Special Actions

In addition to simple movement from cell to cell, the hero has up to four special actions at his disposal.

Teleport

The hero somehow managed to get his hands on a personal teleporter. Unfortunately, when operated without an energy source, it is not very reliable. Activating the teleporter causes the hero to be transported to a randomly selected cell anywhere on the grid. There is no limit to the number of teleports the hero can perform.

The destination cell is guaranteed to be unoccupied, but there is a very real chance that it will be adjacent to an angry robot. Due to the risk inherent in teleporting, it should generally be reserved as a last ditch maneuver, when there are no longer any safe moves available.

Teleport Safely

The teleporter has a secondary operating mode that will transport the hero to a randomly selected, but safe cell. Safe teleporting requires energy though, and energy is generally in short supply. Obviously, the ability to teleport safely at key moments can greatly extend the hero's lifespan.

Not all game types allow safe teleports and the amount of energy required to teleport safely varies between game types.

Use the Vaporizer

The third use for the teleporter device doesn't actually teleport the hero at all. This somewhat uncommon operating mode teleports all robots in cells adjacent to the hero. No one knows exactly where the robots are teleported to, but it seems to be sufficiently far away that they bother the hero again. Because the robots disappear into thin air without leaving a junkheap, this mode is nicknamed the vaporizer and enemies dispatched through vaporisation are considered as killed for scoring purposes.

Like teleporting safely, using the vaporizer requires energy. Not all game types include the vaporizer and the amount of energy required to use it varies between game types.

Wait Out Round

There may come a time when the grid is laid out such that all the robots can be destroyed without the hero having to move at all. In such a situation, you have the option to wait out the round.

Example 2.1. An Opportunity to Wait Out the Round


Waiting out the round causes the hero to freeze in place while the enemies continue their regular movement. This continues until one of two things happen: the enemies destroy themselves and the round finishes, or an enemy manages to reach the hero and the game ends. Once a wait out round command has been issued, it cannot be canceled, so one must be certain that the hero is, in fact, safe.

So why would one take an action that eliminates the opportunity to change one's mind? Well, it adds a bit of flourish and drama to the end of a round, but more importantly, there is a bonus awarded for each enemy destroyed while waiting out the round. The size and type (points or energy) of the bonus is determined by the game type.