Top Promoter Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Summary
• Components
• Card Anatomy
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Play Cards
• Score Completed Locations
  • Fight Resolution
  • Knock-out Blow
  • Rematch
  • Fight Scoring
  • Long Bout Bonus
  • Underdog Bonus
  • Clean Sweep
  • Cleanup
  • Scoring Example
• Draw Cards
• Game End
• Variants
• Action Cards

Summary

Players take on the role of boxing promoters, arranging fights in an effort to earn more money than their competitors.

Components

• 15 Location Cards
• 100 Player Cards (15 Fighter Cards and 5 Action Cards in 5 colors)
• 5 Scoring Summary Cards
• 13 6-sided dice

You will also need scratch paper or something else to track player money.

Card Anatomy

Fighter Card: Home Location, Weight Class, Popularity Rating, Fighter Name, Number of Dice, Player Color.

Location Card layout: Lower Card, Mid Card, Main Event, Location, Draw Pile.

Setup

Based on the number of players, select the appropriate number of locations to play:

• 3P = 6 Locations
• 4P = 9 Locations
• 5P = 12 Locations

Shuffle the location cards and lay out one less than the number of players face up in the middle of the table. Place the rest as a face down draw pile.

Each location card will support three fights, so leave room next to each location to play fighter cards. The spaces closest to the location cards are the Main Event. Next to that is the Mid Card and then the Lower Card. These positions will determine how much a fight is worth.

Each player takes all their player cards, shuffles them, and draws 6 as a starting hand. Put the rest in a face down draw pile.

Suggested play area layout for the location and fighter cards. If you have more than two locations, just add another row.

Gameplay

The game is played in a series of rounds with the following steps:

1. Play Cards 1a. Score Completed Locations
2. Draw Cards

Play Cards

Each player selects a fighter card from their hand and plays it face down on the table. Once all players have selected their card, the cards are simultaneously turned face up.

The player who played the fighter with the highest popularity rating now plays their card into a location. After playing their card they may select one action card from their hand to play. The action cards that may be played at this time are identified by the placement symbol (a boxer silhouette) in the upper left of the card.

Play then proceeds to the player with the next most popular fighter and they play their card just like the previous player, including optionally playing an action card after their fighter card. Continue in this manner until all cards have been played.

The round is over once all selected cards have been played, and the next round will begin with each player selecting another fighter card.

Played fighter cards must adhere to the following rules:

• Cards may be played into any location.
• Each location supports three Fights.
• Each fight can have at most two fighters.
• You cannot arrange a fight between two of your own fighters (the temptation to fix fights becomes irresistible).
• Each fighter must be paired against another fighter in the same weight class.
• If you choose a location that contains a fighter of the same weight class as your card, and that fighter is not already paired with another fighter, you must pair yours with that fighter.

If there is no legal play for your fighter, it must be discarded.

Example 1: Green wants to play a welterweight into Atlantic City. Since Purple already has a welterweight here and it's not already paired up, Green must pair his welterweight with Purple's.

Example 2: Green wants to play a welterweight into Atlantic City. There are no welterweights here already. Since he cannot be paired with a heavyweight, Green's only option is to start the 3rd fight in Atlantic City.

After each player either plays an action card or chooses not to, check to see if any locations are full. The location is full if all three fights have two fighters each. If there is a full location, proceed immediately to Completed Location Scoring before the next player places their fighter cards.

Score Completed Locations

Fight Resolution

Each fight is resolved separately beginning with the Lower Card, followed by the Mid Card, and finally the Main Event.

Both players take the number of dice shown on their fighter cards. One die will be added for:

• A fighter fighting in their home location
• and/or playing the Superior Training action card

Each player then rolls all their dice.

The winner is the player who rolls the single highest value. If that value is tied, check the second highest value for both players. Continue in this manner until the tie is broken. Note that a rolled die always beats no rolled die.

Knock-out Blow

Some fighters, denoted by a half-star around the weight class, have a Knock-out Blow. If one of these fighters rolls their Knock-out Blow they win the fight, even if they did not roll the single highest value.

The roll requirement is based on the number of dice on their fighter card:

• 3 Dice: 3-of-a-kind (e.g., 4-4-4)
• 4 Dice: A run of 4 (e.g., 3-4-5-6)
• 5 Dice: A Full House (e.g., 5-5-5-1-1)

Additional dice rolled do not change the result required. Thus, fighting in your home city or playing Superior Training can increase the chance of landing your Knock-out Blow.

Rematch

If there is an exact tie with the dice, or both players land a Knock-out Blow, a rematch is declared and the two fighters involved will become the main event at the new location drawn at the end of the Completed Location Scoring step. Action cards do not carry over.

In the rare event that more than one fight is declared a rematch, whichever one had the higher billing originally will become the new Main Event.

Fight Scoring

Fights are scored based on their card status:

• The Main Event is worth 3 million dollars
• The Mid Card is worth 2 million dollars
• The Lower Card is worth 1 million dollars

Long Bout Bonus

If more than two dice are required to declare a winner, the winner receives an additional million dollars for each die over two that it took to resolve the fight. If a Knock-out Blow is landed, there is no Long Bout Bonus awarded.

Underdog Bonus

Once a winner is declared and the value of the fight determined, compare the number of dice shown on each fighter's card. If the winner has fewer than the loser, the underdog has won the fight! If the underdog's card has one die less, they double their score, if they have two dice less, their score is tripled.

Note - The underdog bonus stacks with the Cable Special action card. So if your underdog wins on TV, it can be a huge payday!

Clean Sweep

If a player wins all three fights in a location they get an additional 3 million dollars. This is not modified by any action cards or underdog status.

Cleanup

Once all fights are resolved:

• All cards not involved in rematches are discarded and will not be available for the rest of the game
• Remove the scored location from the game and replace it with a new one from the draw pile.
• If there was a rematch, place those fighters in the Main Event spot for the new location
• Any fighter cards that hadn't yet been played this round are now played in remaining popularity order.

Scoring Example

Scoring begins with the Lower Card, in this case, the heavyweight fight.

Green takes 3 dice, and blue takes 5. Both players roll their dice. Green rolls 6,5,5. Blue rolls 6,5,4,2,2.

Green wins the fight due to rolling the single highest value and wins 1 million dollars. Since it took 3 dice to determine a winner, Green gets another million dollars from the Long Bout Bonus. Additionally, since Green is a 2 die underdog, he triples his winnings, netting a total of 6 million dollars.

That fight is now scored and the cards are discarded. Scoring moves to the Mid Card.

Purple takes 3 dice and Green takes 4 dice. Green takes an additional die because his fighter is fighting in his home location. Both players roll their dice. Purple rolls 6,6,1. Green rolls 5,4,3,3,2.

Purple rolled the highest single value, but Green rolled his Signature Move! Green wins the fight and gets 2 million dollars for winning the Mid Card fight.

Now it's time for the Main Event!

Red takes 2 dice and Blue takes 1 die. Blue then takes another die since he is fighting in his home location. Both players roll their dice. Red rolls 5,4. Blue rolls 5,4.

It's a perfect tie, and a rematch is declared. No one is awarded money for this fight, but it will be the Main Event at the next location that is revealed.

Draw Cards

After all cards have been played (or perhaps discarded), draw cards to refill your hand to 6 cards.

Game End

The game ends when a location cannot be replaced. This means that not all locations will fully resolve. The winner is the player with the most money.

In case of a tie, the players select one of their remaining fighters from their hand, regardless of weight class and use them in one more fight. The winner of that fight is declared the winner.

Variants

Family Game: Play without the action cards to allow younger children to play along!

2-Players:

• Setup same as 3-player game.

• Draw 7 cards instead of 6.

• Fighters can be played on a weightclass one higher or lower than their own. The order is:

  Heavyweight-Welterweight-Lightweight-Flyweight-Strawweight

• When draw pile is empty shuffle all discarded fighter cards into a new draw pile. Do not reshuffle in your used action cards.

Action Cards

Action cards can only be played on fights your fighter is involved in.

The following action cards must be played after placement of a fighter card. Note the placement symbol (a boxer silhouette) on each card.

• Location Change - Swap two location cards. You may use this to swap with the top card of the draw deck if you wish.
• Cable Special - Triples the value your fighter will receive for one fight. This card must be played on a fight before location scoring begins. Only one Cable Special can be played on a single fight. Remember that this can stack with the underdog bonus!
• Press Conference - Play on a fight to make that fight the Main Event. No other Press Conferences may be played at this location. This card must be played on a fight before location scoring begins.

The following action cards are played during fight resolution. Note the fight-resolution symbol (a die) on each card.

• Superior Training - Add one die to any fight. Play this card immediately before rolling the dice.
• Random Drug Test - Play this card immediately before rolling the dice in a fight. Your opponent must roll a die. If the result is less than 3, the opponent automatically loses the fight without rolling further dice. If both players play Random Drug Test, both players automatically lose without rolling any dice and no money is awarded for that fight.

A failed drug test negates any bonus received from a cable special. (The cable company had to refund everyone's money!)