Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom!
Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
New players should start with the standard game, called That Bug Was My Friend! Other variations are set out from page 8 in the rules.
In the standard game, each player chooses a type of Bug-Eyed Monster (BEM) as their mascot. Players take turns to plot a course using the Navigator's compass, so that the Vehicle moves in the right direction to enable the Gunner to shoot at BEMs. If at least one of your mascots survives until all the BEM tiles of your opponent's chosen mascot have been removed, you win the game.
Components
- 1 Compass board
- 16 Landscape tiles
- 4 Mascot tokens
- 1 Navigator character
- 1 Vehicle character
- 1 Gunner character
- 12 BEM tiles
- 11 cards
Component note: carefully slide a crosspiece into the slot at the bottom of each character piece so that the character stands up.
Set-Up: Standard Game (That Bug Was My Friend!)
A. Make the Alien Landscape by laying out the Landscape tiles in a 4x4 grid. For your first game, we recommend that you lay them out so that the BEM images on each Landscape tile match their positions on the diagram below. In subsequent games, lay them out randomly in a 4x4 grid. When placing the Landscape tiles, the sides with 1 or 3 BEM images should be face up.
B. Place the Compass board to the left of the Alien Landscape, aligned the same way, not at a jaunty angle!
C. Create the Circle of Doom to the right of the Alien Landscape, by placing the 12 BEM tiles in a circle in the order shown on the set-up diagram on page 5.
D. One player takes the 2 round Mascot tokens with red backgrounds. The other player takes the 2 with blue backgrounds. Each player secretly puts 1 of their 2 Mascot tokens back in the box, and keeps the other face down in front of them. The one you chose is your BEM mascot - you are trying to avoid all these being removed!
E. Find the Duck and Cover card and put it back in the box. It is not used in this version. Then, shuffle the other 10 cards and place them face down as a deck to one side convenient for both players.
F. Randomly choose a start player and give them the Navigator character.
G. The other player places the Gunner on any BEM tile they wish in the Circle of Doom and places the Vehicle on any 1 of the 4 central tiles in the Alien Landscape.
Game Play
On your turn, do the following, in sequence.
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Play any card(s) from your hand. See step 5b below for how you gain cards. You can play 0, 1, or 2 cards from your hand at the start of any of your turns. When you play a card, it replaces or changes your normal movement of the Navigator, the Vehicle, or the Gunner, as described on the card. At the end of your turn, discard any played card.
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Move the Navigator on the Compass board. On the first turn, the start player places the Navigator on any of the 8 squares on the Compass board, instead of moving it.
On all subsequent turns, the player whose turn it is moves the Navigator 1, 2, or 3 squares clockwise on the Compass board.
Navigator example: a player chooses to place the Navigator in the top centre square at the start of the game. In a later turn, a player has moved the Navigator 2 squares clockwise from the top centre square of the Compass board.
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Move the Vehicle through the Landscape. The arrow on the square occupied by the Navigator shows the direction in which the Vehicle moves. It moves exactly 1 Landscape tile in that direction. If it starts at an edge of the Landscape, it moves as shown in the diagram at the top of page 7. If it would move horizontally or vertically off the edge of the Landscape, or diagonally directly off a corner of the Landscape, the Vehicle doesn't move. If the Vehicle would move diagonally off a tile that isn't in the corner, it will move onto the next tile along the edge.
Vehicle example: based on the location of the Navigator in the first diagram, the player moves the Vehicle 1 Landscape tile to the right. It lands on a tile with 3 BEM images.
Movement on the edge of the Landscape and movement on the corner of the Landscape are shown by diagrams on page 7.
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Move the Gunner around the Circle of Doom. If the Vehicle is on a Landscape tile with a single BEM image printed on it, move the Gunner 1 BEM tile clockwise on the Circle of Doom. If the Vehicle is on a Landscape tile with 3 BEM images, move the Gunner 3 BEM tiles clockwise. If the Vehicle is on a flipped Landscape tile (showing the BEM silhouettes), move the Gunner 2 BEM tiles clockwise. Only count the BEM tile; do not count the spaces left by BEM tiles that have been removed!
End of Game
When all 3 BEM tiles of one BEM type have been removed from the Circle of Doom, check if the game is over. If the last BEM tile matching a player's mascot is removed from the Circle of Doom, that player loses immediately, and the other player wins. Otherwise, continue to play.
Variant: All Wrapped Up
This game is the same as the standard game, except that the Vehicle moves differently at the edges of the Alien Landscape. As this version is more complex than the standard game, players may wish to consider playing the first 1 or 2 games without using any cards.
Moving the Vehicle Through the Alien Landscape
This game uses a 'wrapping' Alien Landscape. The edges of the Alien Landscape do not prevent the Vehicle from moving. Instead, the Vehicle moves in the direction indicated by the Navigator and re-enters the board at the opposite Landscape tile.
Moving Off the Edge of the World
When you move the Vehicle off a Landscape tile on the edge of the Alien Landscape, place it about 1 tile's distance in the direction shown by the Navigator, then move the Vehicle to the other end of the column or row it is next to, as shown in the diagram.
The letters and corresponding coloured arrows (A, B, C, D) in the printed diagram show the direction of movement of the Vehicle off the edge of the playing area and the Vehicle's position once movement has finished.
Variant: Best of 3 Tournament
The standard game or any other variant can be played as a tournament.
Cards in a Tournament Game
Players draw and play cards in the same way as the standard game, but spread across the 2 or 3 games played. However, each player can draw and play a maximum of 4 cards in the whole tournament. Whenever you play a card, keep it in a personal discard pile on your side of the playing area, so that both players know how many cards they have played.
You can play any number of cards at the start of any of your turns. However, once you have played a card, it is discarded and cannot be used again in the whole tournament. You may keep cards in your hand between games.
End of Game
If a player has won 2 games, they win the tournament. Otherwise, start a new game. Leave the Landscape tiles where they are, but flip them all face up again. Put all the BEM tiles back into the Circle of Doom as described in Set-up, and put the Navigator, Vehicle, and Gunner characters next to the playing area. Whoever lost the previous game chooses the start player for the next game.
Variant: Duck and Cover
This powerful card is designed for use by experienced players. Both players must agree before including the Duck and Cover card in the game. We don't recommend including it in the normal deck, but instead use the following method:
During set-up, place Duck and Cover face up close to the deck. If Duck and Cover has not already been claimed, whenever a BEM tile matching your mascot is removed by your opponent, you may optionally choose to take Duck and Cover into your hand. If you do, you must immediately reveal your chosen Mascot token. Duck and Cover does not count against your hand limit.
In tournament play, return the card face up to the table at the end of any game in which it was not used. In all other respects, the normal rules for cards apply to Duck and Cover.
Variant: BEM Collection Agency
BEM Collection Agency can be played in different ways. Use the rules from the standard game, except where noted below.
Set-Up
At the start of the game, choose 1 option in each of the 4 sections below:
- Single game or tournament? BEM Collection Agency can be played as a single game, or as a Best of 3 Tournament.
- Circle of Doom. Lay out the BEM tiles in the Circle of Doom with paired BEM types, or interlaced BEM types, or randomly placed BEM tiles (see diagram in the printed rulebook).
- Paired: each type with red backgrounds together; each type with blue backgrounds together.
- Interlaced: each type grouped; a red background type alternating with a blue background type.
- Random: all BEM tiles shuffled and placed in a circle at random. Note: this can increase the luck of the game.
- Alien Landscape. With hard edges as in the standard game, or wrapping Landscape as in All Wrapped Up.
- Cards. With no cards, or 2-card hand as in the standard game, or 4-card hand for a tournament.
If a BEM Tile Is Removed
If a BEM tile is removed, the player whose turn it is places the removed BEM tile face up in front of them. Keep removed BEM tiles of the same type together, visible to both players. Players use collected BEM tiles in scoring at the end of the game if there is no automatic winner.
The other parts of Game Play are unchanged.
Winning
The game ends when all except 1 of the BEM tiles has been collected. The remaining BEM tile is the Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom. If a player's mascot is the Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom, that player wins automatically. If another BEM tile remains, players score as follows:
a. 2 points for collecting each BEM tile that matches either players' mascot.
b. 1 point for collecting any other BEM tile.
If neither player has won automatically, the winner is the player with most points.
If playing a tournament, continue playing new games until either player has won 2 games. That player wins the tournament.
Play Aid: Turn Sequence (Standard Game)
Printed play aid for That Bug Was My Friend!, on the final page of the rulebook. Steps are listed in the printed grid's reading order (1 and 2, then 3 and 4, then 5 with the "or" alternative for step 4); the layout is reconstructed from the text of the grid.
- Play any card(s) from your hand if you wish.
- Move the Navigator 1, 2, or 3 spaces clockwise.
- Move the Vehicle 1 Landscape tile in the direction the Navigator indicates. Stop at any Landscape edge, or slide along the edge for diagonals.
- Move the Gunner the number of BEM tiles the Vehicle indicates, counting the BEM images on the Vehicle's tile or 2 if the Landscape tile has been flipped.
- or
- Remove a BEM tile (if the Gunner and Vehicle are on tiles with matching BEM images) and check to see if you draw a card. Check to see if the Vehicle's Landscape tile flips (no BEM tile was removed, and no tile horizontally or vertically adjacent to the Vehicle is on its flipped side).
Now, the next player takes their turn.
Winning: You win if you remove all the BEM tiles that match your opponent's Mascot token.