Cargo Connect — Official Rulebook

L5 Logistics Cargo Engineer Employee Manual · v0.89

1. Introduction

Cargo Connect is a two-player, turn-based strategy game played on a square vertical grid, from 5×5 up to 8×8 (8×8 is the standard shift). Players take turns dropping pieces into the grid, where they fall under gravity and stack. Players score points by arranging four of their pieces into tetromino patterns and unloading them, and they play single-use action cards to rotate or manipulate the grid and slow their opponent down.

2. The setting: Luna Station

Luna Station is a space station parked at the Earth-Moon L5 Lagrange point, run by the megacorp L5 Logistics to receive and process cargo from mining and manufacturing projects on the Moon and in near-Earth orbit.

You are a Cargo Logistics Engineer ("Clunker") employed by L5 Logistics, and your job is to place and unload Cargo Modules as efficiently as possible to ensure maximum profit for the company.

Supervisor: The grit in the seals is, you've got competition. To keep lowly "Clunkers" from getting slow and lazy, L5 Logistics always schedules two Cargo Engineers competing head-to-head on every shift.

Once the Cargo Bay is full, the shift is over, and the Clunker who unloaded the highest cargo value wins — earning bragging rights, better station privileges, and even promotions. That means you don't just have to do your job, you have to do it better than the other Clunker on your shift.

3. Game components and terms

• Cargo Engineer ("Clunker"): A player. Player 1 is Blue; Player 2 is Orange.
• Cargo Bay: The playing grid where Cargo Modules are placed: 5×5, 6×6, 7×7 or 8×8 (64 spaces), chosen when the shift is set up. Gravity pulls modules toward the bottom of the bay.
• Cargo Module ("Can"): A doughnut-shaped game piece dropped into the Cargo Bay. Its center hole holds one Cargo Core.
• Cargo Core: The colored center of a Cargo Module, showing which Clunker owns it. Only Cores count toward AppCons.
• Empty Module ("Empty Can"): A Cargo Module with no Core — left behind after its Core is unloaded. Empty Cans stay in the bay, take up space, and can never score.
• Corridor: A full row or column of the Cargo Bay.
• Security Interlock Approved Configurations ("AppCons"): The seven approved shapes (O, T, J, L, S, Z, I) that four Cores can be arranged in to unload them.
• AppCon Efficiency Chits ("Chits"): Track which shapes each Clunker has completed.
  • Gold Chit: The first Clunker to complete a shape this shift earns its Gold Chit, worth +2 points.
  • Steel Chit: The second Clunker to complete that shape earns its Steel Chit, worth 0 points — but it still clears that shape's Rust Chit.
  • Rust Chit: Each Clunker starts the shift holding all 7 Rust Chits, one per shape. Completing a shape (Gold or Steel) clears its Rust Chit. Each Rust Chit still held at Final Audit costs −2 points.
• Shipping Protocols: The five action cards. Each Clunker starts the shift holding one of each, and each card can be played once per shift.

4. Setting up the shift

• Cargo Bay: Choose the grid size (5×5, 6×6, 7×7 or 8×8; 8×8 is standard) and start with an empty Cargo Bay. Smaller bays make shorter shifts.
• Shipping Protocols: Each Clunker takes a full set of the five Shipping Protocols: Station Rotation 90°, Corridor Lockdown, Corridor Purge, Cargo Damage, and Re-Routing Order. There is no deck and no drawing.
• Efficiency Chits: Each Clunker starts with all 7 Rust Chits. Each shape's Gold and Steel Chit are unclaimed.
• First turn: Blue (Player 1) takes the first turn.

5. Approved configurations (AppCons) and unloading cargo (scoring)

An AppCon is exactly 4 of your own Cores connected edge to edge, horizontally or vertically, in one of the seven tetromino shapes. Diagonal connections don't count. Rotations of a shape count as that shape, but mirror images do not: J and L are different shapes, as are S and Z, and each has its own Gold, Steel, and Rust Chit.

Supervisor: The Cargo Bay used to allow diagonal connects to unload cans. Notice how I say "used to".

Years ago, we found out the hard way that diagonal connections between cargo cans are unstable and prone to what the eggheads call "catastrophic overpressure" (everyone else just calls it "blowing up the can and the Clunker unloading it").

So they disabled diagonal link-ups, and now cans have Security Interlocks that only allow horizontal and vertical linkups between cans in approved configurations. They say it's to "protect workers", but we know it's about protecting their bottom line.

Why should you care? Because if you don't arrange your Cans in AppCon patterns, there's no way for you to crack those seals and unload that cargo. Now get to work!

6. Turn structure

On your turn, you must take exactly one Phase 1 action, then you may unload in Phase 2, then you end your turn. If you have no legal Phase 1 action, you skip it (see Passing below) and may still unload.

Phase 1 — PLACE or PLAY (required)

• PLACE: Drop a Cargo Module with a Core of your color into any column that isn't full and isn't MagLocked. It falls to the lowest empty space in that column.
• PLAY: Play one of your unused Shipping Protocols and resolve it (see section 7). Playing a card is your whole Phase 1 action, so you don't also place a module that turn. Once played, the card is spent for the rest of the shift.

Phase 2 — UNLOAD CARGO (optional)

If 4 of your Cores form an AppCon, you may unload it:

1. Select the 4 Cores. They must be exactly 4 connected Cores of your color in an approved shape.
2. Remove their Cores. The 4 modules become Empty Cans and stay where they are.
3. Score the shape's Cargo Unload Value.
4. Claim the shape's chit: if neither Clunker has completed this shape yet, take its Gold Chit (+2 points, added immediately). If your opponent already holds its Gold Chit and you haven't completed it, take its Steel Chit (+0). Either way, that shape's Rust Chit is cleared for you.

You may unload only one AppCon per turn, even if several are available. You may complete the same shape again later in the shift; it scores its Cargo Unload Value each time, but you earn its chit only once.

Note: You may also choose to wait before unloading an available pattern, in case you are able to build it into a higher scoring pattern in later turns — but the longer you wait, the greater the risk that an opponent might use their Actions to break your AppCon before you unload it!

End of turn

End your turn and play passes to your opponent.

Passing

You must take a Phase 1 action if you have any legal move: a column you can drop into, or any Shipping Protocol you can play (Cargo Damage counts only while two side-by-side modules sit outside the MagLocked corridor, and Re-Routing Order only while your opponent has a Core on the board). You may Pass only when you have no legal move and your opponent still has one. Before you Pass, you may still unload one AppCon (Phase 2). If neither Clunker has a legal move, the shift ends (see section 8).

Supervisor: What do you mean 'Why four?' Why do you ask so many dumb questions? I'll tell you this time, but it's a bad habit always wanting to know 'Why' about everything...

Admin figured out that space pirates favor Corvette-class ships for better speed and maneuverability or something. Since corvettes are too small to haul four cans at once (and pirates aren't stupid enough to risk multiple trips to steal cargo from the same location) they programmed four to be the magic number for our cargo security interlocks. Happy now?

7. Shipping Protocols

Each Clunker holds one of each protocol, and each can be played once per shift as your Phase 1 action.

• Station Rotation 90°: Rotate the entire Cargo Bay 90° Left or Right. Gravity shifts every module "down" to the new bottom, and they settle into new positions. Rotating releases any active MagLock.
• Corridor Lockdown: Choose a row or column and secure it with MagLocks. While locked, no Cargo Modules can be dropped into it and it can't be purged. Only one MagLock can be active at a time, so locking a different corridor moves the lock there. Playing Corridor Lockdown on the corridor that is already locked releases it instead. Otherwise the lock lasts until a Station Rotation is played.
• Corridor Purge: Choose a row or column that isn't MagLocked and vent its contents to vacuum, removing every module in it from play. Purging a column empties it. Purging a row removes that row, and the modules above it fall one space.
• Cargo Damage: "Sometimes a helpful little 'accident' is exactly what your career needs." Choose two spaces side by side (in a row or a column, not diagonally) and destroy what's in them. Any module can be destroyed: an Empty Can, your opponent's Core, or even your own. Neither space can be in a MagLocked corridor. Both spaces empty, and the modules above them fall into the gap. Games started before v0.89.0 keep the old Cargo Damage until they end: choose 1 or 2 of your opponent's Cores, and they become Empty Cans.
• Re-Routing Order: Bribe Dock Control to make a paperwork error in your favor. Choose one of your opponent's Cores and take ownership of it — it changes to your color and counts toward your AppCons at full value.

8. End of shift and Final Audit

The shift ends in either of two ways:

• Cargo Bay full: a Clunker fills the last empty space (every space full: 64 on an 8×8 bay).
• No legal moves left: neither Clunker can take a legal move — for example, every remaining empty space is in a MagLocked corridor and neither Clunker holds a Station Rotation, Corridor Lockdown, Corridor Purge, or Cargo Damage to free it.

Either way, the Clunker who ended it finishes their turn, including one last chance to unload cargo, and then the Final Audit begins.

The Penalty Clause: Admin expects a balanced manifest. During Final Audit, each Clunker counts the Rust Chits still in front of them — the shapes they never completed this shift — and loses 2 points for each one. All 7 shapes are audited for both Clunkers independently, so leaving all seven uncompleted costs 14 points.

Winner: The Clunker with the highest score after Final Audit wins the shift.

Tiebreaker Regulation: If the final scores are exactly tied, the Clunker who earned more Gold Chits during the shift wins. If they are still tied, the Clunker with fewer Rust Chit penalties wins. If they are still tied, the Clunker who did not move first (Orange, Player 2) wins the final tiebreaker, so every Final Audit has a winner.

Games started before v0.92.0 keep the older rule: a tie goes to more Gold Chits, and equal Gold Chits is a draw.

Example: At the end of the shift, Player 1 has 21 points and Player 2 has 19 points. Then comes Final Audit. During the shift, Player 1 never completed an L-shaped AppCon, while Player 2 completed all seven shapes. Player 1 loses 2 points for the L-Pattern Rust Chit:

• Player 1: 19 points (21 points − 2 point L-Pattern Rust Chit)
• Player 2: 19 points (no penalties)

The scores are tied, so the Tiebreaker Regulation decides it: the Clunker with more Gold Chits wins the shift. If both earned the same number of Gold Chits, Player 2 wins: one Rust Chit penalty for Player 1, none for Player 2. Had both also had the same number of Rust Chits, Player 2 (Orange) would win the final tiebreaker.

Resigning: A Clunker may resign at any time; their opponent wins the shift.

Supervisor: Plan your drops well, don't skip any AppCons, and don't block yourself into dead-ends. Grab every Chit you can, hit your targets, and maybe you'll earn a bunk with a real mattress. Now get to work, Clunker!

9. Daily Challenge

Every day brings a new Daily Challenge: a shift against CargoBot that starts the same way for every Clunker. Choose Puzzles on Home to play it.

• The day is the Pacific calendar day (midnight to 11:59:59pm Pacific). The Cargo Bay size depends on the weekday: Monday 5×5; Tuesday and Wednesday 6×6; Thursday and Friday 7×7; Saturday and Sunday 8×8.
• Difficulty: choose Easy, Medium, or Hard CargoBot. All three use the same daily seed, so everyone who picks the same difficulty faces the same CargoBot, and its moves depend only on yours. You are Player 1 (Blue) and move first. The normal rules above apply.
• Ranked game: a signed-in Clunker's first game each day at each difficulty is ranked (up to three a day). It is recorded when it starts and saved after every move, so it can be continued on any device until the day ends. Later games that day at that difficulty are practice: same start, never ranked. Guests play practice only.
• Ending: a ranked game ends when it is finished or resigned. A ranked game not finished by 11:59:59pm Pacific is resigned automatically. Resigning (in the game, from Puzzles, or the automatic end-of-day resign) counts as a loss, scored as if the Final Audit ran at that moment: each shape not yet completed costs its Rust Chit penalty, so quitting never beats finishing. If CargoBot or the rules are updated while a ranked game is in progress, that game can't continue: it is voided (it doesn't count) and a new ranked game can be started that day.
• Score: each ranked score is scaled to an 8×8 Cargo Bay, score × 64 ÷ (grid size²), so every day counts the same; the margin over CargoBot (your score − CargoBot's) is scaled the same way. Scores are shown rounded, for example 42 (+7) for a win by 7 or 31 (−4) for a loss.
• Boards: the monthly Daily Challenge rankings (Easy, Medium, and Hard) on the Rankings page rank each Clunker's single best ranked game that Pacific month: higher scaled score first, then the larger scaled margin, then the earlier finish. Losses and resigns are ranked too. Daily Challenge games count only on these boards, not in Profile stats, achievements, streaks, the Elo Rating, or the vs CargoBot Rating.

Weekly Puzzles

Seven solo puzzles a week, the same for every Clunker. Choose Puzzles on Home to play them. There is no opponent taking turns: only you move.

• The puzzle: a Cargo Bay that looks like a shift in progress (Blue and Orange Cores, Empty Cans, and maybe shapes you already completed on your shelf), a preset hand of Shipping Protocols (all, some, or none of the five; not every card is needed), a goal, and a turn limit. Orange never moves, has no shapes on its shelf and scores nothing; its Cores are just part of the board (obstacles, or Re-Routing targets).
• A turn is PLACE or PLAY (required), then an optional UNLOAD, then End Turn. The normal rules above apply. After End Turn the next turn is yours again.
• Goals: unload a given shape ("Unload an S in 3 turns."), score a number of points during the puzzle ("Score 12 in 4 turns."), or unload a number of AppCons ("Unload 2 AppCons in 4 turns."). A goal never names a card.
• Scoring is normal: the AppCon's value, plus the Gold Chit bonus (+2) only for a shape nobody has completed yet; a shape you already completed scores its value only. There is no Final Audit and no Rust Chit penalty in a puzzle.
• Solved the moment the goal is met (checked after each unload). Out of turns when the last turn ends without the goal; also when no turn can be taken (the Cargo Bay is full, or you have no legal act).
• The week runs Monday to Sunday (Pacific days), easy Monday to hard Sunday: Monday and Tuesday 5×5 in 1–2 turns; Wednesday and Thursday 6×6 in 2–3; Friday 7×7 in 3; Saturday and Sunday 8×8 in 3–4, and those need a card. Every puzzle can be solved in exactly its turn limit, never in fewer.
• Missed days stay open all week; later days open on their day. Retries are unlimited. Puzzles have no streaks and no rankings, and count nowhere else (Profile stats, achievements, Elo, or boards). Signed in, your solved days follow you to any device; a guest's stay on the device.