Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze
Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Core Rules (The Unmatched System)
- Adventure Rules (Cooperative Play)
- Special Rules: Mothman
- Special Rules: Martian Invader
- Adding Unmatched Fighters
- Advanced Play
- The Minions
- Set Rules: The Heroes
Overview
Unmatched Adventures is a standalone game that uses the core rules and heroes from Unmatched in a whole new way.
Using these cooperative rules, up to four heroes will work together to defeat a villain controlled by the game. You can use the heroes in this set or mix and match heroes from other Unmatched sets. (You can even use the heroes in this set in competitive games of Unmatched!)
Core rules: Unless these rules specifically say otherwise, all Unmatched rules work as normal. If you are unfamiliar with the Unmatched core rules, read the "Core Rules" section below for how to play the competitive version of Unmatched.
This set includes two villains — Mothman and Martian Invader — each with a unique objective. Each time the villain completes its objective, things get harder for the heroes. Meanwhile, the villain's minions threaten the heroes with their own attacks. If the villain completes all of its objectives, the heroes lose!
Unmatched Adventures is a cooperative game. Players should communicate what is in their hand of cards, coordinate turns, and make plans. Players can play with open hands if preferred.
Winning and Losing
Players win the game if they defeat the villain, reducing the villain's health to zero.
Players lose the game if the villain achieves its objective four times or if all of the players' fighters are defeated (both heroes and sidekicks).
Contents
- 2 villain miniatures (Mothman, Martian Invader)
- 2 villain "double-dial" health dials
- 6 minion tokens (Tarantula, Ant Queen, Jersey Devil, Skunk Ape, Loveland Frog, The Blob)
- 6 minion health dials
- 8 doom/alien tokens
- 1 threat marker
- 4 bridge tokens (Suspension Bridge, Truss Bridge, Covered Bridge, Drawbridge)
- 4 invasion tokens
- 6 web tokens (Tarantula)
- 6 acid tokens (The Blob)
- 4 player order markers
- 1 double-sided game board (Point Pleasant / McMinnville)
- 22 initiative cards: 2 villain cards, 6 minion cards, 4 invasion cards, 4 player cards, 3 Strange Pheromone cards, 3 Loveland Frog Strikes Again cards
- 8 enemy action decks: 19 villain action cards (Mothman + Martian Invader), 45 minion action cards (10 Mothman, 9 Martian Invader, 8 Ant Queen, 8 Blob, 8 Jersey Devil, 8 Loveland Frog, 6 Skunk Ape, 7 Tarantula)
- 12 Amazing Event cards
- 4 hero miniatures and their components (see Set Rules below)
Core Rules (The Unmatched System)
Unmatched is a miniatures dueling game featuring fighters of all kinds — from the page to the screen to the stuff of legends. Each hero has a unique deck of cards that fits their fighting style. You can mix and match fighters from any Unmatched set. But remember, in the competitive game, in the end there can only be one winner.
These are the general rules for all Unmatched games. The main section of the rules applies to the two-player game, where one hero faces off against another. Instructions for free-for-all and team play are further below.
Each set comes with special rules that only apply to those heroes. Whenever an effect contradicts a general rule, ignore the rule and apply the effect.
Heroes & Sidekicks
All of your characters in the battle are called your fighters, but your primary fighter is called your hero. Heroes are represented by miniatures that move around on the battlefield.
Your other fighters are called sidekicks. Heroes may have multiple sidekicks, a single sidekick, or no sidekicks at all. Sidekicks are represented by tokens that move around on the battlefield.
Your hero has a unique character card that identifies their special ability. This card also lists your fighters' move value and starting health. You also have a custom deck of action cards.
How to Play
Players take turns maneuvering their fighters on the battlefield, playing schemes, and attacking their opponent's fighters. To win, you must be the first to defeat your opponent's hero, which happens when they are reduced to zero health.
Setup
- Choose a battlefield and place it on the table.
- Each player chooses a hero and takes the corresponding action cards, character card, hero miniature, sidekick tokens (if any), health dials, and any other components for their hero.
- Each player sets their fighters' starting health on the matching health dials. Starting health is found on their character card. (Note: Sidekicks with no health dial have 1 health.)
- Each player shuffles their action cards to form a single deck and places it face down, then draws 5 cards as their starting hand.
- Starting spaces are designated on the battlefield by a diamond with a number on it. The younger player places their hero in the "1" space on the battlefield. If they have sidekicks, place them in separate spaces within the same zone as their hero. If their hero is in a space that is part of multiple zones, their sidekicks may be in any of those zones. (Note: If you cannot place a sidekick because there is no available space in your zone, you may place that sidekick in any space.)
- The older player places their hero in the "2" space on the battlefield, then places their sidekicks, if they have them, based on the same rules as in step 5.
- The player whose hero is in the "1" space takes the first turn.
The Field of Battle
Spaces and Zones
The battlefield is made up of circular spaces that the fighters will move between. Each space can only contain one fighter at a time.
Two spaces connected by a line are adjacent. Adjacency is used to determine targets of melee attacks and various card effects.
The spaces of the battlefield are divided into zones, which are indicated by different colors. All spaces with the same color are in the same zone (even if they are in different parts of the battlefield). If a space has multiple colors, it is considered to be in each of those zones. Zones are used to determine targets of ranged attacks and various card effects.
Some boards have the same battlefield on both sides. On one side, the colored spaces are filled in with different patterns, which can be especially helpful for players with vision deficiencies. The other side has empty circles, where zones are only indicated by the circle's color. Both sides play exactly the same.
Your Turn
On your turn, you must take 2 actions; you cannot skip an action. You may choose two different actions or the same action twice.
The possible actions are:
- Maneuver
- Scheme
- Attack
You can have more than 7 cards in your hand during your turn. At the end of your turn, after resolving any other effects, if you have more than 7 cards in your hand, you must discard down to 7 cards, placing any discarded cards in your discard pile.
Then, it is your opponent's turn.
Anatomy of an Action Card
- A — Overall card type: Attack, Defense, Scheme, or Versatile (attack or defense).
- B — Attack or defense value (if any).
- C — Banner name.
- D — Name of the card.
- E — Effect when played (if any).
- F — BOOST value.
- G — Deck that the card appears in.
- H — Number of copies in the deck.
Each hero's deck is different, though they may share some cards with other heroes' decks.
Action: Maneuver
When you take the maneuver action, you first draw the top card of your deck, then you may move your fighters. These steps must be performed in order.
Step 1: Draw a Card (Mandatory)
Draw the top card of your deck and add it to your hand. You must draw a card when you take the maneuver action.
Exhaustion: When your deck is empty, your fighters are exhausted. If you need to draw a card while your fighters are exhausted, do not reshuffle your discard pile. Instead, each of your fighters immediately takes 2 damage for each card you cannot draw.
Banner name: Each card in your deck has a banner name that indicates which fighters are allowed to use it. You may not play a card if the listed fighter is defeated. If the banner name is "ANY", then any of your fighters can use it. If the banner name is for multiple sidekicks, such as Medusa's harpies, choose which token is resolving the card. (They may resolve it even if other sidekicks of that type are defeated.)
Step 2: Move Your Fighters (Optional)
After drawing a card for the maneuver action, you may move your fighters.
Your character card lists your move value. During this step, you may move each of your fighters, one at a time, a number of spaces equal to or less than your move value. Before moving, you may choose to BOOST your movement (see below).
When you move a fighter, each space they move into must be adjacent to their previous space. You may move a fighter through spaces occupied by other friendly fighters (i.e., your own fighters), but they must end their movement in an empty space (i.e., a space with no fighters). You may not move a fighter through spaces occupied by opposing fighters.
You may move your fighters in the order of your choice, but must finish each fighter's movement before starting the next. You are not required to move all of your fighters the same distance as each other; you get to choose how far each of your fighters moves. You are allowed to move a fighter zero spaces.
Movement effects: If an effect ever lets you move your opponent's fighters, you must respect all of the same movement rules, but from your opponent's perspective. If an effect lets you "place" a fighter, do not move them normally — simply put them in a new space. You may only place a fighter in an empty space.
Boost
When you take the maneuver action, you may BOOST your movement. To do this, discard 1 card from your hand and add that card's BOOST value to your move value. Ignore any effect on the discarded card.
Certain effects (like Medusa's Second Shot card) allow you to boost other things, such as the value of an attack.
Cards that can no longer legally be played, because the corresponding fighter or fighters have been defeated, may still be discarded from your hand to boost.
Action: Scheme
When you take the scheme action, choose a scheme card (indicated by the scheme icon) from your hand. Declare which of your undefeated fighters is resolving the scheme card and play it onto the table, face up.
Resolve the card's effect, then place the card into your discard pile.
Discard piles: Maintain your own discard pile. All action cards, once played and resolved, should be placed in the discard pile. Keep your discard pile face up to differentiate it from your deck. Both you and your opponent are allowed to look through your discard pile at any time.
Action: Attack
When you take the attack action, declare which of your fighters is attacking and who the target is. You may not take the attack action if you do not have an attack card in hand or a valid target to attack.
Step 1: Declare Target
Any fighter may use a melee attack to target a fighter in an adjacent space, regardless of what zone they are in. Melee fighters (indicated by the melee icon on their character card) may only make melee attacks.
Ranged fighters (indicated by the ranged icon on their character card) may also make ranged attacks. A ranged attack targets a fighter anywhere in the same zone as the attacker, regardless of adjacency.
Step 2: Choose and Reveal
As the attacker, choose an attack card from your hand and play it face down in front of you; it must be a card that your attacking fighter is allowed to use. Then, the defender may (but is not required to) choose a defense card from their hand and play it face down in front of them; it must be a card their defending fighter is allowed to use.
Once both players have chosen their cards, reveal them at the same time. Then, resolve combat.
Versatile cards: Cards with the versatile icon are versatile cards. They can be used as attack cards or defense cards. Versatile cards also count as both attack cards and defense cards for the purposes of other game effects.
Combat Effects
Effects that resolve in combat have labels indicating when they occur: immediately, during combat, or after combat. Effects can be on played attack and defense cards or elsewhere, such as a character card.
If two effects would ever appear to resolve at the same time, the defender's effect resolves first. If two different effects by the same player happen at the same time, that player determines the order they are resolved.
Even if a player's fighter is defeated during the combat, any effects of their played card will still resolve. Nevertheless, some effects might not trigger (for example, if it requires the defeated fighter to be adjacent to another fighter).
Step 3: Resolve Combat
Combat is resolved in the following steps:
- Immediately: After cards have been revealed, resolve any effects that occur immediately. These effects often cancel other effects.
- During Combat: Resolve any effects that occur during combat. These effects often change the attack or defense values.
- Apply Combat Damage: Determine the result of the combat. The attacker deals combat damage to the defender equal to the value of their played attack card. If the defender played a defense card, subtract the value of their played defense card first. For each damage that the defender takes, reduce that fighter's health by one, adjusting their health dial accordingly. (A defender never deals combat damage to the attacker, even if their defense value is greater than the attacker's attack value.)
- After Combat: After the result of the combat has been determined, resolve any card effects that occur after combat. These effects will often move fighters, draw cards, and so forth.
- Cleanup: Place all played action cards into their discard piles.
- Additional Effects: Some effects happen "after attacking." These are different from after combat effects and occur as the last step after the attack is fully resolved.
Resolving Effects
Card effects are mandatory and must be resolved unless they include the word may. If an effect says that you may do something, you choose whether or not to do it when you resolve the effect.
If an effect lets you do something up to a certain number, you can choose "0". For example, if an effect tells you to move your fighter "up to 3 spaces", you may move them 0 spaces, leaving them in their current space.
When an effect refers to a card's printed value, that means the value on the card itself, ignoring any changes to it from other effects.
Some effects cause you to ignore a card's value. Ignored values are treated as a "0" when calculating combat damage, regardless of how and when they might be modified by other effects.
If any part of an effect cannot be resolved, resolve as much of that effect as you can and ignore the rest. For example, if an effect requires you to draw a card and your opponent to discard a card, and your opponent has no cards to discard, you would still draw a card.
Some effects cancel other effects. If an effect is canceled, do not resolve it.
Winning the Combat
Some effects check to see who won the combat.
The attacker won the combat if they dealt at least one combat damage (i.e., damage to the defender from the attack itself, not from any effects).
The defender won the combat if they took no combat damage from the attack itself (even if they took damage from effects).
Defeating a Fighter
Fighters lose health by taking damage in combat and from various effects. When one of your fighters is reduced to zero health, for any reason, they are defeated.
Some effects allow a fighter to recover health. A fighter's health cannot go above their starting health. A defeated fighter cannot recover health.
When a fighter is defeated, immediately remove their miniature or token from the battlefield.
Winning the Game
At the start or end of any action, if your opponent's hero is defeated, you win! If both heroes are defeated, the player whose turn it is wins.
Free-for-All
You can play Unmatched with three or four players playing against each other using the following rules:
- Choose a battlefield with four or more starting spaces. (Some battlefields have only two starting spaces and therefore cannot be used for free-for-all play.)
- On a player's first turn of the game, they may only attack the player whose turn is immediately after them or a player who has already taken their turn. For example, in a game with four players, the player going first may not attack the player going third or fourth, and the player going second may not attack the player going fourth.
- When an effect on a combat card refers to "your opponent", that means the other player in the combat.
- A player is eliminated when their hero is defeated. Immediately remove their sidekicks from the board, if any.
- The winner is the last player whose hero is not defeated!
Team Play
You can play Unmatched in teams of two with three or four players, using the following rules:
-
Choose a battlefield with four starting spaces. (Some battlefields have only two starting spaces and therefore cannot be used for team play.) Teammates sit next to each other on the same side of the battlefield. They may communicate about their cards and tactics, but each player controls their own hero and sidekicks. Your teammate's fighters are considered friendly fighters. (For team play with three players, one player will control both heroes and sidekicks for one team.)
-
During setup, players place their heroes in alternating order:
- First player on Team A places their hero in the "1" space.
- First player on Team B places their hero in the "2" space.
- Second player on Team A places their hero in the "3" space.
- Second player on Team B places their hero in the "4" space.
When placing their hero, each player also places their sidekick within the same zone, as normal.
-
During the game, players take turns in alternating order:
- First player on Team A takes their turn.
- First player on Team B takes their turn.
- Second player on Team A takes their turn.
- Second player on Team B takes their turn.
This order repeats for the rest of the game.
-
When a player's hero is defeated, immediately remove that hero miniature from the battlefield. That player still takes their turns as normal, as long as their sidekick is not defeated. If all of a player's fighters are defeated, they are eliminated and do not take any more turns.
-
When both heroes on one team have been defeated, the opposing team wins!
Icon Reference
- Attack icon: This card can only be used to attack.
- Defense icon: This card can only be used to defend against an attack.
- Versatile icon: This card can be used to attack or defend.
- Scheme icon: As an action, this card can be played for its effect.
- Ranged icon: This fighter may make ranged and melee attacks.
- Melee icon: This fighter may only make melee attacks.
Adventure Rules (Cooperative Play)
Setup
-
Choose a villain and set them up as follows:
- Place the game board with the chosen villain's side face up.
- Place the threat marker in the first space of the threat track.
- Shuffle the villain's action deck.
- Set the villain's starting health dial based on the number of players (10 health per player).
- Place the villain miniature on the "5" starting space.
Note: Martian Invader is a more challenging villain to defeat than Mothman. We recommend choosing Mothman as the villain for your first game.
-
Choose a number of minions equal to the number of players. You can choose them randomly, using the initiative cards, or decide which ones to use. Set each minion up as follows:
- Shuffle the minion's action deck.
- Set the minion's health dial to 10.
- Place the minion's token in any empty space adjacent to the villain.
- If you are playing with the Tarantula or The Blob minions, create a supply of web or acid tokens, respectively.
-
Each player chooses a hero, places them on any empty starting space, and sets up according to the Unmatched core rules.
-
Each player takes the player order marker corresponding to the space their hero is starting on (1–4).
-
Take the initiative cards for the villain, minions, and players being used and shuffle them together to create the initiative deck. Place it near the board.
Note: If playing with the Loveland Frog or the Ant Queen minions, do not include the three Loveland Frog Strikes Again or the three Ant Queen's Strange Pheromone initiative cards. Those cards will be added to the initiative deck during play.
Mothman setup (bridges): Randomly place the 4 bridge tokens on the bridge spaces with their effect side face up. Place 1 doom token on bridge #1. (Bridge numbers are printed on the game board near the token spaces.)
Martian Invader setup (invasion): Shuffle invasion cards into the initiative deck based on the number of players, as indicated on the cards. For example, in a 1-player game, you would only use the "Invasion Wave 1" card; in a 2-player game you would use "Invasion Wave 1" and "Invasion Wave 2" cards; in a 4-player game, you would use all four invasion cards. Turn the 4 invasion tokens face down, mix them up, and randomly place them on the four invasion spots at the top of the board.
You can make the game more difficult by using Amazing Event cards (see Advanced Play).
Enemies
In Tales to Amaze, enemies are opposing fighters controlled by the game. Enemies have a number of special rules.
Villains and Minions
The main enemy is called the villain, and the other enemies are called minions. These are similar to heroes and sidekicks controlled by players, but effects that specifically refer to "heroes" or "sidekicks" do not affect villains or minions. Effects that refer to "fighters" affect enemies as normal.
Action Cards
Each enemy has its own deck of action cards. All enemy cards are versatile cards and can be used to attack or defend. Unlike regular versatile cards, these cards have separate attack and defense values.
Most enemy action cards also have effects. Sometimes the effects will resolve whether the card is used for attack or defense (designated by information enclosed by a single, gray box). Other times, the effect will only resolve when the card is used to attack (designated by two separate gray boxes).
Anatomy of an Enemy Card
- A — Villain or minion name.
- B — Name of the card.
- C — Attack and defense value.
- D — BOOST value.
- E — Effect when played (if any).
- F — Number of copies in the deck.
In combat, the printed value of an enemy's card is the attack value if it is attacking, and the defense value if it is defending. If the card is in the enemy's "hand" or deck, use its attack value.
Movement
Enemies may move through other enemies but not through heroes or sidekicks. Some effects place an enemy on the "closest empty starting space". Place them on the closest starting space without a fighter. If they are already on a starting space, place them on a new one.
Enemy Hands and Discarding
Enemies do not have a hand of cards. If an effect would reveal or allow a player to look at an enemy's hand or any number of cards in its hand, instead, look at the top card of its deck. If an enemy is forced to discard any number of cards, whether random or not, put that many cards from the top of its deck into its discard pile.
Threat Track
Each villain has a threat track on its respective board that displays how close it is to meeting its objective. The threat marker identifies the villain's progress toward its objective as well as the current threat level. Enemy cards and effects say when to advance the threat marker along the track and by how much. When advancing the marker on the track, count the spaces one by one, ignoring the printed numbers below the track.
Threat level: The threat level is a value indicated by the printed number directly below the threat marker's current position. Occasionally, an effect will ask the players to reference the threat level, meaning its current value.
End of the track: When the threat marker reaches the end of the threat track, the villain achieves its objective (noted in the villain's special rules below). Ignore any additional spaces the threat marker would move. Immediately resolve the objective. Then, unless that ends the game, return the threat marker to the first space on the track.
Example: At the end of the round, the threat marker is supposed to advance four spaces. The players move it two spaces to the end of the track, which means Mothman completes its objective. Since this is only the first time Mothman achieved its objective, the game continues, and the threat marker is returned to the start of the track.
Tokens
The Tarantula and Blob minions add tokens to their spaces. Tarantula adds webs, and Blob adds acid. A space can only have one token of each type. Once a web or acid token is placed in a space, it cannot be moved or removed. If an effect places one of these tokens and there are none of that type in the supply, nothing happens. Enemies ignore tokens; only heroes and sidekicks are affected by them.
- Web: A hero or sidekick that enters an empty space with a web token must end their movement. They may move again with a new action or effect. A hero or sidekick ignores the web's effect if there is a friendly fighter on the space.
- Acid: A hero or sidekick that enters an empty space with an acid token takes 1 damage. Acid tokens do not stop movement. A hero or sidekick ignores the acid's effect if there is a friendly fighter on the space.
Playing the Game
Tales to Amaze is played over a series of rounds, with players and enemies taking turns according to the initiative deck.
At the start of each turn, reveal the top card of the initiative deck and identify what player or enemy it belongs to. Some initiative cards have effects that resolve when they are revealed, and others only have effects that resolve at the end of the round. Always follow the RIGHT NOW text immediately, if any. This usually involves a player or enemy taking a turn. After resolving, draw the next initiative card.
Every time a new initiative card is revealed, place it to the right of the previous card. As the round progresses, this will create a row of face-up cards.
Note: Whenever a minion or player is defeated, remove the corresponding initiative card from play. If it is already revealed, simply remove it from the row. Otherwise, remove it from play the next time it is revealed and then immediately reveal the next card.
Additional enemy turns: Some effects can cause an enemy initiative card to be placed on the bottom of the initiative deck. As a result, that enemy will get another turn that round. If it is the last turn of the round, it immediately gets another turn.
Player Turns
When a player's initiative card is revealed, that player takes a turn. They carry out their turn as normal, taking two actions among Maneuver, Scheme, and Attack.
Attacking an Enemy
When attacking an enemy, play an attack card face down on the table. Then, play the top card of that enemy's deck as a defense card face down on the table. Reveal both cards simultaneously and resolve combat as normal. The enemy's card indicates its defense value. If there is an effect in the box with the defense value, resolve it. (If an effect is only in the box with the attack value, do not resolve it.)
If the player's attack deals combat damage, reduce the enemy's health on its health dial. Resolve any after combat effects. Then, put both played cards in their respective discard piles.
When an enemy is defeated, remove its miniature or token, health dial, and all of its cards from the game. If the enemy's initiative card is already revealed, remove it now; if not, remove it when it is revealed.
Deception Cards
Each enemy has a Deception card in its action card deck. Whenever this card is put into an enemy's discard pile, shuffle its discard pile (including the Deception card) back into the deck.
The reshuffle effect on an enemy's Deception card always resolves, even if it is placed in the enemy's discard pile in the middle of another effect. It cannot be canceled or otherwise prevented.
If this happens in the middle of combat, immediately shuffle the enemy deck, but do not shuffle the card that the enemy is using in combat. After the combat is over, that card will be discarded to create a new discard pile.
Enemy Turns
Unlike a player's turn, enemies will not take two actions. On an enemy's turn, it will try to attack one time, moving as necessary to do so. (An enemy never attacks twice in the same turn, even if it starts adjacent to a target.)
Determining a Target
Determine which hero or sidekick the enemy will target using the following steps:
- Adjacent Target: If the enemy is adjacent to one hero or sidekick, it attacks that hero or sidekick. If the enemy is adjacent to more than one hero or sidekick, the players decide who the enemy attacks.
- Closest Target: If no target is adjacent, the enemy will move to attack the closest target within its move value that it can reach. If it can reach the closest target by multiple routes, it takes the shortest route. If there is a tie for closest target, the players choose the target. If there are multiple routes to take, the players choose the route.
- No Target: If no target is within its move value, the enemy does not move or attack. Instead, advance the threat marker by 1.
Target Example 1: At the start of its turn, Mothman is adjacent to Tesla and Daisy. Because both are adjacent to Mothman, the heroes decide who Mothman attacks.
Target Example 2: Mothman is not adjacent to any opposing fighters, so it will move and attack. It has a move value of 3. Golden Bat is 2 spaces away. Daisy is 3 spaces away. Since Golden Bat is closer, Mothman moves 2 spaces to get adjacent to Golden Bat and attacks.
Target Example 3: The Loveland Frog is not adjacent to any opposing fighters, so it looks for the closest target. Its move value is 3, but the closest opposing fighter is 4 spaces away, so it does not move. The threat track is advanced by 1, and the Loveland Frog ends its turn.
Enemy Attacks
When an enemy attacks a fighter, place the top card of the enemy's deck on the table face down. Then, the defender may choose a defense card from their hand and play it face down in front of them (it must be a card their defending fighter is allowed to use). Finally, reveal both cards simultaneously and resolve the attack.
The enemy's card indicates its attack value. If the card has an effect, resolve it. Then, resolve combat as normal. Put the played cards in their respective discard piles.
Player Elimination
A player is only eliminated when all of their fighters are defeated. Otherwise, they take a turn with whatever fighters they have remaining. When a player is eliminated, remove their initiative card. If it is already revealed, remove it now; if not, remove it when it is revealed later. Then, continue play. Eliminated players are not affected by enemy effects.
End of the Round
After the last card in the initiative deck is played and all fighters have taken their turns, resolve all end-of-round effects (at the bottom of the initiative cards), one at a time, from left to right. (Some cards do not have effects.) After resolving all end-of-round effects, shuffle the initiative cards together and start the next round.
Note: The Loveland Frog and Ant Queen minions can add new cards to the initiative deck. These new cards are added when the initiative cards are shuffled together, after all end-of-round effects are resolved.
End of Game
The game ends when the players win (by defeating the villain) or when the players lose (because the villain achieves its objective four times or all of the players' fighters are defeated).
Special Rules: Mothman
Bridges
Each bridge acts as a connection between the two spaces adjacent to it, as indicated by the line on the token. Fighters may move or attack across a bridge between the two spaces as normal. A bridge token is not a separate space; fighters may not stop their movement on a bridge.
Mothman will destroy the lowest-numbered bridge every time the threat marker reaches the end of the threat track. (Bridge numbers are printed on the board near the token spaces.)
Doom Tokens
A bridge can have up to 8 doom tokens. If an effect places doom tokens and there are not enough in the supply, the players place as many as they can. Then, advance the threat marker on the threat track 1 space for each token that could not be placed.
Activating a Bridge
After a player completes a maneuver action, they may discard a card to activate a bridge that one of their fighters is adjacent to. They may only activate one bridge in a single action. If their fighters are adjacent to more than one bridge, they may choose which bridge to activate. Activating a bridge triggers its effect and removes doom tokens on it (see below). Using the bridge effect is optional.
- Drawbridge: Choose a player. They draw cards until they have a hand of 4 cards. (They may choose to draw fewer cards.)
- Covered Bridge: Choose a fighter. They recover up to 3 health. (Players cannot bring back a defeated fighter this way.)
- Truss Bridge: Choose a fighter (enemy or friendly). Move that fighter up to 3 spaces.
- Suspension Bridge: Choose an enemy still in the game. Look at the top 2 cards of its deck. Discard one and place the other back on top of its deck.
Removing Doom Tokens
Whether the player used the bridge's effect or not, they may remove a number of doom tokens on that bridge equal to the BOOST value of the card they discarded. This will slow down Mothman from completing its objective.
Objective: Destroy Bridges
Mothman's objective is to destroy bridges. At the end of each round, Mothman's initiative card ability resolves, which moves the threat marker. Advance the threat marker one space plus one additional space for each doom token on the lowest-numbered bridge. When the threat marker reaches the last space of the threat track, Mothman completes its objective and the lowest-numbered bridge is destroyed. Mothman does not need to be adjacent to the bridge. Ignore any additional spaces the threat marker would advance.
When Mothman destroys one of the first three bridges, resolve the destroyed bridge as follows:
- Move all doom markers on the destroyed bridge to the next lowest-numbered bridge.
- Remove the destroyed bridge token and place it on the leftmost "destroyed bridge" spot near the threat track.
- Resolve the two effects below that destroyed bridge spot, as indicated by the connecting lines.
- Place the threat marker on the first space of the threat track.
Once a bridge is destroyed, the spaces on either side are no longer connected; fighters may no longer move between them or attack across them with a melee fighter. (Ranged fighters may still attack spaces in the same zone as normal.)
If Mothman destroys the fourth bridge, the heroes lose!
Example: At the end of the round, there are 3 doom tokens on bridge #1. Mothman's ability is resolved in the initiative track and the threat marker advanced 4 spaces (1 space plus one for each doom token on the bridge). This moves the threat marker to the end of the threat track. The three doom tokens are moved to bridge #2. Bridge #1 is placed on the first destroyed bridge spot at the top of the board, and both effects are resolved. Finally, the threat marker is placed on the first space on the track.
The destroyed-bridge effects (resolved as each bridge falls) are:
- Destroy Bridge 1: Place Mothman adjacent to the hero with the lowest health.
- Destroy Bridge 2: Each player discards a card.
- Destroy Bridge 3: Mothman recovers 1 health for each player still in the game.
- Destroy Bridge 4: Add +1 to all enemy attacks for the rest of the game (the heroes lose when the fourth bridge is destroyed).
Special Rules: Martian Invader
Fields
The map (Point Pleasant) contains 8 fields (numbered 1–8). A field borders all spaces on its perimeter. Some spaces border two fields. Each field may contain up to 8 aliens. A field without any alien tokens is an empty field. A field with at least one alien token is occupied.
Aliens
Martian Invader is sending aliens into fields to invade Earth. They are not fighters, cannot be attacked, and cannot be the target of any effects. If an effect places aliens and there are not enough in the supply, the players place as many as they can. Then, advance the threat track 1 space for each alien that could not be placed.
Removing Alien Tokens
After a player completes a maneuver action, they may remove one alien from a field that borders the space one of their fighters is on. They may remove an alien whether they move their fighters or not. If their fighters border more than one field, they may still only remove one alien from one field.
Objective: Invasion
When the threat marker reaches the end of the threat track, flip the leftmost face-down invasion token face up. It stays revealed for the rest of the game.
Martian Invader's cards have effects with one of four invasion symbols on them. If the matching invasion token is face up, resolve the effect as normal. Otherwise, ignore that effect.
If Martian Invader reveals the fourth invasion token, the heroes lose!
Adding Unmatched Fighters
Tales to Amaze is compatible with heroes from other Unmatched sets. Cards from other sets may have unique interactions.
Choosing an opponent: Enemies are treated as being played by an opponent. For example, Feint, which cancels all effects on your opponent's card, cancels effects on an enemy's card. However, enemies cannot be chosen by any effect. Ignore any effect that says "choose an opponent."
Enemy decisions: Enemies cannot and do not make decisions. If an effect says it may do something, it chooses not to. If an effect lets it do something up to some number of times, it does it 0 times. If an effect lets an enemy place itself in one of a number of possible spaces, players decide where to place it. If an effect would require it to decide between two or more options, it refuses and the effect is ignored.
Printed value: The printed value of a card in the enemy's deck or hand is its attack value. In combat, use the attack value if it is attacking, and the defense value if it is defending.
Small fighters: Enemies ignore small fighters when determining targets to move toward and attack.
Drawing cards: If an effect results in an enemy drawing cards, shuffle that many cards from the top of its discard pile back into its deck. If there aren't enough, shuffle the entire discard pile back into its deck. Enemies cannot become exhausted.
Returning to hand: If an effect returns a card specifically to an enemy's hand, put that card on top of its deck.
Advanced Play
You can make the game more difficult by using Amazing Event cards. After setting up the game as normal, choose 1 to 3 cards (or shuffle and draw them randomly). The more cards you use, the more difficult the game will be. Place them face up near the board. They are in effect for the whole game. (Note: Some combinations of heroes and Amazing Events can make the game very difficult. Good luck!)
Feeling competitive? You can use the heroes from this set to play the standard competitive version of Unmatched. You can even play on the battlefields in this set. If you play on the Point Pleasant battlefield, do not place the bridge tokens on the board.
The Minions
- Ant Queen: Ant Queen acts as a mini-boss, advancing the threat track. She also puts Strange Pheromone cards into the initiative deck, which trigger more end-of-round effects until she is defeated.
- The Blob: Blob puts acid tokens on the board that damage heroes and sidekicks who land on them. The Blob also heals and has effects that damage heroes and sidekicks next to them.
- Jersey Devil: Jersey Devil causes players to discard cards, both from their hands and their decks. It can cancel cards that share a name with a card in that player's discard pile.
- Skunk Ape: Skunk Ape hits hard. Real hard. It takes extra turns when it loses combat and can terrorize sidekicks.
- Tarantula: Tarantula leaves web tokens on the board that stop heroes and sidekicks who land on them. It is more powerful when on a web token.
- The Loveland Frog: The Loveland Frog puts extra initiative cards in the deck, allowing it to attack up to four times a round. It also damages opponents near them.
Set Rules: The Heroes
Revealing Cards
Heroes in this set have effects that tell you to reveal cards from a player's deck. To do that, flip that card face up so both players can see it. Then, return the card to the top of the deck unless an effect tells you otherwise.
Dr. Jill Trent, Science Sleuth — Gadgetology
Jill Trent was an unlikely and little-known hero from the golden age of pulp comics. Along with her trusty companion, Daisy, these gals brought the power of science to bear against the forces of evil… and weren't afraid to engage in a bit of fisticuffs if things got dicey.
Dr. Jill Trent has two wondrous gadgets represented on the two sides of her gadget token. She may only have one gadget active at any time.
At the start of your turn, decide which gadget you want to be active and place that side of the token face up. You may choose the same gadget as on your previous turn.
Both of Jill's gadgets have an effect that resolves when she attacks. Her sidekick, Daisy, does not use the active gadget (unless you play Sister in Arms). Both gadgets compare the printed value of your attack card against the printed value of your opponent's defense card. If your opponent did not play a card, treat their printed value as 0.
Components: 30 action cards, 1 Dr. Jill Trent hero miniature, 1 Dr. Jill Trent character card, 1 Daisy sidekick token, 2 health dials, 1 gadget token.
Annie Christmas — Necklace of Pearls
A literal tall tale, Annie was a 7-foot keelboat captain on the mighty Mississippi and strong as the river on which she plied her trade. She didn't take any guff, wearing a necklace of pearls – one for each fool who thought they could take her on and failed.
Annie Christmas adds +2 to the value of her attacks if her health is less than the defender's health. Like all special abilities, this is not a "card" effect and cannot be canceled by cards such as Feint.
Components: 30 action cards, 1 Annie Christmas hero miniature, 1 Annie Christmas character card, 1 Charlie sidekick token, 2 health dials.
Nikola Tesla — The Scientific Method
The renowned Serbian-born inventor and not-at-all-mad scientist is best known for his work with alternating-current electricity. His curious habits included curling his toes a hundred times to stimulate his mind. Who knows what other wondrous creations the world never learned about…
Nikola Tesla has two coils represented by two separate tokens. Each token can either be charged or discharged. At the start of the game, Tesla starts with one coil charged.
At the end of each of your turns, you may charge one coil, flipping it from its discharged side to its charged side.
At the start of your turn, if both coils are charged, deal 1 damage to each opposing fighter adjacent to Tesla. Then, you may move each of those fighters 1 space. Using this ability does not discharge the coils.
Many of Tesla's cards let you discharge one or two coils to trigger effects, as indicated by the coil icons. When you discharge a coil, flip the token over from its charged side to its discharged side. Discharging coils is always optional. Tesla's cards have separate effects based on whether you discharge one or two coils. Sometimes, these effects will be in addition to other effects on the card (also); sometimes, they will replace other effects (instead). If you discharge two coils, read the effect for one coil and then read the effect for two coils and resolve accordingly. If you discharge two coils, you may not resolve the effect for one coil twice.
Components: 30 action cards, 1 Nikola Tesla hero miniature, 1 Nikola Tesla character card, 1 health dial, 2 coil tokens.
Golden Bat — The First Superhero
This showstopping, swashbuckling superhero first appeared in the Japanese form of street theater known as kamishibai. From the ancient world of Atlantis, he traveled through time to the 1930's to fight crime wherever it might rear its ugly head.
Golden Bat gains +2 to his attacks if you did not take the maneuver action that turn. He still gets this bonus if he was moved by another effect (such as his Arrive Just In Time card). However, he does not get this bonus if you took the maneuver action but did not move him. Like all special abilities, this is not a "card" effect and cannot be canceled by cards such as Feint.
Components: 30 action cards, 1 Golden Bat hero miniature, 1 Golden Bat character card, 1 health dial.
Assembly note: Before you play for the first time, assemble the health dials by punching out the circles for each character and connecting them with a rivet.
Unmatched Adventures Game Design: Darren Reckner and Jason Hager of Durdle Games. Development: Brian Neff, Noah Cohen, Rob Daviau, and Justin D. Jacobson. Unmatched is produced by Restoration Games and was restored from Star Wars: Epic Duels, designed by Craig Van Ness and Rob Daviau and published by Milton Bradley. Zone rules inspired by the Pathfinding System from Tannhäuser. ©2023 Restoration Games, LLC.