Fantastate

Fantastate Rulebook

Table of Contents

Basic Rules (common for all game versions)
Action Version (3 – 6 players, 60 – 90 mins)
Cooperative Version (2 – 6 players, 60 – 90 mins)
Deathmatch (2 – 6 players, 50 – 70 mins.)
Teamplay Version (the Action game version for more players) (6 – 12 players, 60 – 90 mins.)
Spells for the Action Version
Spells for the Deathmatch Version
Spells for the Cooperative Version

Basic Rules (common for all game versions)

Game Preparation

Each player chooses a Hero (one of the big cards with a Sheep picture on its back). He then puts this card in front of him and takes the Pawn in the responding color. After this you need to remove some of the 54 Location cards (these have the dark forest picture on the back) according to the chosen version of the Game, to get down to 49 cards. Mix the remaining cards and lay them out to a 7x7 rectangular grid. Put the cards face-up, so the dark forest pictures will be hidden. Choose the language for the game and according to this take the corresponding Letter tiles and put them letter-side down next to the Board. Also separately pile up the golden Money counters and orange Victory point counters. Finally create four stacks of the four types of cards with the arrows: a Slingshot card represents a Weapon, a Snail card represents a Vehicle, a Rabbit card represents a Friend and a Magic Wand card represents Spells. Now your playing area is ready and you can begin playing. Put the player Pawns on any of the outermost Location cards.

Explanation of the Basic Game Strategy

The base Strategy that can be applied in all Versions of the game is a successful creation of Weapons, Vehicles, getting Friends and Spells. Without Weapons and Friends you cannot fight the Beasts or search for Treasures. Without Vehicles you will be moving only slowly and without Spells you will not be able to help or harm other players (depending on the Version you chose).

A Weapon or a Vehicle can only be created when your Hero is standing on a blue Factory card, whereas a Friend can be obtained only in a brown Tavern. Single-use Spells can be bought on a purple Wizard card and the permanent Spells will be available for production only after you increase your Spellcasting abilities level.

The main differences between the Versions of the game in particular are their different Goals and also the ways of creating Weapons, Vehicles or getting Friends. Now let us introduce the Hero cards, whose Attributes are the same for every Version of the game.

Heroes

Every Hero has 4 Attributes on his card: Strength (the Slingshot symbol), Intelligence (IQ), Speed (the Snail symbol) and Spellcasting abilities (the Magic Wand symbol). The Attributes of your Heroes begin at Level zero, but you can improve them during the game. The IQ or Speed Attributes already have some value on the initial Level. With each new Level the Attribute values can be raised. Every time you get a Victory point (an Orange counter), you choose an Attribute and put the counter next to the Hero card to the side that the improved Attribute's arrow shows to. BEWARE! Every Attribute can be improved only up to the third Level. With the Strength, Speed and Spellcasting abilities you get the first Level for one counter, the second Level for another two counters and the third and last Level for another three counters. Therefore if you want to have a Level 3 Strength, you need to have 6 Orange counters on the Strength side of your Hero card. Only the IQ Attribute is an exception. Every IQ Level costs only one counter. The motivation behind advancing in Attribute levels is the same for every Version of the game. The points that you use for improving your Hero also count as Victory points. We will now explain each of the Attributes:

Strength – your Hero needs it for Fights with Monsters and for picking up Treasures. Every gained Level increases the Strength by one. Each player begins with Strength 0. The maximum Strength you can have at any time is 3 on the third Level. BEWARE! The Strength Attribute is only a bonus! The player adds the Strength of his Hero to his Weapon or to the Weapon of his Friend. The Strength cannot be used on her own!
IQ – determines the maximum number of Letters that the player may freely have in his own supply. The Letters that are already used are not counted into this limit. The initial Letter limit for a Hero is 4. With every achieved Level the Letter limit is increased by one. The Letter tiles are put with their letter side up to the IQ side of your Hero card (where the IQ arrow is pointing) so that everyone knows how many and which Letters you have and if you can get additional ones.
Speed – determines how many Locations can be moved through with your Hero (Pawn) in each Turn. Your Hero starts with a Speed of one, which means that on his Turn you can move only to an adjacent Location card. For each Level the amount of possible travelled Location cards increases by one. The Heroes move only vertically or horizontally, but never diagonally.
Spellcasting abilities – a player can cast Spells whose Strength differs according to the achieved Level. The Spells make a Hero's life easier, or they can make the life of others more difficult. Applicable Spells which can be used during the game are different with each Version of the game.

Locations

Now we will discuss the Location cards which you can encounter during the game. The description will not be exhaustive, because some of the Location features change according to the used Version of the game. Symbols on the Location cards have either a dark or a light background. The light background means what you get, the dark background means what you pay for it. Against the dark background you will usually find a Strength symbol – the Slingshot, or a Letter symbol – the Book. Against the light background you will generally find an orange circle – the symbol of a Victory point or the symbol of Money.

The green Landscape card with trees – the player standing on this card adds one Letter to his supply – he takes a random Letter tile and puts it the Letter face up to the IQ side of his Hero card.
The green Landscape card with a sheep – the player standing here adds two Letters.
The green Landscape card with magic flowers – the player adds enough Letters to fill up the IQ capacity of his Hero.
The yellow Treasure card – the player can get a Treasure here. The Strength needed for acquiring the Treasure is printed in the upper part of the Location card. For acquiring the Treasure the player gets one Victory point and a given number of Money (see the symbols in the lower-right corner of the card). After acquiring the Treasure the Location card is flipped face-down to show its back (the picture of the dark forest).
The violet Monster card – the player gets one Victory point for killing the Monster. The Strength of the Monster is printed in the lower-left corner. After killing the Monster the Location card is flipped face-down to show its back (the picture of the dark forest). The player may also enter this card and choose not to fight the Monster.
The blue Factory card – the player may have a Weapon or a Vehicle created here.
The brown Tavern card – the player can hire a Friend here.
The orange Castle card – the player pays a given amount of Money (printed in the lower-left corner of the Location card) and gains one Victory point. After paying the amount the Location card is flipped face-down to show its back (the picture of the dark forest).
The purple Wizard card – the player can get single-use Spells here.
Back sides of Location cards – dark blue with a dark forest – the player standing on this card can add one Letter.

BEWARE! The player can always add Letters only up to his Hero's IQ capacity.

A Game Turn

Every game is divided into Turns in which the players continuously alternate. Each Version of the game begins with the players putting their Pawns on outermost Location cards. There can be more Heroes standing on a single Location. The beginning player is the one who most recently has met a live sheep. If there is not such a player (what a shame!), the beginning player is the one closest to the owner of the game.

Players alternate in acting during a Turn. A player may (but does not need to) move his Hero on his turn. The Heroes move only vertically or horizontally (they cannot move diagonally) and at the beginning only by one card (to the adjacent one). The players begin on the Level zero with the Speed value of 1. Each acquired Level of the "Speed" Attribute gives the player the possibility to move to an additional card per Turn. For instance if a player already has a Level 1 Speed, the Speed value is 2 and he moves two cards per turn. If the player additionally has a Vehicle, he can use it and add its Strength to the value of his "Speed" Attribute. The Vehicle on the other hand is exhausted after its use (see below). The player has the opportunity to use the effect of the Location card on which he ended his movement. Every time the player wants to stay where he is and not move, he can also use the effect of the card on which he stands. BEWARE! The players have not use their Turn simply for thinking. The player should think about his next action during the time the other players take their action. If a player wants to muse a bit, he has around 10 seconds. After that he must do an action. If he does not, his Turn is over and the next player takes his Turn.

It was already mentioned the Versions of the game differ in the creation of Weapons, Vehicles or acquiring a Friend. The thing that is common for all Versions is their usage! Read these rules again when you will be reading the rules for a specific Version of the game.

Using a Weapon and a Friend – A Fight

A Fight with a Monster or the acquisition of a Treasure can only happen if a player has a Weapon or a Friend, regardless of his Hero's Strength, because this one will only be added to the Strength of the Weapon/Friend. The player can fight the Monster only if he stands on the Location card with that Monster. This rule also applies to Treasures. A Fight with another player is prohibited.

If a player has both a Weapon and a Friend, he has to decide if he uses both cards for the Fight.
He then announces the names of the cards (Weapon, Friend) to the other players.
He rolls a die. He adds together the Strength of the Weapon and the Strength of the Friend (if he uses both for the Fight). The Strength is given as the number of Letters under the cards, which also denote their names (see below). The player then adds the Strength of his Hero and the die roll. If the result is equal or higher than the number depicting the Strength of the Monster or Treasure, the player has won. If he fought a Monster, he defeated it and got a Victory point. The Monster card is turned the dark forest side up. If he was acquiring a Treasure, he got a Victory point and the amount of Money shown in the lower-right corner of the Treasure card.
If the player lost, his only recourse is the wear of his Weapon or a fatigue of his Friend (see below).

Using a Vehicle

The Strength of the Vehicle (the number of Letters under the card) denotes the value, which the player can add to the "Speed" Attribute of his Hero during movement. This sum of the Vehicle Strength and the Speed Attribute of his Hero indicates the number of Location cards the Hero can move to during his Turn. If you use the rule which states that Location cards can be jumped over, a jump over any number of adjacent tiles in one direction is counted as a movement to one card. Each usage of a Vehicle causes its exhaustion (see below).

Equipment/Vehicle Exhaustion, Friend Fatigue

Every time you acquire an Object or a Friend, turn its card so that its topmost symbol will be the one with the darkest background. This is how a Friend or an Object looks like in its best condition. After each use, whether successful or not, an Equipment is exhausted and a Friend is fatigued. If the player uses the Vehicle to move faster, or if he uses a Weapon or a Friend in a Fight, he must indicate the exhaustion on the relevant card. He rotates the relevant card by 90 degrees according to the arrow in its center. Thus a symbol depicting some sort of wear and tear gets to the top. When the card is rotated three times, it can only be used only once. When it is used for the fourth time, the card together with the Letters under it is turned back in (and the player loses it). If the player buys these cards from his team-mates, they are transferred with their actual fatigue/wear.

Action Version (3 – 6 players, 60 – 90 mins)

Game Description

The Fantastate country is roamed by adventurers who seek to become the best. They slay Monsters, get Treasures and buy Castles. They also advance in their Abilities to be able to face even greater dangers. For each acquired Treasure, bought Castle or slain Monster they get a Victory point. Prepare for a unique involvement of your imagination. For she opens the gates to the fairy-tale realm of Fantastate. The goal is to be the first player to get the given amount of Victory points.

You need to collect Letters and gain Money, so that you can have a Weapon manufactured in the Factory, or can hire a Friend in the Tavern. With a Weapon or a Friend (or with both) you then venture into seeking Treasures and Monsters to get more Victory points and Money.

Once you have enough Money you can use them to get better Weapons or Friends, or to buy Castles and thus get even more Victory points. And you can use Spells to make the life of your opponents more difficult.

Preparation (only changes from the Basic rules)

From the Location cards remove: the violet Dragon Monster card with the Power of 10, the Devil Monster card with the Power of 9, both Treasures with a picture of a Chest and one Landscape card with trees. Every player starts with 5 Money and 1 Letter, which he draws randomly from the Letter pile.

The Goal and the End of the Game

Set an amount of Victory points needed for the win. The more Points you choose, the longer time the game take. We recommend seven Points, which means the game will last around 60 – 90 minutes (depending on the number of players). The game ends at the time a player collects the given amount of Victory points. This player then becomes the winner of the game. Other players count up their Points and Money. According to the totals they can determine the next final order.

If all Points are given out to the players (the Orange counters) and the game still has no winner, everyone loses (no one is the True Hero, unfortunately).

A Game Turn

A Game Turn follows the same guidelines as a Turn in the Basic rules. Players keep alternating their Turns with their Hero.

Locations on the Game Board (only changes from the Basic rules)

All Location cards are accessible. After a player ends his movement on one, he may or may not use its Special effect.

All green Landscape cards including the dark green with the dark forest – If a player does not want to end on this tile, he can jump over it. If more Landscape cards are adjacent to each other, the player can jump over all of them and land on the next Location card. This jump is considered as a movement to an adjacent card. HINT: When you are acquainted with the game already, this rule can be left out and then you can move through the Landscape cards as through any other Location card. This way offers the possibility of more Vehicles in the game.
If you have a full complement of Letters, you can take new Letters from the Landscape cards and exchange them for those in your Inventory.
To acquire a Treasure you need Letters besides the Strength. The exact acquirement of a Treasure is explained later in the rules.

Making a Weapon, a Vehicle or Getting a Friend in Steps

You entered the Factory with an idea for a new Weapon and you try to describe it to the local craftsmen. Or you sit at a table in the Tavern and explain to the staff what a Friend should look like and if they have seen one, by the way...

To be able to make a Weapon or a Vehicle, you need to be standing on a Factory card. To be able to get a Friend, you need to be standing on the Tavern card. Choose how many Letters you use for the fabrication/acquisition and accordingly pay the amount of Money given on the card. Each used Letter means a +1 bonus to the Strength/Speed of the Object. If for instance you use 3 Letters, the Weapon or the Friend will have a Strength of 3. Take the appropriate Weapon, Friend or Vehicle card and put the chosen Letters under it. Rotate the card so that the symbol on the card in the darkest background aim at the top.
Roll the Action die. It determines the way in which you describe to the other player what you want to get. (A word description, a pantomime or a drawing.)
The Letters in this game always mean the starting letters of the words! Make up a word for each Letter. Each Object or Friend is always made up of a noun. If the name is composed of more than one word, the last word is always a noun, while the previous words are all adjectives. Sort the Letters under the card by the order of your made-up words. A Friend must always be something living (it can be anything from a bacteria to a soap opera star). A Weapon is any non-living Object. A Vehicle is anything that moves, whether living or non-living. It depends only on your imagination. You can write the words down on a piece of paper, for inspection. If you trust each other, you do not need to write the words down at all.
If you think for more than 10 seconds, or until a player rolls 2 sixes on a die, you need to wait until the next Turn. In the meanwhile hopefully you will come up with something (if not, you can wait even longer…).
Offer some Money to other players for help (they are now portraying the craftsmen in the Factory). You can also motivate them to cooperate via a Spell.
Now choose a type of game which you find more interesting. The basic one is described in step 7, the alternative (for demanding players) in step 8.
The "At least someone" type: Describe the made-up words (your Weapon, Vehicle or Friend) to the other players in a way that the Action die has chosen for you. You can describe the individual words, or the whole name at once, but you may not reveal in which order you tell them. During the description you may not use the word root of your words. During the pantomime you may not point at something specific. The other players are trying to guess your words. They can tell you their choices, but you may not reveal if they are correct or not until one of the players spells all words of your Weapon or Friend. Once a player gets all of your made-up words correctly, you were successful in making your Weapon, your Vehicle or in acquiring your Friend. You must pay the promised reward to the first player guessing you right. This player is also imune against bad effect of spells. If there are more players in the first place, you can divide the reward among them as you see fit.

BEWARE! If there is a player who refuses to cooperate or is not interested in the reward (or even does not fear possible bad spells), he can try to sabotage your work. Once you start describing your words, he starts throwing a die. He rolls until he gets 2 sixes (in case of a verbal description), 3 sixes (in case of a pantomime), or 4 sixes (in case of a drawing). For the roll to be valid the die has to turn completely at least twice. The player then cannot take it for another roll until it stops. Every rolled six must be announced loudly. Once the given amount of sixes is rolled on a die, the sabotaging player may stop the creation of the Weapon, Vehicle or acquisition of a Friend and if the other players have not guessed the words correctly yet, the action was not successful. The acting player loses the Letters and Money invested into the work. In this case he also does not pay the promised reward. You can raise or lower the sixes limit to get an easier or harder game. If playing with smaller children, we recommend you to raise it.

A HINT for experienced players. Creating a Weapon, a Vehicle, or getting a friend under the "At least someone" game type is easier and thus it is easier to acquire Treasures or kill Monsters. If you wish to make the game a bit more challenging, you can rule that to get a Treasure or to kill a Monster the players need to roll higher than its Strength, not equal and higher.

The "Someone yes, someone not" type: Describe your made-up words to the players in the way determined by the Action die (verbal description, pantomime or drawing). You can describe them one-by-one or all together at once. The other players try to guess what you are telling them, but they do not speak aloud, instead they keep everything for themselves. Every word – pictured by a Letter – which at least one of the players guesses correctly, but also one of the others does not, is applied. Stop your presentation at a right time so that not everyone knows everything! You can ask the players if they sense something. Once you say Stop, they need to write down what they think you are telling them. In case you trust the players, they need not write it down, everyone just honestly tells what he thought. Each word guessed correctly (the first Letter of the word) means a +1 bonus to the ability of the Object, i.e. Strength (with a Weapon or a Friend) or Speed (with a Vehicle). The Letters from the unguessed words are put back to the common Letter pile. Guessed Letters are kept under the Object card and they mark the Strength/Speed of it. An Object can be used even if not all of its words (bought Letters) were guessed correctly – it just has a lesser Strength/Speed.

ATTENTION! The Letters marking the Strength of a Weapon, a Friend or the Speed of a Vehicle are not counted towards the IQ Letter limit of your Hero. You should be able to remember what Object the Letters under its card represent. Every time you wish to use an Object, you need to announce to the other players what exactly you are using – e.g. that Weapon you just created. If you cannot remember the name, you cannot use the Object.

ATTENTION! A player can have only one Weapon, one Vehicle and one Friend at a given time. If he wants a stronger Weapon, a faster Vehicle or a better Friend, he needs to get rid of the existing one (he returns the Letters back to the Letter pile), or he can try to sell it to one of the other players. While selling it is not necessary that the Pawns are standing on adjacent spaces. A player who buys an Object, puts its card and Letters next to his Hero card in such a way that the wear and tear from the previous player is retained. The new owner can use the Object immediately.

Using a Weapon and a Friend – A Fight, Using a Vehicle

Weapons, Vehicles and Friends are used and exhausted as described in the Basic rules.

Acquiring a Treasure

The first Requirement for acquiring a Treasure is winning a Fight – overcoming the Strength of the Treasure. A reminder for you – your Hero can never fight alone, he has to have at least a Friend or a Weapon. If you overcome the Strength of the Treasure you can acquire it. For the acquisition to be successful you will need Letters from your personal supply in an amount given on the Book symbol, which can be found against the dark background in the upper-left corner of the card.

Take the given number of Letters from your supply. These Letters constitute the beginning Letters of the words – your "trick" – used for getting the Treasure. Make up your trick – a heroic deed, with which you can get the treasure, but do not reveal it to other players. BEWARE! The trick needs to include a verb in infinitive. It should be an answer to the question "What will you do to get the Treasure?"
Choose a reward for the help from other players, as they have to guess your "trick" correctly. Their motivation for help could also be increased with a Spell. Of course the other players can refuse to help and leave their brains cold.
Roll an Action die that shows you the way in which you will describe your heroic deed to them.
If you think for more than 10 seconds or if a player rolls 2 sixes, you need to wait for your next Turn. Until then you can surely come up with something (if not, you can wait even longer...).
Describe the trick to the other players in the determined way. During a verbal description you cannot use the word root of your "trick" and during a pantomime you cannot point at something.

BEWARE! If there is a player who refuses to cooperate or is not interested in the reward (or even does not fear possible bad spells), he can try to sabotage your work. Once again he can roll a die as during the Weapon making process. He can start rolling once you start describing. He rolls until he gets 2 sixes (in case of a verbal description), 3 sixes (in case of a pantomime), or 4 sixes (in case of a drawing). Each six has to be announced loudly. Once the given amount of sixes is rolled on a die, the sabotaging player may stop the creation of the Weapon, Vehicle or acquisition of a Friend and if the other players have not guessed the words correctly, the action was not successful. The acting player loses his Letters. In this case the reward is not paid out.

The player who guesses your trick as the first one gets the reward and no bad "production" Spell can be applied to him.
If at least one player has cooperated and guessed the trick right, you get the Treasure. You also get one Victory point and the amount of Money printed on the Treasure card (against the light background). Then the Treasure card is flipped the dark forest side up and that Treasure cannot be acquired again.

Casting Spells Based on the "Spellcasting Abilities" Attribute of Your Hero

If you wish to cast Spells, you need to raise the Spellcasting abilities of your Hero. If you raise it to at least the Level of one, you can take a Spell card (with a Magic wand). Put the card in front of you; it will stay there until the end of the game. You need to name your Spell before its use. Take two Letters from your supply and put them under the Spell card. They depict the starting Letters of the words that name the Spell, which have to mean something intangible. Once you name the Spell, you can use it. The name of the Spell need not be changed for the rest of the game. You can cast Spells of the level of your Spellcasting abilities or lower. Every time you use the Spell, you need to say it's name aloud. If you cannot remember it, you cannot use it. Each Spell must be re-charged after use (see below).

Gaining levels in your Spellcasting abilities also raises the power of your Spells, but you do not gain new cards. Each player may own only one Spell card.

If you have a new unused Spell, have its card rotated so that the symbol against the darkest background aim at the top. After a Spell use rotate the Spell card to the right by 90° according to the arrow, so that the top symbol is against the lightest background (yes, you did it correctly!). Now in every Turn of yours you can rotate the Spell card right by 90° according to the arrow. Gradually the Magic wand symbol will be getting darker and darker. Once you rotate the card so that the top Magic wand symbol will be against the darkest Background, your Spell is re-charged and ready for use (thus re-charging your Spell takes 3 Turns). If you forget to re-charge your Spell in your Turn, you have to wait for your next turn, the re-charging process simply takes longer.

You can buy the following Spells from the Spell table: The Level 1 Production Spell will be free of charge, the Level 1 Sabotage Spell will cost 1 coin and a Level 2 Production Spell will cost 2 coins. Once you buy the Spell, take its face-up card – it is the one with the big Magic wand on the front side. Put two Letters from your supply under it and come up with two words, which mean something intangible. Use these Words to name the Spell. When you want to use the Spell, you need to speak its name. BEWARE! You can have only one Spell at any one time.

Hints to the Action Version of the Game

You can further modify the game by adding the Dragon or Devil Monsters, or the stronger Treasures with the Chest picture replacing other cards. But you must always remove 5 cards. The stronger the Monsters or Treasures are in the game, the longer and more thrilling the game will be.
The game ends when a player acquires the given amount of Victory points. Additionally at the end of the game you can buy Points for Money. One Victory point costs 5 Money. These bought Points can thus change the final odds. When two or more players have the same amount of Points, Money is the tie-breaker.
Further tips and hints can be found on www.jirasgames.com.
The ethics of this game requires that the names of Weapons, Friends or Vehicles do not repeat. Come up with new stuff every time!

ATTENTION! The list of spells which you can use in this game version is at the separate "Spell" page.

Casting Based on a Spell Bought from the Wizard

The Spell on the Wizard card can only be bought by players who do not yet have any Spellcasting abilities Level. This Spell can only be used once however.

Cooperative Version (2 – 6 players, 60 – 90 mins)

Game Description

Your beloved Fantastate is being terrorized by evil Monsters from the Realm of Fantasy. There are no greater Heroes than you. You have to help! Face the Monsters and defeat them before the whole land is destroyed! Because this task is too hard for one man, you should all cooperate and help each other as much as possible!

Your goal is to create Weapons and hire Friends with which you can defeat the evil Monsters. Sometimes a fast Vehicle comes handy or perhaps you can help a team-mate with a Spell. But you will definitely need to improve your skills to be able to face the greatest enemies.

Preparation (only changes from the basic rules)

From the Location cards remove the Dragon Monster card with Strength 10 and the Devil Monster card with Strength 9, then a Treasure card with a Chest picture with Strength 9, one Landscape card with trees and one blue Factory card. Each player starts with 5 Money and 1 Letter, which he randomly draws from the Letter pile.

Goal of the Game

Eliminate all evil Monsters in Fantastate. If you can do it faster than the game ends, you are all victorious. If the game ends before the Monsters are defeated, you all lose.

A Game Turn

The rules for a Game Turn are similar to the Basic rules. Players alternate in taking Turns with their Heroes.

Removing Location Cards – End of the Game

Each fourth Player Turn a Location card is removed. You cannot remove a Monster card however, nor a card with a dark forest. To know who has to remove the next card, take the "card" card with the exclamation mark. The starting player (and after him each player who gets the card) needs to count four Turns ahead and once he removed a Location card, he puts the card with the exclamation mark to the counted player's Hero card.

Thus the next player to remove a Location card is determined and he has to remember to do it. If a player forgets to remove a Location card, he has to pay two coins. For every forgotten removal a card still needs to be removed. If you forget to remove a Location card two times in a row, you all lose.

After a Location card removal a vacant place is created, which a Hero cannot cross. Therefore remove the cards carefully so that you have access to all Monsters. Once only the cards with the dark forest and the Monsters are in game, you all lose.

Game Board Locations (only changes from the Basic rules)

All Locations have the same functions as in the Basic rules. Please remember that once you acquire a Treasure, kill a Monster or buy a Castle, you need to turn the corresponding Location card back-side up (the side with the dark forest).

Making a Weapon, a Vehicle or Getting a Friend in Steps

The Fantastate is in ruins, Factories are all messed up and chaos reigns in Taverns. Therefore you need help from your friends – the other Heroes – if you wish to make a Weapon or get a new Friend. But to be able to help you they first need to understand what you are searching for.

To be able to make a Weapon or a Vehicle, you need to stand on a Factory card. To be able to find a Friend, you need to stand on a Tavern card. Choose how many Letters you will use for the construction and accordingly pay the amount of Money printed on the card. Each used Letter means a +1 bonus to the Strength of the Object. For instance if you use 3 Letters, the Weapon or Friend will have a Strength of 3. Take the relevant Weapon, Friend or Vehicle card and put the chosen Letters under it in the correct order. Rotate the card so that its topmost symbol will be the one with the darkest background.
Letters in this game mean the starting Letters of the words! Come up with a word for every Letter. Each Object or Friend is always made up of adjectives and a noun. A Friend must always be something living (it can be anything from a bacteria to a soap opera star). A Weapon is any non-living Object. A Vehicle is anything that moves, whether living or non-living. Use your imagination. You can write the words down to a paper for inspection. But in any case do not tell them to the other players. If you think for more than 10 seconds (and I bet you will :-)), let the others play in-between.
Once you pay for the production or for the acquisition of a Friend, take the corresponding card and put the Letters under it, you can leave the Factory or the Tavern and roam the surroundings with the yet unfinished Weapon or Vehicle, or the yet immaterial Friend.
To finish the creation/acquisition properly you need the other players to guess the Weapon, Vehicle or Friend correctly. They need to guess your made-up words. But the only thing they know are the beginning Letters that you chose. Without your help they will probably not succeed.
You can give them advice in the following way: Whenever it is your Turn, you can take one or more Letters from your supply and make up a word for each of them – a helper – so that each word starts on one of the new Letters and at the same time it describes a word you came up with for the Weapon, Vehicle or Friend. Put the new Letter under the original Letter (meaning the part of the name) which belongs to the Weapon or Friend the players are guessing. Now you can tell the new word – the helper - to the other players. BEWARE! The helper may not contain the word root of the word it relates to. You can put as many Letters – helpers – as you wish to one word.

Example: I put two Letters to a new Weapon – G and S. The name will be Golden Scissors. These words I cannot tell to others. But I can support their guessing with helpers. In my supply I have the Letters N and C. Under the G Letter I put the Letter N and tell them it means Nugget. Then under the S Letter I put the Letter C and tell them it means Cut.

If the players think they know the name of the Weapon, Vehicle or Friend thanks to your helpers, they can try to guess it right. They guess a single word at a time. BEWARE! For each guessed word, whether correct or wrong, the players pay one coin. If they get at least one word right, put the corresponding Letter of the original name above the card. Once they have the whole name correctly, you can start using the new Weapon, Vehicle or Friend.
BEWARE! The Letters used for the Weapon, Vehicle or Friend as well as the Letters used for helpers are not counted towards the IQ Letter Limit of your Hero.
BEWARE! You may not comment on the words that make up the name of your Weapon, Vehicle or Friend. The only way you can help the other players are the helpers. Also you cannot comment on your helpers anymore, nor tell them which helper is more important etc.

Each player may have only one Weapon, one Vehicle and one Friend at a given time. If you want a stronger Weapon, a faster Vehicle or a better Friend, you need to get rid of the existing one (discard it and return its Letters back to the Letter pile). Selling an Object or a Friend in this Version is not permitted.

Using a Weapon and a Friend – A Fight (only changes from the Basic rules)

A Fight with a Monster follows the same guidelines as in the Basic rules. The only difference is that if the Monster wins, an Orange counter is put on its card and the Monster will have its Strength increased by 1. In this way the Strength of the Monster can be raised at most by two points. If it would be still winning, no further increase in its Strength is possible. Once you kill the Monster, remove any Orange counters from the card and flip it the dark forest side up. You always get one Victory point for a slain Monster.

Using a Vehicle

A Vehicle is used the same as in the Basic rules of the game.

Equipment/Vehicle Exhaustion, Friend Fatigue

Weapons, Vehicles and Friends are worn or exhausted in the same way as in the Basic rules of the game.

Casting Spells Based on the "Spellcasting Abilities" Attribute of Your Hero

Casting a Spell is basically the same as in the Action Version of the game. But you have only Production Spells to choose from. The main difference is in the re-charge speed of these Spells, as they re-charge only for two Turns. Once you raise your Spellcasting abilities Level, you can start using them.

A new Spell is rotated so that the Magic wand symbol at the top of card is against the darkest background. After you use the Spell, rotate the card by 180° according to the arrow in the middle of the card, so that you will have the Magic wand against the second lightest background. In the next Turn your Spell will be re-charging, therefore you need to rotate it 90° according to the arrow; in yet the next Turn you rotate the card back to the Magic wand being against the darkest background. Then you can use the Spell again. BEWARE! If you forget to re-charge the Spell in your Turn, you cannot do it retroactively. Forgetting never pays off!

Rules for Managing the Letters and Money

Once you have a full Letter capacity, which is determined by your Hero's IQ, you cannot get any more Letters from Landscape cards. You can get rid of Letters from your supply only by using them as helpers, or by selling or bartering them with another player, once you both stand on the same Location. The current amount of Letters in a Hero's supply may never exceed his IQ limit. The last way to get rid of Letters is to discard the whole IQ Letter supply back to the Letter pile. We advise you to put the used Letters aside. Once you deplete the Letter pile, make a new one from the used Letters – turn them the back-side up and mix them.

Money between players can also be transferred only if they meet on a Location card. You can make both a transfer of Letters as well as a transfer of Money in one Turn.

ATTENTION! The list of spells which you can use in this game version is at the separate "Spell" page.

Acquiring a Treasure

To acquire a Treasure in this Version you do not need any Letters. You only need to overcome the Strength of the Treasure – the same procedure which is used in a Monster Fight in the Basic rules of the game.

Creating Spells at a Wizard's

A Wizard can offer you only one Spell: lowering the Strength of a Monster by 1. Production of a Spell at a Wizard's in this Version of the game is the same as the production of a Weapon or the acquisition of a Friend with the difference that you need to move to the purple Wizard card. In this Version of the game you can have two Spells. One of them is based on your Spellcasting abilities, the other one you get from a Wizard.

For a Wizard Spell you need two Letters. You shall make up two words for them, which can mean anything. The next course of action is the same as with the Weapon production in this Version. BEWARE! The created Spell is only a one-time solution, lasting only during one player's Turn! You can cast it also during a Turn of your team-mate and thus help him in a Fight. Put the Spell card from the Wizard's Spell with the main Magic Wand side up, so that you can differentiate it from the re-chargeable Spell.

Hints for the Cooperative Version of the Game (alternative rules for experienced players)

State that no names of Weapons, Friends or Vehicles can be reused. Come up with new stuff every time!
If you want to make the guessing even more challenging, create a group of words that cannot be used in the names (for instance colors or 20th century terms etc.).
Disallow longer thinking. Each player has 15 seconds for his Turn. If the next player gives an indication he wants his Turn, the acting player must end his own one.
If you keep winning the game regularly, do not forget that you can make it harder by adding the stronger Monster cards – the Dragon and the Devil – by replacing other cards, for instance one Wizard and one Treasure.

Deathmatch (2 – 6 players, 50 – 70 mins.)

Game Description

Fantastate is a small country and too many Heroes are unbecoming. Only one newspaper is being published here and the front page can only hold one of you. Defeat other Heroes in a fight for the eternal glory!

Therefore your goal is to create Weapons and hire Friends with which you can gain the most Victory points. In this game no one is your friend. The more you can harm the other players, the better!

Preparation (only changes from the Basic rules)

From the Location cards remove the Dragon Monster card with Strength 10 and the Devil Monster card with Strength 9, then a Treasure with a Chest picture and both purple Wizard cards. Each player starts with 5 Money and 1 Letter, which he randomly draws from the Letter pile.

The Goal and the End of the Game

Choose a number of Victory points needed for a win. The more Victory points you choose, the longer the game will be. We recommend seven Points, which means around 50 minutes of play. For each additional Point that you add over the basic eight, add around 10 minutes. The game ends when a player acquires the given amount of Victory points. This player is the winner of the game. Other players count up their Points and according to the totals they can determine the next final order.

A Game Turn

A Turn follows the same guidelines as in the Basic rules. Players alternate in taking Turns with their Heroes.

Game Board Locations (only changes from the Basic rules)

All Location cards are accessible and once a player ends his movement on one, he may or may not use its effects.

All green Landscape cards including the dark green one with a dark forest – If you have a full Letter capacity, you can get new Letters on these cards and exchange them for the Letters in your supply. For each gained Letter you have to discard one from your supply.

Making a Weapon, a Vehicle or Getting a Friend in Steps

You entered a Factory with an idea for a new Weapon or a Vehicle. They can make you what you desire, but only if no one else has patented it already. Once someone discovers a patent matching the Weapon or Vehicle, you must discard it. Or you entered a Tavern and would like to hire a Friend, but it all depends on the question if the "Friend" is not already bound by a contract with another employer. You can use the Friend until the moment his employer calls upon him.

Choose how many Letters you will use for the construction and accordingly pay the amount of Money printed on the Factory or Tavern card. Each used Letter means a +1 bonus to the Strength of the Object. For instance if you use 3 Letters, the Weapon or Friend will have a Strength of 3. Take the relevant Weapon, Friend or Vehicle card and put the chosen Letters under it. Rotate the card so that its topmost symbol will be the one against the darkest background.
BEWARE! The Letters in this Version of the game do not mean the initial Letters of the words, as it is stated in other Versions, but only the initial Letters of one word! BEWARE! You need to put the Letters together under your Weapon, Vehicle or Friend in the correct order of their appearance in the word.
Make up a word for the used Letters. In case of a Weapon it can be anything non-living. In case of a Friend it must be anything living (an animal, a plant, a celebrity, a fairy tale creature…) and in case of a Vehicle it must be something that moves, or is able to move. Create this word so that it is not too easy to guess! Write the word down secretly and do not tell it to others! BEWARE! The word choice has its restrictions. You can only use nouns in first case. In case there is a male as well as a female version of the word, they count as one. You cannot use a diminutive (except those which mean a specific thing). BEWARE! You need to come up with a word that the other players have a chance to guess. You cannot use specialized expressions, unknown or non-existent words. If you use such a word, there is a harsh punishment waiting for you!
If you think for more than 10 seconds or if a player rolls 2 sixes, you need to wait for your next Turn. Until then you can surely come up with something (if not, you can wait even longer...).
Even if you use any number of Letters (for instance to lower the cost), you always have to announce the first three Letters of your chosen word!
- If you for instance use one Letter, the Weapon or Friend will have a Strength of 1. But you have to announce the next two Letters of your chosen word for the Weapon or Friend. Example: I am creating a Weapon. I have an S Letter and I have come up with the word SLINGSHOT. Therefore I have to announce the Letters SLI to the other players.
- If you use two Letters, you also have to announce the third Letter to the others. You can use these two Letters also as the first and third one and leave the second as a gap. Then the first and the third Letter will be placed under the card. Example: I am creating a Weapon. I have the Letters S and I. I have come up with the word SLINGSHOT. I put the Letter S under the card, leave out a space and then put the I Letter next. I announce the Letters SLI to the other players.

A player may have only one Weapon, one Vehicle and one Friend at a given time. If he wants a stronger Weapon, a faster Vehicle or a better Friend, he needs to get rid of the existing one (he returns the Letters back to the Letter pile). Selling an Object or a Friend in this Version is not permitted. BEWARE! The Letters marking the Strength of a Weapon or a Friend or the Speed of a Vehicle are not counted towards the IQ Letter limit of your Hero.

Using a Weapon and a Friend – Fighting a Monster or Overcoming the Strength of the Treasure (only changes from the Basic rules)

The usage of a Weapon or a Friend in a Fight or the effort to overcome the Strength of a Treasure is basically the same as in the Basic rules. BEWARE! There is an added rule however! After each Weapon or Friend usage the other players have again the opportunity to "search in the database" – to guess its/his name, while they agree on one option (word). The acting player can set a limit for their consideration by rolling a die. Once he rolls a total of 30 or more, the other players must tell him their choice. If the acting player uses a Weapon and a Friend together, there is only one limit, but the other players can guess both the Weapon and the Friend. If the other players guess the name of the Weapon or the Friend right, they destroy it/him. The acting player must return the Weapon/Friend card back together with the used Letters! BEWARE! The Weapon or the Friend are exhausted normally according to the Basic rules.

A HINT for a HARD CORE game: If you wish to make the game even harder, introduce a rule where the other players can guess the name of the Weapon or the Friend before its use. Thus you might end up with something produced, but also destroyed before its first use…

Using a Vehicle

A Vehicle is used basically the same as is written in the Basic rules of the game. After its use there is an exception however – the same one as with using a Weapon. See the above rule.

Acquiring a Treasure

To acquire a Treasure in this Version you do not need any Letters. You only need to overcome the Strength of the Treasure, which is basically the same as a Monster Fight explained above.

Casting Spells Based on the "Spellcasting Abilities" Attribute of Your Hero

If you wish to cast a Spell, you need to raise your Spellcasting abilities to at least the Level 1. The Level determines how powerful your Spells can be. The Spell can be created anytime during your Turn and regardless of where you are currently standing. For the creation of a Spell you need two Letters. Put these two Letters under the Spell card the same as if you were creating a 2-Letter Weapon. You also need to reveal the third Letter to the other players. The Letters again form the starting Letters of a word. Nevertheless the Spell's name has to be a verb in infinitive, or it has to portray something insubstantial! The same language restrictions as with Weapons apply also here. During the creation process the other players can again try to guess the name of the Spell twice. If they guess it right, the creation of the Spell failed. When you use the Spell, the other players can try once more to guess its name and destroy it (there are some exceptions – see the Spell table at Spell page). They have one guess. Their time for the decision is again limited by your rolling of a die – once you get a total of 30 or more, they need to tell you their 2 options (during a Spell production) or 1 option (during the usage of a Spell).

You do not re-charge the Spell in this Version, instead you use it 4 times as a Weapon (or until the other players destroy it by finding out its name). Mark the usage by rotating the Spell card the same way as you would a Weapon card. Under this Version rotate the card against the direction of the arrow in its center. BEWARE! In a single Turn only one type of Effect can be cast and this has to be within your current or any lower Level (a Spell from one of the table cells). There is no Wizard Location card in this Version and the Spells can only be gained using your "Spellcasting abilities".

ATTENTION! The list of spells which you can use in this game version is at the separate "Spell" page.

Equipment/Vehicle Exhaustion, Friend Fatigue, Spell Dissipation

Weapons, Vehicles and Friends and in this Version also the Spells are worn, exhausted or dissipate the same as in the Basic rules of the game. There is a change after their destruction, when the owning player must reveal the name of the destroyed Object, Friend or Spell. If it is clear that the player used a word that nobody knew, the owning player must return everything he gained while using the Weapon, Friend, Vehicle or Spell! (The knowledge of the word is important, not the foreknowledge of its meaning!)

Hints for the Deathmatch Version of the Game (alternative rules for experienced players)

The search for the words can be made easier or more difficult by raising or lowering the limit which the acting player needs to roll on his die (the sum of 30). Thus you will have a longer or a shorter time for finding your word options.
You can also change the number of words the players can guess during the production. When making a Weapon etc. in which a more rare letter is used the other players may guess one word less during production. On the other hand if you have a frequent letter in your word, they can guess one word more. You have to define which letter you will consider as frequent and which letter as rare before you start the game.

Teamplay Version (the Action game version for more players) (6 – 12 players, 60 – 90 mins.)

Game Description

Creating new Weapons, finding true Friends, stocking up clothes, planning the route ahead, cooking. All this is simply beyond the average Hero's comprehension. Therefore each Hero has his own band which helps him with these tasks. He can then calmly concentrate on the main goal, which is fulfilling his heroic destiny.

Your goal is to create Weapons and hire Friends and with their help gain the most Victory points. In this game you will be helping your Hero in a band of faithful companions! Let your Hero be the most famed among the legendary!

Before the Start of the Game

Create teams of two players each. If you have an odd number of players, one of them will be a one-man team. Each team plays one Hero and his Pawn. Each team starts with 5 Money and 1 Letter, which he randomly draws from the Letter pile. The main difference in the Teamplay Version compared to the "Action Version" is the production of Weapons and Vehicles and the acquisition of Friends.

Preparation (only changes from the Basic rules)

From the Location cards remove the Dragon Monster card with Strength 10 and the Devil Monster card with Strength 9, then a Treasure with a Chicken picture with Strength 7, one Treasure card with a Crown picture and one Landscape card with trees.

The Goal and the End of the Game

Choose a number of Victory points needed for a win. The more Victory points you choose, the longer the game will last. We recommend seven Points, which means around 60-90 minutes of play. The game ends when a team acquires the given amount of Victory points. This team is the winner of the game. Other teams count up their Points and according to the totals they can determine the next final order.

A Game Turn

A Turn follows the same guidelines as in the Basic rules. Teams alternate in taking Turns with their Heroes.

HINT: If you wish to spice the game up a bit, play with the following movement rule: Each Hero starts with a Speed of 2 (Level 1). Thus he can move to two Location cards already. No true Hero reveals his movement in advance, therefore also the players in a team may not discuss the movement among themselves. Each player moves the Hero one space. Alternate the order in which you will be moving the Hero in consecutive Turns. In one Turn the first player starts the movement, whereas in the next Turn the second player starts. Once you raise the Speed Attribute of your Hero further, decide who will move how many spaces. Each of the players must move the Hero at least one space however.

All Location cards and all Hero Attributes, the Money usage, the role of the Letters, the Fights with Monsters and the exhaustion of Objects/Friends follows the same guidelines as outlined on the Action Version rules. The Teamplay rules differ only in the way the Weapons and Vehicles are constructed and the Friends are acquired.

Creation of a Weapon or a Vehicle or Acquisition of a Friend (only changes from the Action version)

Once you decide to create a Weapon, a Vehicle or acquire a Friend, one of the team-mates chooses the Letters and makes up words for them (the name of the Weapon etc.). BEWARE! These words cannot be told to the other team-mate.
The player who made up the words offers a reward to the other players for their correct guessing (for the help in creating an Object or acquiring a Friend), or he can stimulate their desire to cooperate by a Spell.
Then he chooses one of the teams to be the Breakers (from the "break" word). The Breaker team always needs to be a two-man team.
Then he describes the words in the determined way (this is done by the Action die) to the other players.
If his team-mate or one of the other players guesses the words correctly before the Breakers do, the Object is created or the Friend is acquired. If these words are guessed correctly by the Breakers first, the production has been sabotaged! You must always pay the promised reward to the first player guessing you right. Ideally your team-mate would be the one to receive it :). The production can also be thwarted by a player who will be rolling a die (see the rules for the Action Version) and rolls the given number of sixes before anyone guesses right!
Again a reminder – you cannot reveal if the words the other players are shooting at you are correct, until a player spells the whole name of the Weapon, Vehicle or Friend.

Acquiring a Treasure

First you need to overcome the Strength of the Treasure, which is basically the same as a Monster Fight (see the basic rules). Then you need to use the given number of Letters to get the Treasure. The next course of action is the same as with the acquisition of a Treasure under the Action Version of the game with the slight change outlined above under the creation of a Weapon (one of the team-mates makes up the words, the other players including the other team-mate guess them and the Breakers try to sabotage it all).

Casting Spells

Casting Spells follows the guidelines which can be found under the Action Version.

Spells for the Action Version

Based on the "spellcasting abilities" attribute of your Hero.

Production Spells – these are used only when you are making a Weapon, a Vehicle or acquiring a Friend. They positively or negatively motivate other players to participate. While casting both Effects apply (the good and the "bad" one). The bad Effect is not obligatory however.

Level 1: If someone guesses all your words correctly, he gets another bonus coin from the bank, or you can lower the wear of his Weapon or the exhaustion of his Friend by one.* Choose one of the players who guessed the least words during your manufacturing process or the acquisition of your Friend. By your option this player has to give a coin back to the bank, or you will raise the wear of his Weapon or the exhaustion of his Friend by one.*
Level 2: If someone guesses all your words correctly, he gets another two bonus coins from the bank, or you can lower the wear of his Weapon or the exhaustion of his Friend by two.* Choose one of the players who guessed the least words during your manufacturing process or the acquisition of your Friend. By your option this player has to give a two coins back to the bank, or you will raise the wear of his Weapon or the exhaustion of his Friend by two.*
Level 3: If someone guesses all your words correctly, he gets another three bonus coins from the bank, or you can lower the wear of his Weapon or the exhaustion of his Friend by three.* Choose one of the players who guessed the least words during your manufacturing process or the acquisition of your Friend. By your option this player has to give a three coins back to the bank, or you will raise the wear of his Weapon or the exhaustion of his Friend by three.*

Sabotage – these are used anytime during the game. They help you and detriment the other players.

Level 1: You can move a neighboring player by three cards OR you can raise the Strength of any one Treasure or any one Monster by one. This Strength can only be raised when one of the other players decides to fight it and then he cannot withdraw. But you need to state the usage of this Spell before the player rolls the die.
Level 2: You can turn a player into a sheep. The chosen player flips his Hero card to the side with the sheep picture.** He remains a sheep until he wins a fight. BEWARE! A player may cast a transformation Spell only once per game. Each player can also be transformed to a sheep only once per game. OR you can lower the Strength of a Monster or a Treasure by one for one Turn.
Level 3: You hire the Monster on which you are standing with your Hero AND you raise the wear and tear of another player's Weapon or Friend by three.* Take the Monster card. You can now use it in a Fight. Either the Monster will fight alone using its Strength, or you will fight with your Weapon and your Friend. After each such usage the Monster card returns to its original position.

You can always choose only one effect (where is OR).

* This bonus can only be used for a Weapon or a Friend, it cannot be divided amongst both of them. If the Object is already exhausted, it can be destroyed in this way.

** If the player is a sheep, his Speed Hero Attribute is temporarily reduced to one.

Spells for the Deathmatch Version

Based on the "spellcasting abilities" attribute of your Hero.

Production – these Spells are used when someone is creating or using something. BEWARE! After using a Spell in this way the other players may not destroy it by guessing its name.

Level 1: You may raise or lower the die throwing limit at any time (this is the time limiting the decision of the other players or your own) by 10.*
Level 2: You can guess one more word (when someone is producing or using something) and on top of that you can also raise or lower the die throwing limit (the time limiting the decision of other players or his own) by 15.*
Level 3: You can guess one more word (when someone is producing or using something) and on top of that you can also raise or lower the die throwing limit (the time limiting the decision of other players or his own) by 25.*

Fighting – if a Spell is aimed against a player, that player may guess the name before its use X (instead of after its use) and thus he can destroy the Spell before it harms him. The Spells that can be guessed only after their use are marked with an O.

Level 1: You can raise the Strength of any one Treasure or any one Monster by one.* This Strength can only be raised when one of the other players decides to fight it and then he cannot withdraw. But you need to state the usage of this Spell before the player rolls the die. X OR you move a chosen player's Pawn to one adjacent Location card. X
Level 2: You can turn a player into a sheep. The chosen player flips his Hero card to the side with the sheep picture.** He remains a sheep until he wins a fight. BEWARE! A player may cast such a transformation Spell only once per game. Each player can also be transformed to a sheep only once per game. X OR you raise the wear and tear of a Weapon or the exhaustion of a Friend by one. X OR you lower the Strength of a Monster or Treasure by one.* O
Level 3: You acquire a Monster on which you are standing with your Hero and at the same time you can raise the wear and tear of a Weapon or the exhaustion of a Friend of one of the other players by three O (if also the X wear and tear is raised). Take the Monster card. You can now use it in a Fight. Either the Monster will fight alone using its Strength, or you will fight with your Weapon and your Friend. After each fight the Monster card returns to its original position.

* This change lasts until the end of the player's Turn, in which the Spell was cast.

** If the player is a sheep, his Speed Hero Attribute is temporarily reduced to one.

Spells for the Cooperative Version

Based on the "spellcasting abilities" attribute of your Hero.

Production – BEWARE! These Spells recharge only for 2 Turns!

Level 1: A player may guess one word of another player's Weapon, Vehicle or Friend name for free.
Level 2: A player may guess two words of another player's Weapon, Vehicle or Friend name for free.
Level 3: A player may guess three words of another player's Weapon, Vehicle or Friend name for free.