O Vale dos Monstros
O Vale dos Monstros Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 48 Wood monster pieces (8 from each legion)
- 12 Wood tent pieces
- 6 Screens
- 69 'Scary' tokens
- 44 Visitors tokens (15 men / 15 women / 14 children)
- 12 Numbered tiles, from 1 to 12
- 18 Additional Action Cards (3 from each legion)
- 6 Campfire tokens and 2 watchman tokens
- 1 Monsters' Valley board
- 4 Visitors tables, with different scenarios
Board spaces: Valley, Bush, Mountain, Tent, Revealed Tent.
Set Up
Open the main board on the table at everyone's reach. Each player chooses a legion of monster and collects its screen, its 3 extra action cards and its 8 wood monster pieces. The legions that were not used are returned to the box.
Each player also receives 3 'scary' tokens and places them behind the screen, the rest of the tokens are placed near the board, forming a pile. Shuffle the 12 numbered tiles and place them on the tents marks on the board, with the unrevealed numbers facing down. Place one wood tent on top of each tile. Those are the unrevealed tents. Choose a table of visitors between the 4 options.
The player who makes the most scaring sound will begin the game. This player places a monster piece from his legion on any empty bush on the four sideways of the board. The player sitting at his left does the same, following clockwise, with each player placing exactly 1 monster at his turn until all the players have placed all his 4 monsters. Each player must place 1 monster in each of the 4 sideways of the board. The other 4 monsters, not used by the players, are grouped and placed besides the board, forming a monsters reserve pile.
The Goal of the Game
Taking control of your own monster legion, each player will take a planned group of actions in order to collect the highest number of points. The points are obtained taking control of the tents, expanding your legion (in quantity) and accumulating 'scary' tokens at the end of the game. The game ends when all the 12 tents are under control. The player with the most points is the winner!
How to Play
Each player has 3 points of action that he must execute during his turn. A same action can be done more than once. The game follows clockwise.
The possible regular actions are represented behind every monster screen, so it can be easily memorized. Each one of the 6 legions of the game has a special ability to use during the game. This ability overcomes the normal actions and is also represented in the back of the screens. The use of the abilities is optional. Every monster is allowed to realize only regular actions if he desires so.
Actions
There are 6 different actions in the game:
- A. Move
- B. Reveal a tent
- C. Frighten a visitor
- D. Capture and transform a visitor
- E. Place a monster
- F. Pass
A. Move
The player chooses a monster piece from his legion in any bush or Valley space and moves it 1, 2 or 3 spaces in any direction. Important: a monster can't cross or stop in spaces occupied by any other monster (of any other legion, including his own), visitor, tent, campfire (*check ghost ability), or a mountain space.
The MOVE action can lead to two consequences:
1) Take control of a tent. It's only possible to take control of a tent after it has been revealed and when there are NO MORE visitors (man, women or child) adjacent to it. Adjacent monster pieces do not interfere in its occupation. So, if by moving a monster piece of your own legion the player manages to occupy the space of a tent in the board, he will have the right to take its control and score points at the end of the game.
The player must pay a certain number of 'scary' tokens to the main reserve. To take control of a tent WITHOUT a campfire adjacent, the player must pay 3 'scary' tokens. To take control of a tent WITH a campfire, the player must pay 5 'scary' tokens. In both cases, after paying, the player takes one of the used tokens and places it facing down in the tent space, placing your monster above it. From now till the end of the game, this monster piece remains there and cannot be attacked or perform any other action.
Obs: It's only allowed to move a monster piece to a tent space if you intend to take its control. Besides that, if the player does not have the necessary number of 'scary' tiles behind his screen, he cannot take control of the tent.
Example: All spaces adjacent to the tent are free (no visitors). The skeleton decides to use 1 of his actions to occupy the tent, paying 3 'scary' tokens to the main reserve.
2) Attack an opponent monster. If, by the end of a movement, the player is able to place 3 or more monsters adjacent of a same opponent monster, that other monster is surrounded! The surrounded piece is removed from the board and placed in front of the screen of the attacked player. The player that performed the attack receives 3 'scary' tokens and places them behind his screen.
Obs: The attacked piece may normally return to the game, in a later turn, through the 'place a monster' action.
Example: The mummy sees a good opportunity, spend 1 action point and move his piece A. Then, spend another action and move his piece B to the space adjacent to the vampire. Now the vampire is surrounded by 3 mummies and is kicked out of the Valley! The player controlling the mummies receives 3 'scary' tokens.
Legion abilities relating to Move
- Witch: Witches move fast through the Valley because they use their powerful brumes. That way, every time the player controlling the witches' legion takes the MOVE action, he can move his pieces up to 4 spaces instead of 3. This ability can be used numerous times during the player turn.
- Ghost: The ghosts easily appear and disappear all around. Thus, when a player controlling the ghost takes the MOVE action, he can cross spaces occupied by other monsters, visitors and campfires, but he MUST end his movement in a free space. However, ghosts do not cross tent spaces. This ability can be used numerous times during the player turn.
- Werewolf: The werewolves are extremely strong and hostile. For that, the player controlling the werewolves can surround an opponent monster with only 2 pieces, instead of 3. However, this player only receives 2 'scary' tokens to place behind his screen. This ability can be used only once during each turn of the game.
B. Revealing a Tent
The player chooses a monster piece of his legion that is placed inside the Valley and in a space adjacent to a non-revealed tent. Then, the player removes the tent from the board, reveals the numbered tile and checks the visitors table. According to the number of the tent, he will receive a certain amount of visitors/campfire to be placed into the Valley. The numbered tile and the tent are removed from the game and returned to the game box.
Depending on the number of the tent, it may or may not have a campfire connected to it. If the tent is associated to a campfire, the player must place the campfire in an empty adjacent space to the tent, BEFORE he places the visitors indicated by the chosen table. A campfire cannot be placed on a space adjacent to bushes, mountains or tents under control of any monster. If there is no free space for the campfire, the player that revealed it must choose a visitor or a monster that is adjacent to the just revealed tent and may 'burn it' with the campfire, placing the visitor back in the main supply or returning the monster to its owner.
All the visitors of the revealed tent must be placed in one of the 6 adjacent spaces of the tent. If there are not enough free spaces, they should be placed in a second level of spaces (the ring of spaces around the first six).
Example: The werewolf decides to reveal the tent adjacent to him. He checks the table, and according to the table, must place the visitors (1 man, 2 women, 1 child) and the campfire. He MUST place the campfire first, and there is only one available space for it. Following, he must place the visitors. There are 3 adjacent spaces to the tent, where 3 of the visitors MUST be placed. There are no more free adjacent spaces, so the last visitor must be placed in any space of the second 'level'.
C. Frightening a Visitor
When a monster piece of your own legion is in a space adjacent to a visitor token (man, woman or child), it is possible to frighten that visitor. When you frighten a visitor, remove that visitor token from the board and place it in the reserve pile. Then receive 'scary' tokens accordingly to the type of visitor (man: 3 tokens, woman: 2 tokens, child: 1 token) and place it behind your screen.
Obs: If the monster piece is in a bush space, the player CANNOT frighten a visitor.
D. Capturing and Transforming a Visitor
When a monster piece from your legion is in a space adjacent to a visitor token (man or woman), it is possible to capture that visitor, removing, simultaneously, the visitor token and your own monster piece from the board. The removed monster is placed in front of the player screen and the visitor token is returned to the reserve pile. The player who performed the action takes another monster piece from his legion from the reserve pile and also places it in front of his screen. The visitor (man or woman) has been transformed into a terrifying monster!
Obs.: If the monster piece is in a bush space, the player CANNOT capture a visitor.
Obs.: It's NOT permitted to capture children!
E. Placing a Monster
The player takes a monster piece of his own legion that is placed in front of his own screen and places it in any free bush around the board. If the player doesn't have any available monster in front of him, then he cannot perform this action.
F. Pass
The player decides to pass and perform no action at all.
Legion abilities relating to Frighten and Capture
- Skeleton: The skeletons come out from the depth and are absolutely creepy creatures. So, when a player controlling the skeleton's legion perform the 'frighten a visitor' action, he can frighten up to 2 visitors at the same time, receiving one less 'scary' token than he would normally receive by frightening both separately. This ability can be used only once during each turn of the game.
- Vampire: The vampires, when biting their victims, manage to transform them instantly in new vampires. Thus, when a player controlling the vampires perform the 'capture and transform a visitor' action, he places his two monster pieces (the removed one and the new transformed piece) directly in two empty adjacent bushes. This ability can be used only once during each turn of the game.
Additional Action
Each player receives 3 cards of additional actions during game setup and should keep them with the face turned up (showing the monster) in front of his screen so all the other players can see it. At the end of a turn, after performing the 3 regular actions, a player may, if he wish, take an additional extra action (which may be any of the 6 regular actions described above). For that, he just needs to turn one of his additional actions cards face-down and perform the chosen action. A player can only perform 1 additional action per turn. After using all the 3 cards, the player can reactivate them paying the cost of 4 'scary' tokens. The 'scary' tokens are returned to the main reserve pile and the cards are all turned face-up again. Each player can reactivate his 3 cards only once during the game.
- Mummy: Those strange and millenary creatures possess a great regenerative capacity. For that, the player controlling the mummies can reactivate his 3 action cards twice during the game. The first reactivation is free, and the second one costs only 2 'scary' tokens.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately after the turn in which any player takes control of the last tent. This means that all the twelve tents have been revealed and are under the monster's control. It may still last one or more visitor tokens inside the Valley. Those will be considered the most brave visitors that ever camped at the Monsters' Valley!
Final Scoring and Winner
Players count their points according to the table indicated at the board. Several items should be considered.
- Tents Under Control: Each tent under control awards you points. If it is a regular tent, you will earn 4 points. If there is a campfire adjacent to it, it worth 6 points.
- Monsters inside the Valley: Each monster inside the Valley, including the ones controlling tents are worth 2 points.
- Monsters at bushes or in front of the screens: Each monster piece occupying a bush space around the Valley and each monster piece in front of a player screen is worth 1 point (pieces at the main reserve do not count points).
- 'Scary' tokens: Each two 'scary' tokens saved by the player behind his screen is worth 1 point.
The player with most points is considered the winner! In case of a tie, the player with the most quantity of monster inside the Valley (bushes do not count) wins. In case of a new tie, the player with the greater quantity of 'scary' tokens win.
Two Player Rules
Each player chooses two different legions to play with. They play in alternate turns. Ex: Anne chooses to play with Vampires and Mummies, while Roy chooses to play with Witches and Ghosts. Anne will start, so the turns orders will be: Vampire (Anne), Witches (Roy), Mummies (Anne), Ghosts (Roy).
The player plays with the two screens simultaneously in front of him, but keeps the 'scary' tokens and monster pieces separated for each legion. At the end of the game, after the scoring each legion, players add the points of both legions he represented and check the winner. In case of a tie, follows the tiebreaking rules above. All other rules remain exactly the same.
Night Watchman Variant
There is a variant in the game that can add more strategy. It's the night watchman, a nice public worker in charge of keeping the order in the Valley.
During the game set-up, after players have placed alternately four pieces of monster each, the 'initial player' places the watchman in one of the four entrance spaces of the Valley (indicated by the lamps), at his choice. From now on, when the watchman is on that border side, no monster occupying a bush in the same Valley border side can enter the Valley. Besides that, no new monster can be 'placed' in bushes in that sideway.
Each time a tent is revealed, the player who performed that action may, if we wish, move the watchman to other entrance, releasing a border side and blocking a new one. It's also possible, for any desperate player, to move the watchman token during his turn paying 2 'scary' tokens. When the game ends, the monster pieces in the bushes of the same border side as the watchman do NOT score points.