Material

X-Pod Play Off

In 2004-2006 Lego released a line of sets called X-Pods. Each set was about 50-60 pieces, and came in a special plastic container called a pod. The first eight of these X-Pods could also be used to play a strategy boardgame, X-Pod Play Off.

Since then Lego has erased most of the information about the game and its set from their website. But the "advanced rules", including over a hundred unit models used for the game, were exclusively on their site and not in the manuals included with the sets. So I've mirrored the files here.1

Thanks to the other users on LEGO® Answers for helping me dig up these files.

Sets

The X-Pods were released in three groups of four sets. The first set used clear cases with lids matching the primary brick color.

These four sets were collected into a single set, X-Pod Play Off Game Pack (65535), which also contained the basic rules. Some versions of that bundle came with another pod identical to Robo Pod but colored black.

The second set of X-Pods can also be used to play the game. These used transparent cases tinted the same color as the lids and the primary brick color.

The final set of X-Pods are not used for the game. These used two different colors, one for the case and another for lids, matching the primary and secondary piece colors. This line included the all-new Dino Pod, but also three sets named Auto Pod (4415, red and orange), Robo Pod (4416, white and blue), and Aero Pod (4417, yellow and blue). These don't contain the same pieces as the previous sets with the same name and are usually seen branded under the Creator line. (The spirit of X-Pods also live on in the still-manufactured Star Wars Buildable Galaxy series.)

As of 2013, these sets aren't available in stores but can still be found on shopping and auction sites for reasonable prices.

Basic Rules

The basic rules were available from Lego's website, and also came with the bundled package. In the basic game each pod is given a "starter kit" of eight fixed models and nine "X-Tra" cards, of which players choose three.

Basic Rules
Figure of Robo Pod containerRobo Rules Figure of Auto Pod containerAuto Rules Figure of Aero Pod containerAero Rules Figure of Wild Pod containerWild Rules
Errata
Figure of Dragon Pod containerDragon Rules Figure of Monster Pod containerMonster Rules Figure of Aqua Pod containerAqua Rules Figure of Arachno Pod containerArachno Rules

Advanced Rules

The advanced rules were only available from Lego's site. In the advanced game, players select up to ten models out of more than twenty possible for each set. There are also more X-Tra cards to choose from.

The colors (or amounts of some colors) in the models often don't match the colors found in the set, probably because the colors were changed after the game rules were written.

Advanced Rules Strategy Guide
Figure of Robo Pod containerRobo Plans Figure of Auto Pod containerAuto Plans Figure of Aero Pod containerAero Plans Figure of Wild Pod containerWild Plans
Figure of Dragon Pod containerDragon Plans Figure of Monster Pod containerMonster Plans Figure of Aqua Pod containerAqua Plans Figure of Arachno Pod containerArachno Plans

Boards

Lego also provided a different board background graphic for each set. These are not required to play; any 6x9 square grid will work. You can use plates or bricks to mark spaces with barriers.

Figure of Robo Pod containerRobo Board Figure of Auto Pod containerAuto Board Figure of Aero Pod containerAero Board Figure of Wild Pod containerWild Board
Figure of Dragon Pod containerDragon Board Figure of Monster Pod containerMonster Board Figure of Aqua Pod containerAqua Board Figure of Arachno Pod containerArachno Board

  1. Lego, if you're not happy about this, think about maintaining your sites better. Your URLs have lifespans measured in weeks. ↩