RulesPal
Chat
Rulebook
Carnival of Monsters thumbnail

Carnival of Monsters

Carnival of Monsters Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

  • Components
  • A Closer Look
  • The Idea of the Game
  • Setting Up the Game
  • Playing the Game
    • Spending Money (and Taking Loans)
  • The Seasons
  • Phase 1: Reveal Season Card
    • Season Bonus
    • Trophy
  • Phase 2: Capture and Play Carnival Cards
    • Step 1. Capture 1 Card
    • Step 2. Pass Remaining Cards
    • Step 3. Play or Keep the Captured Card
  • Option 1: Play the Captured Card
    • Land Cards
    • Monster Cards
    • Staff Cards
    • Event Cards
    • Secret Goal Cards
  • Option 2: Keep the Captured Card
  • Continue Capturing Cards
  • Phase 3: Danger Check!
    • The Hunters
    • The Hunt
  • Phase 4: Seasons End
    • 1. Award the Trophy
    • 2. Retire Monsters
    • A New Season?
  • The End of the Game
    • Secret Goals
    • Victory Points
  • A Note on Game Pace
  • Two-Player Rules & Simplified Play
    • Two-Player Rules
    • Simplified Play
  • The Designer & The Artists
  • Customer Service

Components

  • 215 Carnival Cards (82 Land Cards, 78 Monster Cards, 13 Staff Cards, 21 Event Cards, and 21 Secret Goal Cards)
  • 10 Start Land Cards
  • 5 Player Boards
  • 108 Gold Crowns (in various denominations)
  • 1 Main Board
  • 24 Hunter Tokens
  • 3 Royal Hunter Dice
  • 7 Season Cards
  • 12 Loan Cards
  • 5 Consolidated Loan Cards
  • 1 Score Pad

A Closer Look

Monster Card (example: Quetzalcoatl) — the Monster Level is in the top corner, the Land Icon shows which Region the Monster belongs to, the Danger Symbols run down the right side of the card, and the Victory Points (VP) are in the bottom corner.

Staff Card (example: Michonne N. Fraser, Jägermeister) — the Cost in Gold Crowns is in the top corner, and the Card Effect is printed at the bottom ("Ignore 1 Danger Symbol each season.").

Land Card (example: Enchanted Forest — Forgotten Temple) — the Land Type is named at the top, the Land Icon and Land Point value are on the right side, and the Distant Land Symbol appears at the bottom right.

The Player Board:

  • The Wilderness — a stack of drafting cards that your neighbor gave you, but you haven't looked at yet.
  • The journal space — the captured card you just chose.
  • Kept Cards — cards you have chosen to keep instead of playing.
  • Menagerie — Monsters & Trophies you played/earned in an earlier season but that are no longer "in play."
  • Keep your Gold Crowns & Hunter Tokens here.

The Idea of the Game

Carnival of Monsters is a card-drafting game in which players try to collect sets of Land Cards so they can capture and display strange and exotic Monsters, hire talented Staff to help run their enterprise, and pursue their own Secret Goals.

Points are awarded for displaying Monsters, completing Goals, and earning Gold Crowns (Crowns) over four "Seasons" of play.

In the end, the player with the most profitable and spectacular carnival is the winner!

Setting Up the Game

  1. Place the Main Board in the middle of the table.
  2. Shuffle all of the Carnival Cards together and create a face-down draw deck on the matching space of the Main Board.
  3. Shuffle the Season Cards and draw 4 at random (without looking at them!). Place them face down on the matching space of the Main Board. Return the other 3 Season Cards to the box (without revealing them).
  4. Stack the Loan Cards on the ledger on the Main Board.
  5. Give each player a Player Board and 4 Gold Crowns. Put the rest of the Gold Crowns in the center of the Main Board to form a "bank," along with the Hunter Tokens and the Royal Hunter dice.
  6. Shuffle the 10 Starting Land Cards and deal 2 to each player. Place your Starting Land Cards face up next to your Player Board. Return any unused Starting Land Cards to the box.

Playing the Game

Carnival of Monsters is played over 4 rounds called "Seasons." At the beginning of each Season, each player receives a hand of 8 Carnival Cards. You will pick 1 card to keep (capture) and pass the rest to your neighbor, repeating this until all of the cards have been taken. During the Season, you may be able to play some Monsters.

At the end of the Season, those Monsters are placed in your "Menagerie" until the end of the game.

After four Seasons, you will add up the points for all of the Monsters in your Menagerie, any Secret Goals you have completed, and any Gold Crowns you have earned.

The player with the highest total has earned a place in the Royal Monstrological Society and is declared the newest member of the Society!

Spending Money (and Taking Loans)

Various actions you take during the game may require you to spend or receive money, such as keeping a card to play later or playing a Staff Card. Any Gold Crowns you spend always go to the bank, and any Gold Crowns you earn are taken from the bank. Gold Crowns come in different denominations: You may make change with the bank at any time.

It is possible (some may say likely!) that at some point you will be called upon to spend money that you don't have (you may even choose to spend Gold Crowns when you don't have any!).

If this happens, you must take a Loan Card from the Main Board. When you take a Loan Card, you also take 3 Gold Crowns from the bank. You may use these Gold Crowns normally.

But at the end of the game, every Loan Card you have costs you 5 Victory Points!

It is not possible to repay those loans, you must keep them until the end of the game.

Be careful about taking a lot of loans; or you may find your profits vanishing!

Note: You can exchange three Loan Cards for a Consolidated Loan Card if you run out of Loan Cards. Consolidated Loan Cards do not provide any additional Gold Crowns, and penalize you 15 Victory Points (the same as the three Loan Cards it replaces).

The Seasons

Each Season is divided into four phases:

  • Phase 1: Reveal Season Card
  • Phase 2: Capture and Play Carnival Cards
  • Phase 3: Danger Check!
  • Phase 4: Seasons End

Phase 1: Reveal Season Card

Each Season, the Society requests Monsters from a specific region, rewarding the applicant that can gather the most impressive collection from that area. These requests are represented in the game by the Season Cards.

To start the Season, turn over the next Season Card on the Main Board. The Season Card shows one type of Monster that the public is especially interested in.

Season Bonus

The audience will pay more to see the Monsters that are in demand this Season. The first time each player displays a Monster that matches the Season Card, they receive a bonus of 2 Gold Crowns from the bank. You can only receive this bonus once each Season.

(Aerie Season card text: "Each player gains 2 Crowns the first time they play an Aerie Monster.")

Trophy

In addition, the player who can display the most impressive collection of Monsters of the current Seasons type will earn the Victory Points shown on the Season Card. That player takes the Season Card as a Trophy, adding it to his/her Menagerie (see "Seasons End").

(Aerie Season card text: "Trophy: Most Aerie Monster VPs in play.")

Example: It's the first Season, and the Aerie Season Card is revealed: The public demands to see monsters from the Aerie Lands!

During the Season, John is able to play the Quetzalcoatl Monster Card (an Aerie Monster). He immediately takes 2 Gold Crowns from the bank and adds them to his funds.

At the end of the Season, John's 16-point Quetzacoatl is easily worth more than all of the Aerie Monsters each of the other players have played, so John gets to claim the Aerie Season Trophy – worth 3 Victory Points.

Phase 2: Capture and Play Carnival Cards

To impress the Society, you must scour the realm for Monsters, but wise explorers will always keep an eye out for other opportunities they might find along the way!

All players play simultaneously during this phase.

First, deal 8 Carnival Cards to every player. All players keep their Cards secret.

Now, all players will "capture" cards, one at a time, until all of the cards in their hands have been captured. Capturing a card involves three steps:

  1. Capture 1 Card
  2. Pass Remaining Cards
  3. Play or Keep the Captured Card

Step 1. Capture 1 Card

Players look at the cards in their hands and choose 1 card to capture, placing it face down on the journal space of their Player Boards.

Step 2. Pass Remaining Cards

Then, all players pass the rest of the Carnival Cards in their hands to the next player. The direction that cards are passed depends on the current season:

  • In the first and third Seasons, always pass cards to the left.
  • In the second and fourth Seasons, always pass cards to the right.

When players receive cards from their neighbors, they place them face down on their Player Boards without looking at them.

Step 3. Play or Keep the Captured Card

Finally, players must decide what to do with the card they captured. Players always have two choices: Play the card now or Keep it for later.

Option 1: Play the Captured Card

The different types of cards are played in different ways:

Land Cards

You need Land Cards in order to play Monsters (see below).

There are six different Regions shown on the cards, and each card provides you with a number of Land Points for that Region. Land Points are spent to play Monster Cards (see "Monster Cards").

When you play a Land Card, place it face up next to your Player Boards. It's best to place Land Cards from the same Region together.

Example: Nene has captured an Aerie Land Card, which she decides to play right away. She adds the new Aerie Card to the one she already had. Now she has 2 Aerie Land Points so she can display more exciting Aerie Monsters!

Distant Lands: Some Lands are harder to reach than others. You can only play these "Distant Lands" if you already have other Land Cards of the same Region in play.

  • If the Land Card shows one Distant Land symbol, you can only play it if you already have at least 1 Land Card of the same Region in play.
  • If the Land Card shows two Distant Land symbols, you can only play it if you already have at least 2 Land Cards of the same Region in play.

Note: It doesn't matter which matching Land Cards you have, and you can use the same cards to qualify for any number of Distant Land Cards.

Example: Mark already has one Enchanted Forest, so he can play the Forgotten Temple, which has one Distant Land symbol. This gives him a total of 3 Enchanted Forest Land Points that he could use to display Monsters.

But he could not play the Forefather of Life, because he only has one Enchanted Forest and the Forefather of Life requires two matching Land Cards to play. After he plays the Forgotten Temple, he'll have 2 Enchanted Forest Land Cards, so he'll be able to play the Forefather of Life later.

Monster Cards

These cards depict the wondrous creatures you seek to impress the Society. Each Monster comes from one of the six different Regions, and is worth a number of Victory Points at the end of the game.

In order to play a Monster Card, you must spend Land Points from matching Land Cards. The number of Land Points you must spend is equal to the Monster's Level, shown in the top corner of the card. If you have enough Land Points, you can place the Monster Card face up in front of you.

Example: Nene wants to play her Level 4 Quetzalcoatl. Fortunately, she has two regular Aerie Land Cards and a Cloud Castle (worth 3 Aerie Land Points), which provide her enough Aerie Land Points to display the magnificent Quetzalcoatl.

Important: Each Land Point can only be spent once per Season to capture Monsters! So, if you have 6 Land Points from Darklands Land Cards, you can only play Darklands Monsters with a total cost of 6 or less per Season.

You can use part of a Land Card's Land Points to pay for one Monster, and use its other Land Points to pay for another Monster later. For example, if Nene played a Giant Condor (which requires 2 Land Points) and paid for it with her Cloud Castle (worth 3 Land Points), she would still have 1 Land Point left to display another Monster.

Playing Hint: We find that it helps if you place your Monsters on display on top of or next to the Land Cards that you use to pay for those Monsters. That way it's easier to see how many Land Points you have left! Just remember to keep the Land Points on your cards visible.

Example: After putting the Quetzalcoatl on display, Nene only has 1 unused Aerie Land Point left, so she cannot play the Razorwing she just captured (which requires 2 Land Points). She'll have to save the Razorwing until she can get more Aerie Land Cards or wait for the next Season, when she can again use all 5 of her Aerie Land Points.

Dangerous Monsters: Some Monsters are simply more dangerous than others. While these beasts may better impress the Society (and earn more Victory Points!), there is a risk that they will escape to terrorize the Empire. See "Phase 3: Danger Check!" to learn how to handle these creatures.

Monstrous Lore: Observing Monsters in their natural habitats can sometimes reveal valuable secrets that canny explorers can use to their advantage. When you play a Monster Card with the Monstrous Lore symbol, you get to immediately draw Carnival Cards from the deck, which you may play immediately or keep to play later for free – (see "Option 2: Keep the Captured Card").

Example: Drew has just played the Kelpie (using one of his Depths Land Points). Studying the Kelpie reveals a valuable piece of knowledge, so Drew gets to draw one free Carnival Card from the deck. He could play it now, or add it to his Kept Cards without having to pay the normal cost.

Dreamland Monsters: Everyone knows that you can dream anywhere – all you need to do is sleep! Likewise, the creatures that make their homes in dreams can be found anywhere…

You can use any kind of Land Points to pay the cost to play a Dreamlands Monster. Unlike other Monster types, you are not required to use only Dreamlands Land Points. You must decide which Land Points you use when you play the Dreamlands Monster.

Example: Ron just captured the mysterious Succubus, which he knows would be a big hit with the audience. Unfortunately, he only has one Dreamlands Land Card in his collection, which doesn't provide enough Land Points. But the Succubus is a Dreamlands Monster, so Ron can use any kind of Land Points. By combining his Aerie Land Point with the three Land Points from his Dreamlands, he can pay the costs and put the Succubus on display!

Important: Just because you can play Dreamlands Monsters using any kind of Land Points, that doesn't mean that the Dreamlands Land Cards can be used for other kinds of Monsters. Land Points from Dreamlands Cards can only be used to play Dreamlands Monsters.

Staff Cards

Gathering Monsters is not only dangerous, it's hard work. You can help cut down your workload by hiring some talented experts to join your expedition.

Staff Cards represent talented people you can hire. But they will not work for free: unlike all other kinds of cards, you must pay Gold Crowns when you play a Staff Card. The Gold Crowns you must pay are shown in the top corner of the Staff Card. Place your new staff member face up next to your Player Board.

Each Staff Card has an on-going effect that you can use after playing that card.

All Staff effects are permanent, and last until the end of the game.

The 4 Intrepid Explorers have a special ability: They function as a Land Point in addition to being a Staff Card. At the time they are played, players choose a Land Type. The Explorer functions as a Land Point of the chosen type for the rest of the game. They are turned sideways to show that.

Event Cards

In a realm filled with magical monsters, there are bound to be some unexpected happenings. If you're clever, you can take advantage of these opportunities when they come around.

Event Cards provide a benefit when you play them. These cards can only be used once. After you receive the benefit from an Event Card, you must discard it.

Example: It's been a good Season for Richard, and he now has a total of three basic Caves Land Cards and The Great Cavern (worth 3 Land Points). Now's the perfect time for him to play the Cave Tour Event Card! Since he has 6 Caves Land Points, he gets to take 6 Gold Crowns from the supply – a pretty neat little profit!

Secret Goal Cards

Every member of the Society has distinct ideas of what makes a "perfect" menagerie, and they will not hesitate to make suggestions to a future member. By fulfilling these wishes, you can get a leg up on the competition…

Secret Goal Cards offer another way to earn Victory Points. These cards are never played. Instead, they must always be kept until the end of the game (see "Keep the Captured Card"). At the end of the game, all of your Secret Goals are revealed and you earn the Victory Points shown – if you fulfill the requirements on your Secret Goal Cards (see "The End of the Game").

Example: Jesper just captured the Authority on Sinister Creatures Secret Goal ("2 VP for each Darklands Monster in your Menagerie."). Doing his best to hide a sinister grin, he adds it to his Kept Cards for later in the game, hidden from the other players.

At the end of the game, Jesper reveals his Authority on Sinister Creatures Card. During the game, he was able to display five different Darklands Monsters. Now he gets 10 bonus Victory Points!

Option 2: Keep the Captured Card

If you do not want to play the card you just captured (or if you cannot play it), then you must keep that card. Every time you keep a card, you must pay 1 Gold Crown to the supply. Place the card you are keeping face down in the space for Kept Cards on your Player Board (do not show it to the other players!).

You may play any of your Kept Cards at any time except during the Danger Check (as long as you meet the requirements to play that card, of course!). There is no limit to the number of cards you can keep for later turns.

Example: On the very first turn of the first season, John looks at his cards and sees the Ancient Enemy staring back at him. With only two Starting Lands, there is no way he can play this mighty beast now!

He knows it's a gamble, but he decides to take a risk and chooses to capture this Dreamlands Monster. He pays 1 Gold Crown, and puts it face down to his Kept Cards.

Three Seasons later, it's close to the end of the game and John knows it's finally time. He has collected a lot more Land Cards, so now he can pay the 10 Land Points. He takes the Ancient Enemy from his Kept Cards and puts it into play.

Continue Capturing Cards

Once all players have decided whether to keep or play the cards they just captured, it's time to capture the next card: Pick up the cards that were passed to you by your neighbor, choose one to capture, and pass the rest to the next player (as described above).

All players continue to capture, pass, and play or keep captured cards until all of the cards for the Season have been captured. Then it's time to see how dangerous these Monsters really are!

Phase 3: Danger Check!

As the Season nears its end, Dangerous Monsters are likely to try to escape from their captivity. His Majesty takes such incidents very seriously, and anyone who cannot guarantee the safety of the public will face some pretty steep penalties!

Some Monster Cards have one or more Danger symbols on the right side of the card. These are known as Dangerous Monsters. In this phase, you must have Hunters at least equal to the total number of Danger symbols showing on the Monsters you played this Season. You will have to pay a fine for every Danger symbol you cannot provide a Hunter for!

Remember: You cannot play any cards from your Kept Cards during this phase. Make sure you give every player a chance to play any Kept Cards they want to play before you begin the Danger Check.

The Hunters

Royal Hunters: First, the King will send out his Royal Hunters. They patrol the countryside to make sure there are no Dangerous Monsters around. One player rolls all three Royal Hunter Dice once. Each Royal Hunter Die will show 0, 1, or 2 cages. Add up the cages to determine the number of Royal Hunters the King sends out this Season.

Royal Hunters can be used by every player. Any Royal Hunters you don't use cannot be saved until the next Season.

Staff Hunters: Some Staff Cards supply Hunters. You can use each of these Hunters once each Season.

Hunter Tokens: Some Event Cards will award you Hunter Tokens. Each Hunter Token can be used only once. Return it to the supply after use. Unused Hunter Tokens can be saved for a later Season.

The Hunt

Add up all of the Danger symbols on the Monsters you displayed during the current Season (don't count any Danger symbols on Kept Cards or in your Menagerie!). This is the number of Hunters you need to keep your monsters in check.

Add together the number of Staff Hunters you have and the number of Royal Hunters the King provided this season. If the sum is equal to or greater than the number of Danger symbols you need, your Monsters are secure!

If not, then you will need to find more Hunters.

If you have any Hunter Tokens, you can add one hunter to your total for each Hunter Token you discard. Remember that Hunter Tokens can only be used once. If you still don't have enough Hunters to at least equal your Danger symbols, you must pay a fine. The fine is 3 Gold Crowns for each Danger symbol you have left. If you cannot pay your fine, you must take out enough Loans to pay!

Example: It's been a dangerous Season for Pete. He put three Dangerous Monsters on display: a Great Wyrm (1 Danger symbol), an Outer Realm Spider (2 Danger symbols), and a Harpy (1 Danger symbol), for a total of 4 Danger symbols.

Richard rolls the dice for the Royal Hunters, but it seems they are busy somewhere else in the kingdom because only one cage is rolled! That leaves Pete with 3 Danger symbols he has to find hunters for. Fortunately, he hired Michonne N. Fraser last season; she lets him ignore 1 Danger symbol. He also has 1 Hunter token from a Safety Training Event Card he played. Discarding the token brings his total up to three Hunters (1 Royal Hunter + Michonne N. Fraser + 1 Hunter Token) – still one Hunter short! Pete will have to pay 3 Gold Crowns (to the supply) as a fine for his last Danger symbol.

Phase 4: Seasons End

After the Danger Check is complete, the Season comes to an end. Before the next Season begins, you need to finish these two steps:

1. Award the Trophy

Players compare all of the Monsters they put on display this Season that match the current Season Card. The player who has displayed the highest sum of Victory Points on matching Monster Cards takes the Season Card as a Trophy and places it face down in their Menagerie. If there is a tie, no one takes the trophy and the Season Card is discarded.

Example: It's Aerie Season, so the players are getting a bonus for their Aerie Monsters.

Richard played three small Aerie Monsters: the Cloudlings each worth 3 VP for a total of 9.

John played two: the Lightning Ray (1 VP) and a Silent Observer (4 VP) for a total of 5.

Nene only played one Aerie Monster, but it's a doozy: the Quetzalcoatl, worth 16 VP.

Nene's 16 VP is a lot more than either Richard's 9 or John's 5, so she easily takes home the Aerie Season Trophy, worth 3 VP.

2. Retire Monsters

You can only display the Monsters you have captured for a single Season before the Society takes charge of them (for public safety, of course). You must take all of the Monsters you played this Season and place them face down in the Menagerie on your Player Board.

Important: You always keep all Land Cards in play for the coming Seasons.

A New Season?

If you have just completed the fourth Season (there are no more Season Cards left in play), the game ends. If not, begin the next Season with Phase 1: Reveal Season Card.

The End of the Game

Once the fourth Season is over, the game ends. It's time to add up your score and award the membership for the Monstrological Society!

Secret Goals

First, all players reveal any Secret Goals they have amongst their Kept Cards. If you fulfilled the requirements listed on your Secret Goal Cards, you receive the Victory Points shown.

Victory Points

Add up your Victory Points. Your points include:

  • The Victory Point value of all the Monsters in your Menagerie. (Monsters amongst your Kept Cards are not worth any points!)
  • Any Victory Points you earned by completing Secret Goals.
  • Each Gold Crown you have is worth 1 Victory Point.
  • Each unused Hunter Token you have is worth 1 Victory Point (Staff Hunters do not provide points).
  • Each Season Trophy you collected is worth 3 Victory Points.

Loans: Every Loan you have costs you 5 Victory Points.

Example: At the end of the game, Richard is ready to add up his score.

First, he counts up the VP value of all the Monsters he played during the game: Merfolk (3 VP), Pacific Moonshark (4 VP), Schrat (6 VP), Wyvern (13 VP) and Pazuzu (10 VP), for a total of 36 VP.

Then he reveals his two Secret Goal Cards: for his Enthusiast of Little Things ("1 VP for each Level 1 Monster in your Menagerie."), he gets only 1 VP (for the Merfolk – his other Monsters are too large), but his Employer of the Year ("3 VP for each Staff card you have in play.") awards him 12 VP since he has hired four Staff cards.

Counting his Gold Crowns lands him 7 more VP, but he doesn't have any Hunter Tokens so he gets no points for those.

He did win the Depths Season Trophy though, which is worth 3 VP.

The bad news is that he had to take out one Loan during the game, which costs him 5 VP.

Richard's final score is: 36 (Monsters) + 13 (Secret Goals) + 7 (Gold Crowns) + 3 (Trophy) - 5 (Loan) = 54. Not too shabby.

PlayerMonstersSecret GoalsGold CrownsHunter TokensTrophiesSubtotalLoansTotal
Richard361370359554

The player with the highest total of Victory Points (after subtracting for Loans) is the winner!

If there is a tie, the tied players share the win.

A Note on Game Pace

Experienced players may note that it isn't vital that all players wait for one another to select and play cards. When playing casually, it is just fine for some players to draft faster than their neighbors, as long as the cards passed are clearly separated so that the player receiving them doesn't pick up the wrong stack or multiple stacks at the same time. Of course, more serious players may want to follow the formal "all draft/all play" sequence more closely, since the cards they play could impact another player's choice of which cards to capture.

Two-Player Rules & Simplified Play

Two-Player Rules

Two-player games use all of the normal rules, except for these changes:

At the Beginning of Each Season: After you deal each player their 8 Carnival Cards for the Season, deal each player a second 7-card draw stack, face down. Do not look at your second card stack!

During Drafting: After you choose which card to capture, draw 1 card from your own draw stack and add it to their hand. Then choose 1 Carnival Card in your hand to discard from the game before you pass the stack to your opponent. In this way, the mix of cards will change during the course of the Season.

When the draw stacks run out, discard one last time and pass the remaining card in your hand to your opponent.

Simplified Play

New players may want to use these rules for their first few games, particularly if they are not already familiar with card-drafting type games: Before play, remove all of the Secret Goal Cards from the deck. Also remove all of the Staff Cards and Event Cards except the ones that give Hunters, Hunter tokens, or Gold Crowns. This will allow players to focus on the card drafting, before they get into the deeper strategy elements of the game.

The Designer & The Artists

Richard Garfield designed the first trading card game, Magic: The Gathering, published in 1993. At the time he was a math professor, but the success of Magic: The Gathering led to him leaving academics and going into game design full time.

Loic Billiau — As an illustrator and storyboarder, Loic has worked in ad agencies, published children's books, and illustrated about a dozen games. His main influences are Jamie Helwett and Hayao Miyazaki. As a former Magic: The Gathering addict, he is super-excited to work on a game that sprung from Richard Garfield's great mind.

Martin Hoffmann started working as a freelance illustrator in 2005 and has since helped to create the artwork for many board and card games. Back in school he played Magic: The Gathering with his friends and had a Sliver Deck. He thinks it's a funny coincidence that he got to work on a Richard Garfield game!

Dennis Lohausen gets by as an illustrator in Cologne, Germany. In another life he might have been an aerie expert, a monster hunter, or a silent observer. But none of that came to pass, so he'll just continue doing illustrations. After all, that's a thing too—isn't it?

Michael Menzel was born in 1975. After completing his vocational training as a graphic designer, he started working on computer games on his way to reaching his dream profession: illustrating card and board games. He has illustrated more than 300 games and received the Graf Ludo Award for best board game graphics three times.

Oliver Schlemmer — Oli Schlemmer, born in 1971, has been swinging the brush for more than 20 years on projects in the music, advertising, and gaming industries. He won the Graf Ludo Award for his design work on the game "Fresco" in 2010. Oli lives with his wife and child in Wiesbaden.

Claus Stephan dreamed of being a secret agent, an astronaut, a musician, a cartoonist, an artist, or a geography teacher. After a detour in advertising, he turned to illustrating games and books. But cumulus clouds still delight him, and a slightly detuned guitar stands behind his desk.

Franz Vohwinkel — Franzzz is not a fan of carnivals, but he has always loved monsters. He escaped the far-too-idyllic region of Bavaria to study monster design in the swamps of Darmstadt. For the last 13 years he's been designing nasty monsters in the sinister city of Seattle—there are real monsters there, but they don't look as good as Franzzz's creations.

Customer Service

If you have questions on these rules or on any of our products, please call us at 844-962-6446 M-F 9:00 – 6:00 CENTRAL TIME. We'll do our best to help you.

GAME DESIGN COUNCIL — From time to time, we ask people to review games for us and give comments on the gameplay, packaging styles, and other attributes in return for free games. If you're interested in being one of these people, please visit www.amigo.games/contactus to sign up or send an email to [email protected] with "Game Design Council" in the subject line.

OUR NEWSLETTER — If you'd like to sign up for our email newsletter so you can learn about our other games, please visit www.amigo.games/newsletter

©2019 AMIGO Spiel + Freizeit GmbH. Carnival of Monsters is a trademark of AMIGO Games Inc., Round Rock, TX 78664. Item # 19718 V1-0819

www.amigo.games