Into the Machine (EN)

Your circle-bot races toward the end of the machine, the track is closing in, and the whole table holds its breath: who will tag in their teammate first? In Into the Machine, robots blow off steam after a long day of manufacturing widgets and thingamabobs, and the result is a highly tactical robot race. Your circle-bots rush to the far end of the machine to tag in your hex-bots, who race back in the opposite direction on the same track to win.

Meanwhile, a pit crew stationed outside the machine works the terminals. Through worker placement, you move and manipulate your bots in the machine, draw Power cards and upgrade your bots along the way. Every turn you must decide: hurry to tag in your hex-bots, or pull your circle-bots out of the machine to turn them into more powerful pit crew bots? The state of the track and the available terminals keep changing, so you always have to look for the best move.

Into the Machine is for you if you enjoy light strategy games where you have to time your actions, pull off combos and leapfrog your opponents at the right moment, or if you are looking for a game for 2 to 5 players. Do robots make you smile? Even better! Games last 45 to 60 minutes.

Fun fact: there are two ways to win. You can place two of your hex-bots on the Leader Podium before any other player has placed one of theirs, or place three if other bots are there as well. The game was released in 2026 after a Kickstarter campaign.

Into the Machine was designed by Kasper Lapp and illustrated by Len H. Nicholas.

HOW TO PLAY INTO THE MACHINE (RULES SUMMARY)
Goal: be the first team to get your hex-bots onto the Leader Podium.
On your turn, you take a terminal action: you place a bot or a stack of bots on a Terminal tile to take its action, you use a Junction between two tiles, or you take your bots home to add one circle-bot to your active supply. You may also play one Power card before or after.
Stacks: even if a terminal is already occupied, you can take its action by placing a stack of bots exactly one bot higher than the highest stack there.
In the machine, circle-bots always move right and hex-bots always move left. A circle-bot that leaves on the right can become a hex-bot, or draw you 3 Power cards.
End of the game: you win with 2 hex-bots on the podium before the others have placed any of theirs, or with 3 hex-bots if other bots are there as well.

BOX CONTENTS
2 double-sided Machine boards (2 to 5 players)
1 Terminal board
4 Circle Terminal tiles
6 Triangle Terminal tiles
5 Square Terminal tiles
27 Power cards
10 player reference cards
60 circle-bots
40 triangle-bots
30 square-bots
15 hex-bots
5 inactive supply boxes
1 Ding Ding turn token
1 rulebook

Number of players: 2 to 5
Duration: 45 to 60 minutes
Age: 10+