Gravity Warfare
Gravity Warfare Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What's in the Game
- 1 two-sided balancing platform. This is where the game is played. Each side has 8 different zones for you to place the troops.
- 1 stand made up of two parts: the base and the rod. Follow the Assembly instructions to put these together with the cabin and platform.
- 1 cabin and screw with a magnet piece. These hold the platform, and provide the balancing point for the whole assembly.
- 36 troops (pieces) divided in 6 different colors. Each color set has:
- two Tanks, which are the heaviest;
- two Fighters, which are the lightest;
- two Ships, which are the widest. These are the pieces you will try to place on the platform. They are all stackable.
- 1 six-sided die, and 2 eight-sided dice. The 6-sided die tells you which troop you have to play. The 8-sided one tells you where on the platform to play it. Choose the 8-sided die that corresponds to that side of the platform.
- 2 chopsticks. You'll use these for a challenge when trying to place your troops on the platform.
- 48 colored gems, divided into four colors: 7 green (skip gems), 18 blue (1 point), 12 silver (3 points), and 11 gold (5 points).
- Challenge cards (Red energy). These you can use to make another player's turn harder to complete and keep them from playing their turn. If the active player does not successfully place their pieces on the platform with the challenges given, they take their active pieces back, and it's the next players' turn.
- Event cards (Green energy). These are modifiers that you can use to influence the state of the platform in some way. You (as the one giving it) perform the action of the event card, not the active player.
- Defense cards (Blue energy). These cards will help you survive the challenges that other players give you during your turn. These are the only cards that you can play during your turn.
- Wildcard, called Anti-matter. This card can transform into any card from the deck, except the Guardian.
- Hero cards. These give you a special ability, which you can use once per round. We'll go into more detail further along in the booklet.
- Several customizable blank cards. Set some house rules, write them down in these cards, and play your own, custom game!
Game Setup
Assembly
- Put together the stand by inserting the rod into the base, and then twisting it 90° clockwise.
- Attach the magnet to the cabin, then attach the cabin to the platform, lightly tighten the screw.
- Take the platform with the cabin and magnet and place it on the stand, making sure that the tip is inside the small concave zone of the rod.
- If you wish to play the other side of the platform, just unscrew the small plastic screw from the cabin, remove the cabin, flip the platform, insert the cabin and lightly retighten the screw.
- Balance the platform by shifting the magnet around the area of the plate and in the direction of the downward lean of the platform. Always shift toward the downward lean. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the balancing angle of the platform. (Does not have to be perfectly balanced).
- Make sure there are no other items near, above or below the platform that would prevent the free movement of the platform.
CAUTION: Ask for the help of an adult to attach or replace the magnet, this piece has a pointed tip and the magnet is very strong, it may pinch your fingers and may detach the magnet or the metal disc.
Setup (Battle Mode)
- After you have assembled the stand, the platform is very stable and self-balancing. As long as you treat the platform with care, it will never fall.
- Choose an army set. Make sure you have all 6 troops of your color.
- Everyone gets 5 points at the start of the game. We recommend starting with one silver and two blue gems.
- Randomly select a Hero card with a special ability you can use to your favor. It is one-time use only and only resets for the following round.
- Give every player a Guardian card. Take the others out of the game.
- Shuffle all the cards, and deal 5 to everyone. Every player should have a total of 6 cards, including the Guardian. This is your hand limit.
- Put the rest of the cards in two piles on either side of the platform, so that everyone can reach a pile without knocking over the platform.
The setup sequence at a glance: assemble the platform, choose an army set, everyone starts with 5 points, pick a Hero (randomly), everyone gets a Guardian, deal 5 cards to everyone, put the rest next to the platform (draw piles) in discard piles, and the first player is the youngest person — play goes clockwise.
How to Play the Game
Gravity Warfare is a fun and challenging dexterity game that involves strategy and card management with a take-that mechanic.
Game Modes
There are several ways to play this game:
- Battle Mode (standard)
- Simple Mode
- Team Battle Mode
- Two Player Mode
We will go into detail for each game mode later in this booklet. We will explain the game mechanics using the Battle Mode, which is the standard one.
In Battle Mode, players are dealt several playing cards, which they can later use to give challenges to other players, defend themselves, or change the state of the platform with Event cards. Every player also gets a Hero card.
The game is won by the player who has the most points after three rounds. First player is the youngest person. Play goes clockwise. The player who places all their pieces on the board starts the following round. Or the one who makes the pieces fall.
The goal each round is for you to get rid of all your pieces. If you do not have any more pieces to play, you win the round, get some points and start a new round.
If your primary goal is to get rid of all your pieces, your secondary goal is to keep other players from playing all of theirs. The way we do that is by giving them challenges to try and make their turn harder to do.
During Your Turn
Your turn will consist of the following steps:
- Roll the dice
- Wait for challenges and events
- Play your piece or pieces (with the challenges)
- Collect points (if applicable)
- Restock your hand
- Discard challenges
1. Roll the Dice
You, as the active player, take the dice and roll them to play your turn. There are 2 dice:
- 1.1 Location die: this die tells you where on the board you will play your piece. There are two 8-sided dice in the game that correspond to each side of the platform.
- 1.2 Troop die: this die tells you which troop/piece you must play on your turn.
- 1.3 Skip gems: You must roll a piece that you have available in order to play your turn, and you have 2 chances to do so. If by the second roll you still haven't rolled something that you have, you earn a skip gem (green) and the next player goes. Read Pair it!, Double it!, and Teleport it! for exceptions.
On your following turns, if you are still unable to roll a piece that you have available, instead of skipping, you can pay a skip gem (green) to ignore the troop die and play which ever piece you have in the location that you rolled. You may also choose to earn another skip gem instead of playing that turn.
2. Wait for Challenges and Events
After you roll the dice and everyone knows what your turn consists of, everyone else may give a challenge or event card to try and make your turn harder to complete. Every player may give only one card per turn, whether it's a challenge or event. Players may use as many defense cards as they want.
5-Mississippi rule: after rolling the dice, count to 5-Mississippi to allow the other players to decide whether or not to give you any challenges. You may then perform your turn with the challenges given, if any.
Players may collude or conspire against you, discussing what to do and what challenges they have to combine, but they must do so out loud. Also, there is no particular order in which to give challenges. Events are carried out before the challenges.
When more than one challenge is given they are considered as a combination. Remember that Event cards are not performed by the active player. The Don't look! challenge doesn't combine.
For example, if you are given a Spin it! + With Chopsticks! + Double it! this means that you have to play your turn (the rolled piece on the rolled zone) using chopsticks and while the board is spinning. Also, you must do that twice (Double it!).
However, there are times when the combination of cards isn't as easy. In this case it is the opposing players who decide how to interpret the cards and tell you how to perform your turn. When giving challenges, attacking players may elect to take back any challenges given from the combination if they find that the remaining combination of challenges is more desirable, harder, or just more entertaining. You may NOT replace a challenge card with another, only take it back.
Remember, challenges trump the dice. Dice must be re-rolled if there is any conflict with the challenges. For example: if a player wishes to make someone stack their piece for this turn (Stack it!) but there are no pieces on the initial rolled zone, the active player must re-roll the zone die to find a new location with a piece on it.
3. Play Your Piece or Pieces
After the challenges have been interpreted, you can now play your turn in the manner decided. Good luck!
3.1 Completing your turn successfully. There are a few criteria that have to be met in order to successfully play your troop:
- The piece must be upright, especially when stacking them.
- At least 50% of the piece must be inside the rolled zone. The Bound it! card changes this to 100%.
- You can only use one hand for all the actions of your turn. This includes spinning and adjusting the platform, and using the chopsticks.
- No pieces fall off the platform after you've completed your turn. They can slide, though.
- You only have one opportunity to do it. You can't purposefully fail.
3.2 If one of those criteria isn't met, then it's a failed attempt. If this happens, the player takes back their piece or pieces (only the ones they were using for the current turn), and it's the next player's turn. If up to three pieces fall off the platform, the player also loses one point. The other players' pieces that fell over are put aside for the rest of the current round, meaning they don't go back to their owners nor to the player who made them fall. These also apply to anyone doing the action of an Event card.
3.3 If a player accidentally bumps pieces and they end up sideways but still on the platform, that player must put them all back the way they were. And this action is now part of their turn, though they don't have to do it with the challenges for that turn.
4. Collect Points
You earn 1 point for every troop placed successfully on the platform. Take your gem or gems.
If you decide to stack your troop on top of a piece that was already on the platform without having been given a Stack it! challenge, then you receive as many extra points as pieces there are under your stacked one. For example, if you voluntarily decide to stack your piece on top of a 2-piece tower, then you receive an extra 2 points after successfully completing that turn. If your attempt fails (or pieces fall off after stacking yours), then you don't get any points.
5. Restock Your Hand
This is the main way you can get cards back. Two things need to happen in order for you to be able to restock your hand. First, you must have successfully completed your turn with at least one challenge. Secondly, you can't be at your hand limit of 6 cards (including the Guardian).
The process for restocking is as follows: 1) draw two cards from any pile, 2) look at them, 3) chose one, and 4) discard the other.
5.1 Purchasing cards. Players can also buy cards. The steps are exactly the same as before. To do this, you only need to make sure that you're not over your card limit. And it costs one point. There's no purchase limit, and it can be done at any point during the game. It doesn't have to be only during your turn.
No player may draw new cards if they are at their hand limit.
6. Discard Challenges
After you're done placing your troop, take all the cards used during your turn, and place them face up in two piles on either side of the platform. These are the discard piles. See Setup for more.
Abilities and Ending of a Round
Special Abilities
Each Alien Hero has their own special ability that you may use at any time during a round, during your turn or another player's turn. How do you use it? Just say that you want to use your ability and the game will pause until you are done using your ability. Use your ability wisely, for you may use it only once per round. Keep your hero cards secret and face down until you are ready to use your ability. After you do, flip them face up.
You don't earn the extra points for voluntary stacking when using a Hero ability that grants a stack.
Keep your discarded cards close to you so you may pick and re-use any one of the challenges you've already used. Then discard all.
When Does a Round End?
There are two possible outcomes in this game:
- A player makes 4 or more pieces fall off the platform. If this happens, the round ends, and that player loses 2 points.
- Someone places all of their pieces on the platform. If this happens, the round ends, and that player receives 5 additional points. The other players don't get any extra points in this scenario.
2.1 NOTE: if you receive a troop that isn't from your original colored set, you also have to place that one on the platform to win.
Make them fall, and you lose the round.
What Do We Do Next?
After a round ends, take these steps to reset:
- Score the round accordingly.
- Take your Guardian and reset your Hero ability (if used).
- Return all skip gems (green) back to the stockpile.
- Take your troops.
- Shuffle all the cards and deal a new hand to all players.
The player with the most points after three rounds is the winner!
Game Modes and Cards
Other Game Modes
Simple Mode: Remove all Wormhole cards, two Take this! cards, two Teleport it! cards, and all the Return it! cards from the deck. Leave one Guardian card per player in the game. Shuffle the cards, divide them in two equal decks and place them on either side of the support base. These will be the draw piles.
Take turns drawing a card from the piles and performing the action on the card, using the dice if applicable.
At the beginning of each game the first player, and only the first player, must play their turn without drawing a card. Only roll the dice for this turn.
The card that is drawn will dictate your turn. After you play your turn, discard that card and the next player draws for their turn.
If you draw a defense or event card, keep it for later use and draw again for your turn. Remember you can only play Defense cards during your turn.
Team Mode: You may play in teams of 2 or 3 players and all rules are the same.
You may use your own cards to help your teammates run out of pieces quicker.
Points are awarded in the same as normal Battle Mode, but all players in a team pool their points together at the end of every round.
Two Player Mode:
- You start with 10 cards (9 dealt + Guardian)
- You may give 2 cards to your opponent per turn.
- The winner of each round receives 5 points.
Have fun with the rules. Make up some house rules and try them out. The game can be played as strictly or as leniently as players wish.
Cards
There are three types of cards in this game: challenge (red energy), defense (blue energy), and event cards (green energy). Challenge cards are used to make a player's turn more difficult and/or entertaining. Remember: they combine. Defense cards are used to protect yourself or a teammate. Defense cards are the only ones that you can play during your turn. Event cards affect the state of the platform in some way, and you can't play them during your turn.
Each card shows: the card name, the card's energy type, a reference illustration, the card type, a card description, and (where relevant) the corresponding dice.
Challenge Cards
Bound it! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: the player must place the piece entirely on the zone shown by the die. If they do not accomplish this on the first try, player takes their piece back and loses their turn.
Copy it! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: the player must repeat the previous player's turn: same actions, same piece and same zone. Player does NOT have to make the same decisions, however, as the previous player, i.e. They do not have to choose the same player (when a You Do it! card was used) or place their piece on top of another (if performed by the player), unless it was a Stack it! challenge or a Stack it! drawn by the player.
If the previous action was Return it!, the player must take the last played piece (only one piece) and give it to its owner, even if it was themselves.
Don't look! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: the player must place the piece on the platform with their eyes closed. The player shall be blinded before they hold the piece in their hand prior to placing it on the platform. The player is exempt from losing a point if and only if THEIR piece falls off the platform. Don't look! is a stand-alone challenge and shall not be combined with any other challenges. All challenges imposed prior or after the Don't look! challenge can be removed (and given back to their respective players) if attacking players decide Don't look! would be as hard or as fun as other combination of cards. Players may also decide otherwise and implement other combinations, giving back the Don't look! card to its respective player.
Players can gauge with their eyes open how to play their piece before the actual attempt.
Double it! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: player must complete their turn twice, using the same type of piece on the same zone, according to the roll of the dice. If the player doesn't have two of the same piece, they must choose another one from what they have available.
Pair it! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: player must play two pieces like a totem, one on top of the other, at the same time. The player must roll the troop die twice to identify which of their pieces will be played together, stacked in the order they were rolled (first roll goes on the bottom). If the player doesn't have a piece from the second roll, they may choose the second piece from what they have available. After the pieces have been identified, they must be played simultaneously. Only apply one Pair it! per turn. Players may not place 4 pieces simultaneously (in the event of a Copy it! + Pair it!, where the last player also performed a Pair it!), though they may perform a Pair it! twice in a row in the case of Pair it! + Double it!
Spin it! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: the player must spin the platform and play their turn while the platform is in movement. Use only one hand for all the actions to be taken. Don't spin too aggressively, a soft touch will be enough. We recommend doing it from one of the turrets on the red zones.
After you've placed your piece, you must also stop the spinning movement of the platform (this is still part of the challenge), so that the next player can play his/her turn.
Stack it! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: the player must place their piece on top of another played piece on the platform on the respective rolled zone. If there are no pieces on the rolled zone (and there are played pieces on the platform), player must roll one more time to see if they get a zone with available pieces. If the player has not rolled a zone with pieces on it by the second roll, player can stack it on whichever piece they like.
Players may elect to Stack it! on their turn without the need of a card. If successful, this grants additional points.
With chopsticks! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: the player must use the chopsticks to place their piece on the platform. Players cannot use both hands.
Teleport it! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: Take a piece from the platform, and move it to a different zone. You need to roll the zone die twice: once to find out the zone from which to take the piece (extraction), and once more to find out where to move it to (destination). If there are no pieces on the extraction rolled zone (after two rolls), then choose any piece from the platform to move to the destination zone (new die roll).
You can only move a piece that has already been played and is on the platform. You may not add any new pieces to the board. The piece must become separated from the platform, there's no sliding allowed.
If you fail in the attempt to move the piece (or pieces), then you must take that piece back with the rest of your army, as if it were yours from the start.
This challenge always grants a green gem.
Variant: for a more strategic game experience, you can try using this card as an Event card instead. For this, move a piece from the platform, and place it anywhere else on the board. No need for dice rolls! You can't play Event cards during your turn.
Wormhole Battle Mode: use this card to temporarily avoid one challenge during your current turn, but you must perform it on your next turn. Place this card on top of the desired challenge. Do not discard until you've completed the challenge, on your next turn.
You do it! Battle Mode: use this card at any time to force a player to play any other player's turn, not just your own, using the active player's pieces. Simply state that you wish to use this card and name the player of your choosing to perform the current turn and actions. If that player defends themselves with another You Do it!, they may bounce the command and choose any player to perform the current turn and actions, including you.
If the original player is chosen with another You Do it!, their original You Do it! card doesn't work anymore, and they must then do one of the following: a) perform the action, b) use another You Do it!, c) use their Guardian card, or d) use a Wormhole card. Once a player has chosen another to take their place, it becomes their turn during the effect of the card, and they may not play any cards to try and make it easier for them, even if they have not given a challenge for that turn. They may only defend themselves with a blue energy card.
Simple Mode: you decide which player plays your turn and your piece on the respective rolled zone. The other player cannot purposefully lose the turn. If that player uses a Guardian card, the action goes back to you. You then can perform the action or defend yourself.
If the player's attempt to place the piece on the platform is not successful, he or she keeps the piece as if it was one of their own. If he/she is successful, only the active player receives the point.
This card doesn't affect turn order.
Battle Mode and Simple Mode (NOTE): if the appointed player chooses to stack the piece(s) voluntarily, he or she receives the extra points, not the original player.
Battle Mode (NOTE): if the appointed player is successful, then both the active player and the one who performed the action may restock.
Defense Cards
Guardian Battle Mode: The Guardian makes you immune to all challenges (including the die roll) allowing you to play your turn freely. You can play any piece you have anywhere on the platform. Use it wisely though, as it is a one-time use only and you only get it back for the next round. YOU CAN'T USE THE GUARDIAN CARD ON YOUR LAST PIECE, SO IT WOULDN'T HELP TO SAVE IT FOR LAST.
Simple Mode: the Guardian allows a player to avoid performing an action from an undesirable drawn card, an undesirable roll, or to avoid any challenges from other players. This card can be used at any time, and it is a one-time use only. This card can be used immediately or can be kept for later use. If the player chooses to play it immediately they can select any piece and place it in whichever zone they like, the card must then be discarded. If the player decides to keep it, then they must draw another card and perform that action for their turn.
Event Cards
Keep this! Battle Mode and Simple Mode: Upon use, take any piece you like and give to any player you like (color is not a factor).
The action of this card is performed by the issuing player and is not combined with any other cards.
Return it! Battle Mode: you can use this card after a target player has placed their piece if you have not already given a card for the turn. You must remove and return the last played piece to their respective player. If last player action was Pair it! – return only one.
The action of this card is performed by the issuing player and is not combined with any other cards.
NOTE: When performing the action of any event card, you must be careful not to make any mistakes, because the criteria for successfully placing a piece on the board also apply to events. (See "Completing your turn successfully" above.) If you fail, you must take the piece you were moving with you, as if it was always yours.
Wildcard
There's a wildcard included in this game, the Anti-matter card.
Anti-matter Battle Mode: Once used you can claim this card to be any card from the deck you wish it to be for your opponent, except the "Guardian".
Simple Mode: this card is a wildcard. If you draw it, you may choose which card you want it to be before you roll the dice. Decision cannot be taken back.
Dice Zone Reference
Universe (side)
The battle to defend their homeland takes place all over the Universe, and with every attack, segment leaders need to watch their backs for retaliation. On the Universe side of the platform your armies must conquer planets, stars, nebula, galaxies, and more. The locations are as follows: Open Space, Green Jupiter, Moon, Galaxy, Asteroid, Sun, Nebula, Blue Saturn, and the non-playable Turrets and Observatory zones.
Mothership (side)
The battle continues on top of the Mothership. Position your forces on critical zones on the board before your contenders; the cannons, the wrecked area, fuselage, the spaceship launching platform, the thrusters, etc. are up for grabs. This is the layout: Hatch, Insignia, Fuselage, Docking Station, Wreckage, Thrusters, and the non-playable zones.
For video tutorials, rules in other languages, special features, FAQs, and innovative ways to play, please visit:
Lead Designers: Luis Machado, Amelia Machado, Daniel Machado. 3D Design and Illustrations: ©2017 Ismael Machado. Original concept art: Adriana Machado. Digital art: John Kaufmann. Special Collaborators: Luis Machado Jr., Miguel Machado, Gabriela Machado, Ivana Reyes, Beatriz Machado.
© 2017 Smart Iguana Games, LLC, all rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced without specific permission from the publisher. Gravity Warfare® is a trademark of Smart Iguana Games, LLC. Angularly Adjustable Balancing Device. Patented - Luis Machado. Gravity Warfare® patented - Luis Machado.
If you would like to contact us about this game, please email us at [email protected] or visit www.smartiguanagames.com
Not suitable for children under 36 months of age due to small parts. Made in China.
In everloving memory of Beatriz Machado