Love Battle! High School

Love Battle! High School Rulebook

Table of Contents

Briefing

What to Expect

After secretly selecting their One True Match ("OTM" for short) or Love Triangle, the players will spend seven "Class Periods" controlling both Hiroshi and the Girls to try to make their match come true. Along the way, they can pursue Plot Points and engage in other antics that will help them gain Ki so they can be the victor of the Love Battle!

Victory Condition: The player with the most Ki (counting Ki tokens, Plot Points, and OTM rewards) is the winner.

What You Should Bring to School

1 High School Game Board
6 Character Pawns (Hiroshi, Aika, Sakiko, Rin, Yuki, & Katsumi)
20 Girl cards for each Girl (Aika, Sakiko, Rin, Yuki, & Katsumi)
20 Meddling cards
25 Plot Point cards
1 Voting bag
5 Condition cards
4 Player Reference cards
One six-sided die
1 Class Period Clock token
55 Ki tokens
5 Love tokens
20 One True Match Vote tokens

Everything in Its Place

(Setup)

Place the board somewhere useful.
Place each Girl and the Hero in their starting rooms. The Hero starts in the Entry Hall, while the Girls start in the rooms listed on their Love Tracks.
Place Love tokens on the "3" spaces of each Girl's Love Track.
Sort the cards by type.
Shuffle the Meddling cards and place them on the Meddling Deck space.
Shuffle the Girl card decks separately and place them near their Love Tracks, leaving room for a discard pile for each.
Shuffle the Plot Point cards and turn over 4 cards for a 2-player game, 5 for three players, or 6 for four players. Place them in the marked spots on the board and place the rest of the Plot Point deck on its space.
Place the Condition cards near the Active Condition Area.
Deal each player 1 card from each Girl's deck.
Give each player 5 Ki tokens.
After looking at their Girl cards, each player votes for which Girl (or two Girls—see "Extracurricular Activities" on page 10) they think will be the One True Match (or Love Triangle) using their Vote tokens. NOTE: in a 2-player game, both players must select two Girls.
Place the chosen Vote tokens in the bag, and put the remainder back in the box without revealing them.
Determine the first player: The first player is the person who has most recently stepped foot inside of a High School. Or just roll for it.

Class Schedule

During the 1st Period, the first player begins the game, and the players take turns going clockwise until each player has taken one turn. Then advance the Clock to the next Class Period.
During every other Class Period, before the players take their turns, they must draw and resolve a Meddling card. This is called the Meddling Phase.
DATE!: Game over! Players do not take turns. Reveal the Vote tokens and award One True Match Ki, then add up your Ki and determine the winner.

Staff and Fellow Students (the Meddling Phase)

The Meddling Phase

THERE IS NO MEDDLING PHASE IN THE 1ST PERIOD!
Every period after that, the Meddling Phase comes before the 1st player's turn.
Flip over a Meddling card and follow the instructions. Meddling applies to all players for the entire Class Period.

Meddling cards have a title, a character, and an effect.

Class Periods (Turn Structure)

In each Class Period, every player takes one turn. During their turn, each player plays through two steps: the Girl Phase and the Hero Phase, which can be played in either order. The player starts their turn by declaring which phase they are going to play first. The other phase will commence upon the completion of the phase selected.

Girl Phase

First, the player draws 1 card from any Girl's deck. Then they may play or discard cards in any order as many times as they want, at any time during the phase to do the following:

Move a Girl: The player may discard a Girl card to move the matching Girl one space into an adjacent room. Girls do not count the Hallway as a space when moving this way, so a Girl could move directly from the Cafeteria to the Art Room, for example.
Play a Girl Card: The player may play a Girl card only if that Girl is in the same room as the Hero (except for Yuki using a Jealousy card). The effects of the Girl card apply to the Girl who played the card, unless it says otherwise.

Girl Card Types

There are five types of Girl cards, each with their own special rules:

Seduction - Can only be played if the Girl and the Hero are alone together in the same location (except for Katsumi).
Flirting - Inflict -1 Love to each other Girl in that location when played.
Jealousy - These cards may only be played in response to a non-Jealousy card from a different Girl (but they can both be from the same player!). Unlike other cards, Jealousy cards can be played out of turn (priority starts to the left of the player who played the non-Jealousy card). Only one Jealousy card may be played by each player for each non-Jealousy card played. Each Jealousy card played is resolved completely before the priority passes to the next player. NOTE: The girl who plays the Jealousy card must be in the same room as the Girl who played the card it is responding to (except for Yuki).
Punishment - If played while the Girl is alone with the Hero, the printed Love value is positive. If not, it is negative. The Love value is shown as an amount of Love with no +/- in front of it, such as 2 Love. Each Punishment card has a "primary" Love value, shown with +/- in front of it, such as 2 Love. If the card is played by a Girl who is alone with the Hero, the primary Love value is positive—+2 in this case. If another Girl is present, it is negative: -2 in our example (except for Rin).
Enchantment - The player must pay one Ki in order to play an Enchantment card (except for Aika).

The Girls' Special Rules

Rin: You'll Learn to Love it! - Rin may decide whether the primary Love value of her Punishment cards are positive or negative.
Katsumi: I Don't Care if They Can See Us! - Katsumi may play Seduction cards even when another Girl is in the same room.
Yuki: I Can't Leave You Alone For A Second! - Yuki can play Jealousy cards even if she's not in the same room as the other Girl.
Sakiko: She Can Play, Too! - When Sakiko plays a Flirting card, she may pick one other Girl in the room to receive +1 Love instead of the usual -1 Love.
Aika: The Power of My Ancestors Flows Through Me! - Aika does not have to pay 1 Ki to play Enchantment cards.

The Love Tracks

Each Girl has her own track for recording the level of Love she feels for Hiroshi. A Girl's Love can never go above 10 or below 1. However, if any effects occur that would take a Girl's Love above 10 or below 1, they still count for purposes of claiming Plot Point cards.

Hero Phase

The Hero may move and take one action, in either order.

Movement - The Hero may move up to two spaces. The Hallway counts as one space, and is connected to every room except the two Locker Rooms and the Pool, including the Entry Hall.
Hero Actions - The player must choose any one of these options:
- Take the Room Action for the room the Hero is in;
- Draw one card from any Girl's deck;
- or Kick one Girl out of the room, moving her to any adjacent room. This can place a Girl in the Hallway.

Sample Room Action (Occult Studios, "Transmute"): Spend 1 Ki to draw 2 Girl cards or Discard 2 Girl cards to Gain 1 Ki.

Plot Points

Claim Plot Points: In addition, once per turn, during either the Girl Phase or Hero Phase, the player may claim ONE unclaimed Plot Point card that they qualify for. To qualify for a Plot Point, the player must have completed the requirements shown on that card this turn. The player takes the Plot Point card and places it in front of them. Any time a Plot Point card is claimed, immediately replace it with another off the deck. A player may only claim one Plot Point card per turn.

Plot Point card anatomy: a Title, a Requirement, and a Ki Value. Example: "Time for All of You" - Requirement: Have 2 or more Cards from each Girl in your hand. Ki Value: 2.

Example Turn

Victor decides to take his Girl Phase first, so he can play a card that will affect his actions during the Hero Phase.

He begins the phase by drawing a Girl Card. Since he needs to move Katsumi to Hiroshi's location, he draws a Katsumi card. Then, he discards the card he just drew to move her to the Entry Hall (since Girls do not count the Hallway when moving by discarding a card, she can move all the way there in one move).

Now, Victor wants to play 'Just Concentrate on These.' This is a Seduction card, which normally requires the Girl to be alone in the room with the Hero. However, Katsumi's 'I Don't Care If They Can See Us' ability allows her to play it even with Sakiko in the room. To prevent a potential Jealousy card, however, Victor decides to discard a Sakiko card to move her to the Cafeteria. Then, he plays the Seduction card and resolves its effects. Katsumi gains 1 Love on her Love Track, and Victor chooses to move her and Hiroshi to the Gym, which is a room that requires a TEST.

This ends his Girl Phase, and he proceeds to the Hero Phase. He chooses to take the Gym Room Action, 'Time to Show Off,' rolling a die for the TEST!: he rolls a 1, but with the +1 Bonus from Katsumi's Seduction card it becomes a 2, granting Katsumi an additional +1 Love on her Love Track. Victor then moves Hiroshi two spaces into the Cafeteria, hoping to set up another player to negatively effect Sakiko, who is in the lead in Love. This ends his turn.

Health and Wellness (Conditions)

Hero Conditions

When the Hero gains a Condition, the effects apply to all players until the Condition is removed.
The Hero can only be affected by one Condition at a time. If the Hero gains a second Condition, the player whose turn it is decides which of the two Conditions to keep on the Hero and which to discard. (After all, nobody wants a Disembodied Spirit walking around with an Awkward Boner.)
Conditions may otherwise only be removed by in-game effects, such as the Nurse's Office Room Action.

Extracurricular Activities (Game End)

The game lasts 7 Class Periods. Once the Clock token reaches the DATE! space, the game is over.
Next, determine the One True Match (the Girl with the highest Love) and possible Love Triangle (the two Girls with the highest and second highest Love).
Then, reveal the Vote tokens. Correct votes are worth the following Ki:
- One True Match: 5
  - If there is a tie for the One True Match, every player whose only Vote token matches one of the tied Girls still gets 5 Ki.
- Love Triangle: 8
  - If there is a tie for a Love Triangle (either three or more Girls tied for 1st place or there is a tie for second), each player with a correct pairing of tied Girls still gets 8 Ki. (i.e., If Rin, Aika, and Sakiko are all tied at 8 Love, any player who voted for any two of them will get the 8 Ki. If Rin has 9 Love and Aika and Sakiko are tied at 8, then any player who voted for Rin plus either Aika or Sakiko will get 8 Ki.)
  - In a 3- or 4-player game, if a player voted for a Love Triangle and one of their Girls had the highest Love but the other Girl was not the next highest, that player receives no Ki.
  - In a 2-player game, a player may score 5 Ki for the OTM if one of their chosen Girls is the one with the highest Love but the other was not the second highest.
The winner is the player with the most Ki. Tie breakers are as follows, in order:
- Winning the OTM vote;
- Most Plot Point cards;
- Most Ki from Plot Point cards;
- Wearing the same color as the hair of the OTM.

Guidance Counseling (Play Tips)

You get to look at your starting hand of Girl cards before making your vote for the One True Match (OTM). Sometimes you may have a standout card that could benefit one Girl more than the others.
Don't forget: While you are trying to make sure your OTM pick is the most in love with the Hero, you can't win the game without the most Ki.
Work your tactics around the available Plot Points and the Girl cards in your hand. Focusing on these two things can help you decide what Girl cards to draw and what to do with your Hero Phase in order to get the most Ki.
Bluffing your OTM pick for the first few turns can either be a sound strategy or help your opponents, depending on the picks they have made.
Lowering an opponent's probable OTM Girl's Love can be just as effective as increasing the Love of your own pick.
You don't always need to draw cards from your OTM pick to positively affect her or negatively affect her rivals. Sometimes, the other Girls' cards may be able to achieve what you are trying to accomplish. For instance, Jealousy cards often negatively affect the Girl that plays them.

Guide to the Building (Rooms)

The Rooms, in alphabetical order:

Art - It's my masterpiece! TEST! Roll a die: 1 = YOU MADE ME LOOK FAT! -1 Ki; 2 = WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE? Discard 2 Girl cards; 3 = WHERE ARE MY BOOBS? -2 Love to one Girl in the room; 4 = MY BOOBS LOOK GREAT! +2 Love to one Girl in the room; 5 = YOU HAVE SKILLS Draw 2 Girl cards; 6 = THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE ME! +1 Ki.
Boy's Locker Room - Ambiguous Naked Towel Fight +1 Love to every Girl in the room, but only if they do not currently have the most Love (or are tied for the most).
Cafeteria - Food Fight! Choose one: LET'S GET OUT OF HERE! Move the Hero and one Girl in the room to any other room attached to the Hallway and immediately use that room's Room Action; OOPS, WRONG TARGET -2 Love to one Girl in the room; GET THEM INVOLVED +1 Love to one Girl in the room and -1 Love to a different Girl in the room.
Entry Hall - Hey! Where's my Trophy? Cash in one Plot Point card you have for its value in Ki tokens and discard it. This does not count as 'gaining' Ki.
Girl's Locker Room - Just a Little Peek TEST! Roll a die: 1 = SNEAKY PERVERT! Give the Hero the Giant Head Lump condition; 2-5 = EVEN BETTER THAN I THOUGHT Draw 1 card from the deck of one Girl in the room; 6 = CAN'T HANDLE IT! Draw 2 cards from the deck of one Girl in the room and give the Hero the Awkward Boner or Spontaneous Nosebleed Condition (your choice).
Gym - Time to Show Off TEST! Roll a die: 1 = FACEPLANT -1 Love to every Girl in the room; 2-5 = NOT BAD! +1 Love to the Girl in the room of your choice; 6 = SO STRONG! +1 Love to every Girl in the room.
Hallway - The Hallway is a special space on the board that does not have a Room Action. This space has some special rules, as dictated by the Hall Monitor:
1. LADIES FIRST: Girls do not count the Hallway as a space when they are moved by discarding a Girl card. Note: Girls end up in the Hallway via the Kick a Girl Out of the Room Hero Phase action, or by card effects that reference an 'adjacent' space or room.