Kaiju Table Battles Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Movie Star Cards
• Your First Match
• On Your Go
  • Move
  • Action
  • Roll
  • Peel
• Attacks
  • Resolving Hits
  • Move Effects
  • Status Effects
  • Breakers and Supers
• Reactions
• Buff Tokens
• Token Pools
• Buildings
• Prone
• Flips
• Your Second Match, and Beyond
• Odds and Ends

Introduction

This is a game for two players. At the start of a match, each player will create a team of Movie Stars, and will agree on a shared Goal. To win a match, you must knockout two of your opponent's Stars. If over the course of the match the players have also achieved their shared Goal, they'll get to open an envelope at the end, which will add or alter some of the rules for future matches.

In your box, you should have a sheet of counters, a set of buildings, a canvas battle display, twelve dice, a deck of cards, a player's aid card, and nine envelopes.

The counters most likely to get your attention are the Movie Stars: our big chonky monsters. When a Movie Star is in a match, you'll insert the small tab into their notches, allowing them to stand. The smaller counters are used to keep track of each Star's Health and certain status effects, and to indicate certain kinds of terrain.

After you punch out the counters, punch out and assemble the three buildings.

Designer's note (printed on page 7): the cards and tokens in each envelope were personally sorted and packed by the designer, or by someone who is important to the designer.

Movie Star Cards

Now let's look at the cards. Each Movie Star has four cards. One card tells you a little about the monster. The other three each form a triptych.

Along the left side of the triptych is a track for their Health. A Health Tracker starts each match at the top box of the top card. As they take damage, this moves downward.

When it moves off of one card and onto the other, the top-most of those cards is flipped to its reverse side.

This side has an Attack but no Reaction, and no Health Track.

Each of the top two cards indicate one Attack and one Reaction that the Movie Star can use in battle. We'll find out more about Attacks and Reactions later in these rules.

The third card describes a special Ability possessed by that Movie Star, which usually alters the basic rules of the game in some way.

When a Movie Star's third card is flipped, they are knocked out. A special Knockout Ability, printed on the reverse of this card, is resolved before the Movie Star is removed from play.

Your First Match

Your first match will involve the following four Movie Stars: Lobsteron, Monster, Dillo, and Mantarion.

Place your Stars' triptychs on your side of the display, with all cards front-side up. Place a Health Tracker on the top-most box of each Movie Star's top-most card.

First, one player chooses one of these four to start their team. Then, their opponent chooses both of theirs. The first player then takes the remaining Movie Star. Both players take six dice.

Place the Buildings on the canvas Battle Display in spaces A, B, and C.

The player who drafted Monster is Player One, and sets up their two Movie Stars in the zone marked "1".

Then the other player, Player Two, sets up their Movie Stars in the zone marked "2".

Now it's time to break out the Goal Cards. Each Goal Card indicates a cooperative goal that the two competing players should agree to work towards during the match. Only one Goal is chosen for a given match. At the end of the match, if the Goal has been completed, the corresponding envelope is opened. Choose Goal 1, 2, or 3 now.

The Goal Cards printed in the rulebook read:

• Goal 1, "Shared Goal": Each player makes at least one attack that inflicts 4+ Hits. Reward: Open #1.
• Goal 2, "Shared Goal": Each reaction type is used at least once. Reward: Open #2.
• Goal 3, "Shared Goal": Destroy all 3 Buildings. Reward: Open #3.

On Your Go

Player One will have the first turn. So, let's find out how a turn works! Each consists of four phases:

1. MOVE: Move one of your Movie Stars.
2. ACTION: Attack (or Move) with one of your Movie Stars.
3. ROLL: Roll and assign dice.
4. PEEL: Peel off one Status Marker from one of your Movie Stars.

Move

Unless otherwise noted, each Movie Star can move only a single space in a phase, and this movement must be orthogonal (not diagonal). Movie Stars usually cannot enter spaces that include Buildings or other Movie Stars.

I said "usually" because some Movie Stars refuse to play by society's rules! So let's look at a couple of those troublemakers right now, since they're in your first match.

Monster's Special Ability allows her to move into a Building's space, climbing on top of the Building. (Yes, she can also climb down from them in subsequent moves.)

We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but it's important to note that while on top of Buildings, she can neither benefit from nor provide Absorb or Block reactions.

(And we're getting extremely ahead of ourselves, but if for some reason a Building somehow was moved while Monster was on top of it, she will fall off it, just as she would if it took damage.)

Mantarion may leap over Buildings and other Movie Stars — if they would enter a space containing one of these obstacles, they continue moving in that same direction until they can land in a vacant space. (If there isn't one, they can't move in that direction!)

Note that this is limited to Buildings and other Movie Stars. In later matches, you'll contend with Power Lines and Water, and Mantarion does not leap over those spaces unless there's a Movie Star in them.

Other Movie Stars that aren't in this match have different exceptions. (One of these, Flying, is covered in the section Odds N Ends.)

Movie Stars cannot move off the battle grid — the sound stage we're shooting on is only so big! If a Move Effect would cause a Movie Star to leave the grid (see the Attacks section) they only move as far as the grid will allow: this does not cause a Collision (we'll find out more about Collisions later).

Action

During your Action Phase, you may either Attack with a Movie Star, or Move a Movie Star. Both are considered "Actions". If a Move is chosen, it generally works the same as in the Move Phase. You can Move the same Movie Star, or a different one.

In order to perform an Attack, you must have dice on that Attack's card. Performing the Attack will remove all dice from the card back to your pool. You may also "use" your Attack without choosing any target in order to move dice from a card back into your pool.

At the start of the game, no cards are going to have dice yet. So we can skip digging into that until each player's second turn — naturally, it's in the section called Attacks.

Before we move on, though, we'll touch on an important restriction. Movie Stars that perform a Reaction during your opponent's preceding turn — they'll be marked with your Reacted marker — can never be chosen to take an Action (Move or Attack) during this phase. Remove the Reacted marker from your Movie Star at the end of your Action Phase.

Roll

During your Roll Phase, you roll all dice in your pool. Then, you may assign dice to ONE card (not two!) for EACH of your Movie Stars. Each card tells you which dice can be placed there.

This card, for example, can accept fives or sixes. You may place multiple dice on it in a single turn, but those dice must be identical.

For example, if you roll two fives and two sixes, you may place either the fives or the sixes, but not both in the same turn. You can however use fives one turn, and sixes on a later turn, building up your attack.

When the die number is bracketed, that means you can only place a single die each turn - in this case, either a single three or a single four. This is common for breath weapons and other powerful attacks; you will need to build them up slowly over multiple turns.

Two blank die icons indicate Doubles: this card will accept a pair of matching dice each turn. These attacks usually do not build up, so there is no benefit to placing another pair on a subsequent turn.

If the blank die icons are red, however, they will return to your pool at the end of your next Action Phase. When they do so, add an HPT token to the card. We'll find out more about HPT attacks in a hop and a skip.

This won't come up in your first match, but because Amphisbane had to be a little extra, this card accepts a three-die straight, e.g., 1-2-3, 2-3-4, and so on.

Peel

During your Peel Phase, you may (but are not required to) choose a single Status Marker assigned to a single Movie Star, and remove it. Status Markers often have negative effects, so removing them when you can is a good idea!

Now that we know how a turn works - Move, Action, Roll, Peel - let's circle back and find out about the Attack Action!

Attacks

Once you have some dice on your card, you can start making Attacks using an Attack Action. As a reminder, taking this Action removes all the dice on the card, placing them back into your pool. There are two types of Attacks.

Melee Attacks are made against an adjacent enemy or Building (we'll talk about Buildings later). They can be Absorbed, Blocked, or Countered, but cannot be Dodged. Remember that unless otherwise noted, "adjacent" means orthogonal, not diagonal.

Breath Weapon Attacks are normally made against enemies or Buildings that are not adjacent. They can be Absorbed or Dodged, but not Blocked or Countered. If a Building or an enemy Movie Star are between the Attacker and the target, the Attack cannot be made against that target. (You can attack through a friendly Movie Star.) There is no "range" limit on the Attack: so long as there is an orthogonal, unblocked path from the attacker to a non-adjacent target, you can do it!

Designer's note: "Breath Weapon" not only represents radioactive breath and other delights, but any ranged or projectile attack.

Lobsteron could use his Breath Weapon against Monster, but not Mantarion. That pesky building!

Resolving Hits

Attacks inflict a certain number of Hits, which are resolved as Damage, Move Effects, and/or Status Effects. The text on the card will always tell you the base number of Hits the Attack will inflict.

1 HIT: The attack does a single Hit.

HPD: "Hit Per Die." The attack does one Hit for each die on the card. This will sometimes be modified as "1 + HPD" - it does an extra hit on top of the HPD - or "HPD - 1" - it does one less hit than HPD.

HPT: "Hit Per Token." The attack does one Hit for each HPT token on the card. This spends and removes those tokens, returning them to the supply. Note that you still must have dice on the card in order to make the Attack in the first place.

Now that we know how many Hits we're inflicting, let's talk about how they are resolved.

DAMAGE: Each Hit resolved as Damage lowers the target's health by one box.

MOVE EFFECTS: If a Move Effect is listed, then at least one Hit MUST be resolved as a Move Effect. The number of Hits determines the number of spaces moved.

STATUS EFFECTS: If a Status Effect is listed, then at least one Hit MUST be resolved as a Status Effect. The number of Hits determines the number of markers placed on the target's third card.

Within those parameters, the attacking player divvies up the Hits as they see fit, resolving them in order: Damage, then Move Effects, then Status Effects. Note that because of these requirements, some weaker Attacks may do no damage. In rare cases, you might be called on to resolve both a Move and a Status Effect but only have a single Hit; in that case, choose one.

Some Attacks will use the keyword SELF. This means that when you use that Attack, the acting Movie Star suffers a single Hit themselves, which is always resolved as Damage!

Move Effects

PUSH: Move target away from attacker, in direction that the attack was made.

PULL: Move target toward the attacker.

SLIDE: Move target away from attacker, but in a perpendicular direction of your choice.

HYPNO: Move target freely, as if taking consecutive Moves.

Designer's note: the number of spaces moved is equal to the number of Hits taken as Move Effects.

If a Move Effect would result in the target moving into the same space as a Building or another Movie Star, there is a Collision! The target does not Move into the space, but suffers one Damage instead. The Movie Star or Building in the occupied space also suffers one Damage. When a Collision happens, any further Move Effect Hits are disregarded — so, only assign the Hits you need to get them where you want them!

Status Effects

BLEED: Target suffers an extra Hit when Attacked.

RADS: Target's Attacks inflict one fewer Hit.

SHOCK: Target cannot Move (but can be Moved as the result of an Attack or a Reaction).

Note that these effects aren't per marker; a Movie Star with two Bleeds only suffers one extra Hit. But since only one marker is Peeled per turn, taking multiples of a token increases the duration of these negative effects.

Each Movie Star has a Limit for each type of Status Effect. For example, Lobsteron cannot have more than 2 Bleed, 2 Rads, and/or 1 Shock; any additional Status Effect Hits are disregarded.

Breakers and Supers

You won't see them until after some cards get flipped, but some monsters have access to more powerful versions of Melee and Breath Weapon Attacks.

BREAKERS: Breakers are Melee Attacks that cannot be Blocked, and that ignore Shields (the Shields aren't used).

SUPERS: Supers are Breath Weapon Attacks that can also be performed against adjacent targets. If used against adjacent targets, they cannot be Dodged.

One final note about Attacks, because once again Amphisbane loves to make things more complicated. If an Attack has more than one target, resolve each Attack separately and sequentially. Each does the same base number of Hits. Your opponent can only React to one of these, and must React to the earliest that they can.

Reactions

When you are Attacked, it may trigger a Reaction. If you can React to an Attack, you must React — and if you do, the Reacting Movie Star cannot perform an Action during your Action Phase. If more than one is available, you choose which one is used.

To React, you must have dice on the card bearing the Reaction, and you must have dice equal to or greater than the Reaction's Speed (small number under icon). All dice on the card are returned to your pool. There are four kinds of Reactions. Two are performed by the target:

COUNTER: May inflict one or more Hits on the Attacker. Then, you suffer Hits from the Attack, which may be reduced. You cannot Counter a Breath Weapon.

DODGE: Dodge cancels an enemy Breath Weapon Attack entirely. When Dodging, the target moves one space. That move must place them outside of the line of fire, and cannot place them adjacent to an enemy. If you cannot do this, you cannot Dodge. Yes, you can still Dodge even while Shocked.

Two are performed by one of your Movie Stars on behalf of another. To do so, the two Movie Stars must be adjacent. When you perform the Reaction, the two Movie Stars swap spaces (even if one of them is Shocked).

ABSORB: Absorb reduces the number of Hits inflicted by the original Attack, which are then suffered by the Reacting Movie Star (not the original target).

BLOCK: Block cancels an enemy Melee Attack entirely.

Because these four Reactions work differently and are triggered by different types of Attacks, it might seem a little complicated at first. So, let's review:

If a Reaction cancels an Attack (Block or Dodge), the Attacker suffers no Self Damage.

If Hits are reduced (Absorb or Counter), the Reaction will indicate it as follows:

RBD: "Reduced by Dice." Reduce Hits by the number of dice on the card.

1 LESS: Suffer one less Hit.

The printed review table shows which Reactions can respond to which kinds of Attack (columns: Melee Attack, Breaker, Breath Weapon, Super; rows: A Absorb, B Block, C Counter, D Dodge):

Reaction	Melee	Breaker	Breath Weapon	Super
A (Absorb)	YES	YES	YES	YES
B (Block)	YES	NO	NO	NO
C (Counter)	YES	YES	NO	NO
D (Dodge)	NO	NO	YES	ADJ: NO / NON-ADJ: YES

Buff Tokens

Often a Reaction will grant a Buff - helpful tokens that are placed on a Movie Star. There are three kinds of Buffs:

SHIELD (DEF): Damage suffered by Movie Star is always inflicted on any Shields first, removing those Shields. Mandatory.

STRENGTH (STR): Movie Star's Attacks and Counters inflict one extra Hit per Strength, removing those markers. Mandatory.

HEART (HRT): Remove during your Peel Phase to recover one box of Health (can never increase beyond card's max). Optional.

Absorbs and Blocks give Buffs to the original target of the Attack, while Counters and Dodges give them to the Reacting Movie Star. In rare cases, an Attack will grant a Buff when performed - this is always given to the Attacking Movie Star. If the Attack is Blocked or Dodged, they do not gain the Buff. Buffs are given after resolving the Attack and Reaction fully.

Token Pools

All tokens in the game are piece limited. If something would result in a Token being taken from the pool but there are none of that Token left, then the Token is not applied. Further, if none of that Token exist in the pool, you are not required to resolve any Hits as that type of Token.

For example, if you had two dice on a Shock Breath Weapon that does HPD, normally you would need to resolve at least one of those Hits as Shock. But if there are no Shock Tokens left, you can resolve both Hits as Damage.

When Tokens are applied to multiple targets at once, the acting player chooses the sequence in which this happens unless otherwise specified.

Buildings

Buildings are immovable obstacles. When a Building is collided with, or when it is Attacked, it suffers a single Hit (regardless of the number of Hits the Attack would normally inflict). Attacks against Buildings do not trigger Reactions. All Attacks against Buildings resolve that Hit as Damage.

Track the Damage a Building takes by placing HPT tokens on top of it - one for each Damage. When the Building reaches its Maximum Damage, do not place a token; instead, remove the Building (it is destroyed) and return those HPT tokens to the pool. Buildings normally have a Maximum Damage of 2.

Remember, a Building prevents a Movie Star from making a Breath Weapon Attack against a Movie Star on the other side of it.

Prone

Some effects will result in a Movie Star being Prone. Place the Movie Star's standee on its side to indicate this. While Prone:

• The Movie Star cannot Attack or React. (An ally may, however, React to protect a Prone Movie Star.)
• The Movie Star cannot Move in the Move Phase.
• The Movie Star suffers an extra Hit when Attacked in Melee.
• The Movie Star cannot be targeted by Breath Weapons.
• The Movie Star cannot accept dice during your Roll Phase.

You may use your Action Phase (not your Move Phase!) to stand the Movie Star up in the same space; if so, it is no longer Prone and ignores these effects.

Flips

When a Movie Star's Health Marker moves off of its current card, it is flipped to its reverse side. When a Movie Star's final card is flipped, resolve its Knockout Effect, then remove it from play. Return all dice for that Movie Star to the owning player's dice pool. If an Attacking Movie Star suffers a Knockout as the result of a Counter or a Self Hit, fully resolve their original Attack before resolving the Knockout Effect.

When a player's second Movie Star suffers a Knockout, they lose the game - even if the Hits they inflicted result in the other player also losing a second Movie Star.

Your Second Match, and Beyond

At this point, you have all the rules you need to play your first match against an opponent, and for the two of you to achieve the shared Goal, opening a new envelope. That envelope will contain the cards and standee for a new Movie Star, some swap cards (see below), a New Rule that is added to the game, and possibly a Goal card.

For your second match, you should have seven Movie Stars to choose from. You will choose them as follows:

1. First, one player will choose a Movie Star to remove from the match (they're taking a vacation).
2. Then, the second player will choose a Movie Star to remove (vacations are better with a pal).
3. The second player will choose their first Movie Star.
4. The first player will choose both of their Movie Stars.
5. The second player will choose their second Movie Star.

Now, break out the deck of Set-Up Cards, give it a shuffle, and flip one over. Arrange the battle display to match the Set-Up Card: place the buildings on the black spaces, and terrain tiles as shown.

Each Movie Star's informational card lists the film in which they debuted. The side with the Movie Star with the earliest debut has the first turn. This player sets up their Movie Stars in Player 1 spaces; their opponent follows suit in Player 2 spaces. If there is a tie for earliest debut, break it in favor of the side with the Movie Star who comes first in alphabetical order.

Each player always starts with six dice in their pool.

Before beginning play, each player secretly decides to use any Swap cards. So, let's talk about those. In the envelopes, you'll find alternate versions of one of the top two cards for one or more Movie Stars. These may have different dice numbers, altered Attacks or reactions, more Health or less. Simply replace the base card with a matching Swap card before the battle begins. If you have Swaps available for both of a Movie Star's cards, you may use a Swap for both if you like.

Odds and Ends

In most matches you will need to contend with Water and/or Power Lines.

WATER: Water spaces prevent Movie Stars in these spaces from Reacting.

POWER LINES: Power Line spaces inflict a Shock on a Movie Star that enters it.

FLYING: Some Movie Stars (Amphisbane is one of them!) are Flying Monsters. This is indicated by the Flying Symbol on their topmost card. (Spoiler: some Swap cards confer this status to Movie Stars previously confined to land.) They move up to four spaces, but only in one direction. They may move through Buildings and Movie Stars, but cannot end a phase in those spaces. They still suffer the effects of Collision.

When Dodging, they still only move one space.

They ignore the effects of Water spaces. They may move through Power Lines without penalty (but gain a Shock if they enter the space as the result of a Move Effect).

A quick note about Dasy and Dido (the Movie Star with two standees). Only one of these standees are effected by Move Effects - the standee that is actually targeted. If both standees are targeted by the same Attack (e.g., Amphisbane's dual attack), resolve it only once, not both times. Dasy or Dido can React on behalf of the other.

Some early matches might be decided by the time the first Movie Star is Knocked Out. With experienced play it is possible and even likely for the disadvantaged side to win, but if your position appears hopeless, it's better to forfeit and roll the credits rather than drag it out.