Overboss: A Boss Monster Adventure
Overboss: A Boss Monster Adventure Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 12 Forest tiles
- 12 Cave tiles
- 12 Graveyard tiles
- 12 Swamp tiles
- 12 Camp tiles
- 12 Castle tiles
- 12 Cloud Island tiles
- 12 Desert tiles
- 12 Summoning Circle tiles
- 12 Volcano tiles
- 10 matching Monster tokens and 1 matching Crystal token for each tile type
- 5 Double-sided player boards
- 7 Portal tokens
- 8 Dungeon tiles
- 6 Miniboss tokens
- Solo Mode sheet
- 1 Score pad
- 10 Terrain Selection cards
- 18 Command cards
- 10 Boss cards
- 1 Token bag
Objective
Your Objective is to craft the deadliest, most powerful overworld in all of Arcadia! The Boss with the highest Power score at the end of the game wins! Your Power score comes from the Terrain tiles on your map, and the Monster tokens arranged on those tiles. But that's easier said than done; you'll be competing with your fellow Bosses over the best terrain and Monsters you can find in the market.
Set Up
Let's get started! Set up is easy.
- Each player should take a player board. For the Classic game, turn the 3x4 map side face up. For a longer contest, use the 4x4 map side.
- The terrain selection cards each represent a terrain type from the game. Select 5 terrain types to use for this game or shuffle the cards and choose 5 types randomly. For your first game, we suggest you use the 5 basic types: Forests, Caves, Graveyards, Swamps, & Camps.
- Take the selected 12 terrain tiles, 10 Monster tokens, and 1 Crystal token shown on each terrain selection card from the box, as well as the 8 Dungeon tiles (used in every game). Also take the 6 Miniboss and 7 Portal tokens from the box.
- Turn all the tiles face down and shuffle them before setting them aside in a neat stack (or stacks) near the play area.
- Place all the Monster and Crystal tokens in the token bag, along with all the Portal and Miniboss tokens.
- Lastly, draw four terrain tiles from the terrain tile stack(s) and place them out on the center of the table within reach of all players. Draw four tokens from the token bag and randomly place each token next to a terrain tile to make a pair. This is the starting market. Now you're ready to play!
Turn Order
Bah! Why on Arcadia would you go to that fool Croak for a lesson in overbossing? That temerous tadpole wouldn't know a dungeon from a hole in the ground! Let Xyzax teach you how to be the best Overboss you can be!
First off, you'll need to determine a first player. I recommend choosing the person who has most recently raised a full legion of undead, but if no one is up to that simple task, feel free to choose randomly.
Starting with the first player, and continuing clockwise, each player will take a turn until every player's map is full of tiles. A player's turn has two steps: draft and place.
To draft, simply take one of the tile and token pairs available in the market. I'm partial to the Graveyard and kobold there on the left.
Now it's time to place your tile. Select an open square in the grid of your map (the open spaces on your board) and place the terrain tile in that square. Note that some squares border water, some border mountains, and some border both!
Next you must place your token. In this case, the kobold token must be placed on top of the Graveyard you just placed. But tokens are placed differently depending on their type.
Monster and Miniboss tokens must be placed on an open terrain tile if one is available.
A single Monster token may be counted in both a horizontal and a vertical band.
Dungeon tiles are the only kind of tile that may not accept a Monster or Miniboss. If you collect a Monster or Miniboss along with a Dungeon tile, place that token on an available terrain tile if you can. If you have no available open tiles, place the unused token in your lair. Your lair is the bottom right section of the 3x4 board. If playing with the larger 4x4 side, your lair is just the table-space near your board. Your lair has unlimited holding capacity for all token types.
If you have an unused Monster or Miniboss in your lair, on a future turn, you may place it onto a new tile you collect instead of the new token that was collected. In this case, place that newly collected token in your lair instead.
However, any unused Monster or Miniboss tokens in your lair MUST always be placed onto an open terrain tile if there is one available. This means that you may only end your turn with unused Monsters or Minibosses in your lair if you have no open terrain spaces on your map.
In general, a terrain tile may only ever have one token on it!
Crystals and Portals are always placed in your lair. They are never placed on a tile. Their effects are described on the Placing & Scoring Tokens page.
At the end of your turn, restock new tiles and tokens: replace any empty spots in the market with tiles and tokens from the tile stack(s) or token bag. The next player always starts their turn with a full market of 4 tiles and 4 tokens.
The contest is over once all players have completely filled their maps with terrain tiles. When the final player has placed their final tile, grab your score pad and prepare to tally each player's score. The player with the highest Power score wins the game!
Placing & Scoring Tiles
Ugh! That bag of bones, Xyzax, is such a moron! No contest of Overbosses is over until your Power has been counted, and there's no better monster to school you in placing and scoring tiles than Cleopatra!
Every terrain tile type has the same layout.
The terrain type's icon is on the bottom left of each tile. This type's Matching Monster will have the same icon.
The terrain type's scoring rules are represented on the bottom-right. A number in a solid white circle is the tile's base point value.
Dungeons lay at the center of deadly terrain, an enticement for the intrepid adventurer.
Each Dungeon is worth 1 base point. Each Dungeon also gains a point for every different type of terrain that borders it (see Borders below for bordering rules). If all four sides of a Dungeon are bordered by a different type of terrain tile, that Dungeon gains its maximum value of 5 points. Tokens may NOT be placed on Dungeons.
The Forests of Arcadia are dark and deep, and the more you have, the darker and deeper they are. Kobolds prefer Forests.
Players receive a total number of points depending on the number of Forest tiles they have on their map, as shown in the table below.
| # of Forests | Total Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 10 |
| 5+ | 15 |
Skeletons, ghouls, and ghosts prowl Arcadia's cemeteries. The Boss who owns the most Graveyards is king of the undead!
Each Graveyard has a base value worth between 1 and 3 points (shown on the left side of their text bar). Additionally, the Boss with the most Graveyard tiles scores 5 points, and the Boss with the second most Graveyard tiles scores 2. If two or more Bosses are tied for either first or second place, all of them receive that place's points.
Orc Camps are intimidating projections of your power, but remember that orcs will never tolerate a rival claim to their tribal symbols.
Players receive a total number of points based on the number of unique Camp tiles they have on their map (see table below). Camps are distinguished by the colored flag in their upper right corner.
| # of Unique Camps | Total Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 9 |
| 4+ | 16 |
Caves are the natural lairs of dragons and other beasties; they are at their most powerful when hidden within mountains.
Each Cave is worth 1 base point. A Cave bordering any mountainous edge of the map is worth an additional 2 points, for a maximum value of 3 points.
Wet and loathsome, Swamps spread wherever there is water and rot. Swamps are home to Arcadia's witches.
Each Swamp is worth 1 base point. It is also worth 1 additional point if it borders a watery edge of the map, and 1 additional point if it is next to at least one other Swamp tile, for a maximum value of 3 points.
Castles can be found throughout Arcadia, remnants of a more civilized time. Now their power comes from the vampires who have taken up residence there.
Every Castle is worth 2 base points plus another 2 points if it has a vampire on it, for a maximum of 4 points. This is in addition to the 1 point the vampire would earn for being on its matching type (Castle). Matching Monsters and other token scoring is discussed in Placing & Scoring Tokens.
Arcadia is a tumultuous, ever-changing land, and there is no greater reminder of this than the powerful Volcanoes that can emerge suddenly and violently, driven by the elementals that call them home.
Volcanoes are each worth 4 points. After placing a Volcano on your map, destroy all bordering Monsters and Minibosses, returning those tokens to the bag.
The origin of Arcadia's Summoning Circles is shrouded in mystery. But it's clear that a Boss who learns to wield their arcane powers can control the powerful sorcerobes who live there.
Each Summoning Circle is worth 1 point. When you place a Summoning Circle on your map, you may immediately (on that same turn) exchange either a token placed on top of it, or a token bordering it, with one from the market.
Deserts are harsh, unending landscapes from which there is often no escape, especially if you are overtaken by a native sandworm.
Deserts are scored based on the size of each connected group of Desert tiles (see table below). Connected tiles must share a border.
| Size of Desert Group | Total Points |
|---|---|
| 1 tile | 0 |
| 2 tiles | 2 |
| 3 tiles | 6 |
| 4 tiles | 12 |
| 5+ tiles | 20 |
Cloud Islands float high in the sky, their harpy denizens looking down disdainfully on the world below.
Each Cloud Island is worth 7 points minus 1 point for every non-Cloud Island tile type on your map (including Dungeons). For example, if you have four non-Cloud Island terrain types on your map, each Cloud Island is worth 3 points.
Borders
Borders are shared sides of each tile. Two tiles that touch only at a corner are not considered to border.
In this example, the Dungeon and Graveyard are bordering, but the Dungeon and Forest are not.
Advanced Tiles
Advanced tiles may have an ability used when placed, or a restriction on their scoring that requires a little bit of extra planning on your part. Swap in advanced tiles once you have a couple of plays under your belt.
I suppose you might think you've learned everything there is to know about tiles from that dusty hag Cleopatra, but she's only taught you about the basic tiles. There's so much more you can do when you're ready to incorporate the advanced tiles into your game, and Belladonna will teach you.
Placing & Scoring Tokens
Nyahh! That blood sucker Belladonna left out the best part of the end of game, counting up your minions! Attend to me, Cerebellus, and I will educate your weaker brain on the fine art of scoring your tokens.
Tokens are scored in multiple ways, depending on the token type.
Monster tokens are scored based on their arrangement on the map and whether or not they match their terrain tile.
Each straight line of two, three or four of the same Monster type is called a band. Bands are scored according to the size of the band, as indicated in the table below.
| Size of Band | Total Points |
|---|---|
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 7 |
A single Monster token may be counted in both a horizontal and a vertical band. For example, if a dragon sits at the corner of a horizontal band of 3 dragons and a vertical band of 2 dragons, that player would score 5 points for the horizontal band and 2 points for the vertical band — the dragon at the corner counts toward both bands!
Minibosses are worth 2 points if they are placed on a terrain tile. They may be placed on any terrain tile (except Dungeons) and do not count toward bands of Monsters. Minibosses do not have a terrain icon.
Crystals grant a bonus for collecting a specific type of terrain. Remember to include five Crystals in every game, one for each terrain type used. When you collect a Crystal, always place it in your lair. At the end of the game, score 1 point per terrain tile of that Crystal's type on your map. For example, if you collected the Forest Crystal and then finished the game with four Forest tiles, you would score 4 points for the Forest Crystal.
Portals are not worth any points. They are placed in your lair active-side up (the glowing side). Once per turn, you may use a single active Portal (flip it over) to change the positions of up to two Monsters or Minibosses on your map. To use a Portal, pick up either 1 or 2 tokens on your map, then immediately place those same tokens on any currently open tile on your map. You may reposition tokens in the following ways:
- Move 1 token to an open terrain tile.
- Move 2 tokens to open terrain tiles.
- Move 1 token to an open terrain tile, then move 1 other token to where the first token used to be.
- Swap the positions of 2 tokens.
Other Portal rules:
- You may use a Portal at any point on your turn (but only once per turn).
- Portals move only Monsters and Minibosses. The terrain tiles underneath them do not move.
- Used Portals remain in your lair, face down — they do not return to the bag.
- Portals only affect tokens on the map. You may not use a Portal to swap a token on your map with an unused Monster or Miniboss in your lair.
Matching Monsters are Monsters that are placed on their matching terrain type. Each Matching Monster on your map is worth 1 point at game end. All Monster tokens have an icon that matches that of their matching terrain type.
For example, Forests are kobolds' matching terrain type. Note that they share the same icon. If this kobold was placed on this Forest, it would be worth 1 point at game end.
Advanced Game Variants
What? You think you're done? Not even close. You've learned the basics at the claws of those simpletons, but you'll need I, Porkus, to teach you the ways of an advanced Overboss! Heed me well, weakling. There are three paths to take your game to the next level!
1. The Big Board is a 4x4 map that extends the game by four more rounds. This longer game may be played by a maximum of four players. It is otherwise identical to the Classic 3x4 game. When using the Big Board, your lair is simply the area to the side of your board.
2. Boss cards add to the game's strategic depth. To use them, deal two Boss cards to each player during set up. Each player may then choose one Boss, returning the other to the deck. You may look at your Boss card at any time, but they should be kept face down, hidden until revealed. Boss cards have two features:
- Reveal Ability: Once per game, anytime during your turn, you may reveal your Boss card. Turn it over to activate your ability. Your Boss will stay revealed, face up, for the rest of the game.
- Scoring Objective: This is a unique scoring condition for your Boss. At the end of the game, calculate it as shown, whether you revealed your Boss or not.
3. For particularly malevolent Bosses, we have the Command cards. Commands are powerful actions that you may take to affect ANY player's map (including your own). During set up, shuffle the Command deck, set it near the play area, and deal four Command cards out in a row near the market.
To activate a Command, complete a pattern of the same terrain type, as shown on the card. The pattern may be flipped or rotated.
The tile you placed on your turn must complete the pattern, but it is okay if tiles in the pattern were used to activate a previous Command card. You may activate a maximum of one Command card per turn.
Once activated, resolve the Command card (as shown below), then discard the card and replace it with another from the Command deck. If the Command deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile into a new deck.
Intimidate Commands require a pair of bordering tiles of the same type. When completed, you may slide any tile (with its token) on any map to an adjacent open space.
Demolish Commands require 3 tiles of the same type. When completed, you may destroy any tile (and its token) on any map. The owner of that tile must immediately draft a new pair from the market and place that pair in the old tile's space (Crystals and Portals go in your lair). Return destroyed tokens to the bag. Discard destroyed tiles. If you run out of tiles, shuffle discarded tiles into a new stack.
Overthrow Commands require an arrangement of 4 tiles of the same type. When completed, you may swap the placement of any two tiles (and their tokens) on the same or different maps. You can even trade tiles with an opponent!
Boss Card Example — Porkus
Reveal Ability: When selecting this turn's Tile and Token set, you may take any tile and any token from the market.
Scoring Objective: Score +1 for each type of Monster and Miniboss on your board. (Each Miniboss is unique.)
Scoring Example
So... I see you've returned to the master for your last lesson in the contest of Overbosses! Fitting that Croak should complete what he started.
Here we have my player board at the end of a four player game. As you know, once the last player's map is full, the game is over and we can start adding points. Let's see what my Power score is...
- Forests are scored based on how many I have. Four Forest tiles give me 10 points total.
- I got one Cave, but placed it next to a mountain range for 2 extra points. 3 points!
- Camps are scored like Forests, but only count unique Camps. Unfortunately, both my Camps follow the yellow banner, meaning they're counted as if I only had one. Just 1 point.
- My two Swamps are each worth 1 base point, plus 1 point for being next to another Swamp. My first Swamp gets an additional point for being by the water; 5 points total there!
- My Graveyards are worth 1 and 2 points respectively, but that dust bucket Xyzax managed to collect more Graveyards than I did, leaving me the 2nd place bonus of 2 points. 5 points total from Graveyards.
- I got one Dungeon, and was able to surround it with three different terrain types: a Camp, a Swamp, and two Forests. 4 points total. That's 28 Power points total for tiles!
- I only found one Miniboss (my boy Kid Croak, by the way). He's worth 2 points just for being awesome.
- I found the Forest Crystal, giving me 1 extra point for each of my Forests (4 total).
- I've placed Matching Monsters on three tiles: The Forest in the top row, the Graveyard in the bottom left-hand corner, and the Swamp in the bottom row. 3 points from Matching Monsters!
- Lastly, by clever placement of minions, I've managed to arrange three bands of Monsters: the three kobolds in the top row give me 5 points, while the two skeletons and two kobolds in columns give me 2 points each. That's 9 points from bands of Monsters. My Portals aren't worth any points at the end of the game. Still, I did very well on the tokens, picking up an additional 18 points.
All told, it was a rather monstrous day for Croak. We weren't playing with Boss cards, but I still scored 46 points. If that's more than my three rivals (and I'm sure it is), I win! And remember, there can be only one! In the case of a tie, the Boss with the higher tile score wins! If there is still a tie, the Boss with the most Matching Monsters wins. If there's still a tie... well, I guess there can be more than one. Both Bosses win.
Overboss - 1st Edition; 1st Printing
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