CRAB RAGE! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Overview
• Round Overview
  • 1. Referee Phase
  • 2. Action Phase
  • Actions (Action board)
  • Actions (Action cards)
  • Signature Moves
  • Movement Rules
  • Billboards
  • 3. Rumble Phase
  • 4. Fan Phase
  • 5. Rage Phase
  • Mutation
• End of Game
  • 1. Hardcore Fans
  • 2. Scoring
  • 3. Winning the Game
  • Spotlight Duel
• Crab Rage Season

Components

• 1 Rage Pool
• 40 Rage Tokens
• 4 Billboards (Mega Muscle, Attack of the Fans, Pressure Cooker, Barnacle Brawl)
• 4 Arenas
• 1 Action Board
• 6 Action Cards (Psych Out, Scatter, Rush, Charm, Swap, Rage)
• 5 Team Boards
• 160 Fan Tokens (32 per player), glory on the reverse side
• 20 Crab Dice (4 of each colour)
• 2 Rumble Dice
• 5 Fanbase Cards
• 5 Signature Move Cards
• 1 Golden Claw
• 1 Microphone

Setup

1. Place the rage pool in the centre of the play area and place all rage tokens on it.
2. Take 3 arenas for 3/4 players or 4 arenas for 5 players. Place them either side up in a rough circle around the rage pool.
3. Place the action board face up to the side of the arenas.
4. Shuffle the 6 action cards and place them in a face down action deck to the side of the board.
5. Place the 2 rumble dice near the action board.
6. Stand up the Golden Claw near the action board where players can use it as a reference.
7. Each player chooses any team board and places it in front of them. They then take the following:
   • A. 3 crab dice of their team's colour, placing them from left to right on the slots on their team board (aka "backstage"). Crabs must be placed matching the muscle (dice value) shown in their slot. For 3 players, take all 4 crabs.
   • B. All fan tokens of their team's colour, placing them in a supply above their team board fan side up.
   • C. 6 rage tokens, placing them on the bottom-most available slots on the rage ladder on their team board. For 3 players, take 8 rage tokens.

The rulebook shows an example setup for 3 players.

Game Overview

CRAB RAGE! is played over four rounds. Each round consists of five phases:

1. Referee Phase – Add a new action card to the available actions.
2. Action Phase – In turn order, each manager performs actions.
3. Rumble Phase – In arena order, managers compete for fans.
4. Fan Phase – Each manager gains rewards for their fanbase.
5. Rage Phase – Each team builds rage.

After four rounds, move to End of Game (see below).

Round Overview

1. Referee Phase

"The ref's switching up the rules!"

• A. New Rules. Flip over a card from the top of the action deck and place it into the first available slot on the action board. This reveals a new action available to all managers during the Action Phase.
• B. Billboard Rotation. Move the billboards one arena clockwise. This does not happen in round 1.

Rush is flipped from the top of the action deck during the New Rules step of the Referee Phase.

2. Action Phase

"Here they go!"

Starting with the manager with the microphone, and moving clockwise until everyone has passed, each manager must choose to do one of the following:

• Act. Select an available action (see below). Place rage equal to its cost from your team board onto the action. Select any 1 of your crabs to perform the action and resolve. Actions marked with the arena symbol can only be performed when the crab is in an arena.
• Pass. Once you pass, you cannot perform any more actions that round.

Actions (Action board)

The action board always offers these four actions. Rage cost is shown on each card (rage icons, top left):

• Move (cost 2) – Move your chosen crab (from an arena or backstage) to any other arena.
• Go Clam (cost 3) – Set the muscle of your chosen crab (in an arena or backstage) to 5 AND then move it to any other arena.
• Split (arena only, cost 2) – Split up any existing alliance in your crab's arena. Both teams from that alliance must go independent.
• Smash (arena only, cost 1 plus X) – Unleash X rage to deal -X muscle to 1 rival crab in this arena. There is no limit to how much rage you can unleash to do this. A crab's muscle can never drop below 1.

Note: A rival crab is a crab of another team, regardless of alliances.

Editor's note: the Smash card's cost icon carries a "+" sign, read as rage cost 1 in addition to the X rage unleashed.

Actions (Action cards)

Action cards are revealed one at a time from the action deck during the Referee Phase and placed on the action board. The six action cards are:

• Rush (arena only, cost 3) – The crab/s with the most muscle must leave your crab's arena. This might include your crab/s. You then choose where the crabs move to. Each follows movement rules.
• Scatter (arena only, cost 2) – The crab/s with the least muscle must leave your crab's arena. This might include your crab/s. You then choose where the crabs move to. Each follows movement rules.
• Psych Out (arena only, cost 2) – Switch the muscle of your chosen crab with any 1 rival crab in its arena.
• Swap (arena only, cost 2) – Swap the position of your chosen crab with that of any rival crab in any other arena. Both crabs must follow movement rules.
• Charm (arena only, cost 2) – Add 1 fan from your supply to your crab's arena.
• Rage (cost 1 plus X) – Unleash X rage to increase the muscle of your chosen crab by X. There is no limit to how much rage you can unleash to do this.

Editor's note: the Rage card's cost icon carries a "+" sign, read as rage cost 1 in addition to the X rage unleashed.

Style Bonus. If you are the first manager to use an action this round, add 1 fan to the arena where the action is performed. If the action affects multiple arenas, you choose in which to place the fan. If the action happens backstage, place the fan on the crab performing the action, then add it to the first arena they enter.

Signature Moves

Each team has a unique signature move that can be used once in a game. A signature move replaces a regular action.

To perform their signature move, managers must:

1. Unleash 2 rage from their team board to the rage pool.
2. Choose an arena with at least 1 of their crabs in it.
3. Perform the move.
4. Place 2 fans in the chosen arena.
5. Flip the card over to mark it as used.

The rulebook shows an example signature move card, "Frenzy", with the effect: "For each of your crabs in a single arena, inflict -2 muscle to any rival crab there." The card labels show its name, effect, rage cost, and fans gained.

Movement Rules

Whenever a crab moves, keep the same muscle unless something else causes it to change.

Whenever a crab moves to an arena with other crabs present (except during setup), the manager of the crab entering the arena must do one of the following:

1. Form an alliance – Join an independent team's crabs in that arena. You are now in an 'alliance'. An alliance can only include 2 different colour crabs. However, there can be any number of crabs of each of those colours. Each manager's crabs can form only 1 alliance in each arena.
2. Boost an alliance – Join an alliance that your other crabs are already a part of in that arena.
3. Go independent – Group all your crabs together in that arena. If your other crabs are part of an alliance in that arena, they must leave that alliance. You are now an 'independent team'.

Note: If multiple crabs are forced to move, resolve movement in play order, starting with the active player.

Billboards

Whenever any crab, or team of crabs, moves into an arena (except during setup), the team is affected by its billboard:

• Mega Muscle – +1 muscle to any 1 crab of any team entering this arena.
• Attack of the Fans – +1 fan in the arena to any team entering this arena.
• Pressure Cooker – +1 rage to any team entering this arena.
• Barnacle Brawl – -1 muscle to any 1 crab of any team entering this arena. A crab's muscle can never drop below 1.

3. Rumble Phase

"Fiiiiight!"

In alphabetical order, moving clockwise, check each arena one at a time:

• A. Add up the total muscle of each independent team and alliance in the arena. The one with the most muscle is the winner. If there is a tie for winner, each tied independent team or alliance rolls 1 rumble dice. The winner is the one who rolls the highest number of pips. If there is a tie, roll again. If there is a tie between three, four, or five teams, the first tied manager in turn order chooses an opponent to roll against until one team is left standing.
• B. The winner places fans in the arena from their supply equal to the total number of crabs in the arena. If the winner is an alliance, the two teams in the alliance each place half the earned fans. If an alliance must place an odd number of fans, the team with the most total muscle places the additional fan. If there is a tie in muscle, no one places the additional fan.
• C. All losers build 1 rage for each of their own crabs in the rumble and place onto the bottom-most available slots of the rage ladder on their team board.

Examples from the rulebook:

• Blue wins the rumble with 10 muscle, and places 5 fans in this arena (1 per crab in the rumble). Yellow, Green, and Black lose, but each build 1 rage for their crabs in the rumble.
• The Blue/Black alliance wins with 9 muscle. They can't split the 5 gained fans equally but Blue is adding more muscle than Black, so Blue places 3 fans in the arena and Black places 2. Green builds 1 rage for their 1 losing crab, and Yellow builds 2 rage for their 2 crabs.
• There's a three-way tie. Green is earliest in turn order, so picks Blue to roll against first, and wins. Green then rolls against the Purple/Black alliance and loses. Purple and Black win the rumble. They can't split the 7 fans equally, and both have the same muscle, so they each place 3 fans in this arena. Yellow, Green, and Blue lose, but each build rage equal to the number of their crabs in the rumble.

Control zones. Use the central control zone of each arena to keep track of which independent teams or alliances currently have the highest muscle. There may be multiple independent teams or alliances in a control zone.

4. Fan Phase

"And the crowd goes wild!"

Players now reap the rewards of their fanbases. If a player has at least 1 of their crabs in an arena, they gain the corresponding reward shown on their fanbase card for that billboard.

• Place any rage built from the rage pool onto the bottom-most available slots of the rage ladder on your team board.
• Note: Rage is not meant to be limited. If you cannot take from the rage pool, take from the action board.
• Place any fans gained from your supply onto their spot on your fanbase card as "hardcore fans". Hardcore fans are used during End of Game.

Example: Blue is present in 3 arenas, so they gain the rewards for those arenas: 4 rage and 1 hardcore fan. Blue is not present in Attack of the Fans however, so they do not gain its reward.

5. Rage Phase

"They've gone all out this year!"

1. Move all rage on the actions back to the rage pool.
2. Each player builds 3 rage, taking it from the rage pool and placing it on the bottom-most available slots on their rage ladder. For 3 players, build 1 extra rage each. Mutation can occur here (see below).
3. The player with the most total rage goes berserk, howls to the electric moon, and steals the microphone. If there is a tie, it's time for an off-screen rumble. Each tied player rolls 1 rumble dice. The player with the most pips takes the microphone. If there is a tie, roll again.
4. Start the next round. If this is the end of round 4, with no more action card slots available, instead move to End of Game.

Mutation

Whenever your rage builds beyond 6 – inside and outside of the Rage Phase – you must choose 1 of your crabs and roll them. The rolled value is their new muscle.

The only exception to this is during setup for 3 players, where players take 8 rage but this does not trigger mutation.

Example: Yellow's rage builds to 7, so they choose their lowest dice to mutate. They roll a 3: a lucky boost to that crab's muscle! The other crabs are not affected. Rage remains on the rage ladder.

End of Game

After the end of round 4, resolve the following steps:

1. Hardcore Fans

Each player declares how many hardcore fans they have on their fanbase cards. They then shout out fans in each arena in turn:

• A. Starting with the billboard first in alphabetical order, any players with fans in the arena secretly decide how many hardcore fans they would like to shout out, and hold them in a closed hand.
• B. Players simultaneously reveal their chosen hardcore fans and add them to that arena alongside any fans already there. The number of hardcore fans on fanbase cards is open information until the Hardcore Fans step begins.
• C. Repeat until all arenas are resolved.

Example: Players are looking at the Mega Muscle arena. Green, Black, and Purple already have fans in this arena, so they secretly select a number of hardcore fans from their fanbase cards. Blue does not participate as they have no fans already in the arena. After simultaneously revealing 1, 4, and 2 fans respectively, the managers add them to the arena. Green has 2 hardcore fans remaining after calling out 1 for this arena. Black has 0 hardcore fans remaining after calling out 4 for this arena. Purple has 3 hardcore fans remaining after calling out 2 for this arena. Blue has no fans in the arena so cannot shout out hardcore fans. After shouting out hardcore fans, Green has 6 fans in the arena, Black has 8, and Purple has 7.

2. Scoring

In alphabetical billboard order, one arena at a time, resolve as follows:

• Count the number of fans each player has in that arena. The player(s) with the most fans, gains glory equal to the total number of players. The player(s) with the second most fans gains glory equal to the total number of players minus 1, and so on.
• If there is a tie, all tied players gain glory for their tied position. If a player has no fans in an arena, they gain no glory for that arena.
• Record the glory gained by placing that amount of glory in the scored arena.

Example: In a 4 player game, the players are scoring the first arena. Purple has the most fans (8) and so gains 4 glory (by flipping over some of the fans). Black and Green each have 6 fans, so they tie for second place, gaining 3 glory each (4 minus 1). Blue comes in third, so gains 2 glory (4 minus 2).

3. Winning the Game

After the final arena has been scored, the player who has gained the most glory across all arenas wins the game and takes the Golden Claw!

Example: When glory is totalled, Purple wins with 13.

Spotlight Duel

In the event of a tie, a spotlight duel is triggered:

• Tied players face off by rolling each of their competing crabs one at a time. The player with the highest total muscle wins.
• At any time, before rolling the next crab or completing the duel, players may unleash 1 rage to reroll their current crab.
• In the event that managers tie the spotlight duel, they share the glorious victory.

Example: Purple and Black have tied with 12 glory each. This triggers a spotlight duel! One dice at a time, Black and Purple roll their 3 dice. On the third dice, Black unleashes 1 rage from their rage ladder to reroll the dice once. Black ends up winning with a total muscle of 10 and takes the Golden Claw.

Crab Rage Season

Each choose a team to take through a season. Play 5 games and crown a winner! Score 5 for the winner and one less for each after.

The season sheet on the final page of the rulebook has a column per game (Crab Rage #1 to #5), with columns for the score, the standing, and the manager + team, followed by a Standings Total row and boxes to record the Winner, Team, and Manager.