Anybody bring the monster repellant?
...
YOU and three opponents choose and control one MONSTER, with
its own special abilities, and one branch of the military! YOU
decide where your MONSTER will go to increase its health - by
destroying cities! Small cities are snacks, others are one-course
meals, bigger ones are two-course meals. Better get your military
units into Los Angeles or New York City right away - they're
worth the most to whomever eats them first. You gain extra attacks
as your MONSTER achieves INFAMY by destroying historic landmarks
- Mt. Rushmore, the Alamo, the Washington Monument and many more!
Each monster has a personal goal - Tomanagi the Carnosaur wants
to gobble tourists on the boardwalk at Atlantic City before knocking
down the casinos!
If YOUR military weakens a MONSTER enough, it's sent to Hollywood
to make B movies! YOU earn bonus money and, even if you only
retreat the MONSTER, a chance for a breakthrough in military
research - like the Blonde Lure! YOU could command the National
Guard. YOU decide how you spend your military budget. It's only
cut if a MONSTER ravages one of your bases. You'll be more successful
with four or more units, but even a single Guard unit can defeat
the MONSTER. Yeah, right! BEWARE - if you fire a cruise missile,
the MONSTER may MUTATE and get Atomic Breath, grow Whip Tentacles,
or just go BESERK! And just as you close in with a massive force
to attack - it can DISAPPEAR off the map, reappearing in one
of its six lairs! BUT WAIT - that MONSTER in Hollywood has gradually
been getting stronger - it has BROKEN FREE to RAVAGE AGAIN!
WHEN will this horror end???? The MONSTER that destroys the
20th city issues a challenge to the others. They scramble to
get to one of five Challenge Sites, say Niagra Falls, to grab
the chance to strike first! If your military has Super Colossal
Guy or the Mecha-MONSTER, even they can win this fight-to-the-finish.
(In your dreams!) The MONSTERS weigh in...the challenger chooses
who to fight first. The winner adds the loser's beginning health
score to whatever it has left after the battle and chooses the
next opponent. The last MONSTER standing is the KING of the GIANT
MONSTERS and wins the game!
THE TOURNAMENT: Although new, 167 played in 1998, the second
largest draw at the convention. Special MONSTER theme prizes
will be awarded to finalists. A juniors tournament has been added
Saturday at 3 PM for those 12 and under. We've got more room
and brave assistants to speed the setups. Ben Knight, one of
the game designers, will appear from his lair for some heats!
Many losers may still advance to a new second round that begins
immediately after the fourth heat Saturday so check for Alternate
status. The top 16 play Sunday morning for the right to advance
to the final.
The last player beaten in a MONSTER challenge is not necessarily
the second place player. To determine advancement, handout sheets
will record at the start of the MONSTER challenge: 1 point for
each health point, 2 for each infamy marker, and for these specific
mutations: 9 for Whip Tentacles, 6 for Armor Scales, Atomic Breath,
or War Spikes, 3 for Beserk or Hi-Octane Blood. Up to three points
can be earned for MONSTER sound effects. (See back of the rule
book! The silent BRONACLE OF THE DEPTHS' facial expression will
be judged.) To prevent delays to accumulate factors, five bonus
points may be awarded for games completed 15 minutes before the
scheduled end. Tiebreakers: number of toys collected from smashed
military bases and how often your MONSTER went to Hollywood.
To stick to our schedule, a warning may be given - after the
next city is eaten, the MONSTER challenge is issued. This likely
will happen in the Saturday heat; we must calculate who advances
and start Round 2 at 10:00 PM.
Tournament rules:
1) You Are Here/Local Hero infamy marker - the player who has
the second choice of military will place the marker in the space
of their own hometown, instead of Hunt Valley, MD.
2) During your military purchase and placement phase, you may
remove military units from the map, but no trade-in value will
be paid. You may purchase them again on the FOLLOWING turn and
place them on an intact base. The Navy can transfer units from
one coast to another this way.
3) Players may not lend or give cash to one another. No deficit
spending!
4) Retreats - If a MONSTER is to be retreated in a battle with
multiple military branches, then a branch controlled by the MONSTER
has no say on the retreat route. If other branches cannot agree
on the retreat route, settle it with a die roll. Unless a player
holds the Guard Commander card, all players except the MONSTER
make the choice for surviving National Guard units.
5) Misprint on the game board - MONSTERS do not have the option
of remaining in Hollywood when they regain half their starting
strength. They must break free - go to L.A. or disappear.
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