Epic Dice Tower Defense
Epic Dice Tower Defense Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 102 Dice
- 24 Tower Dice
- 4 Scoring Dice
- 1 Roll-Off Die
- 24 Goblins
- 20 Zombies
- 16 Orcs
- 8 Trolls
- 1 Dragon
- 4 Spell Dice
- 7 Unit Cards
- 4 Game Mats
Unit Card (example: Goblins): Each unit card shows the minion name, the number of minions per unit (for example, "1 Gold will buy 6 Goblins"), the minion's ability (for example, "Regroup: Return this minion to any of your wave slots as a BONUS minion. Ignore wave restrictions."), and a dice display that identifies the die's sides for quick reference. When the Goblin icon is rolled, it triggers the "Regroup" ability automatically.
Game Mat: Each mat has a Left Lane (players on your left may attack this lane) and a Right Lane (players on your right may attack this lane). Each mat also has Wave Slots, where each wave slot may contain two units of minions, and Construction Sites, where newly rolled towers may be placed. The Keep section holds the level 4 towers that are automatically rebuilt each round.
Setup
- Each player takes a set of 6 tower dice, a scoring die of the same color, and a game mat.
- Each player places two level 4 towers on the keep section of the mat.
- Place the unit cards in the center of the play area. Remove the dice from the storage tray and place each set of minions below the corresponding card.
Gameplay
Roll Off!
At the beginning of each round, each player rolls off to determine the turn order for the entire round. Each round consists of three phases, the Buy Phase, the Attack Phase, and the Cleanup Phase.
Buy Phase
Each player has 5 GOLD to spend each round. The player who won the roll off buys first, and then play passes to that player's left.
Construct Towers. For 1 GOLD, you may roll, or reroll, any two tower dice in your possession. Newly rolled towers may be assigned to any vacant construction site on your game mat.
Hire Minions. For 1 GOLD, you may hire one unit of minions. The number of minions in a unit varies with each minion type and is displayed in the upper right corner of the unit card. Unit sizes are listed in the minion section. Hired minions may be placed in any open wave slot on the game mat. However, once play passes to the next player, these waves are locked, and may not be reconfigured. Each wave may contain two units. You may only purchase two units of the same minion type.
Cast Spells. For 1 GOLD, you may take one spell die and gain the benefit of one spell on the die. You may purchase multiple spell dice, but you may not purchase multiples of the same spell.
Once every player has finished buying, the Attack Phase begins.
Attack Phase
First Attack. In turn order, you may attack an adjacent player with one wave of minions, or pass and choose to make no attack. You may only attack the lane of towers closest to you. Select a player to attack and select one wave of minions from your game mat.
* If the defending lane contains no towers, skip to the Scoring step.
- Step 1 - Roll the entire wave at once.
- Step 2 - Compare all values to the front tower in the defending lane.
- Step 3 - All minions with a value lower than the tower's value are destroyed, and returned to the supply. If one or more minions are tied with the tower, select one to destroy and return it to the supply.
- Step 4 - If a minion's icon is rolled, its ability is automatically activated. See the Minions section of the rulebook for more info.
- Step 5 - If any minions tied or exceeded the tower's value, the tower is destroyed and removed from the game mat.
- Step 6 - Repeat all steps with remaining minions until all towers or all minions have been destroyed.
Scoring: If all towers in the defending lane are destroyed, roll all remaining minions in the wave for a chance to earn victory points. Count the number of Victory symbols displayed at the bottom right of each minion die and add the total to your scoring die, then return all rolled minions to the supply.
Second Attack. In turn order, each player may attack with a second wave, following the same steps in the first attack.
Bonus Attack. If a player has a wave formed entirely of BONUS minions, that player may perform an additional attack. In turn order, players who qualify may attack with a third wave.
The bonus wave does not need to be the wave that attacks last, but to make a third attack, one of your waves must contain only BONUS minions. All minions lose the BONUS trait at the end of the attack phase.
Once every player has finished attacking, the Cleanup Phase begins.
Cleanup Phase
Spells are returned to the supply. Players automatically construct level 4 towers in the Keep section of the game mat. A new round begins, starting with a new roll-off.
Winning Condition
The first player to gain 8 victory points wins the game.
Symbols
Towers
For 1 GOLD you may roll, or reroll, any two tower dice in your possession. You may roll one and reroll another, or even roll the same die twice. The sides of each tower die are numbered from 1 to 6. This is the level, or strength, of the tower.
Victory
When minions are rolled against a lane with no towers, receive 1 victory point for each Victory symbol depicted in the lower right corner.
Minions
The following icons designate the minion type of each die. When the minion's icon is rolled while attacking, the ability listed below is automatically activated.
Goblins (Unit Size: 6 Goblins)
- Regroup - The Goblin runs in terror and returns to any wave slot as a BONUS minion. This ability ignores the normal limit for wave size and number of waves.
Zombies (Unit Size: 5 Zombies)
- Crumble - The Zombie falls to pieces on the battlefield and is returned to the supply.
Orc Raiders (Unit Size: 4 Orc Raiders)
- Raid - The Orc Raider ignores towers in order to hunt down a minion. Select any wave owned by the defending player. That player must select one minion from that wave and return it to the supply. Return the Orc Raider to the supply.
Trolls (Unit Size: 2 Trolls)
- Smash - The Troll lets out a mighty bellow and destroys the current tower in a single blow.
Dragon (Unit Size: 1 Dragon)
* Special Rule: Flying - The Dragon may attack any lane.
- Dragon Strike - The dragon soars over the battlefield, swooping in without warning. Ignore this tower and continue on to the next tower.
Spells
The following icons are found on spell dice. Each icon designates a unique spell. When a spell die is purchased, the die is rotated to the desired symbol and the effect listed below is gained for the duration of the round.
- Summon Golem - The Golem functions as a level 6 tower for the duration of the round. Place the die in front of all towers in either lane.
- Haste - Haste increases attack speed for each attack phase this round. All players with haste attack in turn order, and then all players without haste attack in turn order.
- Necromancy - At the beginning of the Cean-up Phase, all zombies in reserve waves are returned to the supply. During the Cleanup Phase, receive 1 Zombie for every 2 minions that were sent against you this round, for a maximum of 10 Zombies. These Zombies are BONUS minions on the following round. Only two players may purchase Necromancy each round.
Note: the printed rulebook spells the phase "Cean-up Phase" in the Necromancy entry; it is transcribed as printed and refers to the Cleanup Phase.
Variants
Elimination: During setup, each player sets their victory tracker to 8. This represents the player's health. When a minion scores against this player, the defending player's health is reduced by 1. The attacker does not gain victory points. When a player's health is reduced to 0, that player is eliminated from the game. The last surviving player wins.
Modular Game: Hi Kickstarter backers! The success of this variant depends on you. If we unlock enough new units by hitting stretch goals, we can create a modular game, where the available units are randomized each game (like Dominion). Unit cards will be randomized and only a select number will be used each time you play. Each new game will be different! (Consider this unlocked at $120,000).