Dragon Ball Z: Perfect Cell
Dragon Ball Z: Perfect Cell Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 20 dice
- 6 Z-Fighter mats
- 18 Power-up tiles
- 1 Cell board
- 22 Threat tiles
- 1 Cell HP marker
- 25 HP tokens
- 24 Dragon Ball tokens
Setting Up the Game
- Place the Cell Board in the center of the play area, accessible to all players.
- Shuffle the 22 Threat Tiles and place them in a face-down stack to the right of the Cell Board.
- Shuffle the 18 Power Up Tiles and place them in a face-down stack to the left of the Cell Board.
- From the stack of Power Up Tiles, flip the top 3 face up and place them in a row. This row is known as the Power Supply.
- Shuffle the 24 Dragon Ball Tokens and place them face-down in a pile.
- Each player selects which Z-Fighter they would like to play as, then places the corresponding Fighter Mat in front of them. (Regardless of the number of players you are playing with, you will have extra Fighter Mats; return the extras to the box.)
- Give each player a set of 5 dice and HP Tokens equal to their maximum health (indicated in the upper right hand corner of their Fighter Mats).
- Mark Cell's maximum health by placing the Cell HP Marker at "70" on his Health Meter.
- The player with the most Saiyan-like hair is named the start player.
Setup Examples: Fighter Mats and Power-up Tiles
The setup illustrations show the following Z-Fighter Mats and tiles (icons are described in words):
- Gohan — ability: "1 free re-roll per turn." Dice set: yellow.
- Piccolo — ability: "May change the face of one die per turn." Dice set: teal.
- Vegeta — ability: "Starts with Kamehameha upgrade." Dice set: blue.
- Goku — ability: "Can share any dice, not just assists." Dice set: orange.
- Masenko Power-up tile — cost: two Assist results; effect: "4 Damage" (two fist results).
- Destructo Disc Power-up tile — cost: one Assist result; effect: "Can be used to deal 3 damage" (a Dragon Ball result).
Gameplay Overview
Dragon Ball Z: Perfect Cell is played in a series of rounds. There are 3 steps in each round:
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New Threats
At the beginning of each round, reveal a number of Threat Tiles from the top of the stack equal to the number of players (e.g., in a 3-player game, reveal 3 Threat Tiles), then place those Threat Tiles face up next to the Cell Board.
CELL MAKES THE FIRST MOVE! It's important to note that Threat Tiles are revealed at the beginning of each round, including the first! This means that after setup, game play begins with Threat Tiles being revealed before any Z-Fighter takes their turn.
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Z-Fighter Turns
Then each of the players takes a turn, rolling and spending their dice. The start player takes the first turn, then play passes to the other players in a clockwise order. (See ON YOUR TURN for details. p. 7)
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Cell Activates!
After all players have taken their turns, Cell activates all of his active Threat Tiles, regaining health and dealing damage to the Z-Fighters as indicated. (See CELL ACTIVATES!, p. 10 for details.)
On Your Turn
To begin your turn, roll all of the dice that are on your Fighter Mat. Normally, this will be 5 dice. It is possible that you will have more dice if other players have shared them with you, or less if you have spent a die on removing a Threat Tile that hasn't been completed yet, or adding to the Dragon Ball Meter. After rolling, put the rolled dice back on your Fighter Mat.
You may now spend your dice, one at a time, in any order that you wish. As you spend each die, remove it from your Fighter Mat so that you know it has been spent. In most cases spending a die requires you to place the die either on the Cell Board, or a Threat Tile.
How you can spend your dice is determined by the icons on the rolled faces:
- Dragon Balls
- Assists
- Attacks
- Super Attacks
Spending Your Dice
All Z-Fighters start the game with 5 dice. Each set of dice will have its own unique color. Dice colors are not assigned to any particular Z-Fighter, and therefore players can pick the color of dice they prefer. Dice colors help players determine which dice belong to which Z-Fighter.
Spending Dice
Spending a die is the act of allocating that die in order to achieve an objective. Threat Tiles, Power Up Tiles, Cell's Damage Track and the Dragon Ball Meter are all designed to hold dice as they are spent. This will allow you easily track what you have spent your dice on, as well as how close you are to meeting the specific requirements.
Burning Dice
You're granted a few special options on your turn that require you to "burn" dice in order to do them. Burning a die is the act of removing it from your Fighter Mat without spending it on anything. This die is out of play for the remainder of your current turn.
Heal Z-Fighters
Dragon Balls and Assists can be spent to heal yourself or other Z-Fighters. For each die spent, an active Z-Fighter of your choice regains 1 HP Token.
KO'd! Any Z-Fighter who is currently KO'd cannot be healed.
Deal Damage
Attacks and Super Attacks can be spent to deal damage to Cell. (Certain Power Up Tiles will let you use other types of dice to deal damage, too.) Each Attack deals 1 damage, and each Super Attack deals 2 damage. In some cases, you may also deal bonus damage by filling enough of the Damage Track. (See DEALING DAMAGE, p. 9 for further details.)
Cancel Threats
Dice of certain types can be added to active (i.e., face-up) Threat Tiles. Each Threat Tile requires a specific combination of dice. Multiple Z-Fighters can contribute dice to any Threat Tile. When all of the required dice have been added to a Threat Tile, that threat has been canceled and will be discarded when Cell next activates.
Acquire Powers
Assists can be spent to acquire face-up Power Up Tiles from the Power Supply. The cost to acquire a Power Up Tile is indicated by the number of Assists shown in the upper right corner of the Power Up Tile.
Fill the Dragon Ball Meter
Dragon Balls can be added to the Dragon Ball Meter. They will remain there until the meter is filled. Once the meter is completely filled, at the end of that round all active Z-Fighters are healed to their maximum health, and all KO'd Z-Fighters are revived and healed to their maximum health.
Collect Dragon Ball Tokens
Dragon Balls can be spent to collect Dragon Ball Tokens. For each die spent, collect 1 Dragon Ball Token at random from the face-down pile. Flip it face up and put it next to your Fighter Mat. (If the pile runs out, reshuffle the discarded tokens to form a new face-down pile.)
Share
Instead of spending an Assist, you may share it with another Z-Fighter. To do so, give it to that player, who puts it on their Fighter Mat. That player will roll it, along with the rest of their dice, on their turn. That player can spend it just like any other die they have. Once spent, the shared die is returned to the original owner.
Reroll Dice
After rolling your dice, you may want to reroll them. If you decide to do so, you must burn a die of any type from your current pool. You may now reroll as many of your remaining dice as you wish. You may repeat this action as many times as you wish, as long as you have additional dice to burn.
Retrieve Dice
Occasionally, you may wish to retrieve a die that has been previously spent. Burning a die of any type allows you to retrieve as many dice (including other players' dice) as you wish from Threat Tiles or the Dragon Ball Meter. All retrieved dice are returned to their original owners.
A Closer Look: Power Up Tiles
The Power Up Tiles represent permanent powers that the Z-Fighters can acquire through training. Acquiring these Power Up Tiles will be essential in their effort to defeat Cell.
Most Power Up Tiles have an effect that can be used if you spend the indicated dice. You must spend all of the required dice at once in order to use the effect. By spending the required dice multiple times, you can use a single Power Up Tile multiple times per turn (unless stated otherwise).
On your turn, you may acquire as many face-up Power Up Tiles from the Power Supply as you wish to, as long as you can afford them. The Power Supply refills up to 3 only at the end of each player's turn. Each Power Up Tile costs the number of Assists indicated on the right side of the tile.
You can have a maximum of 3 Power Tiles equipped at a time. If you acquire another, you must immediately discard one that was previously equipped.
Team Player!
Krillin's special ability allows him to not only purchase Power Up Tiles for less, but also give them to other Z-Fighters. If Krillin reaches the maximum 3 Power Up Tiles and wants to purchase another one, he may give one of his old tiles to another Z-Fighter. Likewise, he can also give purchased tiles directly to another Z-Fighter.
Power Up Tile Breakdown
The diagram labels the parts of a Power Up Tile: the Power Up Name (Masenko), the Purchase Cost (the Assist results shown on the tile), and the Activation Cost (the dice spent to use its effect; Masenko's shows "4 Damage" with two Attack results).
A Closer Look: Threat Tiles
Threat Tiles indicate the various maneuvers that Cell will perform. All face-up Threat Tiles are considered active. New active Threat Tiles are revealed at the start of each new round. Each Threat Tile that isn't canceled by the Z-Fighters will activate at the end of each round.
Some Threat Tiles prevent dice from being shared or rerolled. Any such limitation remains in effect as long as the Threat Tile has not been discarded (i.e., even if all required dice have been placed on the Threat Tile but Cell has not yet activated for the round).
Threat Tiles that have not been canceled remain in play from round to round, so it is likely that, for some rounds, there will be more Threat Tiles in play than the number of Z-Fighters. It's important to manage these Threat Tiles so you don't get overwhelmed!
Threat Tile Breakdown
The diagram labels the parts of a Threat Tile: the Threat Tile Name (Solar Kamehameha), the Threat Tile Effect ("Deal 3 damage to all Z-Fighters"), and the Threat Tile Cancel Cost (the boxes showing the dice needed to cancel the threat).
Threat Tile Wild Icons
The three wild-icon rules printed on Threat Tiles:
- Single wild icon — "You may use any dice icon you want to cancel this threat."
- Two linked wild icons — "Once a dice icon is placed, all other dice icons placed must be the same."
- Separated wild icon — "All dice icons placed on this threat must be different."
A Closer Look: Dragon Ball Tokens
Dragon Ball Tokens come in three types: Attack Tokens (12x), Super Attack Tokens (8x), and Wild Tokens (4x).
Each Dragon Ball Token can be spent exactly like a rolled die face of that type, but it must be discarded after a single use. You may spend as many of your collected Dragon Ball Tokens as you wish on a turn.
Wild Dragon Ball Tokens can be spent as any type of dice face: Dragon Balls, Assists, Attacks, or Super Attacks.
Dealing Damage
Z-Fighters attack Cell by placing their Attacks and Super Attacks on the Damage Track. You must always place your die on the bottom and leftmost available space of the track, filling the track from left to right, bottom to top. Each Attack deals 1 damage and each Super Attack deals 2 damage. As soon as you place a die on the Damage Track, immediately adjust the HP Marker on Cell's Health Meter accordingly.
Power Up Tiles can increase how much damage your dice deal when you attack Cell, or allow you to use dice besides Attacks and Super Attacks to deal damage to Cell. Make sure you always place dice used to deal damage to Cell on the Damage Track.
When you place the final die in a row on the Damage Track, you immediately deal bonus damage to Cell. The amount of bonus damage is listed to the right of the row (e.g., +1).
Cell Damage Track Breakdown
Deal extra damage for filling up the row that the bonus damage is attached to with dice.
The Damage Track is split into three sections on the Cell board:
- Base — always use this section with any number of players. Its rows carry bonus damage of +1, +2, +2, +3, +3 and +5 (from bottom to top), as listed to the left of the track.
- Blue section (rows marked 2) — "Add this section to the 2 players and base sections when playing with 3-4 players."
- 2 Player (red section, rows marked 3) — "Add this section to the base when playing with 2 players."
Important! The number of dice required to fill certain rows of the Damage Track increases by player count. Ignore any dice slots with numbers higher than the number of players in the game.
Getting Knocked Out
A Z-Fighter is knocked out — or KO'd — when their health is reduced to zero (i.e., their last HP Token is removed). Once a Z-Fighter has been knocked out, they cannot be healed normally. The only way to revive KO'd fighters is by completely filling the Dragon Ball Meter.
If a Z-Fighter has been KO'd, they still roll their dice on their turn, but their options are limited:
- Dragon Balls are automatically added to the Dragon Ball Meter.
- Assists can only be shared with other Z-Fighters.
- Attacks and Super Attacks cannot be spent, dice cannot be rerolled, and that fighter's Power Up Tiles cannot be used.
Cell Activates!
After all Z-Fighters have taken their turns in a round, Cell activates.
Discard Canceled Threats
First, discard any Threat Tiles that the Z-Fighters have canceled by placing all required dice. Return those dice to the corresponding Z-Fighters. Remember: The dice on any Threat Tile remain until it is discarded or until a Z-Fighter burns a die to retrieve them.
Activate Threats
Second, activate the effect listed on each remaining Threat Tile, one at a time. When Cell deals damage from a Threat Tile effect, he deals that amount of damage to each Z-Fighter. (For each damage dealt to your Z-Fighter, remove 1 HP Token.) When Cell regains health from a Threat Tile effect, adjust the HP Marker on his Health Meter accordingly. Cell can never go above his starting health.
Check the Dragon Ball Meter
Third, check to see if the Dragon Ball Meter is full. If it is full, revive any KO'd Z-Fighters and heal all Z-Fighters to their maximum health, then return the dice from the Dragon Ball Meter to the corresponding Z-Fighters. If the Dragon Ball Meter is not full, nothing happens.
Dragon Ball Meter Breakdown
- Base — always use this section with any number of players.
- 2 Player — "Add this section to the base when playing with 2 players."
- Add this section to the 2 players and base sections when playing with 3-4 players.
Important! The number of dice required to fill the Dragon Ball Meter varies by player count. Ignore the dice slots with numbers higher than the number of players in the game.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately, interrupting normal gameplay, as soon as 1 of the 3 game-ending conditions is triggered:
- Cell's health has been reduced to zero.
- All Z-Fighters are currently KO'd.
- You need to draw a Threat Tile but the stack is empty.
If the game ended due to Cell's health being reduced to zero, congratulations! You have defeated Cell and saved the world!
If the game ended due to all Z-Fighters being knocked out or not having enough Threat Tiles left, bad news: You lost. Try again while using different strategies, or play one of the easier variants.
Variants
Easy Mode
Cell begins the game with 50 health instead of 70 health. Cell cannot regain health above 50 during the game.
Challenge Mode
During setup, randomly remove 1 Threat Tile per player. This reduces the amount of time the Z-Fighters have to take down Cell before the game ends.
Impossible Mode
During setup, randomly remove 2 Threat Tiles per player. This will make the game incredibly hard — seriously, we're not even sure it's possible to win this way.
Quick Reference
Round Structure
- New Threats
- Player Turns
- Cell Activates!
Game End Conditions
- Cell's health is reduced to zero (win!)
- All Z-Fighters are currently KO'd (loss)
- Draw a Threat Tile but stack is empty (loss)
Spending Your Dice
- Dragon Balls — Heal Z-Fighters; Collect Dragon Ball Tokens; Fill the Dragon Ball Meter.
- Assists — Heal Z-Fighters; Acquire Power Up Tiles; Share.
- Attacks — Deal 1 Damage.
- Super Attacks — Deal 2 Damage.
- Any Dice (as required by the tile) — Cancel Threats; Use Power Up Tiles; Reroll Dice; Retrieve Dice.