting explains clearance. Clearing the lane is separate physical work and must be repeated after reset. It remains possible after the gate closes, but the bridge cannot newly deploy then.
Ask: What must physically change before the bridge can open? Requires: Available. Spend 1 Station work beats. Bridge clearance rule known: true. Reveal White lane, blue cart Result: Sol points out the blue cart across the white lane.
Ask: Spend a beat clearing the bridge lane before other work? Requires: Parcels clear of bridge lane is false. Spend 1 Station work beats. Parcels clear of bridge lane: true Result: The white lane is empty until the next reset.
Read aloud: The bridge crew hold a timetable copied in the wrong order. GM: Assigning the bridge needs both retained facts, a cleared ramp and at least three beats before the action. Boarding costs another beat. Dispatch can occur after the gate closes if passengers are aboard.
Ask: Use the corrected order before the departure gate closes? Requires: Original signal order known is true and Bridge clearance rule known is true and Parcels clear of bridge lane is true and Departure gate closed is false and Bridge crew ready is false and Station work beats at least 3. Spend 1 Station work beats. Bridge crew ready: true Result: Sol’s crew opens the bridge and waits for all passengers.
Ask: Spend one full beat letting the group board unhurriedly? Requires: Bridge crew ready is true and Passengers boarded is false. Spend 1 Station work beats. Passengers boarded: true Result: Every passenger reaches the carriage; the bridge crew gives a clear signal.
Read aloud: The local board promises a slower journey with no rushed connection. GM: Booking uses both group tickets; escorting is a separate action. This plan accepts a late arrival and leaves the express timetable repair for staff.
Ask: Take the sheltered route and accept the later arrival? Requires: Local seats booked is true and Passengers at local platform is false. Spend 1 Station work beats. Passengers at local platform: true Result: The group reaches the sheltered platform together.
Ask: Complete the slower journey and leave the express repair to station staff? Requires: Passengers at local platform is true. Result: A local train arrives at a platform already prepared for its passengers. Closure: Later, together
Read aloud: The clerk offers seats instead of another hurried departure. GM: Transfers are finite this round but replenish on reset. Repeated bookings cannot mint tickets or combine seats across mornings.
Ask: Spend both group tickets for a slower sheltered connection? Requires: Local seats booked is false. Spend 1 Station work beats; Spend 2 Transfer group tickets. Local seats booked: true. Reveal Two group transfers Result: Rusk stamps both transfers and holds the local seats.
Prism station hall ↔ Signal office: Enter the signal office. Available. Prism station hall ↔ Parcel ramp: Pass the ticket barrier. Available. Prism station hall ↔ Transfer counter: Visit the transfer desk. Available. Signal office ↔ Express platform: Take the staff platform stair. Available. Parcel ramp ↔ Express platform: Use the cleared bridge lane. Parcels clear of bridge lane is true. Parcel ramp ↔ Sheltered local platform: Follow the sheltered passage. Available. Transfer counter ↔ Sheltered local platform: Walk the accessible ramp. Available.
Goal: Restore one understandable departure order Offers: The original schedule and prism reset. Will not accept: Three recorded mornings only. Voice: “We can repeat the morning, not add another face.”
Goal: Give every passenger an unhurried route aboard Offers: A bridge crew if the painted lane is clear. Will not accept: Will not deploy after the gate closes. Voice: “Clear the white line before calling us.”
Goal: Offer a viable slower journey Offers: Two group tickets and a sheltered local route. Will not accept: Booked seats still require an escort to the local platform. Voice: “Later is an arrival time too.”
Give only when revealed in play. Original: BRIDGE → BOARD → PARCEL. Copy: PARCEL → BRIDGE → BOARD. The departure gate closes with two work beats left. Write which jobs must precede that closure. Player task: Create a next-morning schedule with a real boarding step. GM answer: Clear the parcel lane, ready the bridge before closure, board, then dispatch.
Give only when revealed in play. The bridge crew needs the white lane empty. The blue cart occupies it. Moving the cart takes one work beat. The cart returns at the next recorded morning. Player task: Mark physical work that must be repeated after reset. GM answer: Retaining the clearance rule does not retain the cleared cart state.
Give only when revealed in play. Ticket one [ ] Ticket two [ ]. Both book the whole group on the later local service. After booking, escort passengers by the sheltered ramp. Arrival is later; the express departs without them. Player task: Compare a slower guaranteed trip with another express attempt. GM answer: Booking spends both tickets; escort then local departure is a complete alternate plan.
Give only when revealed in play. First [ ] Second [ ] Third [ ]. Retain notes and understood schedules. Reset tickets, carts, crew assignments, boarded passengers and gate status. After the third, the station returns to ordinary time. Player task: Choose how many more attempts to spend and name a final fallback. GM answer: Maximum three rounds; exhaustion yields a sheltered wait, not an inaccessible forced departure.
Recorded morning: 1 (clock, minimum 1, maximum 3) Station work beats: 5 (clock, minimum 0, maximum 5) Transfer group tickets: 2 (resource, minimum 0, maximum 2) Original signal order known: false (knowledge) Bridge clearance rule known: false (knowledge) Parcels clear of bridge lane: false (flag) Bridge crew ready: false (flag) Passengers boarded: false (flag) Departure gate closed: false (flag) Local seats booked: false (flag) Passengers at local platform: false (flag)
Trigger: Station work beats at most 2 No new bridge deployment is allowed this morning. An open bridge may finish boarding, and local transfers remain possible. Departure gate closed: true May recur in each round.
There are 3 rounds. Reset: Station work beats, Transfer group tickets, Parcels clear of bridge lane, Bridge crew ready, Passengers boarded, Departure gate closed, Local seats booked, Passengers at local platform. Retain: Original signal order known, Bridge clearance rule known. Revealed cards and discovered places remain known. Return to the hall. Restore tickets, cart position and five work beats (four for the short route); clear this morning’s bridge, boarding and transfer arrangements. Keep the original order, clearance knowledge and revealed observation cards. Turn the prism to its next face. When repetitions run out: The repeated mornings end. Everyone waits comfortably while staff arrange the next accessible service, without promising an immediate departure.
Let one beat pass while reviewing the plan? Requires: Available. Spend 1 Station work beats The same ticket falls and the same express sighs.
Ask staff for the next ordinary accessible service? Requires: Available. Rusk opens the warm waiting room as the prism is taken down.
Requires: Passengers boarded is true The express leaves after every passenger boards. The corrected timetable becomes the station’s shared schedule, and the prism stops repeating. Next: Who checks that copied schedules preserve the access sequence?
Requires: Passengers at local platform is true The group takes the slower local service. Arrival is late, but the route is sheltered and complete; express repairs remain station work. Next: What message should be sent ahead about the later arrival?
Requires: Available The repeated mornings end. Everyone waits comfortably while staff arrange the next accessible service, without promising an immediate departure. Next: Which practical comfort makes waiting easier?