Monster Meister
Monster Meister Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
Get rid of your monsters! Memorize where monsters are hiding. Recognize their colors and their number of eyes. If you have the fewest of your own monsters left in the end, you'll be the new monster master!
Game Materials
- 64 monster cards
- 8 strays (more monsters with their own card back)
- 12 task cards
Set-Up
Each player shuffles one set of monster cards (16 monsters with identical card backs) and passes these cards to his left neighbor. The neighbor lays out the cards in front of him – face down and unseen – as his 4-x-4 display.
Shuffle the 8 strays and put them as a face down pile in the middle of the table.
Shuffle the 12 task cards. Put 2 of them, unseen, back into the box. The player with the biggest eyes gets the face down pile of the remaining 10 cards.
Course of the Game
The player with the task card pile reveals the top task card. It applies to all players.
Each task card is explained in the big yellow text box on page 2. Observe the special procedure for the task "Competition of the monster tamers." Read the explanation of this card at the end of the game instructions. For all other tasks, the following rules apply in each game round:
Revealing Monster Cards
Each player reveals as many monster cards in his own display as the current task calls for and tries to earn the most monster points for this task.
Example: For this task, each player reveals 4 monster cards.
Example: This task requires that everybody keeps flipping cards over until he turns over a card showing 2 monsters ("a double monster"); then he has to stop.
You aren't playing for time. Therefore, it doesn't matter at all if you finish faster than the others.
Double Monsters
Double monsters are cards depicting two monsters. They count as two individual monsters; each of them has its own eyes.
Note: Two monsters with two eyes each are not "a monster with four eyes."
Adding Up Monster Points
Now each player adds up the monster points he has made. Look at the example at the top of page 2.
Monster Memorizer of the Round
The player who has made the most monster points is the monster memorizer of this round. This can also be more than one player (with the same number of points).
Each monster memorizer immediately removes one revealed card of his choice from his display and shoves it face down under the stray card pile.
- If there are several monster memorizers, the order in which you do this doesn't matter.
- If there is no stray card pile there (any more), the (first) discarded card starts a new pile.
Monster Muddler of the Round
The player who has made the fewest monster points is the monster muddler of this round. This can also be more than one player (with the same number of points).
Each monster muddler draws one card from the stray card pile.
The card you draw may never have your own card back; if a card with your own card back is lying on top of the stray card pile, you draw the next card instead. If it turns out that it is impossible to give each monster muddler a card that does not show his back, no monster muddler gets a card this round. This applies also if there are not enough cards in the stray card pile for all monster muddlers.
When a monster muddler has obtained a card, he looks at the monster(s) on it and then adds the card face down to his display, connecting it horizontally or vertically.
- The display of monster cards may never exceed the dimensions of a 6-x-6 card grid.
No Memorizer and No Muddler
If all players have made exactly the same number of points, there is neither a monster memorizer nor a monster muddler in this round.
End of a Game Round
Now you put the just-played task card aside and turn all revealed cards over again. The owner of the task card pile hands it over to his left neighbor, who then starts the next game round by revealing the next task card …
Example: Counting Monster Points
This is how you count up monster points and determine the monster memorizer(s) and monster muddler(s):
This task requires that each player keeps flipping over monsters until he turns over a green monster. Every other monster then gives him 1 monster point (MP). A possible result would be:
- Clara = 4 MP
- Patrick = 7 MP
- Irina = 8 MP
- Hector = 4 MP
Irina is the monster memorizer of the round. Clara and Hector are monster muddlers of the round.
Ending and Winning the Game
The game ends after you have played through all ten tasks.
The player who now has the fewest monsters with his own (!) card back wins.
In case of a tie, the player who has fewer monsters overall (with any card backs) than the other tied players is better. If there is still a tie, the player whose display shows fewer eyes overall has an advantage. If this still doesn't determine the winner, nobody takes the MONSTER MASTER title. Best would be to start all over again… since, after all, there can only be ONE!
Task Cards
The task cards:
- Reveal 4 cards. You get 4 MP for each green monster, 3 MP for each yellow monster, 2 MP for each blue monster, and 1 MP for each red monster.
- Reveal 4 cards. You get 4 MP for each red monster, 3 MP for each blue monster, 2 MP for each yellow monster, and 1 MP for each green monster.
- Reveal 6 cards. You get 2 MP for each blue monster, and minus 1 MP for each yellow monster.
- Reveal 6 cards. You get 2 MP for each green monster, and minus 1 MP for each blue monster.
- Keep revealing cards until you turn over a double monster. You get 1 MP per eye for each just-revealed individual monster.
- Keep revealing cards until you turn over a green monster. You get 1 MP for each monster of another color.
- Reveal 6 cards. You get 4 MP for each monster with 1 eye, 3 MP for each monster with 2 eyes, 2 MP for each monster with 3 eyes, 1 MP and for each monster with 4 eyes.
- Note: the printed text reads "1MP and for each monster with 4 eyes"; transcribed as printed.
- Keep revealing cards until you turn over a monster with 2 eyes. You get 1 MP for each other (1-, 3-, 4-eyed) monster.
- Reveal 6 cards. You get 1 MP for each eye of a 1-eyed or 4-eyed monster, and minus 1 MP for each eye of a 2-eyed or 3-eyed monster.
- Keep revealing cards until you turn over a monster with 4 eyes. You get, for each other (1-, 2-, 3-eyed) monster:
Special Course of Action: "Competition of the Monster Tamers"
The player who reveals this task card names either a monster color (blue, yellow, green, or red) or a number of eyes (from 1 to 4). After that, each player reveals a monster card from his own display.
A player is eliminated from the competition:
- if he reveals a monster without the required feature,
- if he doesn't have any face down card in his display left to reveal.
The first player eliminated is the monster muddler of the round. This can be more than one player (if they are eliminated in the same round).
All players who were able to reveal (at least) one monster with the feature required stay in the competition. The next of these players (the one to the left of the player who had revealed the task card) now names another feature (monster color/number of eyes). All players who are still in the competition reveal another monster card from their display. Again, only those players who have now revealed a monster with the new feature required stay in the competition …
The competition continues until only one player is left. This player is then the monster memorizer of the round. If all players are eliminated, those who were eliminated in the last (still played) round become monster memorizers.