MiniMonFa Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Symbol Key
• Game Overview
• The Cards
  • Event Cards (Carte Imprevisto)
  • Deck Cards (Carte Mazzo)
  • Choosing Heroes
• Setup
• Turn Structure
  • Phase One
  • Phase Two
  • Phase Three
  • Notes on Items
  • Resolving Combat
  • Using Power Cards Inside a Room
  • The Discard Pile (La Pila degli Scarti)
• End of the Game
• Optional Rules (Regole opzionali)

Components

The box contains:

• 40 event cards (carte imprevisto)
• 1 MiniMonFa Classic deck of 46 cards: 16 dungeon cards, 10 monster cards, 6 power cards, 2 trap cards, 6 item cards, 6 hero cards
• 1 MiniMonFa Wild deck of 46 cards, with the same composition as the Classic deck

Symbol Key

The symbol key identifies the icons used on the cards:

• Monster card
• Trap card
• Item card
• Hero card, class Fighter (Combattente)
• Hero card, class Spellcaster (Usufruitore di Magia)
• Hero card, class Ranger (Ramingo)
• Number under this symbol: the power of the monster, and the number of dungeon cards needed to play it
• Number under this symbol: the attack value
• Number under this symbol: the defence value
• Number under this symbol: the number of powers

Game Overview

Before looking at the many cards in MiniMonFa, it is useful to understand the phases of play. On each turn a player must set up and reinforce their own dungeon to defend it against the attack of the opposing heroes, and then assault the opponent's dungeon with their own heroes. In this way both players are actively involved during every turn, both their own and their opponent's.

The Cards

There are two types of card, easily told apart by their backs: deck cards and event cards.

Event Cards (Carte Imprevisto)

Event cards are not part of a player's deck. They are placed in the centre (or to the side) of the table, and at the start of each turn the players reveal the top card of the event deck. Event cards have a simple illustration and a few lines of text.

Deck Cards (Carte Mazzo)

The deck contains 46 cards, which make up the player's deck. When using the decks included in this box, the player may choose either the MiniMonFa Classic deck or the MiniMonFa Wild deck. Later expansions will allow other decks to be chosen and built.

Separate the 6 hero cards from the rest of the deck. The playing deck is then made up of 40 cards: 16 dungeon cards, 6 power cards, 2 trap cards, 10 monster cards and 6 item cards. The card types are as follows:

• Dungeon cards: all dungeon cards are identical. Once placed in the play area they form a room. A room can be made up of 1 to 6 dungeon cards. Dungeon cards can be added to a room during the game. A room can never have more than 6 dungeon cards, and a player can never have more than 6 rooms in play.
• Monster cards: each monster card has a number in its top right corner, which indicates how many dungeon cards (equal to or greater than that number) the room in which the monster is placed must contain. Monster cards are played face down, touching the chosen room.
• Item cards: item cards are assigned to heroes. They are played face down, touching the chosen hero. When used, they must be revealed.
• Trap cards: trap cards are placed inside rooms at no cost. No more than one trap card can be played per room. Trap cards are played face down, touching the chosen room.
• Power cards: this type of card allows a player to activate a power of a monster or a hero. The only exception concerns the undead: undead powers are always active (the card indicates them with the words "Undead: ...").

Important! If a card has numbers written in red, those numbers are to be treated as negative numbers.

Choosing Heroes

Each player must choose 4 heroes. The choice should be made carefully, according to the attack strategy the player wants to pursue. At first, trust your aesthetic tastes; later you will learn to choose wisely your heroes. The choice of heroes is not tied to the type of deck with which a player has decided to play, but at the start it is advisable to stay on theme. Place your heroes in front of you. In the top left corner of every hero card there is a symbol representing the hero's class: Fighter, Spellcaster or Ranger.

Setup

Once the players have chosen their deck and their 4 heroes, they can begin the game. All that is needed is a flat surface. Place the event deck face down in the centre of the table. Each player places their 4 hero cards in front of them, face up. Each player's deck is placed to their right, face down. Each player draws 6 cards from their own deck to form their opening hand, which must be kept face down. Then decide at random who will take the first turn.

Turn Structure

On the first turn, both players draw 6 cards (the opening hand). Otherwise, each player must draw as many cards as needed to bring their hand back to 6 cards.

• Phase one: the active player turns over the top card of the event deck and applies its effects.
• Phase two: the active player may play dungeon cards, monster cards, trap cards and item cards.
• Phase three: the active player may send their heroes into the opponent's rooms.

Phase One

The active player turns over the event card, reads it and follows its instructions. The event card takes precedence over any other action in the game.

Phase Two

At the start of their turn, the player draws from their deck as many cards as needed to have a full hand of 6 cards. If they wish, they may play one or all of the cards in their hand: they may play as many dungeon, monster, trap and item cards as they want, in accordance with the rules set out below.

If it is a player's first turn and their hand contains no dungeon cards, they may choose to discard the hand and draw a new one. If that new hand also has no dungeon cards, they may repeat the operation until they have a hand with at least one dungeon card.

Rooms. When put into play (always face up), dungeon cards are called "rooms". A room may consist of a number of dungeon cards from 1 to 6. The more dungeon cards that make up a room, the greater the number or value of the monsters that can be played inside it. At no time may a player have more than six rooms in play (made up of any number of dungeon cards).

Monsters. Monster cards show a number from 1 to 4 in their top right corner. This number identifies how many dungeon cards the room must contain in order to host that monster. Monster cards are always played face down.

Traps. Besides monster cards, trap cards may also be played. These too are played face down, placed inside rooms. No more than one trap card can be played per room.

Empty rooms. It is possible to put into play empty rooms, that is, rooms without monsters or traps inside them.

Items. Finally, item cards may be assigned to heroes. These too are played face down.

Phase Three

This is the last phase before the player's turn ends. During this phase the player may send heroes into one of the opponent's rooms. When a player decides to send their heroes into a room, they can no longer play cards or redistribute items among their heroes. A player may enter only one room per turn, whether it is empty, populated by monsters, or protected by traps.

The number of heroes that may enter the room is equal to the number of dungeon cards that make up the room. During the combat it is not possible to add other heroes to the attacking heroes. When a player declares that their heroes are entering a room, the opponent must turn over all the face-down cards inside the room. The combat then begins. If the heroes win the combat, the room and all of its contents are placed on the discard pile.

Important! Heroes can use their powers and abilities only if they are inside a room or attacking it, unless the text of a card specifies otherwise, and ONLY in response to powers used by the player who controls the attacked rooms.

Notes on Items

Item cards are assigned to heroes. When item cards are put into play they must be played face down, placed next to the hero to whom they are to be assigned.

There is no limit to the number of items a character may carry, but there are many restrictions on how items may be used and assigned. For each rule, follow the text printed on each individual item card. In the top right corner of an item card there is a symbol showing the class of hero to which the item may be assigned. If no symbol is present, the item may be used by any hero. During their own turn, before items are used, a player may redistribute face-down item cards among their heroes, so as to reassign the items to different heroes according to the strategy they wish to pursue.

Items may be used by the heroes who possess them when those heroes enter an opposing room. If a hero uses an item, the item becomes visible and its card is turned face up. If a hero hands an item to another hero, the card becomes visible. For powers that destroy items, remember that only revealed items are destroyed.

There is no limit to the number of items the group of heroes may use during combat. When a hero dies, their items are lost together with the hero. Remember: to use the powers of items, power cards are not needed, unless the item card says otherwise.

Resolving Combat

Combat between heroes and monsters is simple. Compare the sum of the attack values of one group with the sum of the defence values of the other. Any difference indicates the number of wounds suffered by each group. Each monster and each hero can sustain only 1 wound; where there are several monsters or several heroes, simply add up their values. So, if at the end of the combat the total attack value exceeds the total defence value of the enemy, the difference indicates the number of heroes or monsters to be removed from play. The heroes or monsters to be removed are always chosen by the player who suffers the loss. If the attack value and the defence value are equal, the difference is 0, so there are no wounds to assign.

Example: in a room made up of 2 dungeon cards, 2 heroes enter: the Warrior and the Thief. The sum of their attack is 5 and their defence is 4. The monster they must face is a hobgoblin, whose attack and defence values are 5 and 3 respectively. Comparing the attack with the defence, the heroes inflict 2 wounds (attack value of the hero group = 5, defence value of the hobgoblin = 3; total wounds inflicted: 5 - 3 = 2), so they kill the hobgoblin. In the combat, however, the monster inflicts 1 wound (monster attack = 5, minus hero defence = 4, so 1 wound), so 1 hero dies, chosen by the player who controls them. If the heroes had possessed a magic item (for example a ring of protection), their defence would have been sufficient to repel the attack!

Important! If a hero dies, their card, together with any items attached to it, is immediately placed on the discard pile. If the character is healed, resurrected, or affected by a card that brings them back to life, the hero card may be returned to play, but the item cards may not!

Using Power Cards Inside a Room

During combat, power cards may be used to activate the abilities of heroes, monsters or traps. The first move belongs to the player who controls the attacked rooms, the second to the heroes, and so on, until one of the two players decides not to use them, or can no longer use them.

Example: a Mage, a Warrior and a Thief enter a room made up of 3 dungeon cards. Inside the room they find 1 goblin and 1 orc shaman. The total attack and defence of the heroes are 6 and 5, while the values of the monsters are 5 and 3. The victory of the heroes is evident. The player who controls the rooms, with little hope of defending, decides to use a power: Strength. The monsters' attack rises to 7. The attacker decides to use the power Magic Shield (which grants a +2 bonus to defence). The defender, however, wants to play one last card and use the power Strength again. The attacker has run out of power cards and is forced to take the blow. The monsters are killed and the room is cleared, but only 1 hero survives the clash.

Important! Heroes may use a power only in response to a power used by the monsters or traps inside the room they are attacking. Any other powers, those not used during the combat but before or after it (such as healing or divination), may be used freely, provided the hero who wants to use them is still alive.

Transcriber's note: the printed rulebook's section "Using Power Cards Inside a Room" ends with the paragraph above. No further text follows it in the source file.

The Discard Pile (La Pila degli Scarti)

Each player has an area in which to place their discards, that is, the eliminated cards. The discard pile collects defeated monsters, cleared rooms, some items, power cards and so on.

End of the Game

End of the dungeon: the game ends when a player has no rooms laid out in the play area and, during their own turn, is unable, after regenerating their hand, to put at least one into play to offer the game to the opponent. In that case the heroes have reached the presence of the Archmage and have won!

Death of all heroes: another way to lose the game is when all 4 heroes chosen at the start of the game are dead (mercenaries and other aids do not count).

Optional Rules (Regole opzionali)

The printed section headed "Regole opzionali" (Optional Rules) contains no rules text. Its body is a repeated block of placeholder text, which carries no game content. It is therefore not transcribed. The source file gives no hero-card optional rules.