Cube Monster Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Background Story
• Setup
  • Global Components
  • Player Setup
• Goal
• Game End
• Round Overview
• The Round in Detail
  • 1. Draw Cubes
  • 2. Feed the Monster & Make an Offering
    • a. Feed the monster
    • b. Make an offering to the monster
    • c. Pass the bag
  • 3. Players Take Their Turn
  • 4. End the Round
• Cards
  • Cube Reward Cards
  • Upgrade Reward Cards
  • Trick Reward Cards
  • Disaster Cards
• Climbing Up Mount Kubia
• Super Cubes
  • Taking Super Cubes
  • Using Super Cubes
• Structures
  • Factory (max 2 per color)
  • Statue (max 4)
  • Marketplace (max 1)
  • Shrine (max 1 per color)
  • Temple (max 2, of different tops)
• Cube-Noob Guide
• Round Overview – A Quick Reminder

Game Components

• 160 cubes
  • 40 red cubes
  • 40 yellow cubes
  • 40 turquoise cubes
  • 40 purple cubes
• 1 Monster die
• 1 Cube bag
• 1 Monster board
• 1 Mountain board
• 4 Village boards
• 95 Reward cards
• 12 Disaster cards
• 27 Super Cube cards
• 4 Champion miniatures
• 4 Structure Summary cards
• 1 Rulebook

Background Story

The Cube Monster awakens, and the race begins! Your village chose you, their champion, to climb up Mount Kubia and beat your opponents to the top. No matter your craft, you are first and foremost a builder. It is in your blood. The climb will be far from easy. Play by the monster's rules – feed it, worship it, build for it – and be rewarded greatly! However, fail to meet its demands, and disaster will befall your people.

Setup

Determine the first Feeder – the last player to have said "glorious cubes!" – and set up the game.

Global Components

1. Place the Mountain board (A) at the center of the table.
2. Place the Monster board (B) and the Monster die (C) within reach of all players.
3. Place all cubes inside the Cube bag (D) and shake it.
4. Separately shuffle the Disaster cards deck (E) and each of the three Reward cards decks (F), placing them face down on the board on their appropriate spaces.
5. Separately shuffle each of the four Super Cubes decks (G), placing them face down on the board, on their appropriate places, and then revealing the top card of each deck face up.

Player Setup

Each player:

1. Takes a Summary card (1) and a Village board (2).
2. Places the Champion of their village on the 1st step at the foot of the mountain (3).
3. Takes three random cubes from the bag and place them in the Free Cubes area of their board (4).
4. Builds two Factories (structures like this icon) on the Factories section of their board (5), using cubes from the bag of the indicated colors:

Factory colours to take from the bag, by seat (the printed grid, columns headed by player count):

Seat	2 players	3 players	4 players
Feeder	1 red, 1 yellow	1 red, 1 yellow	1 red, 1 yellow
Next clockwise	1 yellow, 1 purple	1 yellow, 1 purple	1 yellow, 1 purple
Next clockwise	–	1 purple, 1 red	1 purple, 1 turquoise
Next clockwise	–	–	1 turquoise, 1 red

Goal

All players start at the foot of Mount Kubia and race to the mountaintop as they sacrifice cubes and collect Super Cubes, aiming to be the first to reach the top and win the monster's magic.

Game End

The game ends in one of two scenarios:

1. At the end of the round in which a player reaches the mountaintop.
2. At the end of round 16.

The winner is the player who climbed the highest.

In case of a tie, the player with the most Super Cubes in their Super Cube cards (both used and unused) wins.

If there is still a tie, the player with the most cubes on their Village board wins.

Round Overview

Each round, a different player is the Feeder. The Feeder starts and ends the round.

A round goes like this:

1. Draw cubes: The Feeder draws cubes out of the Cube bag and places them in the Cube pit (the lower part of the Monster board).
2. Feed the monster & make an offering: The Feeder feeds the monster and, if needed, rolls the Monster die, with all players then needing to make an offering to the monster. The ones who do it get Reward cards; the ones who cannot suffer the effects of a single Disaster card.
3. Players take their turns: All players, one by one (clockwise, starting with the player to the Feeder's left and ending with the Feeder), take their turns, which consist of taking a cube from the Cube pit to their Free Cubes area, using their structures, building new structures, and climbing up Mount Kubia.
4. End round: The Feeder places the last remaining cube on the round tracker. If needed, they feed the monster again, potentially triggering an offering. They then pass the bag clockwise to the next player, who becomes the new Feeder.

The Round in Detail

1. Draw Cubes

The Feeder draws as many random cubes from the Cube bag as the number of players plus two, placing them in the Cube pit (4 cubes in a two-player game, 5 in a three-player game, and 6 in a four-player game).

Example: Alice, Bob, and Adam are playing Cube Monster. Alice is the Feeder. Since three players are playing the game, Alice draws five random cubes (3 players + 2) out of the Cube bag and places them in the Cube pit.

2. Feed the Monster & Make an Offering

a. Feed the monster

The Feeder feeds the monster by placing one of the cubes from the Cube pit on the Monster board. The cube must be placed in a space that matches its color. If none of the cubes can be placed on the Monster board, return the cubes to the bag and restart this round.

b. Make an offering to the monster

After feeding the monster, if a line (row/column/diagonal) is filled, all players need to make offerings to the monster by returning cubes back to the Cube bag. Players who are able to make an offering must do it.

Example: Alice is the Feeder. She fed the monster and filled a column. Alice has a turquoise, a yellow and a purple cube, and gives them to the monster by placing them in the Cube bag (thus making the offering). Bob only has two free cubes, and thus cannot make the offering. Adam has three free cubes, but they are all red. Since a player cannot give cubes of the same color when making an offering, he cannot do it. Alice then gets Reward cards for successfully making the offering based on her Statues (explained later on). Additionally, one Disaster card is drawn and applied to Bob and Adam for failing to make an offering to the monster. Finally, the four aligned cubes are removed from the Monster board and placed back in the Cube bag.

How many cubes? To determine how many cubes each player needs to offer, the Feeder rolls the Monster die. Each player then needs to offer that many cubes to the monster, plus any amount indicated by the step of Mount Kubia their champion currently is at (+1 cube on step 4 and +2 cubes on step 5, shown by the printed step icons). Players can only offer their free cubes, meaning cubes they've collected that aren't part of a structure.

Note: The Monster Die has six sides and contains the following numbers: 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3.

Which colors? Players must offer cubes of different colors.

Example: The Feeder rolls a 3 on the Monster die, so the monster demands offerings of three cubes from each player.

The results:

1. Each player who makes their offering gets Reward cards according to their Statues (explained later on).
2. If one or more players cannot make an offering, one Disaster card is drawn, read out loud (in the monster's voice) and applied to all of them. Each affected player chooses how the card applies to them (which cubes to give, which structure gets destroyed, etc).
3. After all players have made their offerings, return the cubes from the filled line back to the Cube bag.

If after feeding the monster more than one line is filled, only one offering triggers. The Feeder chooses which line to remove from the Monster board and places it in the Cube bag.

c. Pass the bag

The Feeder passes the bag to the next player clockwise.

Example: Alice, who is the Feeder, finished the "Feed the monster & make an offering" step. Bob, who sits to her left, then takes a cube from the Cube pit to the Free Cubes area of his Village board, and plays his turn taking actions as specified previously. Bob is done with his turn and passes the bag to Adam who plays his turn. Adam is done, and now Alice (who is the Feeder) takes a cube and plays her turn, ending the round afterwards.

3. Players Take Their Turn

A player's turn starts when they take a cube from the Cube pit, and ends after they are done using Reward cards, building unlocked structures and climbing up Mount Kubia.

Note: Structures and climbing up Mount Kubia will be explained in detail later on.

Each player takes their turn one at a time, clockwise, starting with the player to the Feeder's left and ending with the Feeder.

A turn goes like this:

1. Take a cube from the Cube pit to the Free Cubes area of your Village board, possibly activating your structures.

2. Take the following actions in any order:

   • As many times as you want, swap three free cubes of a color for a cube of a desired color in the Cube bag.
   • As many times as you want, build unlocked structures on your Village board using free cubes.
   • Once per turn, you may climb up Mount Kubia.

   Players must finish this step with at most 6 free cubes. This can always be achieved by taking the above actions.

3. Pass the bag to the next player to indicate that the turn is over.

4. End the Round

After the Feeder plays their turn, one cube is left in the Cube pit, which the Feeder places on the next available slot of the round tracker.

If the cube matches the color of that slot (some slots count as all colors), the Feeder takes a cube of their choice from the Cube bag and feeds it to the monster (placing it on the Monster board). If a line is filled, an offering is resolved in the same way as in the beginning of a round.

Example: Alice, who is the Feeder, finished her turn. She then places the last remaining cube, which is yellow, on the round tracker. The slot on the round tracker is also yellow, and thus, the monster needs to be fed. She chooses to feed it a red cube, taking it from the bag and placing it on the Monster board, which completes a line and triggers an offering.

If the cube is placed on the 16th slot, the game ends (see Game End on page 4). If the game hasn't ended, the Feeder passes the Cube bag to the player to their left, who will be the Feeder in the next round.

Cards

Cube Reward Cards

Cards that reward you with cubes.

1. Title
2. Effect
3. "When to use" icon:
   • "Use on your turn"
   • "Use whenever you want"
   • "Use as instructed on the card"

Upgrade Reward Cards

Cards that upgrade the structures on your Village board.

1. Title
2. Effect
3. "When to use" icon (always for this deck)
4. "Discard effect" icon: either use this card or discard it in exchange for one random cube from the bag.

To upgrade structures, place Upgrade Reward cards under the Village board or under previously placed Upgrade Reward cards. Once placed, an Upgrade Reward card may not be discarded for its discard effect.

Trick Reward Cards

Cards that change the playing field.

1. Title
2. Effect
3. "When to use" icon (same as Cube Reward cards)

Disaster Cards

Cards that will make you lose cubes and structures. Serves you right for failing the monster…

These cards only affect players who can't make an offering to the monster.

1. Title
2. Effect

Note: Once used, discard cards at the bottom of their appropriate deck.

Climbing Up Mount Kubia

In order to climb up a step, players need to sacrifice free cubes of the same color as the ones at the step their champions are moving to. When doing so, the player moves their champion to that step, returning the sacrificed cubes to the Cube bag.

As a result, the player takes Super Cube cards (explained next), gets the indicated Reward card and unlocks the indicated structures.

Example: To climb from the 2nd to the 3rd step, Bob needs to give a yellow, a purple and a red cube (1). He places his appropriate free cubes in the Cube bag and moves his champion up one step. He then takes Super Cube cards (2), gets a purple Upgrade Reward card (3) and unlocks the Temple structure (the structures' functionalities will be explained later on) (4).

Super Cubes

Taking Super Cubes

Super Cubes originate from the mountain's core and go to the worthiest builders.

Players are eligible for taking a Super Cube card if they own all structures in the correct colors indicated by that card.

When a player reaches a new step, they take every revealed Super Cube card they are eligible for, placing the cards face up near their Village board. Then, they flip face up the top Super Cube card in each deck they've taken a card from.

Example: Alice has the following structures on her Village board. She climbs up the mountain and takes the two Super Cube cards to the left, as she has the required structures for both.

Using Super Cubes

When climbing up a step, players may use Super Cube cards as one or more (depending on the card) free cubes of any color. When this is done, the used Super Cube cards are flipped face down, but remain with their players for scoring purposes.

Note: There are four Super Cube decks, each with a different complexity level and a different number of Super Cubes.

Example: To reach the next step, Alice needs to give one turquoise, one yellow, one red and two purple cubes, for a total of five cubes. She has two Super Cube cards from previous rounds, which together count as three cubes (marked "=3" on the illustration). This means that, if she uses both cards, she only needs to give two free cubes to climb up. She then uses those Super Cubes, flipping her cards face down, and gives one purple and one yellow cube, climbing up and reaping her rewards.

Structures

During their turns, players build unlocked structures on the relevant areas of their Village boards.

As indicated on the first step of the mountain, at the start of the game players only have two types of structures unlocked, the Factory and the Statue. As they climb up, they unlock the possibility of building the rest of the structures.

Note: Once a structure is built, you cannot tear it down to use its cubes as free cubes.

There are five types of structures players can build, each with a different functionality:

Factory (max 2 per color)

When taking a cube from the Cube pit that matches the Factories' colors, take additional cubes of the same color from the bag:

• 1 Factory = 1 additional cube.
• 2 Factories = 3 additional cubes.

Cubes received from Reward cards or by swapping cubes do not activate Factories.

Statue (max 4)

Illustration caption: Must consist of two different colors.

When building a Statue, immediately get one Reward card according to where you built it. Any colored Statue can be built on any available slot on your Village board.

Note: It is recommended for beginners to start building in the yellow slots.

Additionally, when you make an offering to the monster, get as many Reward cards as the number of Statues you own, taking cards that correspond to the Statues' slots.

Example: Adam has two Statues, one on the yellow slot and one on the purple slot. Whenever Adam makes an offering, he is rewarded with one purple and one yellow Reward card, according to his Statues' placements.

Note: In summary, players get:

• One Reward card when climbing up a step.
• One Reward card when building a Statue.
• As many Reward cards as the number of Statues they own when successfully making an offering.

STOP! There is no need to learn the rest of the structures at this point. Come back when you climb up the mountain and unlock new structures. Flip the rulebook for a Cube-Noob guide and start playing!

Marketplace (max 1)

Reduces the cost of swapping to two free cubes of a color.

Note: Remember that, on their turn, players may swap three free cubes of a color for a cube of a desired color in the Cube bag. (The printed illustration shows the swap as "2:1".)

Shrine (max 1 per color)

Allows offering up to two free cubes that match the Shrine's color.

Note: Remember that on offerings you can normally only use one free cube of each color.

Example: The Feeder rolled a 3 on the Monster die. Alice has two turquoise cubes and a red cube. Since she has a turquoise Shrine, she can offer two turquoise cubes, thus successfully offering three cubes.

Temple (max 2, of different tops)

When taking a cube from the Cube pit that matches the Temple's top color, take a random cube from the bag. The cube you take also activates your Factories (but not your Temples).

Illustration caption: The base of the Temple contains one cube of each color.

Example: On his turn, Bob takes a yellow cube from the Cube pit, which activates his yellow Temple. He then takes a random cube from the bag, which turns out to be turquoise. This turquoise cube activates Bob's turquoise Factory, so he also takes another turquoise cube from the bag, thus ending up with one yellow and two turquoise cubes.

Cube-Noob Guide

For your first game to run smoothly:

• Don't overthink it. Play fast, and you will learn the mechanics as you go.
• Build stuff. Start with Factories. Use them.
• Climb up. Get Reward cards. Use them.
• When building Statues, place them on the yellow slot on your Village board.
• Look at the Super Cube cards, and aim to build the structures they require.

Round Overview – A Quick Reminder

Feed:

1. Draw cubes out of the Cube bag and put them in the Cube pit.
2. Feed the monster.
3. If a line is filled, roll the Monster die. Then, all players have to make an offering to the monster and get Reward cards, or suffer the consequences of a Disaster card.
4. Pass the bag to the next player (clockwise).

Play your turn:

1. Take a cube from the Cube pit, possibly activating your structures.

2. Take the following actions in any order:

   • a. As many times as you want, swap three free cubes of a color for a cube of a desired color in the Cube bag.
   • b. As many times as you want, build unlocked structures on your Village board using free cubes.
   • c. Once per turn, you may climb up Mount Kubia.

   Players must finish this step with at most 6 free cubes.

3. If you are the Feeder, place the last remaining cube on the round tracker, possibly feeding another cube of your choice on the Monster board.

4. Pass the bag to the next player.