Awesome Kingdom: Mines & Labyrinths Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Choosing a Dungeon
• Goal
• Game Components
• Setup
• Your Awesome Turn
  • Play an Action Card
• Abilities & Movement
• Claiming Cards
• Refilling the Dungeon
• Coins and Wounds
• Fiddly Timing Issues
• End of Your Turn
• At the End of Each Day
• At the End of Day 3
• Card Icons
• Notes on Specific Cards
  • Game Cards
  • Heroes
  • Action Cards
  • The Cretin's Labyrinth Dungeon Cards
  • The Mines of Murray Dungeon Cards

Choosing a Dungeon

Dearest adventurers: should you wish to switch, change, or combine dungeons, first heed my guidance.

There are two dungeons included for you to explore: The Mines of Murray and The Cretin's Labyrinth.

To explore one of these dungeons, set out either The Mines of Murray or The Cretin's Labyrinth card, depending on which one you'd like to play through. Then, find all of the cards from the dungeon you've selected (marked with a mine-cart icon for The Mines of Murray or a horned-skull icon for The Cretin's Labyrinth), and add them to the base Dungeon cards.

That's it. You're ready to go!

Of course, if you really want to, you can just shuffle all the dungeons together into one big old mish-mash, but the author makes no guarantees of a fun experience if you do that and will probably cry himself to sleep a little, too. But that's okay. You do whatever you want.

— The Cretin

Goal

To become the MOST AWESOME HERO, of course! You do this by racking up awesomeness. Every Dungeon card has a flaming skull on the bottom of it that tells you how many Awesome points it's worth. Have the most awesomeness at the end of the game and you win! The rest of you are still awesome, but, you know, not as much.

Game Components

• These Rules
• 121 cards, including:
  • 8 Hero cards
  • 42 Action cards
  • 68 Dungeon cards
  • 1 Mines of Murray card
  • 1 Cretin's Labyrinth card
  • 1 Time Tracker card
• 81 cardboard tokens, including:
  • 1 Time Tracker dial
  • 1 First Player token
  • 8 Hero standups
  • 11 Dungeon tiles
  • 15 1-Wound tokens
  • 15 3-Wound tokens
  • 15 1-Coin tokens
  • 15 3-Coin tokens
• 8 plastic bases for Hero standups

Setup

1. Set the Scene: Place the Time Tracker card and the Dungeon card in the middle of the play area. Then, read the story on the Dungeon card out loud. Afterwards, flip it over so that the rules side is face-up.

2. Create the Decks: Sort the Hero, Action, and Dungeon cards into three different decks (they each have different card backs to make this easy), and shuffle each deck.

3. Hand Out Heroes: Randomly deal a Hero card face-up in front of each player. Each player should then take the standup for their hero and place it in front of them. Return the unused Hero cards and Hero standups to the box. No loot for them.

4. Build the Dungeon: Take a number of Dungeon tiles equal to the number of players plus seven, and lay them out in a circle around the cards in the middle of the play area. Place unused Dungeon tiles in the box.

5. Choose Starting Player and Place Heroes: Choose a player to go first and give that player the First Player token. That player places their Hero standup next to one of the Dungeon tiles. Then, starting to the first player's left and going clockwise around the table, every other player does the same. No more than one hero can be placed next to each Dungeon tile. (Don't sweat this decision too much, folks. The Killsassin, Clergeon, and Rockaneer like to start close to other heroes. The others, not so much.)

   As far as choosing a player to go first, I recommend the player who has most awesomely thwarted death or who owns the most pointy things, but any metric of AWESOME you can think of works. Smoke bomb! Poof!

6. Fill the Dungeon: Deal out a Dungeon card face-up next to every Dungeon tile that doesn't have a Hero standup next to it. Place the rest of the Dungeon deck facedown near the dungeon.

Your Awesome Turn

A player's turn is extremely simple in Awesome Kingdom. On your turn, just choose one Action card from your hand and play it, following the instructions on the card. Most Action cards tell you to move your hero in a particular way, while others have special instructions on them that you'll have to read and follow. Once you've resolved your Action card, claimed any Dungeon card your hero has landed on, and refilled any empty spaces in the dungeon by drawing cards from the Dungeon deck, your turn is over!

During your turn, follow these steps:

Play an Action Card

Most Action cards have a number with one or more arrows next to it. These are telling you to move your hero EXACTLY that many spaces in the indicated direction. If the card has more than one arrow on it, choose whichever direction you like. If the card has a clockwise arrow, that means clockwise around the dungeon, while a counterclockwise arrow indicates counterclockwise around the dungeon.

NOTE: When moving, ONLY count the cards you move onto. Passing over other heroes is free, and you'll never end your movement in the same space as another hero.

Beware of passing over me! I get to look at the hand of any hero that passes over me and trade an Action card with them! If you are playing me as a character, don't forget this rule! And make sure to snicker when you enforce it.

EXCEPTION: In the Action deck there are several cards called DÉJÀ VU and DÉJÀ VU AGAIN. These let you move one space, claim the card you've landed on, and do it again. If you land on a STOP card as the first card when playing one of these Action cards, you claim it and then move another space and claim another card as usual since you've technically stopped on the STOP card, at least for a moment.

Example: If the Racing Zozzle has an arrow that points RIGHT, it causes Paladude to move four spaces in the Dungeon COUNTERCLOCKWISE. Any heroes (such as Junkventor) do not count towards Paladude's move. But if the Racing Zozzle has an arrow that points LEFT, it causes Paladude to move four spaces in the Dungeon CLOCKWISE. Any heroes (such as Killsassin and Longtrudger) do not count towards Paladude's move.

Abilities & Movement

There are a number of abilities in Awesome Kingdom that affect either your movement or you as you move. These are described in more detail below.

STOP: Some cards have the STOP ability on them. The moment you move onto a card with the STOP ability, you lose any movement you had left and end your movement on that card. You still resolve the rest of your turn, you just have to stop on the card.

For example, when you move onto a Gronk Trap, immediately end your movement.

PASS: In addition, as you move your hero, watch for abilities that activate when you pass over a card or hero. These trigger the instant you move off the card or skip over the hero that has the ability.

For instance, when you pass over the Riddle of Poverty, you must discard three coins if you can. Note that you must always fulfill abilities as completely as you are able, so if you only have one coin, discard the one coin.

LAND ON: When your hero ends their movement, look at the card the hero has landed on and trigger any relevant ability on that card.

For instance, when you land on the Tin Coins card, you get to gain one coin from the bank. Not bad!

LAND ADJACENT TO: Finally, look at any cards directly adjacent to your hero (a card is directly adjacent if there aren't any cards or other heroes between your hero and that card), and activate any relevant abilities on the adjacent card.

Case in point, if you land directly adjacent to Mumble, you gain one wound. Not good!

So remember, when moving, resolve abilities in this order:

1. Cards with the STOP ability.
2. Abilities that activate when you PASS over a card/hero.
3. Abilities that activate when you LAND ON a card.
4. Abilities that activate when you LAND ADJACENT TO a card/hero.

NOTE: If a card/hero has an "or" in an ability trigger, like LAND ON or PASS, it only affects you once per turn, even if you both passed over it and landed next to it, in this case.

Claiming Cards

Once you've ended your movement, take the card you've landed on and add it to your score pile (face-up in front of you). This is called "claiming the card." That card's Awesome points will now be added to your total at the end of the game.

CLAIMED cards will ADD or SUBTRACT from your AWESOME points based on the number by the FLAMING SKULL symbol on each card.

Refilling the Dungeon

Finally, to end your turn, draw a card from the Dungeon deck for each Dungeon tile that is now empty (i.e., has neither a card nor a hero next to it). New Dungeon cards are placed face-up next to their Dungeon tile.

If, for some bizarre reason, you don't have enough Dungeon cards to refill all the Dungeon tiles, the game immediately ends (see "At the End of Day 3").

Hey, brah, I found it confusing at first that you replace the card you claim at the space where you STARTED your move, but if you think about it, the room you left being refilled with stuff makes totes sense. Just make sure there are 7 cards in the dungeon at the end of your turn, and all will be excellent.

Coins and Wounds

Each time you gain a coin, take a Coin token from the bank, and add it to your score pile. Coins are worth 1 Awesome point each—they're good, keep them.

Each time you gain a wound, take a Wound token, and add it to your score pile. Wounds are each worth -1 Awesome point—wounds are bad, try to get rid of them.

Wounds can be healed in various ways, including GRONK JUICE and other cards. Don't worry about dying from wounds, however. You can have any number of wounds in Awesome Kingdom, and the only effect is lowering your score at the end of the game. After all, you're way too awesome to let a few flesh wounds slow you down!

You'll often receive coins and wounds from abilities triggered on cards (or from other heroes' abilities).

It's more than traps and monsters ye should be fearing in the dungeon. Some mutinous "heroes" will be lookin' to leave a blade in yer back or lighten your pockets, given the chance.

I think he's saying that your WOUND and COIN tokens can be taken or added by various effects, even other players.

Aye!

Fiddly Timing Issues

Occasionally, more than one effect may trigger at the same time. When this happens, the player being affected gets to choose which order they trigger in. After all, it's not awesome to argue about fiddly timing issues.

End of Your Turn

After your turn is finished, play passes to the left. If it's the start of your turn and you don't have any Action cards left to play, the day is over (see "At the End of Each Day").

At the End of Each Day

Once players have played all of their Action cards, the current day is over. Move the dial on the Time Tracker card to the next day. If it is the end of Day 3, the game is over.

Otherwise, if the game isn't over yet, the first player passes the First Player token to the player to their left. That player is now the new first player. Every player is then dealt a new hand of 3 Action cards from the Action deck, and play continues, starting with the new first player.

At the End of Day 3

After Day 3 is completed, the game is over. Players count up their total Awesome points, remembering to add or subtract points for their coins and wounds. The player with the highest total is the MOST AWESOME HERO (and incidentally wins the game). If there's a tie, the player with the most coins wins. If there's still a tie, the player with the fewest wounds wins. If there's STILL a tie, the tied players must duel to the death in a fierce game of rock-paper-scissors—winner takes all! There are no shared wins in Awesome Kingdom. Shared wins are for other, less-AWESOME games.

As the final hero crawled from the ruins of the crumbling and smoking dungeon and looked up into the clear night sky, they realized their quest was over. The lone figure checked the bindings on their wounds and considered the companions they had helped or stabbed in the back. Finally, hefting the sack of treasure they had acquired and preparing to undertake the long journey back to town, a single word was spoken under their breath… "Awesome."

Card Icons

Hero Card, Magic Card, Monster Card, Action Card, Trap Card, Treasure Card: the six card types, distinguished by their artwork and icon.

• Awesome Points (flaming skull): the number of Awesome points the card is worth.
• Worth -1 Point at end of game.
• Worth 1 Point at end of game.
• Activates when landed on by a hero. (LAND ON)
• Activates when an adjacent card is landed on by a hero. (LAND ADJACENT TO)
• Activates when a hero moves past it. (PASS)
• STOP: Hero must stop on this card when attempting to move past it.
• PASS: When moving over a card with PASS on it, a power on this card activates.

Notes on Specific Cards

The following section contains clarifications for specific cards.

Game Cards

The Cretin's Labyrinth: When you are exploring The Cretin's Labyrinth, at the end of the game, if any hero has claimed at least three riddle cards, then each trap card claimed by EVERY hero is worth 2 Awesome points instead of its normal value. This is applied before any other effect that adjusts the value of trap cards.

The Mines of Murray: When you are exploring The Mines of Murray, at the end of the game, the hero (or heroes, in the event of a tie) with the most coins gain an additional 3 Awesome points.

Heroes

Clergeon, Paladude, and Rockaneer: The coins that Clergeon and Paladude gain from their abilities come from the bank, unlike the Rockaneer who takes the coin from the hero (or heroes) he passes during his movement.

Junkventor: When playing as Junkventor, any card with a negative value has that value turned positive before any other modifications are made to the card's value. Thus, if the Junkventor has a trap card worth –3 Awesome points and an effect saying that all of her traps are worth –2 Awesome points at the end of the game, that trap card would be worth 1 Awesome point, since you change its value to 3 Awesome points before subtracting 2.

Prestidigimancer: You may only trade Action cards with another hero if you both have at least 1 Action card in your hand.

Scoutsplorer: You may play any Action card as though it works in both directions. So a two-way arrow (pointing both left and right) on a Trudge Action card allows you to move one space to the left OR right. Your choice.

Action Cards

Déjà Vu and Déjà Vu Again: As noted under the STOP ability, if the first card you move onto has the STOP ability, you may still move again and claim a second card since you did technically stop on the first card, even if it was only for a moment.

Dungeon Speed Run and Sneak Attack: Cards claimed as you PASS them cannot affect you with any LAND ADJACENT TO abilities since they are claimed before you end your movement. Cards with a PASS ability will still have that effect on you, however. Also, remember to pay attention to whether cards are claimed as though you LANDED ON them or not. Monsters you don't land on often don't get to deal wounds to you!

Whirlwind of Activity: Note that since you are claiming the cards WITHOUT LANDING ON THEM, cards such as Gold Coins will not actually give you any coins. In your hurry, you grabbed an empty chest! Whoops!

Artful Dodge: When you use Artful Dodge to give a Trap card to another hero, any PASS abilities it has will first trigger on you. Nice try, though.

The Cretin's Labyrinth Dungeon Cards

"Mask" Cards: There are five Mask cards in The Cretin's Labyrinth. They represent elaborate ceremonial masks hidden away in the labyrinth. The five Mask cards all have the word "Mask" in their title: The Cretin's Mask, Exquisite Mask, Tacky Mask, Tasteful Mask, and Ugly Mask. Any time an effect refers to Mask cards, it is referring to these five cards.

You only score the Awesome points from the least valuable mask you've claimed at the end of the game. So if you have a mask worth 8 Awesome points, a second mask worth 4 Awesome points, and a third mask worth –1 Awesome point, only the mask worth –1 Awesome point is counted. Sucks, don't it?

"Riddle" Cards: There are six Riddle cards in The Cretin's Labyrinth. They represent devious puzzles and traps that the heroes can try to solve. The six Riddle cards all have the word "Riddle" in their title: Riddle of Empathy, Riddle of Fear, Riddle of Loss, Riddle of Pain, Riddle of Poverty, and Riddle of Sorrow. Any time an effect refers to Riddle cards, it is referring to these six cards.

The Button: No, you read this card right. When you land on it, immediately claim all traps in the dungeon (this doesn't include traps already claimed by other heroes), and claim them as though you landed on them. Claim the traps one at a time, in any order you choose. Why you want to do this is left as an exercise for the reader.

The Guardian: This nearly immortal creature cannot be defeated in normal combat. If a hero lands on the Guardian, it deals four wounds to the hero and is then shuffled back into the Dungeon deck. If only there was SOME way to claim a monster without landing on it…

The Madman's Marbles: When you PASS another hero, you may choose to give them this card and claim any one card they've previously claimed of your choice in return. Just remember, once you do so, THEY'LL have this card…

Obsidian Hourglass: You claim one coin for each card beyond the first that any hero claims during their turn. So if a hero claims four cards in a turn, you gain three coins. This most frequently applies when the Déjà Vu and Whirlwind of Activity cards are played, but other cards such as The Button or Adventurer Bait can trigger it as well.

Pouch of Hyperinflation: At the end of the game, coins belonging to other heroes besides you are only worth ½ the Awesome points each (round down if a hero has an odd number of coins). Make sure to point and laugh at the hero with the biggest stack of coins.

Tumble: If you end your move between two Tumbles, your hero doesn't switch places with either Tumble.

The Mines of Murray Dungeon Cards

bloop: Only the bloops actually currently in the dungeon are counted as "in play." Previously claimed bloops are no longer "in play." Don't forget to count BLOOOOP and any hero with Murray's Law as well, though.

bloop Money: Although this gold is highly prized, the curse upon it deals two wounds to you at the end of every day once you've claimed it. That does indeed mean that if you claim it too early in the game, you'll gain more wounds from the bloop money than coins. Gee, if only you had some way to get rid of wounds…

Miner's Clocknary: Once you've claimed this magic item, if you land on a card that has a LAND ON ability, you may pay one coin to the bank in order to ignore that LAND ON ability. No, you can't use this ability if you're out of coins when you land on the card, even if landing on the card will somehow give you a coin once you've claimed it, but that's some good rules lawyering there.

Somnambulant Opal: Effectively, once you've claimed this card, the player on the left chooses which direction you move each time you have a choice of direction. Sure, it's a very dangerous magic item, but just look how awesome and shiny it is.

Spectral Rockaxe: When you "skip over" a card with the STOP ability, do not count it against your movement, and instead gain one coin. You may do this as often as you like. If somehow all seven cards in the dungeon have the STOP ability and you set up an infinite loop, well, take one lap, gain seven coins, and end up where you started. But this is basically impossible (about one in 386 million odds to start with seven STOP cards in play, and even then, you wouldn't already have claimed the Rockaxe), so don't lose too much sleep over it.