Monster Slaughter
Monster Slaughter Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 11 monster families, each of which consists of:
- 3 miniatures (a father, a mother, and a child)
- their respective character cards
- Note: The crittlin family is different, has 5 miniatures and 5 character cards, and follows special rules. See the Monster Roster, page 18.
- 5 party guests
- 5 miniatures
- their respective character cards
- 16 surprise visitors
- 16 miniatures
- their respective character cards
- 8 stunt double character cards
- 99 game cards
- 58 object cards
- 5 trap cards
- 17 bonus action cards
- 18 nocturnal event cards
- 1 scenario card | See Scenarios.
- 1 3D cabin, 4 internal walls & 4 outdoor ground tiles
- game tokens & markers
- 1 full moon marker | to keep track of time
- 105 victim markers | to determine death orders (5 per victim)
- 21 wound track victim markers | to keep track of the victims
- 54 flesh tokens | to indicate wounds
- 20 triple flesh tokens | to indicate wounds
- 37 brain tokens | to indicate correct death order predictions
- 5 target markers | to designate favorite meals
- 5 target tokens | to indicate favorite meals eaten
- 5 bone tokens | to indicate fatal blows
- 24 scenario tokens and markers | See Scenarios.
- tool shed expansion
- 1 3D tool shed
- 1 outdoor ground tile
- 10 object cards
- 1 nocturnal event card
- 9 doors & 5 barricades
- 5 reaction dice
- 5 action dice
- 8 color cubes | to keep track of health points
Game Set Up
I. Build the Cabin
Unfold the outside ground tiles and place them around the 3D cabin. Slip the interior walls into place. Close the doors by slipping them into place on the walls.
II. Invite the Party Guests
Invite 5 guests to the party. | See the Guest List, page 19.
Place the character cards for the invited guests face-up near the board for reference. Place the wound track victim markers for each invited guest on five of the victim spaces near the wound track so that the color cubes printed on the board are visible. Place the corresponding color cubes on the squares matching the guests' initial health points on the wound track. Place the party guest miniatures on their respective markers.
Place the 5 bone tokens on the corresponding space on the wound track.
Give each player 1 target token and 5 victim markers matching the invited party guests.
III. Prepare for the Night
Set the Knock Knock nocturnal event card to the side.
Shuffle 7 nocturnal event cards together. Place these cards on the nocturnal event space on the game board to form a draw pile. Take the Knock Knock nocturnal event card and slip it somewhere in among the top three cards of the nocturnal event draw pile.
Note: For your very first game, we recommend playing without any of the surprise visitors. No party crashers until the second time you play!
Do not include the Knock Knock card in the pile of nocturnal event cards if you are not playing with surprise visitors. Replace it with any other nocturnal event.
Place the full moon marker on top of the nocturnal event draw pile.
Finally, place the flesh and brain tokens by the side of the board to form a reserve.
IV. Choose Your Monsters
Everyone, choose one monster family, and take the monster miniatures and character cards for your family and place them face up in front of you. | See the Monster Roster, page 18.
V. Prepare the Game Deck
Take the object cards that provide bonuses against each of the chosen monster families. If you want to spice up the game, add 5 neutral object cards. | See page 16.
Choose 3 trap cards and 7 bonus action cards randomly. Shuffle all these cards together with the object cards mentioned above.
VI. Fill the Rooms
Place the cards face down on the game board in the spaces corresponding to the rooms of the cabin. They should be distributed as follows:
Cards per Room
| No. of Players | 2 p. | 3 p. | 4 p. | 5 p. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooms | ||||
| 1. Living Room | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 2. Bedroom | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 3. Kitchen | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 4. Bathroom | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 5. WC | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Important: If you are playing with the neutral object cards, place 1 extra card in the draw pile for each room.
The cabin has 5 rooms: 1. Living Room, 2. Bedroom, 3. Kitchen, 4. Bathroom, 5. WC.
Everyone knows that in horror movies, people have an unfortunate tendency to split up. Put one of the 5 party guest character cards randomly on top of each room pile face down.
VII. Victims & Favorite Meals
Use your victim markers to secretly determine your own death order, placing the markers in front of you face down in that order from left to right, numbered 1 through 5.
Then, place one target marker on top of your own favorite meal. You should attempt to give your own favorite meal the fatal blow.
VIII. Determine the First Player
Once you have all chosen your families, decide who will be the first player randomly. | See the Monster Roster on page 18 if playing with the ghost family.
Note: If you are playing with the tool shed expansion, see page 22 for additional set-up instructions.
Playing the Game
Turns go clockwise. During each round, each player activates only one of their three monsters. Each monster automatically begins their first turn in any one of the four outdoor zones.
First Round
The first player begins, playing one of their three available monsters, i.e. face-up character cards. The player places the corresponding miniature in one of the four outdoor zones, and then completes their actions. | See Actions, page 8. The player turns that monster's character card face down once they have finished their turn.
The player to the left then does likewise, and so on until all players have played their first monster.
Midnight, First Nocturnal Event
When all the players have played one monster, the first player moves the full moon marker to midnight on the game clock and reveals the first nocturnal event card.
Whenever a nocturnal event card is drawn, the first player reads it out loud then places it face up on top of the nocturnal event draw pile. The next nocturnal event will replace it.
The first player then plays one of their two remaining monsters, and turns that monster's card face down at the end of their turn.
The player to the left then does likewise, and so on until all players have played their second monster.
1 A.M., Second Nocturnal Event
The first player moves the full moon marker to 1 a.m. and turns over the second nocturnal event, which replaces the previous event.
The first player then plays their third monster and turns the card face down at the end of their turn as before.
The player to the left then does likewise, and so on until all players have played their third monster.
2 A.M. and Beyond…
At 2 a.m., the players reactivate all 3 of their monsters' character cards by turning them face up.
The players can now play any one of their newly available monsters, turning the character cards face down at the end of their turns as indicated in the previous rounds.
At the start of this round, the first player moves the full moon marker and turns over the next nocturnal event card as in the other rounds.
The game continues as described above in sequence until the final round at 8 a.m. At 8 a.m., if any victims are still alive, the players play one final round like the 2 a.m. round, with the monster of their choice.
Actions
The monsters have 6 different actions to choose from: Move, Peek, Smash, Search, Scare, and Attack.
Note: Some situations provide the monsters with an additional dice bonus, on top of their regular dice, but the total number of dice to be rolled by a monster may never exceed 5.
Action Dice
Most of the monsters' actions require the use of action dice, but some actions are automatically successful.
- Moving and peeking do not require dice to be rolled.
- Smashing requires one success to be rolled.
- Searching, scaring, and attacking will be more effective the more successes are rolled.
Each action die rolled shows either a Success or a Failure.
Anatomy of a Monster Card
Each monster card shows: the symbol representing the family, the number of actions per turn, the number of dice per action, and the special ability (| See the Monster Roster, page 18).
Monster Actions
Monsters can perform either 2 or 3 regular actions, either the same or different.
Children are hyperactive. They have:
- 3 actions of their choice, and use:
- 2 action dice per action.
Mothers are devilishly cunning. They have:
- 2 actions of their choice, and use:
- 3 action dice per action.
Fathers are very powerful. They have:
- 2 actions of their choice, and use:
- 4 action dice per action.
In addition to the monster's regular actions and special abilities, each monster has:
- one free move that does not count toward its actions; and
- as many bonus actions from the active player's hand as the active player wishes to use.
All these possible actions may be performed in any order during the active player's turn.
Regular Actions
1. Move
There are 9 zones: 4 outside (one along each side of the cabin), and 5 inside (each room of the cabin is a zone).
- Each monster can use one of its actions to move to a zone adjacent to its position.
- Within the cabin, moves are only possible if the door between the two zones has been smashed and no barricade blocks the way.
- Dice do not need to be rolled to move. | See page 22 if playing with the tool shed expansion.
Example: During your first turn, you decide to start next to a smashed door. You can either move into the house, or move around the cabin to an adjacent side.
2. Peek
It is possible to peek into a room.
- To do so, the monster must be either inside the room or in an adjacent zone that has a door connecting to that room.
- Draw the top card from the pile for that room, and look at it discreetly.
- Then, return it to the same place, face down.
- Dice do not need to be rolled to peek.
Example: You decide to peek into the living room. You look at the top card from the matching draw pile, and find out that Laika is hiding there. Then, you put Laika's character card back without sharing this information with other players.
3. Scare
Scratch, rush, scream… Monsters just love terrifying people!
- To do so, the victim must be visible, and the monster must be in the same zone as, or in a zone adjacent to, the victim they wish to scare, whether or not there is a door. Scaring victims allows players to move and/or hide visible victims.
- Roll the number of action dice corresponding to the monster doing the scaring.
- The victim miniature must be moved by up to as many zones as successes rolled by the monster.
- The victim may end their move in any zone other than the one containing the monster that scared them. Scared victims can open doors—but not barricades—and always close intact doors behind them.
- Victims cannot leave the cabin except to go to the tool shed... unless they are lucky enough to survive the slaughter—or dead!
Example: You play a child, and decide to scare a victim. As a child, you roll 2 dice and get only 1 success. The move is mandatory, so you decide to move the victim to the living room.
Note: If two or more victims are present in the zone, the player chooses only one of them to scare before performing this action. Only that victim is scared by the monster.
Reminder: Whenever a party guest or surprise visitor finds themself alone in an open zone, i.e. a zone without any monsters, they automatically hide immediately, even while running after being scared by a monster, or right after fighting back.
- Put their character card face down on the draw pile for that room. If any other cards remain in the pile, shuffle the draw pile.
- Place their miniature back on the wound track. They do not recover while in hiding.
4. Search
The monster must be inside the room it wants to search, and rolls the number of action dice available to it. Each success rolled gives the player the right to draw one card from that room's draw pile.
- The player places any object and bonus action cards in their hand.
- If a victim is drawn during a search, the player immediately reveals the victim and places their miniature in the room being searched. If the search was not finished, the player then continues their search.
- If a trap is drawn during a search, apply its effects as described on the card. | See page 16.
The cards must be drawn one by one. Whenever a player's hand reaches 7 cards, the player can no longer draw cards and the search ends.
Example: You decide to search the living room with your father monster. You roll 4 dice and get 3 successes. 1. The first card you draw is an object card. Put it in your hand without revealing it. 2. Then, you draw Laika's character card. You must reveal it to the other players and place her miniature in the living room. 3. The last card you draw is a bonus action card. Add it to your hand without revealing it to the other players.
Note: At the start of the game when guest miniatures are not yet visible, shuffling the cards automatically mixes the party guest's character card that was on top of the pile into the cards for that room, making them harder to find. If the attempted smash fails, the cards are not shuffled and the guest doesn't hide.
Note: No time to hide! Whenever a monster enters a room without smashing a door, the victims do not hide. Do not shuffle the draw pile.
5. Smash
Monsters don't know how to open doors, so they smash them!
- To do so, a monster needs to be in the zone with the door they want to smash. They roll the number of action dice available to them. The door is smashed if at least 1 success is rolled. The player keeps the door; it is worth 1 point. | See The Reckoning, page 14.
- Once a door has been smashed, it stays open unless a barricade is placed over the doorway. Players need to roll at least 2 successes to smash a barricade. Barricades are not worth points at the end of the game.
Important: Every time a door is smashed, immediately shuffle the draw pile for the room into which the door is flung, if there is one.
Example: You decide to smash a door with your mother monster, and roll 3 dice. No successes so the door remains intact. You decide to use another one of your actions to try again. This time, you roll 1 success and the door is smashed.
6. Attack
Hunt down and slay those insufferable party-goers!
- Players can attack intended victims when they are not hiding, i.e. when their miniatures are present in the cabin. The monster and its victim must be in the same zone. The attacking monster rolls the action dice available to it.
- When the active player attacks a victim, the other players may intervene by helping the intended victim fight back. | See Fighting Back below.
- In addition, the victims have their own special abilities. | See the Guest List, pages 19-21.
Fighting Back
Before the active player rolls the dice, they must ask the other players if anyone wants to defend the intended victim.
- Any player who wants to delay a victim's death can try to give him or her one object card with which to fight back as if they were playing for the victim.
- Players may consult each other before deciding to fight back.
- The item used to defend a victim must be an object card found during earlier searches by the player defending the victim.
- Objects are used only once and are discarded after they have been used.
- They provide 1, 2, or 3 reaction dice that are combined with the victim's special ability.
- In addition, most objects give one extra die against certain types of monsters, shown on the lower right corner of the object card. | See pages 16-17 for a list of objects and bonuses.
Example: This card provides 2 dice against any monsters (1) but 3 dice against werewolves (2).
- If several players want to defend a victim, these players must show each other the cards they plan to use without showing them to the active player and decide together which card to use.
- If the players can't agree, no card is used. The victim is not defended, and the attack is played as usual.
- In all cases, any cards that aren't played return to each player's hand.
Reminder: If none of the players help them fight back, the victims can only use their own abilities to defend themselves. | See the Guest List, page 19-21.
Outcome
The attacker rolls their monster's action dice at the same time as another player rolls the reaction dice. Each success rolled with the reaction dice cancels out one monster success.
After canceling out dice:
- If there are more monster successes than victim successes, the victim is injured and loses as many health points as there are remaining monster successes. Move the victim's colored cube down the wound track based on the number of wounds (one health point lost per wound). The monster earns as many flesh tokens as wounds inflicted on its victim.
Example: You decide to attack Bob with the werewolf father. 1. Only one player decides to defend Bob and plays the Silver Trophy card. 2-3. You roll 4 dice, and the defending player rolls 2 + 1 dice, because the card provides 1 extra die against werewolves. You roll 3 successes, and your opponent rolls 1 success. 4. After canceling out successes, you have 2 left, therefore Bob loses 2 health points and you earn 2 flesh tokens.
- If there are more victim successes than monster successes, the monster is ejected from the zone. From the WC, the smallest room, the monster is ejected into the living room. From all other rooms, the monster is ejected from the cabin. | See page 22 if playing with the tool shed.
If the door is closed, the monster—even a ghost—smashes the door as it goes through it, but does not earn the point for smashing that door. The door is simply set aside.
Careful! If a victim manages to eject a monster and finds themself in a room without any monsters, they and any other potential victims in the room immediately hide. Put their miniature back on the wound track, and put their character card back in that room's draw pile, shuffling the pile if there's more than one card in the pile.
Example: You attack a victim, who fights back and you lose the fight. - You are in the living room, and the door to the outside is intact. - You are ejected out of the cabin through that door. Remove the now-smashed door and return it to the box.
-
In the event of a tie nothing happens.
-
No matter how the attack turns out, your monster may complete its remaining actions, if any.
-
When a victim loses their last health point, they die and a post mortem is performed. The miniature is removed from the board and returned to the box along with the corresponding character card, wound track victim marker and color cube. | See Death of a Victim, page 13.
Death of a Victim
Every time a victim is slaughtered, perform a post mortem.
Post Mortem
Verify each point one by one:
-
Wounds — The player whose monster dealt the fatal blow gets as many flesh tokens as the victim had health points left immediately before the attack.
-
Fatal Blow — The player also receives 1 bone token when one of their monsters dealt a party guest the fatal blow. No bone tokens are awarded for killing surprise visitors.
-
Death Order — If the victim was a party guest, each player reveals their victim marker for the dead party guest. If the party guest died in the order they had predicted, each player who had the right death order receives 1 brain token. If the victim was a surprise visitor, no death order points are awarded.
-
Favorite Meal — If the party guest was the favorite meal of the monster that dealt him or her the fatal blow, that player also receives 1 target token.
Example: You have just killed Bob and taken your flesh tokens for the attack. He was the first party guest to die. 1. First, you take 1 bone token. 2. Next, each player reveals Bob's marker by turning it face up in their death orders. He is in second position in yours, so you do not get a brain token. 3. However, another player predicted he would die first, and had placed him first in their death order. That player gets 1 brain token. 4. Bob is your favorite meal so you get 1 target token since you dealt the fatal blow.
Death of the Fifth Party Guest
The final tokens are distributed and the game comes to an end, unless a surprise visitor is still around. If so, the game continues to the pain, err, the death…
End of the Game
The game can end in two different ways:
- Only monsters are left alive. No, your monsters would never willingly let anyone live!
- It is 8 a.m. and all the players have completed their monster's actions. The sun comes up and it is time for...
...The Reckoning
No matter how the game ended, each monster family adds up its harvest.
Victory is reckoned as follows:
- Wounds | Each time a victim was injured, they lost a bit of flesh, on which the monsters feasted. | 2 points per flesh token
- Fatal Blows | A bonus in the form of a bone token went to the monsters that dealt fatal blows to party guests! | 2 points per bone token
- Death Orders | The party guests died in a specific order, and the players earned points whenever their death order correctly predicted a death. Thus, even if a monster did not deal the fatal blow, the player received a brain token for accurate predictions. | 3 points per brain token
- Favorite Meals | Not all party guests taste the same. If a monster family managed to deal the fatal blow to their favorite meal, they got to eat him or her! | 5 points per target token
- Doors | Doors aren't for eating, but the sheer joy of smashing them to bits counted for something! | 1 point per door
Note: Barricades, as fun as they are to smash, are not worth any points.
Tie Breakers
-
Possible ties are broken based on the amount of each type of token earned by players:
- The player with the most brain tokens wins. Why? They had the best death order.
-
Secondary and subsequent ties are broken as follows, in order:
- If one of the tied players managed to deal the fatal blow to their favorite meal and the other didn't, the player whose monster devoured their favorite meal wins.
- The player with the most bone tokens wins. Why? They slaughtered the most guests.
- The player with the most flesh tokens wins. Why? They ate the most flesh.
-
If two or more players are still tied after comparing flesh tokens, then a draw is declared.
Cards
| Card | Type | When to Play | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nocturnal Event | At the start of the round, beginning with round 2 | The first nocturnal event happens only after all players have played their first monsters, and takes effect during the second round. On each following round, a new nocturnal event replaces the previous event. | See Nocturnal Events, page 16. | |
| Bonus Action | By the active player during their turn | May be used by a player to help their monsters or upset an opponent's strategy. The active player may play as many bonus action cards from their hand as they wish during their turn. | See Card Specifics on page 16. | |
| Trap | As described on the card | Some traps are yours to play during one of your turns, like a bonus action. Others, like victims, must be revealed immediately when they are drawn. | See Traps, page 16. | |
| Object | By a non-active player during the active player's turn | Objects help victims survive. Some objects give a certain number of reaction dice (lower left corner), some give +1 additional die when used against certain monster families (lower right corner), etc. | See Object Cards, page 16-17. | |
| Party Guests & Surprise Visitors | Immediately | Any party guests or surprise visitors must be revealed and the corresponding miniatures placed in the room that was being searched. |
Card Specifics
Nocturnal Events
Reminder: The first nocturnal event happens only after all players have played their first monsters, and takes effect during the second round. On each following round, a new nocturnal event replaces the previous event.
Example nocturnal events include Burst of a Dream (victims may receive up to two Object cards during this round) and Confusion (the Monsters are confused! Their Successes count as Failures and vice versa during this round).
Bonus Actions, Traps & Objects
Each player's hand may only contain 7 object and bonus action cards at most. When a player's hand is full, they may no longer draw any more cards.
Reminder: Bonus actions and traps are mixed in with object cards and placed in each room during set up. Therefore, not all cards will be used and there will always be some uncertainty as to the exact cards present in the cabin.
Bonus Actions
In addition to their monster's regular actions and special abilities, the active player may play as many bonus action cards from their hand as they wish during their turn.
Example bonus action cards include Crash the Party! (move your active Monster by up to 2 zones, following normal Move rules) and Fury / Running! (move a Victim by up to 2 zones; the Victim may run through an empty zone without hiding).
Traps
Some traps are yours to play like bonus actions during one of your turns. Others, like victims, must be revealed immediately when they are drawn.
Example trap cards include Foothold Trap and Bear Trap (you found the trap and place it in your current zone; the next time a Victim tries to Move out of the zone while it is in place, they roll 2 additional Reaction dice on top of the other dice they have, then discard the trap; it can only be broken with a Smash action and 2 Successes, discarding it when broken), and Potato Masher / Explosion! and Boobytrap! (a homemade bomb/grenade just exploded! Your Search is over immediately. Roll 1 Reaction die. If successful, all Monsters in the room / your active Monster are ejected from the room but may continue their/its turn).
Objects
Most objects provide a bonus of +1 die against specific monster families, up to a maximum of 5 dice when combined with the victim's special abilities. | See page 17.
Other objects are neutral and do not provide a bonus against specific monster families, but may have special effects.
Neutral | no additional bonus based on monster family
| Object | Effect |
|---|---|
| Macho Drink | +1 die & +1 HP |
| Medkit | Heal a victim: +2 HP, up to their initial HP |
| Tiller | +2 dice |
| Nail Gun | +3 dice |
| Broadfork | +3 dice if there are 2 victims in the same zone; +1 otherwise |
| Whipsaw | +4 dice if there are 2 victims in the same zone; +0 otherwise |
| Flare Gun | Use the flare gun to call for reinforcements! Pick a random surprise visitor and place their miniature in the living room |
| Floodlight | +2 dice. If the victim survives, they temporarily blinded the monster, ran away, and hid in a hurry. Place their character card secretly on top of any draw pile |
Bonuses | against monster families
Bonus against Aliens
- Ghetto Blaster | +1 die
- Record Player | +1 die
- Mini Ray Gun | +2 dice
- Ray Gun | +2 dice
- Biohazard Canister | +3 dice
Bonus against Clowns
- Acid Squirting Flower | +1 die
- Jack-in-a-Boxing-Glove | +1 die
- Mallet | 2+ dice
- Squirt Gun | +2 dice
- Exploding Cake | +3 dice
Bonus against Crittlins
- Paper Shredder | +1 die
- Polaroid Camera | +1 die
- Blender | +2 dice
- Microwave Oven | +2 dice
- Firecracker | +3 dice
Bonus against Ghosts
- Dream Catcher | +1 die
- Magic Circle | +1 die
- Ghost Detector | +2 dice
- Ouija Board | +2 dice
- Ghost Trap | +3 dice
Bonus against Golems
- Oil Lamp | +1 die
- Torch | +1 die
- Aerosol | +2 dice
- Pitchfork | +2 dice
- Chainsaw | +3 dice
Bonus against Maniacs
- Animal Snatcher | +1 die
- Clamp | +1 die
- Acid | +2 dice
- Dart Gun | +2 dice
- Jerrican | +3 dice
Bonus against Mummies
- Lighter | +1 die
- Scarab Amulet | +1 die
- Crook & Flail | +2 dice
- Embalming Tools | +2 dice
- Dagger | +3 dice
Bonus against Tritons
- Fish Hook | +1 die
- Fishing Net | +1 die
- Deep Fryer | +2 dice
- Grappling Hook | +2 dice
- Speargun | +3 dice
Bonus against Vampires
- Garlic | +1 die
- Pool Cue | +1 die
- Crucifix | +2 dice
- Mirror | +2 dice
- Crossbow & Stake | +3 dice
Bonus against Werewolves
- Silver Cane Handle | +1 die
- Silver Soup Tureen | +1 die
- Silver Trophy | +2 dice
- Silverware | +2 dice
- Flintlock & Silver Bullet | +3 dice
Bonus against Zombies
- LPs | +1 die
- Television | +1 die
- Baseball Bat | +2 dice
- Cleaver | +2 dice
- Lawn Mower | +3 dice
Cast of Characters
Monster Roster
Each family of monsters has a special ability in relation to the actions described on pages 8-11.
Aliens — Doors are nothing compared to faster-than-light travel! Aliens have one free smash action per turn. | 1 free smash action per turn
Clowns — You wouldn't think Clowns could be sneaky with their huge shoes, but you'd be wrong. As an additional free action, clowns may either peek or look at the next nocturnal event once per turn. | May peek or look at the next nocturnal event once per turn
Crittlins — The more the messier! There are 5 Crittlin children in the family, but no mothers or fathers. They have 2 actions per turn. Crittlins roll 2 dice plus 1 additional die for each additional crittlin in the same zone. You may place a new crittlin in your current zone once per turn. Re-activate crittlins when all 5 have been played. | Roll 2 dice plus 1 die per crittlin in the same zone; once per turn add a new crittlin to your current zone
Ghosts — Ghosts can walk through walls, of course, so they don't need to run around smashing doors unless they want to—and they always want to when ejected after a failed attack. The ghost family always plays last. | Can walk through walls; always plays last
Golems — Strong and dangerous beyond belief, Golems have 1 additional action die when attacking. | +1 action die when attacking
Maniacs — Maniacs are so terrifying that it hurts to look at them. When a maniac reveals a victim, they automatically injure the poor soul. The victim loses one health point, and the maniac gets one flesh token. | Automatically injure victims; -1 HP when they find them
Mummies — All wrapped up and nowhere to go! Mummies are so impressive, they have one free scare action per turn. | 1 free scare action per turn
Tritons — You can't hold back the tide! Tritons can force their victims to re-roll one of their successes once per attack. | May force victims to re-roll one success once per attack
Vampires — Stealthy with excellent vision, Vampires have 1 additional action die when searching a room. | +1 action die when searching
Werewolves — Especially fast, furious and furry, Werewolves have 2 free moves, instead of just 1. | 2 free moves, instead of just 1
Zombies — Unstoppable, it takes guests at least 2 successes to eject Zombies after a failed attack. | 2 successes needed to eject zombies after a failed attack
Guest List
Casting Note
If you like, you may cast any of the surprise visitors to replace any of the students as regular party guests.
However, we recommend that you cast the 5 students as the party guests and do not cast any of the surprise visitors the first time you play the game, and then add either Officer Roscoe, Replay or Sculder as the surprise visitor the next few times you play.
Whomever you cast to play in your Monster Slaughter movie, there will never be more than 8 victims in the game at once.
Party Guests
A band of insufferable college kids has gathered to party in the woods but things aren't going as planned. Who, if anyone, will survive the onslaught?
Luckily, each party guest has his or her own health points and special abilities to help them survive until dawn.
- Tom — Inventive, Tom has 1 automatic success.
- Bob — Strong, Bob always ejects his opponent after an attack. Provided he's still alive.
- Britney — Tenacious, Britney cancels out 1 of the monster's successes.
- Kam — Unpredictable, Kam rolls 1 die plus any reaction dice from a player.
- Laika — Smart, Laika can re-roll 1 of her failures.
Surprise Visitors
A passer-by heard the screams and decided to investigate. When the Knock Knock nocturnal event card is revealed, place the surprise visitor miniature in the living room.
Surprise visitors aren't part of the death order predictions, but can be killed. They can also be defended, except for the dog that we named Indiana. | See page 20. They each have their own special abilities and the number of health points shown on their character cards.
The surprise visitors are:
Agent MS — Neurolyzer: When this character fights back successfully, the player on your right can switch the positions of two of your death order markers for living victims without looking at them. They cannot move markers for dead victims.
Agent MS | Stunt Double — Elite Equipment: All objects give 3 dice. Applies to all victims in the same zone as Agent MS.
Bullwhip Walton — One Step Ahead: When your monster enters Bullwhip's current zone, move Bullwhip to an adjacent zone.
Demon Hunter — Mine Now: The first object card used by the Demon Hunter during the game is slipped under his card and remains permanently attached to him!
Ghost Hunter — Cross the Streams: When at least 2 victims are visibly present in the same zone as him, they each get a +2 dice bonus.
Indiana — Tenacious Tyke: Adult monsters cannot attack the dog, Indiana. They can scare him, however. He has 1 reaction die, and cannot go through intact doors.
Meatchete — Weapon Master: All objects give victims +1 reaction die.
Meatchete | Stunt Double — Armed to the Teeth: While Meatchete is in play, all victims—except the dog—are ambidextrous! Except for the dog, victims can be equipped with up to two object cards.
Mully — Skepticism: Agent Mully and all the victims in the same zone as her cannot be scared.
Officer Roscoe — Protect: Monsters cannot attack other victims if Officer Roscoe is located in the same zone.
Officer Roscoe | Stunt Double — Serve: Monsters attacking Officer Roscoe roll one less die.
Padre — Crucifix and Silver Bullets: When a monster injures the Padre, that player places Padre's character card in front of them. The player with the Padre's card cannot attack him. Padre can, however, be scared to a different zone, but he never hides and his card stays with the last player to have attacked him. If the Padre outlives all the other victims, the player who has his card gets one brain token.
Prof. Browne — Change the Future: Do not place Prof. Browne in a room when his card is revealed. Instead, when the next victim would normally be revealed, put the Prof. in the room instead of the victim and shuffle the victim back into the pile for that room.
Red Ansoll — Animal Tamer: Red and all victims in his zone have +2 reaction dice when they do not use objects.
Red Ansoll | Stunt Double — Diversion: When Red fights back, the other victims in the room are returned to the top of the draw pile for that room. If there's more than one victim, shuffle their cards before placing them back on the top of the pile.
Replay — Flamethrower: When Replay successfully fights back, she ejects all the monsters from the zone.
Replay | Stunt Double — Survivor: When Replay is injured, place her character card on top of the pile for her current room.
Sculder — Show Your Cards: When you attack Agent Sculder, you must show your hand to the other players.
Sculder & Mully Duo | Stunt Doubles — Unity Is Strength: Sculder & Mully can be scared, but do not hide. All victims (including the agents) have +1 reaction die when either Agent Sculder or Agent Mully is in the same zone as them, and +3 reaction dice when both agents are in the same zone as them.
Selena — Monster Hunter: When Selena successfully fights back, the attacking monster discards 1 flesh token if possible.
Selena | Stunt Double — Arcane Knowledge: When Selena is in play, objects' extra bonus against specific monster families is +3 dice, instead of +1.
Summer — Buff: When Summer is in play, all the victims roll an additional reaction die when they fight back.
Summer | Stunt Double — Resistance: The victim (or victims if tied) closest to death gets an additional 2 reaction dice when fighting back.
Zigmo — Clingy Friend: Victims and monsters roll one fewer die whenever they are in the same zone as Zigmo. If someone in the same zone as Zigmo moves, Zigmo automatically follows them.
Tool Shed Expansion
When things get tough, the tough go… to the tool shed. Tool sheds are awesome, no cabin in the woods is complete without one. And, they're sturdy. Really sturdy. Made to withstand the weather… and monsters. Especially monsters.
Tool Shed Components
- 1 3D tool shed
- 1 outdoor ground tile
- 2 sets of 5 neutral object cards
- 1 nocturnal event card
Set Up
During the Set up, build the tool shed and place it on the outer edge of two adjacent outdoor ground tiles. We recommend you place it close to the shovel and rake on the outside board if possible.
Shuffle one set of 5 neutral object cards to form the tool shed draw pile and place it face down next to the tool shed. | See Tool Shed Cards, page 23.
Take the Knock Knock and Outta Here nocturnal event cards and slip them somewhere in among the top three cards of the nocturnal event draw pile.
Special Rules
Fortunately for your victims, the tool shed is too small and sturdy for monsters to enter. Your victims are going to want to be there. It's safe. It's warm. It's full of useful objects, or so they think. The downside is that only 2 victims can fit in the tool shed at a time.
When a victim in the cabin is scared, they automatically enter the tool shed if possible, no matter how many successes were rolled—unless, of course, some devilishly clever monsters have barricaded every door leading out of the cabin.
In addition, playing with the tool shed alters the monsters' actions slightly as follows:
- Monsters cannot use the move action to enter the tool shed. Indeed, monsters can never enter the tool shed for any reason, not even by teleporting or walking through walls—we're looking at you, ghosts!
- The tool shed does have windows, so the monsters can use their peek action to get a glimpse of what might be used against them. All other peek rules apply.
- Monsters cannot smash or barricade the tool shed door. Seriously, who built this thing?!
- Monsters cannot use their search action in the tool shed. If you can't get in, you can't snoop inside.
- Obviously, victims feel safer in the tool shed, and automatically cancel one success when monsters try to scare them. If a monster does manage to scare a victim in the tool shed, the victim runs away and hides in the cabin in a hurry. Place their character card secretly on top of the draw pile of your choice.
- Monsters are nothing if not determined. They can attack the victims in the tool shed from outside through the windows. Victims in the tool shed can only fight back with the tools found in the shed—and of course their special abilities. When a monster attacks a victim in the tool shed, the player to the right of the active player draws a card from the tool shed draw pile. That player then helps the victim fight back using that card and normal rules. If the victim successfully fights back, the player who helped the victim chooses which one of the two adjacent outdoor zones the monster is ejected into.
Tool Shed Cards
Objects
We recommend using one of the 2 sets of neutral object cards below for the tool shed draw pile. Later on, when you feel confident, make your own sets of 5 cards from any of the neutral object cards in the game.
Objects: Set One
| Object | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1. Sprayer | +0 dice. Cancels the attack; the monster is not ejected |
| 2. Dibble | +1 die |
| 3. Blunderbuss | +2 dice. Ejects all monsters from the zone if a success is rolled |
| 4. Garden Shears | +2 dice |
| 5. Shovel | +2 dice |
Objects: Set Two
| Object | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1. Floodlight | +2 dice. If the victim survives, they temporarily blinded the monster, ran away, and hid in a hurry. Place their character card secretly on top of any draw pile |
| 2. Tiller | +2 dice |
| 3. Broadfork | +3 dice if there are 2 victims in the same zone; +1 otherwise |
| 4. Nail Gun | +3 dice |
| 5. Whipsaw | +4 dice if there are 2 victims in the same zone; +0 otherwise |
Important: After they are played, the object cards from the tool shed are discarded in the regular discard pile.
Nocturnal Event
Outta Here | Any party guests or surprise visitors revealed during this round are placed in the tool shed if possible