From The TimeSplitters Wiki

Zones appears in TS2 & FP. It is by far the most complicated of the TimeSplitters Arcade Custom game modes. In each of the three, the game is placed on five lighted placements on a map. If a red team player runs over the lighted placement, the lighted placement turns red. If a blue team player runs over the lighted placement, the lighted placement turns blue. Until a team player runs over the lighted placement, the placement remains plain and does not count toward either team.

Contents 1 Other Rules 2 Symbols 3 Victory 4 Example 5 Tips

Other Rules

After a time period that ranges near twenty seconds, the amount of lighted placements your team has is transferred into points, one point per placement. If a red team member runs over a blue lighted placement, the lighted placement turns red. If a red team member runs over a blue lighted placement before the twenty seconds end and a blue team member does not come to replace it, the point goes to the red team. This also applies vice versa.

Symbols

At the center of the top of the screen is a symbol that depicts three crucial diagrams for the game of Zones. The top shows how much time is left in this "round". The middle shows the position of the lighted placements. The bottom depicts the team who is winning and how large its advantage is over the losing team.

Victory

Before the game you select the number of points you must acquire before the game ends. If a team acquires that amount of points then that particular team wins. Or if a team does not acquire that many points before the selected time limit reaches its deadline, the team with the most points wins.

Example

Ex: Red Team has 3 placements. Blue Team has 1. 1 of the placements has not been assigned a team. After twenty seconds, Red Team has 3 points, Blue has 1. Blue then takes the unassigned placement and takes 2 of the 3 red placements. So, blue has 4 and red has 1. At the end of the second twenty seconds Red has 4 points and Blue has 5. As you can see, the winning edge can change quickly in a game of Zones.

Tips

Zones is better played with a large or fast team of weak bots or friends then a small team of strong or slow bots or friends. Try laying explosives on the lighted placements to avoid the enemy team capturing them. It is also good to have a team member secure a lighted placement rather then the entire team charge from one placement to the next. Playing a game of Zones where you are the only player on your team is very difficult, but such a scenario is depicted in the Arcade Leagues of TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. In such a game and in regular game Powerups are greatly advised, preferably the Speed. When choosing a team of characters, pick those of small heights (Robofish) and of large agility (Monkey). Enemy team players have been known to ignore a player in a game of Zones, and the player should follow suit. Unless an enemy is about to steal one of your lighted placements, do not stop to shoot them unless if you have a "one-hit kill weapon" (Heatseeker). For a frantic game of Zones, play in a small arena. If you are just starting the TimeSplitters series, go with a large area. It is also good to travel alone, separate your team to spread out and get the other zones as fast as you can, the Zones are place far from each other most of the time, so the faster you get to it, the better. On route maps such as Training Ground or Spaceport, it is possible to take all but one base and stand on the second before last base and stop opponents from coming past.