COSTA SOL POLICE DEPT · EVIDENCE ITEM 001

NEON HEAT

Steal. Run. Betray. The city never sleeps, but it remembers.
2–5 Players · 45–60 Minutes · Ages 14+ · Rulebook v0.1 (playtest draft)

1. Overview

Welcome to Costa Sol, a neon-soaked coastal city where the banks are crooked, the cops are for sale, and the radio never stops talking. You are a small-time criminal with big plans: pull jobs, build a crew, dodge or bribe the police, and betray your friends at exactly the right moment. When the city's Final Score goes down, the richest player to escape Costa Sol wins.

2. Components

Qty	Component
9	District tiles (double-sided)
60	Job cards (3 tiers: Petty, Pro, Legendary)
25	Gear cards
20	Crew cards
25	Radio Costa Sol event cards
10	Snitch cards
5	Character boards + standees
5	Heat dials (0–5 stars)
2	Police pawns
80	Cash tokens ($10K / $50K / $100K)
2	Six-sided dice
1	First Player token (a golden pager)

3. Setup

Build the city. Shuffle the 9 district tiles into a 3×3 grid, random side up. Costa Sol is different every game.
Place the police. One Police pawn on the Precinct. The second stays off-board (see 8.3).
Job market. Deal 2 Petty, 2 Pro and 1 Legendary job face-up: this is the Job Market.
Decks. Shuffle Gear, Crew, Radio and Snitch decks.
Players. Pick a Character, take a Heat dial set to 0 stars and $30K.
Start. Everyone starts on the Bus Terminal.
The player who most recently got away with something takes the golden pager and goes first.

4. Turn Structure

Spend 3 Action Points (AP) on any mix of actions (repeats allowed). Then refill the Job Market to 5 cards and pass the pager clockwise. At the end of every round, flip a Radio Costa Sol card and resolve it.

5. Actions (1 AP unless noted)

Action	Effect
🚗 Move	Move to an adjacent district.
🔍 Case a target	Take 1 Job card from the Market matching or adjacent to your district. Hand limit 3.
💵 Hustle	Gain $10K. Raise Heat by 1 star. Quick money is loud money.
🛒 Gear up	Draw 2 Gear, keep 1, pay its cost. Shop districts only.
🤝 Recruit	Draw 2 Crew, keep 1, pay the fee. Max 3 crew. Bar districts only.
💥 Pull the job (2 AP)	In the job's district: check Gear/Crew icons, roll 2d6 + modifiers vs difficulty. Success: payout (+50% at 3+ stars). Fail: +1 Heat, discard 1 used Gear, keep the card. Either way add the job's printed Heat.
🕶️ Lay low (2 AP)	Lower Heat 2 stars. Only in a district with no player and no police.
📞 Snitch	Play a Snitch card: rival gains 2 stars. They roll one die; on 5–6 the tip is traced and the 2 stars go to you instead.

6. Jobs

Tier	Payout	Difficulty	Heat
Petty (28)	$20–40K	5–6	★1
Pro (22)	$60–120K	7–9	★2
Legendary (10)	$200–350K	10–11	★3

Every job names a district (stand there) and requirement icons. Legendary jobs always need 2+ crew. Nobody robs the Costa Sol Mint alone.

7. Heat ★ (the heart of the game)

Heat	Effect
★0–2	You're a ghost. Nothing happens.
★3–4	Hunted. Police move toward you on Radio cards. Adrenaline bonus: jobs pay +50%.
★5	BUSTED, immediately.

Busted: lose half your cash (rounded up, "processing fees"), discard all Gear, set Heat to ★2, move to the Hospital and pay it $10K. Play normally next turn. Crime waits for no one.

If a Police pawn ends any movement in your district while you are ★3+, you are Busted. At ★2 or less the police walk right past you. You're not worth the paperwork.

8. Radio Costa Sol

Radio cards resolve in order: 1) move the police toward the highest-Heat player (ties: the richest), 2) apply the city event, 3) read the joke aloud. This is mandatory. It's in the rules now.

8.3 Second wind: the first time any player reaches ★4, the second Police pawn enters at the Precinct. Costa Sol PD found the budget.

9. The Final Score (endgame)

When the last Legendary job leaves the Market, reveal THE FINAL SCORE:

Any player may join by reaching the Final Score district and paying a $50K buy-in.
Participants roll together vs difficulty 12, adding +1 per participant plus their own modifiers. Success: the $500K pot splits evenly.
The Double-Cross: after the dice land, each participant secretly votes GRAB or SPLIT. Exactly one grabber takes a double share (+2 Heat). Two or more grabbers: the cops were tipped off, all grabbers are Busted and the splitters share everything.

Then everyone gets one last turn to reach the Marina or Airport and escape. Escaping is free at ★0–3; at ★4+ pay a $100K bribe or stay stuck.

Winning: the escaped player with the most cash wins. Players stuck in Costa Sol cannot win. Money you can't spend is just paper. Tiebreak: lowest Heat.

10. The Characters

Character	Ability
The Wheel (driver)	Move actions cover up to 2 districts.
Glitch (hacker)	Once per turn, reroll one die on a job.
Deadeye (sharpshooter)	Jobs needing 2+ crew need one fewer for you.
The Smile (con artist)	Hustle gains $20K instead of $10K.
The Heiress (broke old money)	Starts with $60K, pays double when Busted. Rich people problems.

11. Quick Reference

Turn: 3 AP → Move / Case / Hustle / Gear up / Recruit / Pull the job (2) / Lay low (2) / Snitch
Job: stand in district → check icons → 2d6 + mods ≥ difficulty → payout (+50% at ★3+) → add Heat
★5 = Busted: half cash, all gear, Heat to ★2, Hospital
End: last Legendary leaves → Final Score → escape via Marina/Airport → richest escapee wins

NEON HEAT is a work of satire set in the fictional city of Costa Sol. Any resemblance to actual criminals, living or busted, is purely aspirational. v0.1 playtest draft; rules subject to change when playtesters break them.