Battle Cattle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Play of the Duel
  • Breached Armor
  • Eliminating an Opponent
  • Escaping
  • Reshuffling
  • Scoring and Winning
  • The Next Duel
• Overview
• Components
  • The Cards
  • Combining the Games
• Starting the Game
• Object of the Game
• Drawing and Playing
  • Attack
  • T-Bone
  • Hoof Shots
  • Specials
  • Fireproof Armor
  • Machine Gun Jams!
  • Moo-ve and Skid
  • Steer Clear
  • Autocannon Backfires!

Play of the Duel

Breached Armor

When the armor on one side of a Battle Cattle takes 12 or more points of damage, it is breached. The player should square the cards on that side of the cow and turn them face down to show the breach.

The attack that creates the breach does not affect the body, but any further attacks to that side will reach the body unless stopped by armor. Armor can still be played on a breached side.

Place attack cards that affect the body in a new stack outside the first breach.

Eliminating an Opponent

When the Battle Cattle's tender, juicy body takes 5 or more points of damage, it has been disabled and is no longer able to shoot or moo-ve. All damage, armor and Special cards applied to that Battle Cattle, along with the hand of the player who owned it, go to the discard pile.

The player whose Attack card did the final hit of damage gets credit for a kill. A kill can only be scored with an Attack card – if a player is taken out by a Skid, the points go to whoever played the Attack card that player was moo-ving to avoid.

Escaping

At the end of his turn, a player may announce that he is escaping from the arena (usually to avoid being eliminated). If his Battle Cattle is still operating at the beginning of his next turn and its hooves have not been destroyed, he leaves the arena . . . and no one gets credit for eliminating him.

On the turn when he declares he is escaping, a player takes his turn normally.

On the turn when he escapes, he does nothing else. If he cannot escape because his hooves are now gone, he takes his turn normally.

Reshuffling

Sometimes the players will go completely through the deck without a winner. If this happens, reshuffle the discard pile and turn it over, making a new draw pile. If the players go through the deck a second time, do not reshuffle. All players still in the duel share equally in a tie.

Scoring and Winning

The last player whose Battle Cattle is still in the arena and has not been killed is the winner of the duel. He scores 20 points. In addition, each player gets 10 points for each opponent he has reduced to hamburger.

If the duel ended in a tie, each player still in the duel at the end gets 10 points.

If one player does something especially good, the other players may award him a 5-point Prestige Bonus by majority vote. Prestige might be awarded for: winning a duel with all four sides of one's armor breached; winning a duel with all one's hooves shot off; winning a duel with no breached armor; winning a duel with no kills; or doing anything that makes all the other players shout at once! Really terrible cow puns may also be worth points.

The Next Duel

When the scoring is completed, gather up the cards. The player to the previous dealer's right shuffles and deals the cards for the next duel. Each player starts the new duel with a fully repaired Battle Cattle.

Play a series of duels until one player reaches 60 points at the end of a round. (If two or more players reach 60 points, the player with the highest number of points wins. If it's a tie, everyone continues playing until someone has broken the tie at the end of a duel.) That player is declared Chief Beef, and wins the game!

Overview

In each battle, or duel, the players play cards to chop up each others' Battle Cattle. When one side of a cow is breached (the armor on that side is destroyed), its body may be attacked! If a cow's body takes 5 points of damage, it is hamburger and out of play. The player who put in the last point of damage scores the kill. (Note that all the Battle Cattle will be back for the next duel! Too much is at steak for one of these champions to stay dead.)

When only one cow is left (or when time runs out), the duel is over. New duels continue until one player has scored 60 points to become an Ace!

Components

This game includes these rules; six large Cow Cards; and 110 playing cards. There are three types of playing cards: Attack, Armor and Special.

Attack cards let you attack another player. Each Attack card shows a weapon and the side it hits – front, back, right, or left. In addition, there are four Called Shot cards which will let you attack any side. The bullet holes at the top of the Attack card, and the number on the cow skull, show how much damage it does.

Armor cards let you reduce the damage done when someone plays an Attack card on you. You cannot play an Armor card before you are attacked. Each Armor card shows one side, and can only be used to reduce damage from that side. For instance, a Right Armor card, played after your right side is hit, will reduce the damage from that attack by 3 points. An Armor card must be played immediately when you are hit, or it doesn't count.

Armor can also be used to reduce damage from any Specials that do damage, such as Autocannon Backfires and Skid Into A Fence. It is perfectly legal to play two Armor cards at once if you have them. Two Armor cards would stop all damage from any normal attack. Armor does not protect against a Methane attack!

Special cards let you do a variety of things. Some (like Hoof Shot) may be played only on your turn. Some may be played at any time, including the moment the duel starts. Some may only be played in response to a card played by an opponent. Follow the instructions on each card.

The Cards

The deck includes 110 cards:

Attack Cards

• 14 regular attack cards for each of the four sides of a cow – Front, Rear, Left, and Right: One Cattle-pult, One Flamethrower, One Cattle Prod, One Horns, Two Autocannon, Four Milk Bomb, Four Machine Gun.
• 10 special attack cards: Two Called Shot – Milk Bomb, Two Called Shot – Machine Gun, Two Methane Cloud, Four T-Bone – two Right, two Left.

Armor Cards

• Six for each of the four sides of a cow.

20 Special Cards

• Two Skid Into A Fence, Two Hoof Shot, Two Steer Clear, Six Moo-ve, Two Machine Gun Jams!, Two Fireproof Armor, Two Autocannon Backfires!, Two Dud Milk Bomb!

There are also two bonus Cow Tipping cards. If you also have Car Wars: The Card Game (see Combining the Games), these two cards are attacks that can be made only by duel-cars against Battle Cattle.

Note: the itemized counts above as printed total 68 playing cards plus the two bonus Cow Tipping cards, which does not match the 110 stated on the sheet. Transcribed as printed.

Combining the Games

This game can be combined with Car Wars: The Card Game to fight armored cars against your Battle Cattle. Well, of course you want to do that. To combine the games, use both decks. Cow players draw from the Battle Cattle deck. Car players draw from the Car Wars deck.

Tire Shot and Hoof Shot cards are universal. Either one can be applied equally well to a car or a cow.

Likewise, Skid cards are universal. It doesn't matter whether you hit a wall or a fence; any foe trying to Swerve or Moo-ve away from an attack.

Methane affects a car's Driver directly.

Fireproof Armor cards from both games protect equally well against Flamethrower and Cattle-pult attacks.

Dud Milk Bomb cards also protect against Missiles. Dud Missile Cards also protect against Milk Bombs.

Finally, each game includes two bonus cards with backs for the other deck. Cow Tipping is an attack that can be made only BY cars ON cows. Trample is an attack that can be made only BY Battle Cattle ON cars.

Starting the Game

Each player starts with a Cow Card (the large cards with the pictures of the Battle Cattle). These are used to keep track of damage, and of how much damage each part of your cow can take. "Right 12," for instance, means your right-side armor can take 12 points of damage before it is breached – it has taken enough damage that the body is exposed to attacks.

Shuffle the playing cards and deal five to each player, face down. Set the deck face down in the middle of the table. This is the draw pile. The discard pile will be next to the draw pile.

Note: In a two-or three-player game, remove one of each of the following cards from the deck: Machine Gun Jams!, Fireproof Armor, Autocannon Backfires!, Dud Milk Bomb!

Object of the Game

The object is to have the last operating Battle Cattle. A cow is still operating if it has not escaped, and its body has not been disabled. It is possible for two or more players to have operating cows at the end of a duel – this is a tie.

Drawing and Playing

Each player picks up his cards and arranges them to suit himself. The player to the left of the dealer plays first. In his turn, a player draws enough cards to bring his hand up to six cards. He must then either:

• Attack;
• Play a Special;
• or Discard.

Attack – A player may attack any other player by placing an Attack card in front of him. If the attacked player can reply to the Attack card (by playing an Armor card or an appropriate Special), he may do so immediately.

Special – A player may play a Fireproof Armor (subject to the rules below) or Machine Gun Jams! card rather than playing an Attack card or discarding. (Other Special cards can only be played on someone else's turn.)

Discard – If he cannot attack or play a Special, or just doesn't want to, the player must place one or more cards in the discard pile in the center of the table. These cards are out of play until the deck is reshuffled. A player may not discard at any other time.

The next player to the left now brings his hand up to six cards and attacks, discards or plays a Special. Play continues to the left.

Attack

The attack is the basic move of the game. To attack an opponent, just play an Attack card on him.

Attack cards do from 3 to 6 points of damage to one side of the target cow. This may be modified by a Special, or by an Armor card. If the target player holds any Armor cards for the side of the cow which was hit, he may play them immediately. (He may not play an Armor card later to reduce damage already taken. The armor card must be in his hand at the time the Attack card is played.) Each Armor card immediately stops 3 points of damage.

If the amount of damage stopped equals or exceeds the amount of damage on the Attack card, the Attack card and Armor card(s) are discarded. Otherwise, the Attack card is placed next to the Cow card, on the damaged side. Any Armor cards are placed to cover the amount of damage they stopped.

Example: In the diagram below (not reproduced here), the player has just taken 6 points of damage from a flamethrower blast to his right side. In the next diagram, the defending player has offset 3 points of damage with an Armor card.

A player may not draw cards at any time except the beginning of his turn. At that time, he draws enough cards to bring his hand up to six.

T-Bone

The T-Bone attack is unique. You slam your Battle Cattle itself into the side of an opponent! After you T-Bone him, then on that same turn you may also play another Attack card in order to shoot him as well. The follow-up Attack card must be for the same side you rammed him on!

If your target plays a Steer Clear after you T-Bone him, making you hit him on a different side, you may still follow up with a weapon attack, but it must be against the side where you actually attacked him.

If your target plays a Moo-ve after you T-Bone him, you missed and you may not follow up with a weapon attack. If he does not announce a Moo-ve after you T-Bone him, he cannot then swerve to avoid your follow-up attack . . . you are firing at point-blank range!

This attack does not damage your own cow, but you may not T-Bone an opponent if your own front is breached or if you have lost your hooves.

Hoof Shots

You may target an opponent's hooves with a Hoof Shot card. Play this card simultaneously with any Attack card. The damage is then applied to the hooves rather than to the original hit location. Cards showing hoof damage are placed at the lower left corner of the cow card.

A player who uses a Moo-ve card to avoid an opponent's attack will do 2 points of damage to his own hooves.

A Battle Cattle's hooves are treated as a single unit. They are destroyed if they take 9 or more points of damage; this is not considered a breach. Armor cannot be used to protect your hooves.

A barnyard brawler whose hooves are destroyed may no longer use Ramming, Moo-ve, T-Bone, or Steer Clear cards, nor may he Escape. However, it may still shoot – and it can still win!

Specials

Some of these cards allow special attacks. Others can be used to cancel an appropriate Attack card.

The Machine Gun Jams! and Fireproof Armor cards must be left in front of the player in the "Specials" area (at the lower right hand corner of his Cow card) as long as he is in the duel. If his cow is eliminated, they are gathered up with his other cards and discarded.

Specials which do damage are placed on the appropriate side of the target cow. All other Special cards are discarded after use.

Fireproof Armor

Fireproof Armor cards may be played at any time during the duel – not just during the holder's turn. A player may only play a Fireproof Armor card on himself if he has not yet taken any damage from a Flamethrower or Cattle-pult card. If he avoided damage on a previous turn by playing two Armor cards at once, or a Moo-ve (when the Flamethrower card would be discarded), he may still play Fireproof Armor.

Fireproof Armor also protects the body against Cattle-pult and Flamethrower damage, even after the armor has been breached.

A Fireproof Armor card even protects against Flamethrower and Cattle-pult damage to hooves. This is an exception to the general rule on the Hoof Shot card.

Machine Gun Jams!

Machine Gun Jams! cards may be played at any time during the duel – not just during the holder's turn. A player may play a Machine Gun Jams! card on any foe at any time. If that foe had just played a Machine Gun attack on anyone, that attack fails and his turn is over.

The only way for the victim of the Machine Gun Jams! card to "unjam" his guns is to discard all the cards in his hand on his turn, doing nothing else that turn. He can then draw six new cards at the beginning of his next turn.

Moo-ve and Skid

If a player plays a Moo-ve card immediately after he is attacked, he may discard the Attack card – it missed! Instead, he takes 2 points of damage to his hooves (place the Moo-ve card in the "hooves" damage area).

If an opponent plays a Skid Into A Fence card on him, however, his moo-ve ended in a collision. He takes 3 points of damage to whichever side the opponent chooses! Armor can be used to protect against this damage.

Steer Clear

This card lets you move damage from one side to an adjacent side, by maneuvering your Battle Cattle to control where you are hit. You may play more than one Steer Clear at a time, if you have them, to move the damage to the opposite side of the cow. Armor can be used to reduce the damage on the side where it finally ends up.

Autocannon Backfires!

This card can only be played when you have just been attacked by an autocannon. Instead of affecting you, the autocannon explodes, damaging the attacker on the side he was trying to hit. He cannot avoid this damage with a Moo-ve or Steer Clear. If he is eliminated by the backfire, nobody gets credit for the kill.