Rules of the Game

"Now I know what I did wrong. I made the best rules for me, but everyone has their own ways of having fun."

- Thomas Rules of the Game is the fourth episode of the first series.

Plot
With the help of Carly, Thomas constructs an elaborate obstacle course just outside of the Maintenance Yard that he calls "Thomas' Super Awesome Obstacle Course." Percy, Diesel, Kana and Sandy are all very impressed and ready to play. But Thomas stops them and explains all the rules of the course to them. After the explanation, Thomas' friends bolt off to have fun. But trouble arises for each of them. Kana is not a fan of the Zig-Zag Zone, Percy does not want to go on The Loop, Sandy keeps jumping into the mud pit instead of over it, and going through the Tunnel of Dreams sends Diesel into a coughing fit. Thomas simply thinks he did not explain the rules well enough. But no matter how hard he tries, none of his friends are having fun until they all decide to leave.

Thomas soon finds all of his friends playing a game of Train Tag instead. Thomas tries to convince them to come back to the course, but Percy, Kana, Sandy and Diesel all say that they are having lots more fun here. Then the delivery whistle blows, meaning everyone has to go back to work. When Thomas heads to work, he is instructed by Gordon how to shift to get the cargo to settle. But Thomas toots his whistle while he does it, making Gordon cross. Thomas leaves the station more upset than ever. He talks with Percy about Gordon later, and Percy comments that it was kind of like what happened at the obstacle course. Then, when they reach the steep hill, Percy is nervous to puff up it with his mail car. Thomas realizes that Percy not liking the high hill was the exact same reason that Percy did not like the Loop; because it was tall.

Thomas later learns that Kana hates sharp turns such as zig-zags and that Sandy loves playing around in the mud. Thomas now understands what he must do. After all the work is done, he asks Percy, Kana, and Diesel if they would like to come back to a surprise for them at the obstacle course. The trains begrudgingly agree to come along and are amazed to see that Thomas has changed the course to better accommodate for everyone, not just himself. A Zoom Zoom Zone for Kana, the Tootin' Tunnel for Diesel, a Marvelous Mud Bath for Sandy, and the Not So High Hills for Percy. Of course, Thomas still kept some parts for himself like the big jump... which he ends up not making and falls straight into the mud. But Thomas does not mind and he and his friends all have a great time.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Diesel
 * Carly
 * Sandy
 * Kana

Locations

 * The Maintenance Yard
 * Knapford
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Tunnel of Zoom

UK

 * Aaron Barashi as Thomas
 * Will Harrison-Wallace as Gordon
 * Henri Charles as Percy
 * Henry Harrison as Diesel
 * Eva Mohamed as Carly
 * Holly Dixon as Sandy
 * Chloe Raphael as Kana

US

 * Meesha Contreras as Thomas
 * Neil Crone as Gordon
 * Charlie Zeltzer as Percy
 * Shomoy James Mitchell as Diesel
 * Jenna Warren as Carly
 * Glee Dango as Sandy
 * Ava Ro as Kana

Trivia

 * In the Latin American Spanish dub, this episode is titled "The Rules of the Game".
 * Gordon's request for Thomas not to whistle simply for the sake of what Gordon perceived as formality was similar to his request for Henry not to whistle in the original series episode, Whistles and Sneezes.

Goofs

 * In Milkshake!'s airing, the US dub credits appear at the end as opposed to the UK dub.

Merchandise

 * Motorized

US/CAN

 * Time for Teamwork!