Monsters on Board
Monsters on Board Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 4 double-sided player boards ('Regular game' side and 'Family game' side, used in the Family mode)
- 1 main board
- 12 Prophecy cards
- 12 Summoning trackers
- 36 Grunts, 6 of each color, plus plastic stands for each
- 42 Ghost tokens
- 4 Fearmobiles, graphically different but each functions the same
- 24 Minions, plus plastic stands
- 4 Malice trackers
- 30 Solo Cards
- 78 Lord Dice, 13 in each color
- 8 Spook Juice trackers, 2 in each color: green, red, yellow, blue
- 72 Arch Monster cards
- 12 Spider Jack dice
- Round Tracker
Main Board Setup
- Place the Main Board in the center of the play area.
- Shuffle all 42 Ghost tokens and make any number of face-down stacks in the middle of the main board.
- Place 1 random face-up Ghost token above each marked spot above the main board (to place 5 in total).
- Each player takes 2 Spook-Juice trackers of their chosen color, and places 1 on each 0-space of each Spook Juice track.
- Shuffle all 12 Prophecy cards together; each player takes one randomly (return the remaining cards to the box). You may look at your card, but keep it hidden to the other players.
- Shuffle all 72 Arch Monster cards together to form the face-down Arch Monster deck; place it anywhere beside the main board.
- Deal 1 card from the top of Arch Monster deck face up below each marked space below the main board (to place 5 in total).
- Place all Lord dice into the bag.
- Give the first player token to the last person to see a monster (or a monster movie).
- Place the Round tracker on 1.
Player Setup and General Concepts
Player Setup
Each player does all of the following:
- Take 1 player board; place it in front of yourself.
- Take 1 Fearmobile and place it above your player board.
- Take 1 Malice tracker and place it on the 0-spot of the Malice track.
- Take 1 Grunt of each color (6 in total), and place each on their matching-colored starting spot.
- Take 6 Minions and place 1 on each starting Minion spot.
- Take 3 Spider Jack dice, set them to value '1', then place 1 on each starting Spider Jack spot, and take 3 Summoning trackers and place 1 on each Summoning-tracker spot below each Spider Jack die.
How to Win?
"The cobwebs were hung from the ceiling without care, in hopes the Spider Jack would soon be there."
Gain the most Spook Juice (points) from Final Scoring (page 5), and Actions (back of book).
A game of Monsters of Board is played over 6 rounds; each round is divided into 5 phases:
- Arrival Phase — Each Fearmobile is filled with 4 random Lord dice.
- Draft Phase — Each player takes 1 Lord dice at a time until each player has taken 4 in total.
- Grunt Movement Phase — Activate the dice in your Driveway to move matching-colored Grunts and perform actions they land on.
- Swamp-Jack Phase — Place Lord dice to perform Actions and gain Malice.
- Spook Phase — Spend Malice to buy Arch Monsters and Ghosts!
Lord Dice Quick Summary
These are explained in detail later, this is just to give you a quick idea of why you're drafting dice.
- Grunts move based on the color: Grunt Movement phase, page 5.
- Gain Malice based on the number: Swamp-Jack phase, page 5.
- Perform actions based on the icons: Swamp-Jack phase, page 5.
Discard Arch Monster Card — "Anytime" Action
At any time (even during an opponents turn and final scoring), flip over an Arch Monster card that is in front of yourself to perform one action showing on its back; then return the card to the box. (Actions, back of the rulebook; Gaining Arch Monster cards, page 5.) Used Arch Monster cards can not be used for final scoring purposes.
Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4
1) Arrival Phase
"All aboard! No sleep til....STARTLETON!"
Each player draws 4 random Lord dice (in any order, from the bag); they roll and place them in their Fearmobile (maintaining the rolled faces).
2) Draft Phase
"Is there a draft in here, or is it just me?" - Polter Gus, the Wind Spirit.
a) Each player simultaneously takes 1 Lord die - from the Fearmobile in front of themselves - and places it on an empty Driveway space on their player board. If you wish, you may choose to draft dice in turn order for more 'advanced' strategy, but longer playtime.
b) Once each player has taken 1 die, all Fearmobiles are passed to the left (simultaneously). Repeat steps a and b until each player has taken 4 Lord dice. (Each Driveway space functions the same.)
3) Grunt Movement Phase
"The Order of Spider Jack is just across the river, I trust you can make it across the river and won't get lost. 'Someone always seems to get lost."
Players can perform the steps of this phase and the next phase (Swamp-Jack) simultaneously/asynchronously. Players only need to wait for each other to catch up at the end of 4) Swamp-Jack Phase.
One at a time (in any order), activate dice in your Driveway by sliding them down onto the adjacent 'foot' icon. (Fully resolve the steps below for each die before you activate another die). Ignore the icons/numbers on the dice for now.
After sliding a die, do all of the following:
- Move each of your Grunts (in any order you choose) - that match the die's color - to the next matching-colored Town space (it may show an Action icon or not). Move on top of Ghosts, they do not change how you move. Moving Grunts is mandatory, and if you have multiple of the same color, you must move each of them, but you can do so in any order you choose.
- Perform the Action(s) each Grunt just ended their movement on (those printed on the board or on Ghosts, if any, in any order). You may skip/forfeit any action.
A Grunt cannot share a space with a Minion or another Grunt; so skip each space that already contains a Minion or Grunt.
For example: Activating a pink die will move your pink Grunt(s) to the next pink space(s) that do not have a Minion or Grunt.
There are 12 Town areas marked from 1-12: Town areas that show action icons are called Public areas. Town areas with no actions are called Neighborhood areas.
The final area is special; it may contain any number of Grunts. Grunts on the final space cannot move anymore.
After you move all 4 of your dice, immediately proceed to 4) Swamp-Jack Phase. You do not need to wait for other players to start performing the steps of the next phase.
4) Swamp-Jack Phase
"Spider Jack, Spider Jack, head of orange and cloak of black, Spider Jack, Spider Jack, come to me I brought a snack."
One at a time (in any order), place 3 dice - from your Driveway - in any row of your Order of Spider Jack, in the leftmost empty spot.
For example: The next die you place may go on any 'check-mark' space shown.
After placing a die, but before placing another, perform all actions showing on that die (in any order, see Actions on the back of this book). You may skip and forfeit any/all actions on the die: you cannot save them to perform after you move another die.
Place the last remaining (4th) die from your Driveway on the "Gain Malice" spot (see image left), and gain Malice based on the die's Rank (its number), according to the chart (see example right). Ignore the icons on the die that was used to gain Malice. After gaining the Malice, immediately discard this die to the bag.
For example: If the Rank is 6, gain 3 Malice.
This sign reminds you that only 3 dice go into your Order of Spider Jack, and 1 is used to gain Malice.
Gaining Malice: Anytime you gain Malice, advance your Malice tracker ahead by that many spaces. Any Malice gained above 8 is lost!
After all 4 of your Driveway dice have been used, proceed to 5) Spook Phase. (Now you must wait until everyone is caught up to proceed.)
5) Spook Phase
"A great party needs Spook Juice, party animals, decorations, desecrations...and I think I'm forgetting...yes! right! Celebrity guests! No harm in inviting them, hopefully."
In clockwise order, starting with the first player, each player takes turns, one at a time. During your turn, you must choose one of the following options:
- Buy one Arch Monster card
- Buy one Ghost token
- Pass
If you pass, and it becomes your turn again, you may buy something (or pass again).
Buy one Ghost token
- Choose a Ghost to buy: Lower your Malice tracker by the value shown directly below your chosen Ghost.
- Place the Ghost face up: It must be placed on any matching-colored Grunt space - that does not already contain a Ghost, Minion, or Grunt. Multi-colored Ghosts can be placed on any color Grunt space. When placing a Ghost, you may cover a Grunt space with an Action icon or not.
- Refill: Slide all remaining Ghosts to the right and place a new Ghost in the leftmost spot (taken from those face down in the middle of the main board).
Ghosts do nothing when you place them, except for one: When you buy a Ghost showing this icon, do not place the Ghost on a Grunt path space as normal; instead, place it on an empty matching-icon space (found at the beginning of your Grunt track). After placing the Ghost here, place a new matching-colored Grunt on top of the Ghost, from the supply. When a Grunt moves from here, it moves directly to area '1' (it doesn't move to one of the starting Grunt spaces).
Buy one Arch Monster card
- Choose an Arch Monster card to buy: Lower your Malice tracker by the value shown directly above your chosen Arch Monster.
- Place the card: Place it face up in front of yourself, visible to all players.
- Refill: Slide all remaining cards to the right and place a new Arch Monster in the leftmost spot (taken from the top of the Arch Monster deck).
Continue to take turns until all players pass consecutively, then:
- If the Round tracker is on 6, proceed to Final Scoring (all spots of the Order of Spider Jack should be filled with dice).
- Otherwise, pass the 1st player token to the left, advance the round tracker by 1, and proceed to 1) Arrival Phase of the next round.
Final Scoring
"Ladyghouls and Gentleghosts, let's get this party started!"
Perform the following steps in order:
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First, all players must remove Lord Dice: Each player must remove the rightmost dice from each row that exceeds the Spider Jack die's value in that row.
For example: If you have a row with a Spider Jack die of value of 4, you will keep the first 4 dice in that row, then return the 5th and 6th to the box. Dice returned to the game box award you 0 Spook Juice from this point forward (regardless of the source), so just ignore that you ever had them.
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Grunts in your final area: For each Grunt in your final area, gain 3 Spook Juice for each matching-color Lord die you have.
For example: You have 2 blue Grunts, and 4 blue dice: 3x2x4=24 Spook Juice. You have 1 green Grunt and 3 green dice: 1x3x3=9 Spook Juice.
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Prophecy card: Each Prophecy card can score a maximum of 50 Spook Juice, see the Prophecy Cards section.
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Arch Monster cards: See the Arch Monster Cards section for their scoring details.
The player with the most Spook Juice is declared the winner, and the fanciest Monster around! If there is a tie, the tied player with the most Grunts in their final area wins. If still tied, the tied player with the most Malice wins; and if still tied, lucky you... You all get to party as the winners and play the game again to determine the true player with the most determination!
Solo Rules
Can you throw a better party than Spider Jack himself? It's time to find out!
Solo Mode 1 — Beat Your Own Scare
In this mode, attempt to score as much Spook Juice as possible.
Setup
- Shuffle the Spider Jack solo cards together and place the deck face down to the left of your player board.
- Set up your player board as normal (page 4).
- Place 1 Fearmobile in front of the Spider Jack deck.
Gameplay
- Roll 4 random dice from the bag and load them into your Fearmobile (page 5), then do the same to load the Fearmobile in front of the Spider Jack Deck.
- Reveal the top card of the Spider Jack Deck.
- After you draft 1 die (page 5), the AI will draft a die based on the face-up solo card (see Gameplay and Drafting Dice in Solo Mode 2).
- Then, switch the Fearmobiles, and continue until you have drafted 4 dice.
At the end of each Spook Phase (page 6):
- If you purchased 1 or more Ghosts and/or Arch Monsters in total: discard rightmost 1 Ghost and 1 Archmonster (then refill as normal).
- If you did not purchase any Ghosts or Arch Monsters, discard the rightmost 2 Ghosts and 2 Arch monsters (then refill as normal).
Final Scoring
Note your highest score somewhere and initial it. If you beat that score, put a line through it, and add your newest high score.
Solo Mode 2 — Versus Spider Jack
In this mode, you will compete against Spider Jack and attempt to outscore him after six rounds of play.
Difficulty
Included throughout the rules are Difficulty + modifiers. There are a total of 7 Difficulty "+"s that can be added to your experience. Each of these that you decide to incorporate will give Spider Jack more potential to score additional Spook Juice throughout the game.
Easy: +0 ... +2; Normal: +3 ... +4; Difficult: +5 ... +6; Monstrous: +7
Setup Spider Jack's Court area and deck:
- Draw 1 random Lord Die from the bag.
- Locate the 10 Spider Jack cards that show this color of die on their faces (Return the remaining 20 Spider Jack cards to the box).
- Shuffle these 10 cards together to form the Spider Jack deck.
- Place it horizontally face-down.
- Take 1 Grunt figure matching the die's color from the supply and place it near Spider Jack's deck.
- Return the drawn Lord die to the bag.
- Place a Fearmobile above the Spider Jack deck, so that the car is pointed away from you.
- Your own Fearmobile should face the same way, towards Spider Jack's Court area.
- Do not change the facing of the Fearmobiles during the game.
- When you pass your Fearmobile to Spider Jack, always park it in this same spot.
Difficulty +1: Add 1 additional Monster of a different color to Spider Jack's Court. Difficulty +2: Add 2 additional Monsters of different colors to Spider Jack's Court. Difficulty +2: Place 2 random Ghost tokens into Spider Jack's Court. Difficulty +3: Place 4 additional random Ghost Tokens to Spider Jack's Court.
Gameplay
At the beginning of each round, roll 4 Lord dice and randomly place them into the Fearmobile in Spider Jack's Court.
Then, flip the top card of the Spider Jack Deck and place it face-up to the left of the deck, covering the card revealed last round (if any).
This card determines which Lord dice Spider Jack will prefer to draft. Use the first symbol (the furthest left) for the first selection, the middle symbol for the second selection, the third (rightmost) symbol for the third selection, and simply give Spider Jack the remaining 4th die.
Drafting Dice
During the Drafting Phase, Spider Jack will draft 1 Lord die each round, according to these preferences (in order from top to bottom):
- Color matching current selection symbol (White means no color preference)
- Rank - highest or lowest - based on current selection symbol
- Closest to the front of car.
- Closest to the rear of the car.
After making his selection, place the chosen Lord die onto the card, on top of the icon he used to select the die.
- After Spider Jack has selected 4 dice, he will score 3 of them (see Scoring Dice below).
Optional Special Rule - Summoning Spider Jack
Difficulty +1: Spider Jack gains any Spook Juice that you could have scored when summoning Spider Jack, but didn't (because your Spider Jack die was too low). Decide before the game begins if you are going to incorporate this rule.
Scoring Dice
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Select a Die: Select the highest-rank Lord die first. If there is a tie, select the Lord die that will score Spider Jack more points during Step 3. Score the Matching Court. If there is still a tie, you may select which Lord die to score.
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Score the Die: Spider Jack gains Spook Juice equal to the Rank of the selected Lord die, then adds the scored Lord die to Spider Jack's Court.
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Score the Matching Court: After scoring a Lord die, after it's added to his Court, Spider Jack will then score his Court. When scoring his Court, he scores Spook Juice for all of his Lord dice, Ghost tokens, and Monster figures that match the newly added Lord die (including the new Lord die itself):
- Lord Dice: 1 Spook Juice each
- Ghost tokens: 2 Spook Juice each
- Grunt: 3 Spook Juice
Spook Phase
- During the Spook Phase, you always have the opportunity to make the first purchase. Regardless of whether you buy something or not, Spider Jack will then make a single purchase. After Spider Jack makes his purchase, you may then make any number of additional purchases you wish to before moving on.
- Assign the numbers 1-5, one to each spot in a given market row, starting at the right and going left.
- Spider Jack will purchase the Ghost token in the position matching the Rank of his un-scored Lord die.
- If the die is Rank 6, Spider Jack will take the Ghost tokens in positions #1 and #5.
- Add the Ghost Token(s) to Spider Jack's Court, then refill as normal.
- Then, discard any Archmonster cards that were in the same position as the select Ghost token(s), and refill as normal.
- Return the un-scored Lord die to the bag.
Difficulty +1: Place the un-scored Lord die into Spider Jack's Court. Difficulty +2: Score the un-scored Lord Die (equal to Rank), then place it into Spider Jack's Court.
Final Scoring
Difficulty +1: Spider Jack gains any Spook Juice that you could have scored from your Prophecy Card, but didn't. Decide before the game begins if you are going to incorporate this rule.
Prophecy Cards
"Prophecy! Remember the Prophecy! THE PROPHECY! REMEMBER THE PROPHECY!" — Unintelligible Screaming
- Each scoring condition on a card can only be scored once.
- Each row/column/die used to score a scoring condition can only be used once (For example, you cannot choose the same row to score multiple times for different scoring conditions).
- Cards that score by row do not have to score the matching-position row on your board. For example: For card 01, you may choose to score your middle row on your board for "Descending Lord dice Rank" (even though that is listed at the top of the card).
- Cards that score by Column score the matching-position column on your board (they are not interchangeable like rows are, see card 04).
- If a color isn't shown, the die can be any color. If a spot requires a specific die color or Rank, it must be in that exact spot of that row/column to gain Spook Juice.
- Check the scoring requirement and gain for each group/column/row separately (ignore what dice are in adjacent groups/columns/rows). If you fail to gain for a group/column/row, you can still attempt to score the other groups/columns/rows.
Card 01
- Ascending/Descending Ranks: Choose any one row: If the shown values are in the exact shown spots, gain 20 Spook Juice.
- If any 3 dice in any one row has the same Rank, gain 4 Spook Juice, if any 4 dice in this same row has the same Rank, gain 6 Spook Juice, etc.
- If the 4 leftmost dice in any one row are the same color, gain 14 Spook Juice.
Card 02
This card scores differently than the other cards. Check each group: The leftmost 2 columns, the rightmost 2 columns, and the center 2 columns are each a group. If any one group meets the requirements, gain 10 Spook Juice. If any two groups each meet the requirements, gain 25 Spook Juice, etc. Score based on the number of groups that meet the requirements, their positions are irrelevant.
Card 03
If a column has an exact total added Rank of 10, gain as shown above that column. These score based on the matching-position row on your board (e.g., if the rightmost column on your board adds up to 10, gain 18 Spook Juice).
Card 04
Cards that score by Column score the matching-position column on your board.
Card 05
Within a column, if the column has no adjacent even-Rank dice (2,4,6) and no adjacent odd-Rank dice (1,3,5), gain as shown. Even or odd dice can start at the top of any column. Score by matching-position like card 04.
Card 06
If all dice in the column match a shown color and/or Rank, gain as shown. Score by matching-position like card 04.
Card 07
Add up all dice Ranks in each row, then gain the shown Spook Juice for each if the requirement is met in any one row.
Card 08
Perform the mathematical equations; if the values are accurate, gain the shown Spook Juice. Numbers do not wrap. For example: Die of Rank 2 + Die of Rank 3 = Die of Rank 5.
Card 09
If all dice in a column are the same color, gain the shown Spook Juice. Score by matching-position like card 04.
Card 10
2 colors only: If exactly two colors of dice are in any one row, gain 15 Spook Juice. See card 07.
Card 11
See card 08 for mathematical equations, but score by matching-position like card 04.
Card 12
8 column: Add up all Ranks in this column: if it equals 10, gain 8 Spook Juice. Score by matching-position like card 04.
Family Mode
Setup Changes
- Minions are not placed onto player boards, they are kept in a nearby supply.
- Ghosts and Arch Monster Cards are not used; return them to the box.
- Use the Family Mode side of the player boards. (You still get a Prophecy card.)
Neighborhood Area Spaces
Each time a Minion moves on or through any space in area 4 or 8, you may do the following:
Area 4: Promote or Demote a Lord — Choose any 1 Lord dice; plus or minus its Rank (number) by 1.
Area 8: Swap 2 Lords — Swap the position of any 2 Lord dice in your Order of Spider Jack (do not reroll them).
Area 12: Score 12 Spook Juice, then immediately move this Grunt to its starting position. (If you have movement left over from the die, you can use it to continue moving this Grunt.)
The Round
At the start of each round, fill each Fearmobile with 4 dice: Each player draws 4 random Lord dice (in any order, from the bag); they roll and place them in their Fearmobile (maintaining the rolled faces).
All players do the following steps, in order: 1) Take and Place 1 Lord die, 2) Move a Grunt, and 3) Pass Fearmobiles.
Each step can be done by each player at the same time; but between each step, wait for everyone to catch up!
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Take and Place 1 Lord dice: Take any 1 Lord dice from your Fearmobile and place it in any row of your Order of Spider Jack, in the leftmost empty spot (For example: those marked 'a' to the right).
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Move a Grunt: Move your matching-color Grunt forward 1 space for each icon (of any type) on this die (the one you just placed).
For example: The Blue die you just placed has 2 icons, so you move blue Minion 2 spaces. Blue minions move along blue spaces.
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Pass Fearmobiles: Give the Fearmobile (with all the dice in it) to the player to your right.
Repeat steps 1 through 3: Repeat until there is 1 dice left in each Fearmobile, then each player discards the remaining 1 die left in each Fearmobile to the bag.
End of Round Scoring
Each player does all of the following steps, at the same time, in this order:
- Choose one row in your Order of Spider Jack.
- Take a Minion (from the supply) and move it to an empty Minion space in that row.
- Gain Spook Juice equal to the Rank total of all dice in the row.
For example: Moving a Minion to this row scores you 12 Spook Juice!
Each row has 2 Minion spaces, so each row will be scored twice during the game. If players have any empty Minion spots, start a new round. If players have filled all of their Minion spots, proceed to Game End.
Game End
Score Spook Juice for your Prophecy card (as normal, up to 50 Spook Juice each). The player with the most Spook Juice is declared the winner, and the fanciest Monster around! If there is a tie, the youngest tied player wins!
Arch Monster Cards
If you have multiple cards that reference the same rows, dice, etc., you can use them to score multiple cards! "If you have" means you can only score it once, regardless if you have multiple instances of it. "Each" means you score it for each instance!
- For each pair of adjacent blue and green Lord dice, gain 2 Spook Juice. Adjacent pairs work both up and down, and left and right. (Here is an example of 3 pairs for 6 Spook Juice.)
- Spooked: Each Town space the Grunt has moved through, including the one they are currently on, counts as being 'Spooked'. If you have multiple Grunts of the required type, add up their total Spooked spaces together! (Gain equal to the area's number where each required Grunt is.)
- Gain 3 Spook Juice for each Ghost you have in all Neighborhoods combined.
- If you have 2 or more Ghosts in a single Neighborhood, gain 8 Spook Juice once.
- Choose any 2 adjacent columns of dice on your board: If the die's Ranks add up to 30 or more, gain 12 Spook Juice once.
- If you have 3 or more Minions in a single Neighborhood, gain 10 Spook Juice once.
- For this single Grunt, gain 5 Spook Juice for each matching-colored die (instead of 3 per die). Other Grunts score 3 Spook Juice each as normal.
- If you have 3 or more of the required Lord dice in a single row, gain 10 Spook Juice once.
Actions
Swap 2 Lords — Swap the position of any 2 Lord dice in your Order of Spider Jack (do not reroll them).
Promote or Demote a Lord — Plus or minus one of your Lord Dice (anywhere) by 1. You cannot: change the die you just placed (the one allowing you to perform this action); increase a die above Rank '6' or below '1'; or change Spider Jack dice.
Move Minion — Move 1 of your Minions (from anywhere) to any Grunt path space that does not already contain a Ghost, Minion, or Grunt. If you cover a space showing an Action, do not activate it. When Grunts move, they skip over all Minion-containing spaces.
Move Grunt — Choose 1 Grunt color, and Move each of your Grunts of that color once (follow all rules for movement as found on page 4).
Gain Spook Juice — Gain Spook Juice equal to the shown number. (As shown, gain 5 Spook Juice.)
Call Spider Jack — Advance any one Summoning tracker (to the right) 1 space. If moved onto an Action icon, immediately perform that Action. If moved onto these icons (left), immediately gain Spook Juice on the row of dice directly above this Summoning Tracker, by performing Summon Spider Jack Scoring:
Summon Spider Jack Scoring — In this row, add up the numbers, on the leftmost number of dice equal to the Spider Jack die's value in the row; gain that much Spook Juice.
For example: The Spider Jack die's value is 3; add up the numbers on the 3 leftmost dice to gain 6 Spook Juice... Juicy!
Gain 1 Grunt — This icon can only be found on Ghosts (page 5). When you buy a Ghost showing this icon, do not place it on a path space as normal; instead, place it on an empty matching-icon space (found at the beginning of your Grunt track). After placing the Ghost here, place a new matching-colored Grunt on top of the Ghost, from the supply.
Feed Spider Jack — +1 to the value of one Spider Jack die. You cannot increase a die beyond 6.
Gain Malice — Advance your Malice tracker by 1 for each Malice icon. Any Malice gained beyond 8 is lost.
Credits
Designed by: Aleksandar Mikic, Ivo Neskovic, Samoil Petreski Development by: Final Frontier Games Graphic Design by: Bojan Drango Art by: The Mico Solo and Kids Mode Designed and Developed by: Drake Villareal Rulebook Writing and Layout by: Jonathan 'Frisk' Bobal