Master Plan
Master Plan Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Materials
- 6 Player starting cards
- 1 Trophy card
- 47 Space cards
- 6 Villain pawns or standups
Players: 3-6. Play Time: 20~40m. Weight: Light. Genre: Comic Villainy. Game Type: Memory / Race.
Overview
Master Plan is a real-space game. This means that you can play cards in any orientation or position on the table that you wish, but the position and orientation of these cards will matter.
Players are able to move between cards if their distances are within one short card edge of each other. To measure a short card edge, take any card and hold its shorter edge between the two spaces you wish to cross. If the spaces are closer than the short length of the card, then a move is legal. Otherwise, it cannot be made.
Spaces are placed onto the board face-down. When a space is moved onto, it flips face-up and its effects occur. Some spaces contain prizes that will help you get a jump on the competition. Other spaces contain dangerous traps that will put you in significant peril.
Objective
Each player's goal is to be the first one to reach the trophy, wherever it is placed. The first player to move onto the trophy is immediately declared the winner.
Setup
Pick an edge of the table to be the contestant starting area, and arrange all of the contestant starting spaces in a random order along this edge of the table, so that there is one long card length between each. Place the trophy about 2 feet away from the contestant starting area (place each about 2 card widths apart from the others).
Shuffle the Space cards and deal 4 of them to each player in the game. Put each player pawn on the corresponding starting space.
Starting space cards have a character's picture and power on them (or Pro Tips, if you're playing without powers). They can't be destroyed.
Villain Powers
What are super villains without super powers? Villain Powers are an optional rule that you can play with. Each villain has one side featuring a power, and one side without. If you want to play with powers, flip each villain so that the side with the powers is showing.
We recommend not using villain powers for your first game of Master Plan. After you've learned the basic rules, you may decide to distribute villains randomly for fairness, or let each player choose, starting with the youngest player.
Taking Turns (M.A.D.)
Starting with the player whose starting card is rightmost and moving left, players take turns.
Each turn sequence follows three steps: Move, Add, and Draw. You must perform the steps in order, but you can choose to skip any step you want.
Move
Note: During the first complete round of the game, players do not receive moves. Only on a player's second turn and after can he make moves.
To move, simply place the card in your hand (there will always be at least one) face-down so that its short edge bridges the gap between the card where your villain is standing and the card you want to move to. Return the card to your hand after measuring distance with it.
Illustration: You can jump between two cards if any point on one card is within reach of any point on another card. Use one of the cards in your hand to measure the distance.
If the destination card is face-down, flip it over, then move your villain pawn onto it. Then read aloud the effect of the card you just flipped over.
If the destination card is already face-up, you may make one additional free move. You only get one free move per turn, and you cannot use a free move to reach the Trophy. Face-up cards have no effect when you move onto them.
Add
Take a card from your hand and place it face-down anywhere on the table. When placing a card, there are 3 rules to keep in mind:
- Cards cannot overlap any other cards.
- If you are planning for one card to be reachable from another card, place the cards within 1 inch of each other. This is just good etiquette.
- You can never measure distances while placing cards. If you misjudge a distance and place your card too far to jump to, tough luck. See rule #2.
You can continue adding cards from your hand as many times as you like, until you decide to stop or until you run out of cards.
Draw
Draw one card to signal the end of your turn and the beginning of the next player's turn. There is no limit to the number of cards you can hold at a time.
Falling
Sometimes spaces will get destroyed. If your villain pawn is on a space when this happens, he will fall into the abyss below. A destroyed space is discarded into the discard pile.
When a player falls, he discards his hand and draws 4 new cards, then moves immediately to his starting space.
A player who falls on his own turn ends his turn immediately – he cannot add cards or draw again.
Sudden Death
Shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck whenever a player needs to draw and cannot.
As soon as the Space Deck runs out for the first time, Sudden Death begins. A player who falls when Sudden Death is instituted does not return to the board, does not draw more cards, and is eliminated. If all other players in the game are eliminated, the last remaining player wins (if all remaining players are eliminated at once, there is no winner).
Reshuffles after the first do not have any additional effect.
If Sudden Death triggers because a player falls and is drawing cards, he is still in the game – Sudden Death does not apply until the next turn begins.
If all cards are on the table, players can draw face-up spaces on the table.
Etiquette
Master Plan is a casual game of approximations. The game is designed to be fun and lightly competitive. As with all real-space games, things get bumped about and jostled, so there are some guidelines to help you get the most enjoyment out of the game.
- Do not place cards as far as possible from one another. When placing spaces, try to place them within a half-inch to an inch of each other if you are planning to jump to them. Games of Master Plan are not won by stretching your jumps as far as possible, but by conniving, bluffing, and daring.
- When picking up and replacing a card (during a flip or during a Switch effect), make sure you maintain all jumps that were possible before flipping. As long as the same connections remain in place, it's alright if the card moves slightly in the flipping.
- Absolutely no pre-measuring when setting down a card.
The Villains
Here is a short introduction of the villains and their villain powers, with some clarifications.
Z-Mask
Z-Mask's power allows him to send out a minion to flip over any space he could normally move to on his own turn. When the space flips over, he controls all aspects of its effect (this includes the effect of the Teleporter). His minion cannot ever claim the trophy.
Dr. Badmahn
Dr. Badmahn is able to draw a free card if he places at least 3 cards on his turn. He can place the new card immediately if he wishes. He can only gain 1 extra card per turn from this power (so playing his 6th card won't give him another extra).
Mysterious M
At the end of each of his turns, Mysterious M is able to look at any 1 face-down card on the table. He replaces it back onto the table where it came from. He may say what the card is (or lie), but he cannot show it to any other player.
Ms. Fyre
Instead of moving on her turns, Ms. Fyre can play a card from her hand. That card's effect activates just as if she had flipped it over. This replaces her entire move. She is especially dangerous with a Laser Gun (or a Bomb, if she's feeling particularly vengeful), so watch out!
Plutonian Poacher
When he would draw cards, the Poacher can draw face-up, unoccupied spaces from the table. This lets him re-use powerful cards and cut off certain routes, but also lets others see what he is drawing.
Monster Nash
When he is standing on a face-up space, Nash can move onto a face-down space without flipping it over (this is optional). If he is already on a face-down space, he cannot move to another face-down space without flipping his destination. Face-down spaces can still be destroyed. Nash's space cannot be affected by the Control Panel or the Switch. If Nash is standing on a face-down Trapdoor or Bomb and another player triggers the […]
(The printed rulebook ends this sentence here.)