Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Objective
• Gameplay
  • Launch Your Dice
  • Let It Fly!
• Bonuses
  • Monsters
  • Clues
  • Haunted Realms
• The Summoning Circle (Bonus)
• Round End
• Scoring
• Game End
• Credits

Components

• 24 Dice in 4 colors
• 3 Monsters + Standees: Bob, Medusa, Frank
• 25 Clues
• 5 Walls
• 3 Stoppers
• The Pinball Machine, assembled from 4 boxes: Launch Pad (Box A), Top Level (Box B), Middle Level (Box C), Bottom Level (Box D)
• Score Pad

Setup

1. To assemble the Pinball Machine, position the Launch Pad and the three Levels according to Image 1. Make sure each Level is rotated to match the image shown.
2. Slot each wall and stopper into its corresponding location (see Image 2).
3. Place the 3 Monsters. Medusa should be placed on the circle spot with their image on the Top Level (Box B), Frank should be placed on the circle spot with their image on the Middle Level (Box C), and Bob should be placed on the circle spot with their image on the Bottom Level (Box D). Tip: All Monsters start in front of a hole.
4. Shuffle the Clues and, without revealing them, place a Clue face down on each of the 6 Clue locations on the Pinball Machine. Set the remaining clues aside.
5. Assign each player their own color: red, blue, orange, or yellow. Give them 4 dice in their color. Set the remaining dice aside.
6. Choose a starting player.

Pro Tip: When placing the Monsters and Clues, align them within the provided lines. This way, you will be able to tell if they were hit by dice during the game.

• Place each monster on the space with their icon surrounded by white.
  • Medusa should be placed in the attic (Box B) in front of the hole.
  • Frank should be placed in the Entry Way (Box C) in front of the hole.
  • Bob should be placed in the graveyard (Box D) in front of the hole.
• Place a Clue in each of the Clue locations on the Pinball Machine. Each clue should fit inside the skinny white line.
• Each player takes 4 dice in their chosen color.

Objective

Flick your dice onto the Pinball Machine to earn points. For each die that remains on the Pinball Machine at the end of the round, score the number of points indicated on the die, plus gain additional points for various bonuses. Whoever scores the most points after three rounds wins the game!

Gameplay

Choose a starting player to launch their die. Starting with that player and proceeding clockwise, each player takes turns launching one of their dice and resolving its effects. Continue taking turns until each player has launched all of their dice. Then, proceed to Round End.

Launch Your Dice

Place one of your dice anywhere you want on the Launch Pad, with the number of your choice facing up. You may slide the Launch Pad to the left or right to get a better angle, but may not move it away from the back edge of the Top Level.

Flick, push, or whack your die off the Launch Pad. Do not pick it up or throw it. Once the die has left the Launch Pad, you may not touch it again.

Let It Fly!

If your die lands on the Pinball Machine and stays there until the end of the round, score the number indicated on the die, plus any bonus points you may have earned along the way (see Bonuses below).

If your die falls off the edge of the Pinball Machine or through one of the holes on the Pinball Machine, it will not score at the end of the round.

Your die will remain where it landed until the end of the round, unless another die moves it. Do not touch or move your launched dice until the end of the round.

Bonuses

Earn bonus points for hitting Monsters, gathering Clues, and landing in Haunted Realms on the Pinball Machine. Plus, gain extra dice if you land in the Summoning Circle!

Monsters

Hit different types of Monsters with your dice to score bonus points at the end of each round.

If your die hits a Monster (or you knock your die into another die that hits a Monster), mark your score pad to show which Monster you have hit. You can only score Monsters during your turn.

Then, move the Monster to its corresponding location on the next Level. For example, if it is on the Top Level, move it to the corresponding location on the Middle Level. If it is on the Bottom Level, move it to the Top Level.

Tip: If there is a die on the space for the Monster, the active player must safely move the die to just outside the Monster space so that you can place the Monster in the space, but keep the same number on the die. The die cannot be moved into a hole, Haunted Realm or Summoning Circle, onto a Clue, or off the Pinball Machine.

Example: The Yellow Die rolls down the pinball table, bounces off a wall on the bottom level (Box D), and knocks the Orange Die into the Skeleton (Bob). The Yellow Die then lands on the Haunted Realm of the Gnomes. The Yellow Player marks off Bob on the score pad for this round (the orange player does not), and moves Bob up to the top level (box B), since it cannot move to a lower level box. If the Yellow Die stays in the Haunted Realm of the Gnomes until the end of the round, they will score bonus points.

Clues

Gather Clues to gain hidden points that you score at the end of the game.

If your die lands on or hits a Clue (or you knock your die into another die that lands on or hits a clue), take the Clue and hold onto it until the end of the game. You can only take Clues during your turn. You will then add the number of points shown on the bottom of the Clue to your final score. You may look at the number, but don't share it with the other players until the end of the game.

Pro Tip: You can tell if your die hit a Monster or a Clue if they are no longer fully inside the guide lines provided on the Pinball Machine.

Example: The Blue die hits a clue as it bounces. The clue has shifted outside the skinny white line, so the blue player collects the clue. Red scores 6pts (3x2), Orange scores 2pts (1x2), and Yellow scores 4pts (2x2).

Haunted Realms

Aim for a Haunted Realm for a chance to gain points. A Haunted Realm is any circle on the Pinball Machine marked with a x2, x3 or x5.

If any part of your die is inside the lines (or touching the line) of a Haunted Realm at the end of each round, multiply the number indicated on the die by the number shown in the Haunted Realm and add the total to your score.

For example, if you have a die with a 3 and it is on a x2 space at the end of the round, you score 6 points.

Example: Blue scores 3 pts, but their dice is not touching the Haunted Realm, so they don't get to multiply it.

Pro Tip: You have until the end of the round to make it inside a Haunted Realm, so use your dice to knock opponents out (and yourself in).

The Summoning Circle (Bonus)

During your turn, if any part of your die lands inside the lines (or touching the line) of the Summoning Circle, you may immediately launch an additional die. Take one of the extra dice in your color and launch it from the Launch Pad. This die will be treated just like any other dice in the game. If two of your dice land in the Summoning Circle at the same time, gain two extra dice.

If any of your dice are knocked into the Summoning Circle (even if they were knocked out and later knocked back in) and it is not your turn, take your extra die (or dice) to launch during your next turn.

Each player may summon up to two extra dice each round.

Example: The blue die lands in the Summoning Circle. The blue player immediately launches an extra blue die. If a different player's die knocked the blue die into the bonus area, the blue player still gets their bonus die.

Round End

Once everyone has launched their four dice (or more if they gained dice through the Summoning Circle), the round is over. Take the following steps:

1. Score the Dice, Haunted Realms, and Monsters (Clues will not be scored until the end of the game). See Scoring below.
2. Each player retrieves their four dice. Set aside any additional dice gained by the Summoning Circle.
3. Move the Monsters back to their original locations.
4. Add a Clue to any Clue locations that don't have one.

Pro Tip: If you lost any dice in a hole, simply lift the Level boxes to retrieve them. Just make sure all the Monsters and Clues are back in place once you put the Levels back.

Example: The orange player collected 5 pts for 2 unique monsters, 15 pts for the Ravens Haunted Realm (3x5), 6 pts for the Chest (2x3), and 2 pts for 1pt showing on two dice (1+1). They also had one die fall through a hole, scoring 0 pts for that die. Total = 28 pts this round for Orange. Orange also holds a total of 3 Clues (clues are kept secret and only counted at the end of the game).

Scoring

Each round, score the following:

• Dice/Haunted Realms: For each of your dice that remain anywhere on the Pinball Machine (except if they fell through one of the holes), score the number indicated on the die. If any part of your die is inside the lines of a Haunted Realm, multiply the number indicated on the die by the number indicated in the Haunted Realm and add it to your total score.
• Monsters: Each time you hit a Monster, mark which type on the score sheet. At the end of the round, score as follows:
  • 1 Monster: 2 points
  • 2 different Monsters: 5 points
  • 3 different Monsters: 10 points

Note: If you hit the same Monster more than once in a single round, it does not add to the score and is the same as hitting that Monster once.

At the end of the game, score the following:

• Rounds: Total the sum of points gained each round.
• Clues: Total the sum of all Clues gathered during the game.

Scoring Example: In the round-end example above, the Orange Player earns 5 points for hitting two unique monsters, 6 points for the die on the Chest Haunted Realm (2x3), 15 points for the die on the Ravens Haunted Realm (3x5), and 2 points for the two dice with a 1. The Orange player lost one of their dice through a hole and doesn't earn any points for that die. They earned 28 points this round and collected 3 clues as well (a 1, 2, and 5), which gives them an additional 8 points at the end of the game.

Game End

The game ends after three Rounds. Add up your score from each round, then add any hidden points you have from Clues (see Scoring above). Whoever has the most points wins the game!

In the event of a tie, the player with the most points in the final round wins.

Credits

• Designer: Zach Connelly
• Additional designer: Alex Cutler
• Artist: Michael Parla
• Additional Development: Nathan McNair
• Graphic Design: Peter Wocken, Matt Paquette & Co
• Editing: Gwen Ruelle

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