- BGG rating
- 8.3
burncycle: BioDefend Expansion
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,574
- BGG rating
- 7.9
burncycle
2022
Rules assistance for burncycle
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- 13+
- Complexity 4.1/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for burncycle
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
burncycle is a board game released in 2022 for 1–4 players, 45–180 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Josh J. Carlson and Shannon Wedge and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Variable Set-up.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 8.3
burncycle: The Specialists
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- 2022
- BGG rating
- 8.0
burncycle: Crossover Equipment Pack
- 1–4 players
- 45–180 min
- 2023
- BGG rating
- 8.5
burncycle: Ebbwall Expansion
- 1–4 players
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2023
- BGG rating
- 8.3
burncycle: Robophobia Expansion
- 1–4 players
- 2023
- BGG rating
- 8.5
burncycle: The Renegades Expansion
- 1–4 players
- 2023
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About the game
A puzzly infiltration game for 1–4 players, burncycle puts you in command of a team of robots in the far future. Their mission: taking down evil, human-run corporations responsible for subjugating AI under their heel. Your team arrives at each corporate headquarters and must sneak inside, shutting down the companies' physical operations as well as their circuitous digital networks. As you search rooms and advance to the higher floors, you'll be rewarded with new items and abilities, but you'll also be challenged by threatening guards, fatal viruses and the architecture itself, which was built to fight off robotic intruders. Key to this solo and cooperative experience is the idea of “creative action sequencing.” During each round of play, all players will contend with a randomly drawn set of programming directives, which tell them in what order their bots are allowed to take physical, digital and command actions. Players can choose to skip over directives at the cost of having an incomplete turn, or they can disobey the directions by paying costly action dice. The best players, however, find a way to work within the “burncycle”: essentially, organizing their actions so that they benefit the team while staying within the directive order. Each of the corporate headquarters in the game use unique neoprene layouts on a larger mat, changing the geography of the game to suit your target. Each CEO also has at their disposal a special threat meter, which will trigger new obstacles for your robots as time runs out. If you don't complete the mission quickly, you may end up leaving bots behind, the victims of immobilizing power drains or destructive counterhacking. Your team wins the game if you complete your objectives on every floor without losing your command module or maxing out your threat level. -description from publisher
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- GoKids 玩樂小子
- YOKA Games
- Chip Theory Games
Questions and answers
burncycle supports 1–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for burncycle is 45–180 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists burncycle for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
burncycle has a complexity rating of 4.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a heavy game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
burncycle belongs to these categories: Dice, Exploration, and Puzzle. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Variable Set-up. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of burncycle are: Josh J. Carlson and Shannon Wedge. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists burncycle as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.