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When the Runner encounters Tollbooth, he or she must pay 3Credit, if able. If the Runner cannot pay 3Credit, end the run.

SubroutineEnd the run.
"Ever heard of a catch-22?"
"Remind me to forget it."



Tollbooth is a strong mid- to late-game piece of ice. The "when encountered" effect is so strong and the strength is so high that a lot of rules questions come out of players trying to find ways to avoid the toll.

Clarifications[]

Basics[]

The Tollbooth charge goes to the bank, not the corporation.

FAQ[]

Page 5, Column 2, Paragraph(s) 14-15, FAQ
If the Runner cannot pay 3Credit when encountering Tollbooth, then the run ends without the Runner paying any credits.

The Runner must pay 3Credit if he is able to do so, even by spending temporary credits (such as bad publicity credits).

Related FAQs[]

Related Rulings[]


Trivia[]

The flavor text is a paradox and as such a comment the paradox known as catch-22. [3]

Sources[]

  1. Using Paid Abilities to Avoid Tollbooth Ruling, Question 1
    The Runner approaches a piece of ICE during a run. The Corp rezzes Tollbooth.

    The Runner has 3 credits. Can he use Net Shield or New Angeles City Hall to spend a part of his money so that he doesn't lose it all? What about using the Corroder?

    Earlier you said: "You can trash a Corporate Troubleshooter even if there is no ice protecting the server."

    So a cost can be paid even if the effect does nothing, right?

    You cannot use prevent or avoid effects unless the condition that they are preventing/avoiding is occurring. You could use a non-prevent/avoid paid ability such as on Corroder to spend 1 credit when the Corp rezzes Tollbooth. We will take another look at this scenario before releasing the next FAQ, but that is currently a valid interaction.
  2. Parasite, Ice Carver, Datasucker v. Tollbooth Ruling
    Corp has Tollbooth. There is a Parasite on it with 4 counters, making it currently strength 1

    Runner has Ice Carver in play and runs. "All ice is encountered with its strength lowered by 1."

    Is the ice trashed before the runner has to lose 3 credits? I was reading somewhere about the active player choosing the order of effects, and if it is the runners turn, could he choose to process Ice Carver effect first, then Parasite, killing it before he has to pay the 3Credit

    In a follow up question, lets say that there was only 2 Parasite counters on the ice, but the runner has Datasucker in play with 2 tokens on it. "Hosted virus counter: Rezzed piece of ice currently being encountered has -1 strength until the end of the encounter. " That says "currently being encountered", so I think you would have to lose 3Credit from Tollbooth before you get to use it, whereas Ice Carver says that the ice is encountered at strength -1.
    The Tollbooth would be trashed before its conditional ability triggered. You have two different constant effects (Ice Carver and Parasite) which combine to knock it off before the Tollbooth can force the Runner to pay credits.

    Datasucker counters could not be used until after Tollbooth's ability. "When encountered" conditional abilities are resolved before there is an opportunity to trigger paid abilities.
  3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(logic)
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