Box Monster Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Components
• Setup
• How to Play
• End of the Game
• The Radio Cards
  • Blue Cards
  • Yellow Cards
  • Pink Cards
• Solo Variant

Object of the Game

Box Monster is a cooperative game. Players play simultaneously, against the clock, to find the objects swallowed by the monster. To do so, they use only their hands, trying to recognize by touch the objects pictured on each Radio card. When 3 cards have been resolved, the game is over.

Components

• 1 monster (the game box)
• 1 sleeve (the monster's house when the game is over)
• 42 Object tiles (3 x 14 different shapes)
• 2 Medicine tokens (to relieve the monster's tummy aches)
• 1 sand timer (90 seconds)
• 27 round Radio cards (9 of each color)

Setup

1. Take the cards, the sand timer and the Medicine tokens out of the box.

2. Shake the box to mix the 42 Object tiles inside it*. Place the box in the middle of the table, blue side up.

   * Take the time to look at the different Object tiles before your first game!

3. Sort the Radio cards by color, then place them near the box.

4. The oldest player chooses a color of Radio cards for the round*. For each color there are 3 levels of difficulty (marked 1 to 3 on the back of each card). Take a random card no. 3, then a no. 2, and finally a no. 1. Place them face down to form a pile on the box, card no. 1 on top. Set the remaining cards aside.

   * We recommend playing with the blue cards for the first game.

5. Place the sand timer on the box.

6. Place the 2 Medicine tokens near the box.

7. Each player places one hand in the monster's mouth facing them. With 2 players, each plays with both hands: turn the box slightly to the side and put one hand in each mouth. With 3 players, one player plays with both hands, the others with one hand each.

You are ready to heal your little monster!

How to Play

You must identify, by touch, the objects pictured on the Radio cards and take them out of the box while announcing what you found. When everyone is ready, start the game and follow these steps:

1. The oldest player turns over card no. 1 (on top of the pile) and starts the sand timer (with 2 players, hurry to put your hand back in the box after this step).
2. The card shows one or more objects depending on its color and difficulty level (see "The Radio Cards" below). All players must try to find these objects in the box by feeling around with their hand(s) to recognize their shape. You are not allowed to look into the monster's mouth or to take an object out to examine it.
3. You can (and should) talk freely about the objects you are looking for and those you have already identified, unless the Radio card shows the Mute icon, which forbids you to talk.
4. As soon as 2 players think they have found the same Object among those pictured on the Radio card, they must announce it out loud and take that object out of the box at the same time (in other words, each of the 2 players must remove from the box one copy of the Object in question to form a pair). If the Objects do match the one announced, place the pair of Objects removed near the box, then move on to the next Object. Otherwise, put the objects back in the box and continue. A single player cannot take out several objects at once (except that a player using both hands may take out one Object per hand).
5. As soon as you have found all the Objects pictured on a card, reveal the next card (no. 2, then no. 3) until all the cards have been resolved.

If the sand timer runs out before you have been able to resolve all the cards, add 1 Medicine token to the monster's mouth and flip the sand timer. You only have 2 Medicine tokens for the whole game!

End of the Game

You win the game if you manage to resolve all the cards before time runs out.

• If you still have both Medicine tokens, bravo! You are a fine team of surgeons.
• If you have 1 Medicine token left, good job! The monster feels better.
• If you used both Medicine tokens, it was close, but you saved the monster.

You lose the game if the sand timer runs out for the third time (you have therefore used both Medicine tokens and run out the last sand timer). Play again!

The Radio Cards

There are 3 colors of Radio cards (blue, yellow and pink). They show you what was swallowed by the monster. The blue cards are played exactly as described above, but the yellow and pink ones offer some variations.

Blue Cards

Blue cards are played exactly as described in the rules. To resolve the pistol card, 2 players must each find a pistol and take them out simultaneously to form a pair. To resolve the card with the star and the lollipop, players must find a pair of stars and a pair of lollipops, in any order.

If a card shows a 4-hands icon, you must remove all the pictured objects at the same time. In the example, players must first find a pair of yo-yos and a pair of octopuses inside the box, and only then remove all these objects from the box.

Yellow Cards

Yellow cards show a Mute icon which forbids you to talk. In addition, they only show the shape of the object, not the object itself. In the example, 2 players must find a pair of robots, but without talking.

Some cards ask you to find two pairs of objects, in any order. In the example, 2 players must find a pair of stars and chocolate bars, or a pair of phones and lollipops, but without talking.

Pink Cards

Pink cards show a sequence that you must follow. However, it is enough to find one copy of each pictured object (instead of a pair as for blue and yellow cards). In the example, you must find 1 diaper, 1 star, 1 lollipop, 1 pizza, 1 chocolate bar, 1 robot, 1 yo-yo, 1 phone and 1 alarm clock to resolve the card.

Solo Variant

Play as explained above. You can put both hands in the box and try to retrieve the Objects as fast as possible. Be careful, you must still take pairs out at the same time. However, when the Mute and 4-hands icons appear, ignore them. You can also time yourself and write down your time to keep track of your scores.

Did you manage to resolve the 3 Radio cards before the end of the sand timer? Bravo, you are the best surgeon our little monster has ever known!