TimeLine is a Hip Pocket game of logistics and time travel by James Ernest.
Players: 2-5
Playing Time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: 3 (of 10)
The Components
As with most of the Hip Pocket Games, TimeLine comes with a deck of cards and a rulebook in a small ziplock bag.
The Cards: The cards are all printed on medium-thick, slightly glossy cardstock, at smaller than regular card size. One side is black and white, while the other is a very nice sepia-tone; unfortunately, the sepia is used for the backs of the cards in almost all cases & the black for the front.
There are a total of 48 cards: 40 path cards and 8 start/finish cards. Each one shows four pipes (running from side to side on the path cards, crissing, crossing, and interweaving; or starting and ending on the start/end cards). Each pipe in turn shows a specific number, from 1 to 4--the number of the resource that’s to be placed on that pipe on that card.
It takes some work to make out which pipe goes where when you’re trying to follow a specific line from start to finish, but that’s really a result of all the interweaving required by the game setup; the cards are about as clear as they could be.
The Rules: A two-sided black-and-white rulesheet, with a couple of pretty helpful examples. They do a good job of clarifying some tricky mechanics.
Other Components: In addition, you're going to need pawns in up to five player colors, and also four colors of small markers. The pawns shouldn't be a problem. I originally tried using the Cheapass microchips for the markers, but even they were too big. I settled on the tiny glass stones in Basari; the wood cubes so common in German games, say Traders of Genoa or El Grande would have worked fine too, though the stones were probably the most evocative option.
My game of TimeLine looked pretty classy with its microstones, but just assessing the quality of the components included, I'd give TimeLine an average rating ("3" out of "5" Style); I probably would have gone up to "4" if the sepia-toned ink had been used for the main side of the cards. I'm not sure why it wasn't, as it's quite nice.
The Gameplay
The object of TimeLine is to collect goods and sell them for the best prices, all while constantly changing the timestream.
Setup: The game setup starts out with placing a start card, which shows the beginning of four timelines, each with a numbered commodity.
Then a number of cards are put down to the right of it equal to the number of players +1, to a minimum of 4 (for 2 players). Each of these cards shows those four timelines, as they move up and down, crissing and crossing. Each timeline has a space for one of those four numbered commodities.
Then, a finish card is placed. This shows each of those four timelines ending in a value, from 1 to 4. Now, if you trace a timeline all the way from start to finish, you can connect up each commodity (on the start card) with a value (on the finish card). Note that the commodities in the middle don't correspond to what's found at the timeline start; instead, they represent the commodities scattered across the timelines that players will be able to pick up.
To finish setup, a commodity marker is placed on each commodity space (that's 4 per card, or 1 per timeline per card; the spaces they're on are called "way points"), and each player is given a pawn.
Finally, each player starts the game (in order), by placing their pawn on one of the waypoints: the first player on the first card, the second on the second, etc. This is considered a "local travel", which means that each player will collect the commodity they land on and change the timeline, as described below.
Order of Play: Each turn each player can take one of the following actions:
- Local Travel; or
- Time Travel
Local Travel: This means moving with the same "timezone" (column of cards). You do this by moving your pawn from any waypoint in a timezone to another waypoint in the timezone. This can be on the same card, or on another card in the same timezone. You can place a brand new card, either above or below the current set of cards in the timezone if you wish; or you can travel to one that's been placed there before. All that's important is that you land on a waypoint in the same column.
When you land on a waypoint, you collect the commodity there (if there is one). Then, time changes due to your foolish blundering. Your card, and all above it (though not below it) in the same column are moved upward by a quarter of a cardwidth.
If you look back at the web of pipes formed by the initial set of cards, you'll see that this changes things dramatically. The pipes from left to right now lead to different things!
There are two important notes here: first, if there is an empty space in a column (typically, below the card you just moved up), that's treated as a straight across; and second, the set of "finish" cards at the end actually goes up and down infinitely, which means that if a pipe ends just above the top of the previously seen finish card, that's a value "4" (with a "3" above it, etc). In the examplar photo above, additional cards were laid out above and below the initial finish card, as they became needed, for clarity.
Note, as discussed above, that your first move works just like local travel: You step onto a waypoint, collect the commodity, and the card moves up 1/4 space.
Time Travel: Instead, you can move anywhere up or down the current timeline that you're on (except that you can't move to the start cards). This is a horizontal move (rather than the vertical local travel).
If you end on a waypoint with a commodity, you pick up that commodity, and the card you're on moves, as usual.
If you land on the end space you may sell commodities. Look up which commodity is connected up to your finish space (if there is one), and you may sell as many of that commodity as you have for the value shown on the end space.
Winning the Game: The game ends when someone has sold 21 value worth of commodities.
Relationships to Other Games
When I first looked at TimeLine, I presumed it was a tile-laying game, but it's not. In actuality, TimeLine is an abstract strategy game that just happens to have a board that can change in some weird ways, though the placement and movement of cards. Overall, I'd call TimeLine a pipe-flow game with logistical scoring: in the one aspect you're trying to control where the pipes go, even if you don't lay them per se, and in the other you're trying to collect items and then sell them for the optimal prices. Putting that all together, I'd say TimeLine is pretty unique.
TimeLine is of course one of the Hip Pocket games. For the most part, like this one, they're short, abstract games--with a theoretical theme. They're very different games from the more casual, main Cheapass line.
The Game Design
TimeLine is a very original and innovative pipe connection game. It's also surprisingly analytical, since you have to consider the timeline-changes that will result from both your moves and your opponents'. This all results in a game with a surprisingly high amount of strategy and tactics given its small size and short length.
If I had any complaint about TimeLine, it's only that it can potentially be overly analytical. If you like that sort of game, not a problem, but if you prefer something light, this isn't it.
Because of the tactical and analytical depth of TimeLine, I give it an above average "4" out of "5" for Substance.
Conclusion
TimeLine is a potent little game in a small package, and having played it I now see what it made Games 100's list of top games of the year (though their family game categorization is quite suspect). It's a nice, short game with impressive tactical depth.
Review Summary