Vulcanus Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Preparation
  • Overall Preparation
  • Preparation for the Kaiju
  • Preparations for the Human
  • If it is difficult to determine the initial position
• Victory Conditions
  • Victory conditions for the Human side
  • Victory conditions for the Kaiju side
  • Placement Rules
• Game Flow
  • 1. Event Phase
  • 2. Planning Phase
  • 3. Execution Phase
  • 4. Lava Phase
  • 5. Base Phase
• End of Game
• Vulcanus' Ability
• Human Ability
• Disaster Level
• Cards for Monsters
• Cards for All Human Players
• Special Cards to Each Role

Preparation

Each player chooses their role.

• In the case of 2 players: 1 Kaiju / 1 Human
• In the case of 3 players: 1 Kaiju / 2 Humans
• For 4 players: 1 Kaiju / 3 Humans

Overall Preparation

1. Map Board: Place it in the center of the table.
2. Planning Board / Hourglass: Place it next to the map board with the side corresponding to the number of players facing up. Place the hourglass near the board.
3. Kaiju Board / Human Board: Place the boards in front of the corresponding player.
4. Event Cards: Choose the Event Cards according to the "Disaster Level" you are playing. Place the Event Cards in the Event Card Area (facing down), and place the Investigation Tile (3) on them (one for each card).
5. Investigation Tile / Omen Tile: Shuffle the investigation and omen tiles marked "A", "B", and "C" face-down and randomly place them in the corresponding locations on the map board. Turn the placed tiles and place the number of citizens, VIP and lava on each square of the map as marked by the icon there. (There will be one remaining VIP.)
6. Attack Tile: Place the eight tiles on top of the attack tile stock on the map board.

Preparation for the Kaiju

• Action Cards: Shuffle 12 cards and place them in front of the Kaiju board as a deck of cards facing down.
• Lava / Evolution Tiles: Place 6 of them in each lava pool on the Kaiju board. Place the rest in the pool marked "∞". Place one evolution tile on the right side of each lava pool.
• Destruction Bonus Tiles: Shuffle the eight cards and take four, check the contents secretly, and then choose three cards and place them in your hand, facing down. The rest of the cards are put away in the box.
• Vulcanus (piece): Decide the initial location of the Kaiju. Select one of "Harajuku", "Shibuya", or "Ebisu" on the map and place the Vulcanus.

Preparations for the Human

1. Action Cards / Summary Sheets: Each player chooses one role. They receive a summary sheet for that role. The unused summary sheet(s) is turned face down and used as the list of actions for the Kaiju. Shuffle all 9 of the position's Action Cards and place them face-down on the summary sheet.
2. Funding Chips / VIP / Investigation Progress Marker: Place 10 funding chips in the fund pool of the Human board. The remaining four cards are placed on top of the funding stock. Place the VIP marker at position 0 on the Budget Request Track. Place the Investigation Progress marker at position 0 on the Investigation Progress track.
3. Fire Brigade / Self-Defense Force / Base Markers: Choose two initial locations for the Human side, one with a fire brigade and base and one with a SDF and base. (This will be done after the initial location of the Kaiju is determined.) Place the remaining markers on the stock of the Human board.

If it is difficult to determine the initial position

The initial position for the Kaiju is Shibuya, and the initial position for the Humans is Kasumigaseki for the fire brigade and Waseda for the Self-Defense Force.

(If there is a "1" or "2" omen tile in Kasumigaseki, exchange it with a "6" tile in another square.)

Victory Conditions

At the end of 6 rounds, if neither side has achieved the victory condition, the side with the least number of empty squares on each track wins.

Victory conditions for the Human side

You are to fill all of the defense track in the following ways:

1. Evacuate the civilians and place the civilian markers from the map to the defense track.
2. Extinguish the lava and place the lava markers from the map to the defense track.
3. Attack the Kaiju and place the attack tiles from the stock to the defense track.

Victory conditions for the Kaiju side

You are to fill all of the damage track in the following ways:

1. Kill a citizen and place the citizen marker from the map to the damage track.
2. Set the area on fire and place the lava marker from the lava pool to the damage track.
3. Achieve the destruction bonus and place the destruction bonus tile from your hand to the damage track.

Placement Rules

• To place markers, place them in order from the top left.
• To place tiles, place them in order from right to left.

Game Flow

The game is played for a maximum of 6 rounds. Each round is played in the following phases in order:

1. Event Phase: The event card is revealed and the Kaiju side activates the effect.
2. Planning Phase: The Human side and the Kaiju side place their action cards.
3. Action Phase: Activate each action card in turn.
4. Lava Phase: A citizen in a square with lava will die. You fill the damage track by the number of squares with 3 or more lava.
5. Base Phase: The citizens in the square where the base is located will be evacuated. Obtain the surrounding investigation tiles and advance the survey track.

1. Event Phase

The Kaiju side performs this phase.

1. Replacing the omen tiles. Take the "3" investigation tile on the current round's event card and replace it with the current round's omen tile. Put the replaced omen tile in the box.
2. Revealing the Event Card. Reveal the event card for the current round and apply its effects. The "omen square" is the square where the Omen Tile is replaced.

2. Planning Phase

The Human and Kaiju sides place their Action Cards respectively.

1. Preparing the deck. All players, both Human and Kaiju, shuffle the action cards on the Plan Board and Discarded Cards and return them to the bottom of the deck. (Not done in the first round.)

2. Planning by the Human side. Plan according to the rules corresponding to the number of people on the Human side of the game within 2 minutes.

   • The number of cards. The number of cards for each player to draw from the deck is determined by the number of players on the Human side.
     • For 3 players: 4 cards
     • For 2 players: 6 cards
     • For 1 player: 6 cards x 2 times
   • Card Placement. Place the cards in the board in orders and numbers according to the number of players.
     • For 3 players: 2 cards, horizontally for each player
     • For 2 players: 3 cards, vertically for each player
     • For 1 player: 3 cards x 2 times, vertically for each time
     • (See the designated spaces for "A", "B" and "C" on the board. Spaces with the same letter must have cards by the same player and not others.)
   • Players are free to discuss their plans with each other, but they may not show their cards to one another, or talk in a way such that the Kaiju can't hear.
   • Within the time limit, you can look at your cards and put them back from the board in your hand. You can also swap orders of cards (i.e. swap all "A" with all "B", etc.).
   • To redraw a card. For 1 funding tile, you can choose any number of Action Cards from your hand and place them on your discard pile and draw the same number of cards from your deck. You must pay 1 funding for each redraw. You can redraw as many times as you want within the time limit. When you run out of cards in the deck, you cannot redraw cards anymore.

Time limit. The time limit is measured by the opponent using the one-minute hourglass. The opponent turns over the hourglass and draws his or her hand. Once the sand has fallen, the player tells the opponent that he or she has one minute left, and turns over the hourglass. If you forget to turn the hourglass over in the middle of the game, the time limit is increased by the amount of time you have forgotten to do so. If you can't place a card within the time limit, place it at random from the rest of your hand.

3. Execution Phase

• Each action card is activated in turn.
• Choices within the execution of an effect are made by the player who placed the card. You can discuss with the other Human players.
• You cannot check the other action cards.

4. Lava Phase

Lava kills civilians and trout in flames. (Sic: "trout" is a mistranslation in the source; the intended meaning is almost certainly "sets areas in flames", as the subsections below describe.)

• Civilian deaths. For each lava in the square, transfer one citizen's marker to the damage track. If you don't have a citizen's marker, nothing happens.
• Setting the area/square on fire. A square with three or more lava is a flaming region. Place one lava panel on the damage track per flaming region. (Even if there are four or more lava markers, only one lava marker is put on the damage track.)

5. Base Phase

Evacuate citizens in the square where the base is located and investigate the adjacent areas.

• Evacuation of citizens. Place one civilian marker in the square where your base is located on the defense track. If you evacuate the yellow VIP marker, place one fund from the Human board's funding stock in the funding pool.
• Investigation. Obtain one investigation tile in the square where the base is located or in an adjacent square. Proceed through the investigation progress track by the number on the tile you've obtained.

End of Game

The game ends when one of the following three things is accomplished:

1. When all the squares on the defense track are filled. The Human side will win.
2. When all the squares of the damage track have been filled. The Kaiju side will win.
3. Round six is over.
   • If the defense track has fewer cells available, the Human side will win.
   • When the damage track has less empty space, the Kaiju side will win.
   • When the number of empty squares is the same, the Kaiju side will win.

Vulcanus' Ability

Placing lava. When placing lava marker(s), take it from the leftmost part of the lava pool.

Evolution. When one of the lava pools runs out of lava, you get an evolution tile placed to the right of it. Immediately place it in the square where one of the lines in the evolution tree is connected. For the ability you which place the evolution tile on, you can use the additional abilities in the frame below the card when you activate its effect from the next action card.

Full-formed Kaiju's ability. When the fifth lava pool runs out of lava, it becomes full-formed. Place a lava on the square you are in after each action. This effect is performed after you complete the card's effects, including additional effects.

Achieving the Destruction Bonus. If you have achieved a destruction bonus after performing a Kaiju action, you can declare the achievement. Place the achieved destruction tile on the rightmost empty row of the damage track. The two conditions for achieving the destruction bonus are as follows:

1. The Kaiju is in the square marked on the destruction bonus tile.
2. There are more lava markers in that square than the number marked on the destruction bonus.

Achieving the bonus does not remove the lava coma. (Sic: "lava coma" is as printed in the source; it most likely means the lava markers in that square.)

Human Ability

Movement. You can move markers to the adjacent square connected by a line. To "move to a total of 2 squares" means that you can move one marker by two squares or two markers by one square.

Fire Fighting. You can remove a lava marker in the square with the fire brigade marker on it or in an adjacent square.

Evacuation / Investigation. The same effect as the base phase can be achieved as a SDF action.

Base Construction. You can place your base in the square where the SDF marker is located. You can only place as many base markers as there are in the stock.

Special Frozen Shells. If there is a Kaiju in the square where the SDF marker is located or in an adjacent square, you can fill a row of defense tracks with an attack tile.

Mobilization. You can place either a fire brigade or SDF marker on a square with a base marker. You can only place as many markers as there are in the stock.

Funding / Budget Request. Advance 1 step on the Budget Request Track. The funds used can be made available again by advancing the track to the "0" on the Budget Request Track.

Investigation Track.

• When the research track reaches the squares with a key icon, you can perform the additional ability in the box below the card when you activate the effect from the next action card.
• When the research track reaches the "Operation Approved" square, the number of choices you can perform with the "Command to the SDF" effect will increase.
• When the investigation track reaches the last square, place 1 attack tile on the defense track.

Special abilities. Each role has 1 special ability card. (See Cards below.)

Disaster Level

You can increase your disaster level by replacing your normal event card with randomly selected advanced event card(s).

• Disaster Level +0: All rounds are "normal" events.
• Disaster Level +1: Round 3 and 6 are "Advanced" events.
• Disaster Level +2: Rounds 2, 3, 4 and 6 are "Advanced" events.
• Disaster Level +3: All rounds are "Advanced" events.

You can reduce the disaster level by reducing the initial placement of lava markers.

• Disaster Level -1: No lava on the square with "Citizen x1, lava x1".
• Disaster Level -2: No lava on the square with "Citizen x3, lava x1".
• Disaster Level -3: No lava on the squares with "Citizen x1, Lava x1" and "Citizen x3, Lava x1".

Cards for Monsters

Name	Translation	Function
Walk	Walk	Place 1 lava on the current square. Then move Vulcanus by 1 square. Additional: You may move Vulcanus by 1 more square.
Trampling	Trampling	EITHER kill all citizens in the current square, OR return 1 fire brigade or 1 SDF in the current square to the stock. For each marker returned or removed, place 1 lava on the current square. Additional: INSTEAD of the basic effect, place 2 lava on the current square.
Fire bomb	Fire bomb	Kill 1 citizen in the current square or in an adjacent square. Then, if there are neither SDF nor fire brigade in that square, place 1 lava there. Additional: INSTEAD of killing 1 citizen, you may return 1 SDF or fire brigade to the stock.
Roar	Roar	Place 1 lava on the current square. Then, move any amount of lava from any amount of adjacent squares to the current square. Additional: Place an extra lava.
Moving underground	Moving underground	Move Vulcanus by up to 3 squares. Additional: May move by an extra 2 squares. Place 1 lava on the destination.
Lava flow

Cards for All Human Players

Name	Translation	Function
Movement of citizen(s)	Movement of citizen(s)	Move citizens (including VIPs) by a total of 2 squares.
Movement of fire brigade(s)	Movement of fire brigade(s)	Move fire brigades by a total of 2 squares.
Movement of SDF(s)	Movement of SDF(s)	Move SDFs by a total of 2 squares.
Fire fighting	Fire fighting	For EACH fire brigade on the map, you may spend 2 funding chips for the following action: Remove 1 lava from the current square or an adjacent square. Additional: INSTEAD of taking the action for each fire brigade, you may take the action for each fire brigade OR each base.
Commands to SDF	Commands to SDF	Choose ONE of the available commands: (1) Evacuation / Investigation (Cost: 1 funding chip); (2) Base Construction (Cost: 2 funding chips); (3) Special Frozen Shell (Cost: 3 funding chips).
Mobilization	Mobilization	For EACH base, you may spend 2 funding chips for the following action: placing either a fire brigade or SDF marker from the stock on the square.

Special Cards to Each Role

Character	Name	Translation	Function
Fire Chief	Fire helicopter	Fire helicopter	Move 1 fire brigade to ANY square, and remove 1 lava on that square. Additional: May remove an extra lava from that square.
Chief of Staff	Large penetration shell	Large penetration shell	Pay 3 funding tiles and place 1 attack tile on the defense track. All the citizens on the same square with the Kaiju are killed. Additional: Pay an extra 3 funding chips to place an extra attack tile.
Research Director	Research	Research	Obtain 1 research tile from a square with a base or adjacent to a base. Regardless of the value of the tile, progress the research track by 3. Additional: When obtaining the research tile from the effect above, you may obtain the tile from anywhere on the map. Then you may progress the budget request track by 1.
Chief Cabinet Secretary	Continuation of situation	Continuation	Choose EITHER the action card immediately before this card or after this card, and apply the effect of that card. (If you choose the card after, reveal that card.) DO NOT apply the additional effect of that card. Additional: Apply both the card before and after: before first, and after second.