Electronic Arcade Mania
Electronic Arcade Mania Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
Collect the most chips to win the game.
Contents
- 1 electronic Arcade Machine
- 4 Game Slides to play 4 different games
- 1 cardboard gameboard
- 4 plastic pawns
- 2 dice
- 100 plastic chips (65 red; 35 white)
- 32 cards
- 4 rubber feet
- 1 label sheet
- 1 instruction booklet
How to Set Up the Game
Open up the gameboard and place it on a flat surface so it's accessible to all players.
Game Slide and Pawn Selection: there are 4 Game Slides. These are the 4 overlays that slide into the Arcade Console. Each one is a different arcade game and each one is to be selected and controlled by a different player. To determine what Slide will be "owned" by which player, do the following. Each player rolls the red die. Whoever rolls highest, picks one Game Slide. The player to the left of the high roller then selects a Slide and so on, until all the Slides are chosen.
Please Note: in a 3-player game, the "unselected" Slide is still in play but is considered "unowned"!
The Game Slides are color coded. Players pick a pawn to move that matches the color of the Slide they own. Pawns are placed on matching color circles in the START box on the Board. Here are the Slides and their colors...
- Sneak Attack is blue
- Rattler is purple
- Alien Raiders is green
- Run Amuk is orange
See Appendix on pages 19 and 20 for a detailed description on how to play each of the 4 games.
Chip Distribution: each player is given 6 chips: 1 red chip and 5 white chips (1 red chip = 5 white chips). The rest of the chips are put in a pile near the board and become the Bank.
The Card Decks
There are 2 decks of cards... the blue "Arcade Mania" name cards and the red "Arcade Mania" name cards.
The Blue Deck is made up of 8 betting cards. Separate them into 2 decks of 4 cards each. Each deck containing 1 purple circle, 1 green circle, 1 orange circle and 1 blue circle card, which match the colors of the 4 pawns. Place each deck facedown in the center of the board.
The Red Deck is made up of 24 event cards. Deal one Red Deck card facedown to each player now, at the start of the game. The dealt-out cards are kept secret. Place the rest of the deck facedown in the center of the board.
Preparation of the Arcade Machine
Battery Insertion: six "AA" size batteries are required to power the mini Arcade Machine. We recommend alkaline batteries for best performance. To insert the batteries, carefully turn the console facedown. Then open up the battery compartment door by sliding your fingers into the two grooves and snapping the hinges down and out, as shown in Figure 1.
[Figure 1: underside of the console showing the battery compartment door, 2 rubber feet, hinges, grooves, tabs and slots.]
Lift off door and pull out battery holder. Insert the six batteries into the holder matching the symbols on the batteries to the symbols molded into the holder, as shown in Figure 2.
[Figure 2: battery holder with six AA batteries, one shown beside it, with + and - marks.]
Once battery holder is completely loaded, reinsert it into the compartment, tucking its wires in carefully. Reattach battery door by inserting its two tabs into the two slots of the compartment and press to close.
Test sequence: to make sure that the Arcade Machine is operating properly, do the following two test sequences...
Test Pattern I
[Diagram: console with the control panel; "Press Here 1st" points to button 1, "Press Here Next" points to the center yellow button in the middle row.]
- Press Button "1."
- Then press center yellow button in the middle row. Result: all 9 lights on the screen will turn on, in sequence, from bottom row to top row, emitting a beep with each illumination. All lights will stay on for approximately 15 seconds and then turn off automatically.
Test Pattern II
[Diagram: console with the control panel; "Press Here 1st" points to button 1, "Press Here Next" points to the center yellow button in the bottom row.]
- Press Button "1."
- Then press center yellow button in the bottom row. Result: any button on the control panel when pressed will turn on a corresponding light on the screen. Right now, the center light in the bottom row should be on. Quickly press all other buttons, one by one, to see if their corresponding lights turn on.
As each button is pressed, you'll hear a beep. Note: only one light will stay lit at a time... but if you do wait more than 3 seconds before pressing another button, the light will turn off automatically. If this happens, press Button "1" again, then the center button in the bottom row to begin the sequence again.
Important: if your console does not react as above. Recheck the batteries. They could be weak, defective or improperly positioned.
How to turn the power off and on: there is no ON/OFF switch on the Arcade Machine. To activate the console, press either button "1," "2" or "3," and then one of the 4 Game Buttons, (either Run Amuk, Rattler, Sneak Attack or Alien Raiders). If no other buttons are pressed after 15 seconds, the console will automatically turn itself off. In fact, after any game is played on The Machine, the console will turn itself off automatically after 15 seconds!
Label application: 3 labels must be attached to The Machine... 2 side labels and 1 front "name of the game" label. To apply them, just peel them off the label sheet and stick them onto the console. See box top for proper location.
Rubber feet: peel off the 4 rubber feet from the strip and attach them to the bottom of the console in the locations, shown in Figure 1, on page 3.
How to Play the Game
Who goes first? the player who was last to select a Game Slide is the player chosen to go first. Play proceeds to the left.
How to move your pawn: on your turn, roll the red die and move your pawn clockwise around the game path towards the Finish Space. Count each space as one on your die roll. Always move the full count on the die. Never move backwards on the path. Two or more players can be on the same space at the same time.
What the game spaces direct you to do: the space you land on will direct you to do one of the following...
Either collect chips from the Bank without having to play The Machine.
Or to challenge another player to a duel, each playing The Machine.
The spaces that direct you to do either of the above actions are: 6 spaces tell you to collect chips from the Bank and not to challenge another player to a duel on the Arcade Machine. Here's what they look like.
[Diagram: six board spaces. The first reads "FINISH / COLLECT 10 TOKENS". The other five read "COLLECT 3 TOKENS, DEFEND AT 2"; "COLLECT 5 TOKENS, DEFEND AT 1"; "COLLECT 5 TOKENS, DEFEND AT 3"; "COLLECT 7 TOKENS, DEFEND AT 2"; "COLLECT 10 TOKENS, DEFEND AT 1".]
When you land on any of the above spaces, immediately collect the number of chips specified from the Bank. After you collect the chips, your turn is over. Please Note: the "Defend At 1, 2 or 3" commands on these spaces refer to either Skill Level 1, 2 or 3 and will be discussed under "Event 5, Selecting Skill Levels" on page 12.
21 spaces direct you to challenge another player to a duel on the Arcade Machine. Who to challenge and what game to play is explained directly below in the next paragraph. All non-dueling players bet chips (the betting limit is determined by the space landed-on) on the outcome of such a battle. Whoever gets the highest score on The Machine wins the duel and chips (the amount of the winnings is determined by the space landed-on). The losing dueler loses the duel but no chips. Betting players collect the amount bet from the Bank, if they wagered on the winner; if they wagered on the loser, their bets are generally lost to the Bank! After the duel is played and the wagers collected, your turn is over.
The Challenge – who duels, and what game is played?
Who to challenge and what game to play on The Machine is determined by which one of the 21 spaces you land on. Sixteen of these spaces picture the 4 games, Sneak Attack, Run Amuk, Alien Raiders and Rattler. If you land on such a space, play that game – and the owner of that game is your designated opponent. The player who lands on the space and challenges a player is called the Challenger; the player challenged is called the Defender. Five of these spaces do not picture a Game Slide but say the following... "Any Game/Any Player," thus allowing you to choose the Game Slide and the opponent of your choice! Important: if you land on a space that pictures your own Game Slide, then you must play your own game on The Machine but you can challenge any player to be your opponent. Also, in a 3-player game, if you land on a space that pictures an "unowned" Game Slide, play the game indicated and choose any player to the duel!
All of the following instructions, from pages 9 to 17 discuss the events involved with playing the Arcade Machine. We suggest you read the listing of these events first, to understand when each action happens. Then, read the explanation of each event that follows.
The Listing – The 8 Basic Events Involved When You Play The Machine
Event 1: When you land on a space that directs you to challenge another player to a duel, choose the appropriate opponent and game. You are the Challenger; your opponent is the Defender.
Event 2: Then slip the Game Slide into The Machine.
Event 3: Now, all non-dueling players may place bets on the outcome of the duel.
Event 4: Appropriate Event Cards can now be played.
Event 5: Skill Levels for the arcade game to be played are now determined for each player.
Event 6: Appropriate Event Cards can now be played.
Event 7: The duel is now played on The Machine. Whoever gets the highest score wins the duel. If there is a tie, the Defender wins the duel!
Event 8: Appropriate Event Cards can now be played. Wagers and winnings are then collected.
The Explanations – All 8 Events Are Discussed in Detail
Event 1 – Challenging a Player and Picking a Game: What Game Slide to play and who to challenge have already been discussed on page 8, under "The Challenge – who duels, and what game is played?"
Event 2 – Slipping the Game Slide into the Console: Once the game is chosen, slip the Slide into the console slot, as shown in Figure 3, below, so it sits right over The Machine's screen.
See the Appendix on pages 19 and 20 for a look at how to play each of the 4 games.
[Figure 3: hand sliding the Alien Raiders Game Slide into the console slot.]
Event 3 – Betting on the Outcome of the Duel
Who bets? All other players except the Challenger and the Defender may bet. Betting is optional. If you do bet, you must wager a minimum of 1 white chip. If you do not have a chip to bet, the Bank will give you one to bet.
How much to bet? The betting limit for each duel is stated right on the game space that directed you to duel. See Figures 4 and 4A, below, for examples of betting limits. Note that you can never bet more than what the betting limit states. Important: this betting limit also determines the amount of chips the winner of the duel on The Machine will win. See Event 8, "Collecting Bets, Winnings and Playing Event Cards" on page 17 for details.
[Figure 4: Sneak Attack space – "If the Challenger is on this space, the wagering players can bet either 1, 2 or 3 chips." Betting limit 3.]
[Figure 4A: "ANY GAME / ANY PLAYER" space – "If the Challenger is on this space, the wagering players can bet either 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 chips." Betting limit 5.]
How to bet: wagering players pick either the Challenger or the Defender as the winner of the duel. To bet, secretly pick a betting card from the Blue Deck that matches the pawn color of the player you think will win the duel. Place the card facedown in front of you with the chip or chips you're wagering on top of it. For example, if you wish to bet on the Challenger who moves the green pawn, pick out the green circle betting card from the Blue Deck, place it facedown in front of you and place your wager on top of it. Important: there are two Blue Decks. In a 4-player game, the bettors each choose a card from separate decks so that the color identity of the player they bet on remains a secret; in a 3-player game, the one wagering player chooses either deck to pick a betting card from.
Once bets are placed, Event Cards can be played. Skill Levels can be selected and the duel can take place.
Event 5 – Selecting Skill Levels
Each of the 4 games can be played on 3 Skill Levels, all based on how fast you must respond to the action on the console screen. Skill Level 1 is the easiest play level; Skill Level 2 is a medium difficult play level; and Skill Level 3 is the most difficult play level.
To determine Skill Level, roll the black die each time you play a duel. . . "1" for Skill Level 1, "2" for Skill Level 2, and "3" for Skill Level 3. You roll for a Skill Level each time you play a duel. However, Skill Levels can also be determined by the game space you land on. If you land on a space that says "Defend At Either 1, 2 or 3," the number specified is your Skill Level and you would not roll the black die if challenged to a duel. Important: this Skill Level determined by game space applies only if your pawn remains on that space for the duel. If you move your pawn from such a space, you would roll for Skill Level if challenged again to a duel.
Events 4, 6 and 8 – The Play of the Event Cards
As you can see from the sequencing of the 8 events, Red Deck Event Cards may be played at 3 particular times in the play of the Arcade Machine; right after the bets are placed; right after the Skill Levels are determined; and right after a duel, when the wagers are collected. You'll discover that Event Cards can also be played at other times during a game. Before discussing which cards are played when, read how to collect them. . . and how to play them!
How to collect Event Cards: at the beginning of the game, each player is dealt one Event Card. During the game, each time you land on a space that pictures a Game Slide that you "own," draw an Event Card from the deck. You also draw an Event Card each time you pass a white arrow "TAKE A CARD" area on the board.
How to play an Event Card: to play a card, flip it up so everyone can see it, obey its command and discard it faceup in a pile. This becomes the discard pile (if needed, discarded cards can be shuffled, turned facedown and put into play again).
You can only play one Event Card on your turn or on an opponent's turn. For example, if an opponent plays a card on his or her turn, you may immediately play a card, too, either to cancel out the effect of your opponent's card or to add to the impact of your opponent's card. Since several cards may be played at once, it is always the last card played that is obeyed.
You can only "own" 5 Event Cards at a time. If directed to draw an Event Card and you already own 5 of them, either play a card and draw or do not draw at all.
What each card directs and how to play it:
| Card | How to play it |
|---|---|
| Collect 3 tokens / Collect 5 tokens / Collect 7 tokens | Play one of these cards at any time to collect that number of chips stated from the Bank. |
| Extra Turn | Play this card as soon as your turn ends. When you play this card, roll the red die again and move your pawn accordingly and react to the landed-on space again! |
| Force An Opponent To Lose Turn. Play Before Opponent Rolls | Play this card strategically to take away an opponent's turn. Play it before the opponent rolls the red die. |
| Add 4 To Any Player's Score In Any Challenge. Play Before Skill Levels Are Determined | Play this card after bets have been made but before Skill Levels are determined. This card gives one of the dueling players a decided advantage by adding 4 points to his or her score earned on The Machine. Note: this card can be played by dueling players or by betting players. |
| Subtract 1 From Any Player's Skill Level or Add 1 To Any Player's Skill Level | Play either of these cards after the bets have been made and after the Skill Levels have been determined but before the duel has been played. When either card is played it will help or handicap a dueling player. Note: these cards can be played by dueling players or betting players. |
| Force Opponent To Play Challenge With Only One Hand... You Specify Which | Play this card after the bets have been made and after the Skill Levels have been determined but before the duel is played! Whoever plays this card must choose which player and which hand... pick either the Challenger or the Defender and then specify either his or her left or right hand. this card can be played by dueling players or betting players. |
Event 7 – The Duel on the Arcade Machine: How to Play It
Rules common to all 4 games are indicated here. After reading these general rules, see Appendix on pages 19 and 20 for individual instruction on each Game Slide.
How to duel... see Figure 5.
[Figure 5: diagram of the Arcade Machine labelled Screen, Control Panel Buttons, 3 Skill Level Buttons (1, 2, 3) and 4 Game Buttons (Run Amuk, Sneak Attack, Alien Raiders, Rattler).]
A. The Machine is placed directly in front of the Challenger, who always plays first.
B. The Challenger presses Button "1," "2" or "3," whichever one identifies his or her Skill Level. A corresponding light on the screen will turn on with an accompanying beep.
C. The Challenger then presses the Game Button that corresponds to the Game Slide that is to be played. The game begins immediately.
Please Note: all 9 buttons on the control panel are active. When one is pressed, it will affect a corresponding area on the screen. For example, if you press the upper right button in the top row, you will affect the light in the upper right area on the screen.
Also, in all 4 games, the longer you keep the game in play by pressing buttons successfully, the more challenging the game becomes – for the light or sequence of lights you must respond to on the screen speeds up and demands your quick response.
D. Throwing the game: you may wish to deliberately lose your duel on The Machine to upset the outcome of a "sure bet" victory. For example, if you are a dueling player and from past experience on The Machine, you are considered the favorite, you may decide to deliberately score low, lose the game and upset the sure-win outcome.
E. Scoring: all games end when the lights you're responding to, turn off. Your score will then be indicated by a flashing of a "numbered light or lights" and accompanying beeps. These flashing lights will then turn on and stay on indicating your score. If there is more than one "numbered" light on, total all the lit numbers for your score. Caution: your score will stay lit for 15 seconds and then flash off, so compute quickly. Also, always show the "lit up" score on the console to your opponent, so he or she can verify your total!
F. When the Challenger has played and scored his or her game, the Arcade Machine is passed to the Defender for play.
G. The winner of the duel: whoever gets the highest score, wins the duel. See Event 8, on page 17, for details on collecting bets. What happens if there is a tie? In case of a tie, the winner of the tie is always the Defender... not the Challenger!
Event 8 – Collecting Bets, Winnings, and Playing Event Cards
How dueling players collect: whoever gets the highest score on The Machine, wins the duel and as a reward collects a designated amount of chips from the Bank. The losing dueler collects no chips but loses no chips either. The number of chips won is always the Betting Limit of the landed-on game space that provoked the duel. For example, if the landed-on space said "Alien Raiders... Betting Limit 3," then the winner of the Alien Raiders duel would collect 3 chips from the Bank.
How betting players collect: after a duel, betting players always turn up their betting cards to show who they wagered on. If they wagered on the winning player, they collect the amount they wagered in chips from the Bank. If they wagered on the losing player, the amount wagered is always lost to the Bank, except in two instances... (1) if the winner of the duel plays an Event Card that says "Collect All Losing Bets," then all losing bets would be given to the winning player rather than to the Bank; (2) if a betting player loses his or her wager and plays an Event Card that says "Cancel Loss...," then he or she would not lose the bet but rather would keep the amount he or she originally bet.
Continue to play as outlined above, rolling the red die and moving your pawn around the gameboard path, collecting as many chips as you can. Play until one player reaches the Finish Space.
How to Win the Game
The game ends when a player reaches the Finish Space. Exact count is not needed to move there. Note: whoever reaches the Finish Space first receives a bonus of 10 chips from the Bank, as noted on the gameboard.
At the end of the game, all players then count up their chips. Remember, a red chip is worth 5 white ones! Whoever has the MOST chips wins the game.
See Appendix on pages 19 and 20 for instruction on the 4 individual arcade games.
Appendix – How to Play the 4 Games
Alien Raiders
In this game, you are under siege from cosmic invaders. The first attacking alien appears as a light in the top row. Zap it by pressing its corresponding control panel button. A new alien will appear, sometimes in the same spot, other times in a different area in the top row. Zap it quickly. If you don't, it will descend to the middle row and finally to the bottom row. If the alien appears in the bottom row and you do not hit it immediately, the game will be over. If you zap quickly and accurately, you can keep the aliens in the top two rows, thus adding up points. Your score is determined by the number of times you hit an alien!
Rattler
A 3-light snake is slithering all over the screen. Its tail is the one blinking light and you must zap it by pressing the control panel button that corresponds to the blinking light's location on the screen. Hit the blinking light, wherever it appears, as often as possible, for the highest score. Notice when you hit a tail-light, only two lights will remain on the screen and one of them will begin flashing as the new tail segment. When it is hit, only one light will be lit and it will be flashing as the new tail segment and as the new target. When it is hit, a new 3-light segment snake will appear on the screen for you to attack. Score the highest and win the game!
Sneak Attack
A game of exact timing. You must destroy a missile while it is in flight. Track the missile's path... it will light up two lights on the screen to show you its direction. The third light in the sequence is where the missile will land. You must destroy the missile by anticipating where the third light will appear and pressing the control panel button that corresponds to that spot before the third light turns on. The 3-light sequence is always in a straight line, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
[Diagram: 3 x 3 grid of control panel buttons numbered 1 to 9.]
For example, if the screen lights were labeled as in the figure to the left... and #2, then #5 turn on, #8 would be the third light in the sequence; and if #7, then #8 turn on, then the third light would be #9. Very Important: when you press the correct button, hold it down until a new sequence begins. If you remove your "zapping" finger too early, then the game will end. Continue to destroy missiles, as the 3 light sequences appear on the screen. Your score is based on the number of correct hits you make. If you press the wrong button or press the right button too late or too soon, the game will end immediately!
Run Amuk
A hungry monster is chasing you! You must escape to safe spaces before the monster lands on you and gobbles you up. The monster appears as the one blinking light; you're the unblinking light. Press any button other than the button that corresponds to where the monster is located, to move your unblinking light to a safe location. Continue to press buttons to escape. The game ends when the blinking light lands on your unblinking light. Your score is the number of moves the monster makes before it gobbles you up... and remember, the monster always moves one space at a time.