Movement between Spacetime cards is vital in the Doctor Who CCG. The Doctor has seldom been known to stay in the same time and place for long, and to win the game, neither should you.

This article will focus on the various ways in which you can travel the universe, and methods in which you can keep your opponent either marooned on a planet or sent veering across half the galaxy.

The trusty TARDIS is certainly the easiest way to move your Allies and TARDIS characters between Spacetime cards, but incredibly, the game originally started without the time machine at all. The initial concept was that the TARDIS just represented a way that the Doctor could move around, so why bother with a card? When the draft rules were more closely examined however, we found that there was no real way, other than an arbitrary number, to limit the number of characters that could move with the Doctor. Players would just heap their characters in one pile for safety, and the TARDIS could have more characters inside than the USS Enterprise! This wasn’t really sticking to the ‘story sense’ of Doctor Who – even with the Fifth Doctor!

The first draft of the rules also allowed only one starting companion, regardless of cost. We soon found that Leela was far more popular than Adric or Victoria, and players would inevitably start with the ‘strongest’ companion each time.

The final factor that decided on a TARDIS card was the desire, as in the series, to show different characteristics that the TARDIS evolved over the years. The ship that the First Doctor travelled in was markedly different to that which landed in Perivale in 1989, and we wanted to reflect those changes.

There are three TARDIS cards in the basic set, each with their own starting and normal capacity. With the capacity rules, players have the option to start with more than one, albeit cheaper, companions, and have to decide carefully which Allies they allow to accompany them on their travels.

“TARDIS – Type 40 Time Machine” is the ‘common’ TARDIS card and is universally suited to all the Doctors. It gives another point of Set Up capacity so you can get larger TARDIS crews.

“TARDIS – Home Away from Home” gets better as the game progresses and as the Doctor travels around the universe. It’s especially suited for the Second Doctor (the graphic and quote is from Tomb) as it can Vortex the Sonic Screwdriver.

"TARDIS – Secondary Control Room” is a Fourth Doctor vehicle, with the great ability to Vortex any handy Artefact at the start of the game. The drawback is the lower capacity that reflects the Fourth Doctor’s sombre mood during Season 14.

But travelling through time in the TARDIS, as we know, is not without difficulties. Several cards have been designed to reflect its erratic nature and tendency to break down at the most awkward moments.

“Misjump” is a great way to slow a player down by sending him to the wrong Spacetime card. There has to be one of the same Era as his intended destination, but if you’re lucky he can end up just where your Enemies are waiting for him. For more precise havoc, “Temporal Reverse” allows a ‘God’ – currently only Sutekh, but that will soon change, to move a TARDIS to any Spacetime card. This usually means where he least wants to go and right into your Attack card.

Keeping the TARDIS pinned down also is fairly easy, as it never worked when the Doctor needed it the most. Both “TARDIS Malfunction” and “TARDIS Fault” stop a player from moving unless certain skills are present. “Exile” is a very clever card that can delay a player, or if you are lucky and can get multiple copies into play, stop all TARDIS movement. This is difficult to achieve, and only currently works on Earth Present. You have to guess how many Spacetime cards will be played and play an equal amount of “Exile” cards, but if you can, it’s a game breaker!

But there are other methods of transport besides the TARDIS. Both “Rocketship” and “T-Mat” from ‘The Seeds of Death’ can easily move your characters between different Spacetime cards as long as you have the required skills. These are very useful as they can function with both Allies and Enemies. Their only drawback is that they cannot travel in time and must remain in the same Era.

“Time/Space Tunnel” is an incredibly useful card and I don’t think I’ve seen a player design a deck without including a pair. Because it can link any two Spacetime cards, the Enemies that played at one, who possibly have Reached a Goal, can now be used again to attempt a different Goal. This is very important when dealing with ‘compatible’ Goals as I examined in my last article. Their only drawback is their uniqueness and if you want the same Enemies to move again, other methods have to be included in your deck. If you have Magnus Greel on your side though, this can be easily done with a handy “Time Cabinet”. But watch out, it’s not without risks, as the infamous Butcher of Brisbane found to his cost.

What other cards can we look forward to in further expansions that will take characters around the Universe?

Certainly, the Daleks and Cybermen will have their own ships, and as other Timelords like the Master are introduced, they too will have their own TARDIS. I’m sure we’ll see other versions of the TARDIS for different incarnations of the Doctor too.

But what’s that black triangle in the sky? A Timescoop?