Monsta
Monsta Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 81 Monster cards, values 2 to 7: 6 cards of value 2, 9 of value 3, 12 of value 4, 15 of value 5, 18 of value 6 and 21 of value 7.
- Bonus cards (Bonuskarten) are taken from the draw pile during play.
Players: 3-5. Age: 8 and up. Duration: approx. 30 minutes.
Game Idea and Objective
Collect, trade, score. With some skill and the right bids, you collect monster cards. Daring trades, and at the right moment a particularly generous offer, bring the players quickly closer to victory. Large groups of monsters are rewarded with many points.
The player who first reaches 15 or more points with their laid-out monster groups wins.
Setup
All monster cards are shuffled, and each player is dealt 8 cards. The players take their cards into their hand without showing them to the others. The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table as the draw pile. If the draw pile runs out during the game, the discard pile is shuffled and becomes the new draw pile.
Game Flow
The game is played over several rounds. Each round always consists of the following steps:
- Distribute bonus card
- Lay out monster groups
- Auction monster cards
Each round has one active player, who can score points and who offers cards for auction. In the first round, the active player is the hairiest player. In each following round, the active player is whoever won the auction of the previous round.
1) Distribute Bonus Card
The active player checks how many cards each of the other players has in hand. The other player who has the fewest cards in hand receives a bonus card from the draw pile into their hand. If several other players have the fewest cards, they all receive a bonus card.
In the first round, the active player checks the number of cards in his opponents' hands. In the first round all opponents have 8 cards and therefore each receives a bonus card.
2) Lay Out Monster Groups
The active player - and only this player - may now lay out one or more monster groups from their hand and thereby score points.
A monster group consists of exactly as many identical monster cards as the number shown on the cards: two "2"s, three "3"s, and so on up to seven "7"s. The player shows the complete group to the other players, places one card of it face up on the table in front of them, and places the rest on the discard pile. The face-up card remains in front of the player until the end of the game to show their score.
Example: Sulley, as the active player, has four "4"s in hand. He shows them to the other players, places one "4" face up in front of him, and places the remaining three cards on the discard pile. He has thereby scored 4 points.
Note: To reach the goal of 15 or more points in total, the active player may lay out only exactly one monster group in the last round for this purpose.
3) Auction Monster Cards
The active player offers cards for auction. The other players bid face down with cards from their hand for the offer. The player who wins the award also becomes the active player of the next round.
Making an Offer
The player turns over a card from the draw pile and places it face up beside it. They add a card from their hand to the offer, also placed face up. If the player has no cards left in hand, this second card is omitted from the offer for the current round.
Example: Sulley has turned over a "6" and added a further "6" from his hand. Mike has made the highest bid with three cards.
Bids by Other Players
The other players may now place their bids in any order. To do so, they place any number of cards from their hand face down as a pile in front of them. It must always be visible how many cards are in the pile.
If a player wants to make a new bid or raise an existing bid, the bid must be at least as high as the currently highest bid on the table, i.e. it must contain at least exactly as many cards.
Award and New Active Player
If no other player wants to raise, the active player must choose the bid with the most cards. They take this bid into their hand. The player who wins the award takes the offered cards into their hand and also becomes the active player of the next round.
Bids that did not win the award remain unchanged in front of the respective other player. These cards already count as bids in the auction of the next round.
Example: Sulley takes Mike's bid into his hand. Mike, who gets the two face-up cards, is the new active player for the next round.
What Happens with Equal Bids?
If two or more other players have each placed the most cards as a bid, each of these players must turn over the top card of their bid. Only then does the active player decide who wins the award. Face-up cards from bids that did not win the award remain face up for the next round.
Note: If no other player has made a bid, the active player must still decide who wins the award.
Game End
The game ends immediately when a player with a laid-out monster group reaches 15 points or more. That player wins.