Baby Boom
Baby Boom Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
1 - 5x5 Arena Gameboard 17 - Black Bombs (5 White, 5 Red, 4 Black, 3 Blue) 4 - Scoring Pawns 10 - Power-up Tiles
Goal
Have the most points after 3 rounds of play.
Setup
Pick a color, matching pawn and Bombs. Place your pawn on the scoring track at 0. Place Bombs on the board according to the number of players (see insert).
All Bombs start at 5 (face up).
Bombs
Bombs are six-sided dice numbered 1-5 with a "Boom" side:
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Boom!
Gameplay
The starting player is determined by rolling a Bomb die. The player with the highest roll takes the Starting Player bomb token and starts. Remember: "Boom" = 0.
Each turn the starting player goes first. Then, going clockwise, the other players take a turn. Players will move 1 Bomb of their color 1 space horizontally or vertically on the arena board (diagonal movement is prohibited).
After moving their Bomb, the player reduces its countdown by 1 (starting at 5 move to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 to "Boom").
If the Bomb stopped on a digital number side and not "Boom", play is passed to the next player.
If the Bomb is flipped to the "Boom" side it explodes and eliminates all other Bombs on its current horizontal and vertical lines (these Bombs are removed from the arena). The Bomb that has just exploded remains on the arena and cannot move, it can however be destroyed by another explosion!
Special Move (Kick)
Bombs must always move to an empty space.
However, it is possible to push an opponent's Bomb taking its place.
This movement is only possible if these two conditions are met:
- A Bomb cannot push another Bomb out of the arena. Check the space you are pushing the opponent's Bomb into is empty.
- The Bomb you are pushing with must have a greater value than the opposing Bomb being pushed.
Reduce the countdown of both Bombs moved by 1. If a "Boom!" occurs, it will take effect immediately as normal.
Exception
During a round, any player with at least one Bomb on the arena must play. If a player can not move their Bomb for any reason, they must still decrease the countdown before ending their turn.
End of Round Scoring
The round ends when only one player can move Bombs in the arena. Count the number of points for each player by totaling the face-up values and "Boom"s of their remaining Bombs in the arena. "Boom"s equal 1 point.
Player's take their score and move their scoring pawn that many spaces along the scoring track surrounding the arena.
The player to the left of the starting player begins the next round becoming the new starting player.
At the end of the third round, the player with the most points wins.
Example
Red wins this round with 3 points (2 + 1). Yellow and Green each get 1 point.
Power-up Tiles
Wall
Blocks the explosion of a Bomb.
Conveyor
Move 1 extra space following the arrows.
Paddle
Blocks the explosion of a Bomb.
Bombs Kicked or moved onto this tile move 1 extra space following the arrows.
Optional Rule: Watch Out
Redirect the explosion of a bomb following the arrows.
Detonator (Trap Hazard)
Kick any Bomb onto this tile and it explodes. Detonator is removed from the arena with the Bomb that was Kicked.
A Bomb that moves onto Detonator does not explode.
Pit Hole (Trap Hazard)
Any Bomb that lands on this tile is removed from the arena and does not explode.
Random Explosions
a.k.a. Maybe Boom! ?
When a Bomb explodes. The power of the explosion is determined by rolling an unused Bomb outside the arena.
4 or 5: All horizontal and vertical Bombs except the Bomb that explodes are removed from the arena.
1, 2 or 3: All horizontal and vertical Bombs except the Bomb that explodes are removed from the arena at a distance of 1, 2 or 3 spaces or equal to the number rolled.
"Boom": The Bomb implodes and is removed form the arena. No other Bombs are removed.
Scalable Rounds
a.k.a. Wait For It
Use variants to increase the difficulty on each round. Round 1 start with the basic rules of the game and no Power-ups. On Round 2 add Power-up tiles without the Traps. On the 3rd Round add Traps and Random Explosions.
Use different combinations and see what works the best.
Setup Insert
The insert shows the starting arrangement of Bombs and Power-up tiles on the 5x5 arena for 2, 3 and 4 players. Place Bombs on the board as shown in the insert for the number of players in the game. (The insert is a diagram; the exact positions are shown only in the image, not in text.)