Smash Up: Excellent Movies, Dudes!

Smash Up: Excellent Movies, Dudes! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective

Your goal is nothing short of global domination! Use your minions to exert control at bases to earn Victory Points. The first player to have 15 or more VPs at the end of a turn wins!

Game Contents

This set contains:

4 factions with 20 cards each (80 cards total)
8 Base Cards
4 Card Dividers
1 Token Sheet
This rulebook

Growing On You

Excellent Movies, Dudes! is an expansion to the Smash Up core set. It is still a fully operational battle station for 2 players though!

These rules sometimes refer to factions or mention cards that aren't in this expansion. If you don't already have those other sets, just think of it as viral marketing.

Look for these expansions to Smash Up in stores now!

Get to Know Your Cards!

Minions

A minion card shows:

Power — the large number in the upper left.
Name — across the top of the card.
Minion Identifier — the word "Minion" below the art.
Ability — the text box.
Faction Symbol — the icon in the lower right.

Actions

An action card shows:

Name — across the top of the card.
Action Identifier — the word "Action" below the art.
Ability — the text box.
Faction Symbol — the icon in the lower right.

Bases

A base card shows:

Breakpoint — the number in the upper left.
Name — across the top of the card.
Winner VP — the leftmost of the three large numbers.
Runner Up VP — the middle number.
Third Place VP — the number on the right.
Ability — This is what the base does. Its ability always operates while the base is in the middle of the table. It's sort of a combination of Special, Ongoing, and Awesome.

Setup

Each player selects two different factions to play with, and is considered the owner of the cards they choose for gameplay purposes. Shuffle together your two factions to make a 40-card deck.

Next, grab the base cards from the sets the chosen factions come from, and shuffle them together. Draw one base per player, plus one (e.g., four bases for three players), and place them face up in the middle of the table.

Set out the stasis counters on the table, along with the VP tokens from another Smash Up set. (If this is your first Smash Up set, welcome! You can use anything else you'd like as VP tokens: coins, candies, etc. Or you can track VPs on paper if you'd like, but you will need some kind of token to use as power counters.)

Each player draws a hand of five cards from their deck. If you have no minions in your opening hand, you may show it, draw a new hand, and shuffle the old hand into your deck; you must keep the second hand.

Whoever most recently watched a film from the 80s goes first. (If tied, choose who goes first as you wish.) Play continues clockwise.

Kickin' It Queensberry

For formal play, put at least 2 factions per player in the middle of the table. Randomly determine who goes first. The first player chooses one faction. Choice continues clockwise. When everyone has chosen one faction, the last player chooses a second faction. Choice continues in reverse order.

The Phases of a Turn

1. Start Turn

This is the time for all things that happen "at the start of your turn", both abilities, and rules like removing stasis counters. Abilities that expire at the start of your turn do so before any start-of-turn effects.

2. Play Cards

On your turn you may play one minion and/or one action for free. There might also be abilities on cards you've already played that you can activate during this phase. All of this can be done in any order. You don't have to play any cards.

Minions

To play a minion, choose a base and put the minion card beside it, facing toward you. Then do what the card says. A minion's main job is to add its power to its controller's total power on a base.

Actions

To play an action, show the card and do what it says. Then if the card doesn't tell you what to do with it — e.g. play it on a base or on a minion, place it in a hand or in a deck or in stasis, or bury it — discard it after resolving its ability.

Abilities

Each set of instructions on a card is called an ability. Most cards only have one, but some have more. Abilities come in different types:

Unless an ability has one of the labels below, it is an On-play ability and is resolved immediately after the card is played — but not after it is moved.

Ongoing: Ongoing abilities either a) are always taking effect as long as they are in play and any conditions are met, or b) they are resolved after a particular trigger. (p. 13)

Special: Special abilities are resolved at unusual times, as the card itself explains. (p. 14.)

Talent: A Talent can be activated once during each of your turns, during the Play Cards phase only. (p. 14.)

Base abilities are handled differently. They act like Ongoing and/or Special abilities, but they have no label and are treated by faction cards as if they have no ability type.

3. Score Bases

After you are done playing cards, check to see whether any bases are ready to score. If any are ready, you must start scoring. See The Big Score, pp. 8-9.

4. Draw 2 Cards

Do what it says: draw two cards from your deck.

If your hand is empty at other times of the game, you don't get an automatic draw; you have to wait for this phase of your turn.

If a deck is empty when you need to start drawing, searching for, revealing, or looking at cards from it, then shuffle its discard pile to make the new deck, and keep going. You also shuffle the discard pile if the deck runs out in the middle of drawing, revealing, or looking for cards — but not when searching.

Exception: If you are revealing cards until a condition is fulfilled (e.g. until an action is revealed), then if the deck runs out first, stop revealing and move on with the rest of the ability.

After drawing, the maximum number of cards you can have in your hand is 10. If you have more, discard down to 10. If your hand is bigger than 10 in your End Turn phase or at other times, that's OK: you wait until now to discard down.

5. End Turn

Just like the start, there's a phase for the end of the turn. Things that happen now (like destroying a minion or drawing a card) happen first; if there is more than one, see Me First! (p. 8) to resolve the order. After that, all abilities that expire now (like "+1 power until the end of the turn") expire at the same time.

Finally, check to see if any players have 15 or more Victory Points. If so, see Declaring Victory on p. 9. Otherwise the turn is over and play passes to the player on the left.

If a player has 15 or more Victory Points in the middle of a turn, the game does not end yet, but continues until playing, scoring, and drawing are completed for that turn. It is only in the End Turn phase that a winner is determined.

Resolving Cards and Abilities

Sometimes it can be difficult to decide what order to do things in. For example, if more than one player has a card that triggers before a base scores, which one goes first? Let's lay it all out.

A newly played card's On-play ability is resolved first, followed by any Ongoing ability it has that is immediately triggered (e.g. "Ongoing: This minion has +3 power"), before abilities on other cards are resolved.

If an ability has multiple effects, they are resolved in the order they appear on the card.

If the effects are ordered in a dependent way — e.g. "Do X to do Y", "You may do X; if you do, do Y" — then if X is not resolved for any reason, Y is not resolved. (For example, if you use Ectoplasm One's Talent to move itself, but a minion is not moved because you have none there, you can not destroy an action.)
If the effects are ordered in an independent way — e.g. "Do X and then do Y", "Do X. Do Y" — then later effects are resolved even if the earlier effects cannot be. (For example, if you play Alien Life Form off the top of the deck, you may place power counters on it whether or not you destroy a minion.)

After a card's abilites are resolved, all abilities that are triggered by their effects are resolved. After a card is played, abilities triggered by playing a card, or whose conditions are met by the card's presence, are resolved along with those triggered by the card's abilities. If more than one ability is triggered, see Me First! (p. 8) to figure out their order.

For an ability to respond to a trigger, its card needs to be in play when the triggering event happens. It also needs to be in play when the event finishes resolving, unless the trigger itself made the card go out of play.

If one card (A) causes another card (B) to be played immediately, B's resolution takes precedence, and the resolution of A pauses until B is finished resolving. (For example, before Sidelined Girlfriend places a +1 power counter on its extra minion, that minion's On-play ability needs to be resolved first.)

The Big Score

Each minion on a base adds its power to the total power on the base. During the Score Bases Phase of any turn, if the total power on a base equals or exceeds that base's breakpoint (p. 3), the base will score. If more than one base is ready to score, the player whose turn it is decides which one to score first.

After a base has been chosen to score, abilities that happen "before" the base scores are triggered and resolved (e.g. Funkman).

Once a base has been chosen to score, nothing can stop it. Even if the total power is reduced to below the base's breakpoint, you still keep scoring.

For example, before a base scores, one player uses Final Stand to destroy a minion of each other player there. Even if the total power goes below its breakpoint, the base still scores.

Me First!

When resolving abilities while responding to any trigger, including scoring a base, you first resolve abilities of cards in play that do not say "may" (e.g. Commandbro), or that say "each player may" (e.g. Brood Hive). These abilities are mandatory. Mandatory abilities, and mandatory rules like removing stasis counters (p. 11) are resolved in the order chosen by the current player.

Then you resolve optional abilities — which includes cards in play that say a single player "may" do something (e.g. Kickboxbro), as well as all triggered Special abilities in the hand (e.g. Resurgence) — along with optional rule effects like uncovering buried cards. If more than one player wants to use an optional ability, then each player, starting with the current player and going clockwise, uses one such ability (in-play or from the hand) or passes. You can use an ability each time it comes around to you, and you can use one after passing, but once all players pass in sequence, that ends it.

If, while resolving optional abilities, a card with a mandatory Ongoing or Special ability enters play, it is resolved immediately before continuing with the next player.

Awarding VP

The players with the highest, 2nd highest, and 3rd highest power on a base are the winner, runner up, and third place! They get victory points equal to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd number on the base card, respectively (p. 3).

Anyone with the 4th highest power or lower gets nothing. If there are fewer than 3 players on a base, no one gets the VPs for the unclaimed spots. Dispense VP tokens in the appropriate amounts to everyone who scored. Abilities that happen "when" a base scores may change how this happens, or add to it (e.g. Building Rooftop). You must have at least one minion or 1 power on a base to get victory points. A minion with 0 power can earn VPs if 0 is one of the three highest power totals.

Untangling Ties

If players are tied on a base, all involved players get points for the best position they tied for. So, if three players had 10, 10, and 5 power on a base when it scores, the winners with 10 power each get first place points! The player with 5 power then gets third place, not second. If two players tie for runner up, no one gets third place. Harsh.

If players tie for use of a base's ability, they each get to use it, starting with the current player and going clockwise. If using it twice doesn't make sense, then only the first player gets to use it.

Back to Your Corners

After awarding points, players can use abilities that happen "after" a base scores, in the same order described under Me First!, (p. 8) (e.g. Walk Away … Slowly). They are carried out immediately if possible, but they may need to wait until conditions allow it (e.g. if it affects what happens to cards on the base).

Then all cards still on that base go to their respective discard piles simultaneously. Going to the discard pile after scoring is not the same as being destroyed; however, it still might trigger other abilities.

Put the scored base on the base discard pile. Replace it with the top card of the base deck; shuffle the base discard pile if the deck ran out. Check to see if another base is ready to be scored. If so, score it too, the same way.

Scoring order:

Bases are checked to see if any are ready to score. If none are, go to the Draw 2 Cards phase.
The current player chooses a base that is ready.
Players may play and/or invoke any "Before scoring" abilities.
VPs are awarded according to the current power totals. "When scoring" abilities trigger now.
Players may play and/or invoke any "After scoring" abilities. This may affect steps 6-8.
All cards on the base are discarded.
The base is discarded.
A new base is chosen to replace it.
Go to step 1.

Declaring Victory

Check for a game winner at the end of each turn: if at least one person has 15 or more VPs, the player with the most victory points wins! No sharing! Except for your two factions. Those two factions are BFFs. But if there is a tie for the most, everyone keeps playing until there is no tie.

Once one player gets a winning VP total, you should still play until the end of the turn — unless everyone agrees no one can catch up.

More Rules and New Rules

Power Counters

Power counters are used to give enduring power to minions. They are not a separate item. Your VP tokens do double duty as +1 power counters: if it's in your VP pile it's a VP token, but if it's on a card it's a power counter. Power counters can only be placed on cards, transferred between cards, and removed from cards when an ability says to do so. When a card leaves play, remove all power counters from it.

Each power counter on a minion increases the minion's power by the number on it, for as long as it is on that minion. For example, a 2-power minion with two +1 power counters on it is treated as a 4-power minion. If a power counter is transferred, the counter stops affecting the card it used to be on, and starts affecting the new one.

Do not use power counters to stand for power directly granted by abilities, whether for a limited time (e.g. Slimy) or unlimited (e.g. Lone Wolf). Do not take power counters off if an ability reduces a minion's power (e.g. Hive Queen). Those abilities' power changes are calculated in addition to printed power and power counters.

Because power counters affect the minions they are on, abilities that protect minions from effects also protect against placing power counters on them, as well as transferring or removing them.

Cards Played off the Top of the Deck

"Play X off the top of your deck" means you reveal cards from the top of your deck until you reveal a card of type X, and then play it; if you are told to play N Xs you do the procedure N times. After the Xs are played and resolved, if there are any unused revealed cards you shuffle them into your deck; before then those cards are not considered in play or part of any deck or discard pile.

If the deck is empty before you start revealing cards, shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck. But if the deck runs out while you are revealing, you stop revealing and can only play what you have already revealed. (This is also true for other cards that reveal from the deck until finding something, like Watson.) If the X that you reveal has prerequisites for play that are not met (e.g. Shoggoth), it is discarded instead.

"If this card was played off the top of a deck" means if this card was among a group of cards revealed from the top of a deck and then played. It does not have to have been the very top card for it to be true. There are existing cards that help meet that condition without saying "play off the top of a deck", such as Hoverbot, Secret Volcano Headquarters, Teaching Power, Moon Dumpster, Raiding Party.

Stasis

Stasis counters track the amount of time a card spends in stasis, after which the card is played, and/or other effects may happen. If you run out of stasis counters, use any other items you wish as additional counters. Stasis counters do not count as any other token used in the game, and none of those count as stasis counters.

Being in stasis: You only place stasis counters on a card when an ability says you can; doing so places the card in stasis. Cards in stasis are placed face up in front of their owner. They are considered in play, but: 1) they are not on any base or part of any hand, deck, or discard pile; 2) their abilities do not work unless they refer to stasis; and 3) they may not be affected by, or chosen as the target of, any ability that does not refer to stasis; 4) they may not be played or leave stasis except as described below. Their presence on the table may influence some abilities (e.g. Microbot Alpha, Red Riding Hood), and their power and abilities can be copied by other cards. Madness cards in stasis at the end of the game still count against your final score.

Leaving stasis: At the start of your turn, you must remove one stasis counter from each of your cards in stasis. You may also remove (or add) stasis counters when an ability says you can. If a card in stasis has no stasis counters on it, during your Play Cards phase you may play it as an extra card, at which point it leaves stasis. When you play the card, follow any instructions it has for leaving stasis, and then discard the card unless it tells you otherwise (as Sidelined Girlfriend does). If it has no instructions for leaving stasis, just play it normally as an extra card. Cards leaving stasis may not immediately re-enter stasis. At the end of each turn, discard all your cards in stasis that have no stasis counters on them; they both leave stasis and leave play.

Stored Cards

Some abilities let you store cards by placing them face down under other cards. If the ability has limits on the card being placed — e.g. "a minion of power 3 or less" or "an action" — you must reveal it before storing it so others can see it meets the requirements. You may look at your stored cards at any time, but you must return them to the same place. Other players may count your stored cards, but may not examine them.

Stored cards are considered in play, but their abilities are not active, and they cannot be affected by abilities that do not mention stored cards.

Stored cards may only be played when an ability allows it. When a card moves, cards under it move with it. When a card leaves play, any cards stored under it are discarded unless an ability says otherwise. Madness cards in storage at the end of the game still count against your final score.

Game Terms and Restrictions

Affect: A card is affected if it is moved or transferred, removed from play (i.e. destroyed, returned, shuffled, or placed), buried or uncovered, changed in actual or counted power or in controller or in name, or if it has an action on it, counters placed on it or removed from it, or abilities cancelled or added.

After: "After X do Y", means that X is completely resolved before Y is done (unless X is "a base scores", p. 9), and that Y is done right after X.

Before: "Before a base scores" means after a base is chosen to score but before VPs are awarded. "Before the end of the turn" means during the Draw 2 Cards phase.

The box: A card that is put in the box is out of play for the rest of the game. No ability can either prevent going to the box or retrieve a card that is there.

Cancel: Cancelling an ability means the ability is treated as if it does not exist.

Control: By default, each card you play is controlled by you. If you gain control of a card, it is as if you had played it: minions add to your power total, abilities on the card apply to you and you can use them, etc. Controlling a minion does not mean you control any actions played on it, although their abilities apply normally. When a card leaves play, it goes to the hand, deck, or discard pile of its owner, not its current controller. To "have" a card or power at a base means you control it. "Your" cards are the ones you control.

Destroy: This lets you remove a card that's in play and put it in the discard pile.

Directly: Card X directly affects card Y if X's ability does one of the things listed under "Affect", and Y is a target specified by X.

Discard: This lets you put a card that is not in play, or that is on a base that has just been scored, into the discard pile. It comes from your hand unless it says otherwise.

During a turn: At any point of a turn, in any phase. (Compare to "On your turn".)

Extra: An extra minion or action is one that is not counted against your normal limit of one per type per turn. Extra cards are optional. You may always play an extra card immediately. If an ability gives you an extra card during the Play Cards phase, you may choose to wait and play it later in that phase, unless it was given by a Special ability, or a later part of the ability depends on playing the card (e.g. giving +1 power to an extra minion), or if it refers to a specific card (e.g. a card from the discard pile, or revealed from the deck). An extra card with constraints (e.g. a minion of power 2 or less) is not a specific card and can be played later.

In Play: Cards in play are in the middle of the table, i.e. an active base or any card on it or at it, or in stasis. Cards in the hand, deck, or discard pile, or set aside, or in the box, are not in play.

Move: This lets you relocate a minion or buried card or titan from one base to another, along with any cards or counters on or under it. Moving a card does not count as playing it, and doesn't change its controller. On-play abilities do not trigger when you move a card, but Ongoing, Special, and Talent abilities still have their effects.

On your turn: This means during the normal Play Cards phase of your turn. You can only do it once per turn unless it says otherwise.

Ongoing: Ongoing abilities are active for as long as they're in play, having either a continuous effect or a repeatable trigger. They do not work from the hand, deck or discard pile.

Owner: The player who had the card at the start of the game. Monsters and treasures have no owner.

Place: This lets you relocate a card in a way not covered by other terms (play, move, return), such as from a base to the bottom of your deck, or from the discard pile to your hand. It also lets you put power and stasis counters on a card.

Play: You play a card when it's one of the free cards you get in the Play Cards phase, or any time an ability specifically says that you're playing it. A card's On-play (i.e. unlabeled) ability happens when you play it. When cards are moved, placed, or returned, they're not being played, and their on-play abilities don't happen.

Return: This means that a card goes back where it came from. When a card returns from a base, discard attachments on that card, and put it in its owner's hand.

Special: Special abilities happen at unusual times or in unusual ways, triggering in your hand or discard pile, or while in play for special events, even during other players' turns.

A card's ability will describe how it can be used. If you use a Special ability to play a card on your turn, it doesn't count as one of your free cards for that turn.

Standard: A standard action is one that does not remain in play by being played on a base or on a minion, or by being buried or placed in stasis. It does its job and is discarded, or places itself in a hand or deck.

Starting: The power of a minion or breakpoint of a base before being modified by other abilities. Normally this is the number printed on the minion or base, but some cards can change it.

Talent: This is an ability that you may use once during the Play Cards phase of each of your turns. You don't have to use it if you don't want to.

To: Some cards say, "Do X to do Y" (e.g. "Discard cards equal to a minion's power to destroy it.") With these cards, if X gets thwarted for any reason (e.g., you don't have enough cards in hand), then you can't do any of X, or Y, either. If you do X for one card, it does not count for a different card that requires X; you have to do X a separate time for each "to" ability.

Transfer: This lets you relocate actions or counters from one card to another. When adding counters to your cards (from the pool), or discarding counters from your cards (to the pool), that's not transferring.

When: "When scoring" means when VPs are awarded. Otherwise "When X do Y" means as X starts to happen, often because Y changes how X works.

Clarifications

Ancient Crashed Ship: "From anywhere except your hand" can mean from a deck, discard pile, stasis, being buried or stored, or from another player's hand.

Chestbreaker, Game Over Dude!, Head Grabber: You must choose the power you want before playing the minion off the top of the deck. Chestbreaker is placed on the bottom of the deck beforehand, so it does get shuffled in.

Collateral Damage, All Out of Bubblegum, Ellen, Funkman, Gracie Brones, Lightning Strike, Slimy, Slo-Mo Attack, Warbro: Abilities that have an effect "until Y" only affect cards currently in play, but their effect lasts until Y even if the card that caused it leaves play or moves away, or even if any precondition stops being true.

Demon Dogs: The minion under it can be played on any base; if you don't play it, discard it.

Ectoplasm One: You must move one of your minions there if you have one. If you don't have one, you may not destroy an action.

Hive Queen. If the Talent is used, its effect lasts until the start of your next turn, even if Hive Queen leaves play. The -1 power also applies to minions that are played or move to bases with an Egg Field.

Kickboxbro: If this minion gains additional Talents, you can only use one of them before the base scores.

Librarian Haunt, Ancient Sumerian God, Demon Dogs, Slimy: The changes to breakpoints from all Wraiths are added together, even from two with the same name.

Nuke it from Orbit: If this card leaves play without using its Talent, it does not go to the box.

Resurgence: If you play it as a Special, you can target an action that's not on the base being scored.

Robobro, Ancient Crashed Ship, Ellen, Funkman, Future Almanac?, Sidelined Girlfriend: For cards with a trigger for their effect — e.g. "After X happens" — the effect is done each time X happens, even if multiple Xs happen at the same time.

Rooftop Portal, Time-Traveling Car: "Cards here" includes actions played on minions there.

Roy, Ellen, Watson: A Wraith is an action with the label "Wraith" on it — Slimy, Librarian Haunt, Demon Dogs, and Ancient Sumerian God.

The Tools and the Talent, Letter from Another Time: Whenever you search for a card, you must reveal it, even if there are no restrictions on the card you search for.

Rules to Remember

Sometimes, card text and rules text will conflict. When there's a fight, card text wins. So there's an invisible "unless stated otherwise" with every rule in this book. Exception: Minion power and base breakpoint are never reduced below zero.

If cards conflict, the one that says you can't do something beats the one that says you can.

If multiple effects would happen at the same time, the player whose turn it is chooses the order.

You can play a card even if its ability can't or doesn't happen. For example, you can play an action that destroys a minion even if no minions are in play, or if the minion you choose is immune to destruction.

You must follow a card's ability, even if it's bad for you. Exceptions: Talents and extra cards are optional, as are abilities that say you "may" do something.

If an ability says "any number" you may choose one, or even zero. You may play a card that says "all" even if there are no targets.

If you get to play extra minions or actions outside the Play Cards phase of your turn, you must play those extra cards immediately or not at all.

Anyone may look through any discard pile at any time. If you take a card out of the discard pile, show it to everyone.

"A minion" or "an action" means any minion / action in play, unless stated otherwise. Exception: "Play a minion / action" means one from the hand.

When a card that others can see goes to the hand, deck, or discard pile, it goes to the one belonging to the card's owner (i.e. the player whose deck the card came from), no matter who played or controlled it.

When a card leaves play, any cards or counters on it or under it are discarded.

Specials may be played at any time they are applicable, even on other players' turns.

The power of a minion not in play is only the number printed on it, but once in play its power includes all modifications.

"You" on a minion or action means the controller of the card; on a base it means any player it describes, often the current player. "Other players" means everyone except "you". "Your" cards are those you control, whether or not you own them.

"Here" means the base the card is at; "there" means the location just referred to on the card.

If you "look" at a card, show it to no one else. If you "reveal" it, show it to everyone else. If you "search" your deck for a card, or choose a card to take from the discard pile, you must reveal the card chosen. After searching a deck, it must be shuffled.

The Factions

This set of Smash Up features four factions, which combine to make 6 possible decks. Counting all the Smash Up sets, there are now over 4800 possible faction combos! Mix and match factions to suit your play style.

Action Heroes

Yo.

Men of few words. Enjoy working alone. Good at it.

Backtimers

Are you ready to feel the power of love? Then get ready to doubleback in time with the Backtimers! A teenager, his scientist friend, and their new time machine can prepare for the future by delaying things so they appear at just the right time. This faction is heavy...

Extramorphs

"ping Six meters. ping That can't be. That's inside the deck. It's reading right man. Look!

As Extramorphs, you can enjoy terrorizing and forcing your opponents into your unique circle of life: egg, Head Grabber, Chestbreaker, adult, Hive Queen. Again. And again. And again.

Wraithrustlers

Who are you going to ring? Or fax? The Wraithrustlers of course! These pursuers of the paranormal are opportunistic, maneuvering Wraiths to where they bother their opponents, and then rounding them up to help themselves the most. And all without cats and dogs living together!

Moar Factions!

Does more than one person want to play Backtimers? Great! Combine two sets of Excellent Movies, Dudes! so people can draft and play the same factions against one another. Remember, you can't put two of the same faction together though! Just use one set of bases when combining.

All Your Basics

Set Up

Each player chooses two factions and shuffles them together to make a 40-card deck. Place any titans near your deck. Draw a hand of five cards. Place one more base card than you have players in the middle of the table (for example, use five bases for four players).

On Your Turn

Play 1 minion and 1 action in either order. You can play less if you want to. Follow all instructions on card abilities as you play them.

Check to see whether any bases can be scored. If they can, score them.

Draw two cards. Discard down to a hand of 10 if necessary.

Scoring

After you are done playing minions and actions, if the total power on a base meets or exceeds its breakpoint, that base scores.

The players with the highest, second highest, and third highest power get the victory points for the winner, runner up, and third place, as shown on the base. In case of a tie, each player receives full victory points for the highest place he or she qualified for.

Resolve the ability on the base, discard minions there, and then replace it.

Winning

When one or more players have 15 or more victory points just before a turn ends, the one with the most victory points wins.

In case of a tie, play another turn.

If you are playing with the Obligatory Cthulhu Set, remember to check for Madness cards VP reduction at the end of the game. Then if any players are tied for most victory points, the player with the lowest number of Madness cards wins.

Further ties share the win!

Additional Rules

When a card disagrees with the rules, the card wins.

If cards conflict, the one that says you can't do something beats the one that says you can.

If multiple effects happen at the same time, the player whose turn it is determines their order.

You can play a card even if its ability can't happen.

You must follow a card's ability, even if it's bad for you. If a card says you "may" do something, you have a choice whether to do it.

If an ability says "any number" you may choose zero. You may play a card that says "all" even if there are no targets.

Anyone may look through any discard pile at any time.