I am addicted to Boss Monster. I love both the card game and the app version, however since the app does not have all the expansions in it I wanted to develop a way to play the card version on my own. Mainly because I could just play over and over and over while everyone else gets bored :p
Summary[]
So this is the Single Player Version I’ve developed which has minimal changes to the original game.
This mode can be played with as few or as many expansions as you like, both item expansions will work in this mode. I do not own the crash landing expansion so I have not been able to test with this but seeing as the main goal of that expansion is to expand the game to 5 -6 players there is no reason why you couldn’t include this expansion, it would just make a game take a lot longer.
Expansions I’m playing with: Boss Monster, Boss Monster 2, Paper and Pixels, Tools of Hero Kind, Implements of Mass Destruction, and The Portable Pack.
You can play this mode as a 2,3,4,5, or 6 player game, but the more NPC players you include the more there is to keep track of and the game will take longer. I recommend playing this mode as a 2 player version a few times to get used to it, but you can then increase the number of players later on if you want. (I prefer 3 player games personally)
Changes Summary:
- Only one spell may be cast by each player per round
- You need 12 souls to win instead of 10, you still die after 5 wounds.
- NPC’s need 8 souls to win, and can take 8 wounds before they die.
Details[]
' 'You will need:
- Your copy of Boss Monster
- A coin (for flipping for heads or tails)
- A dice
- A number generator, (I recommend Random UX)
- A pile of counters to be added to rooms for +1, +2 damage and so on. (I made a big pile of my own by drawing round 10p pieces on card, colouring them in different colours for damage amount and then cutting them out)
Setting up:
- - Shuffle all cards being played with and set them out into appropriate piles
- - If playing classic mode deal yourself 5 room cards and 2 spells, and the NPC players 4 room cards and 1 spell. You will then discard any 2 cards you don’t want.
- - If playing variety mode deal yourself and the NPC players 5 room cards and 2 spells each.
- - Keep the NPCs hands face down!
- - Assign bosses however you prefer.
- - For a 2 player game: 3 heroes, 9 epic heroes
- - For a 3 player game: 17 heroes, 13 Epic heroes
- - For a 4 player game: 25 heroes, 17 epic heroes
Beginning:
The game begins as normal. You choose to play which ever room you want. You will then pick a random room card from each NPC’s hand and play those. If it is an advanced room return it to their hand and choose another. After each player has built their room draw 1 more room card for each player, turn over the appropriate number of heroes and assign hero items if playing with those.
Taking a turn:
I will provide a detailed description of how turns should play out and then a bullet point checklist for that can be referred to each turn.
Build Phase:
Each player plays a room card. You have the ability to strategically play your cards. The NPC’s will play random room cards. You will play a random room card on behalf of each NPC. If that card in advanced and cannot be played return it to their hand and play another one. Attach markers to rooms where appropriate.
Towards the beginning of the game (pre level up) just assume that each NPC wants to expand their dungeon to 5 rooms. If it is late game (post level up) and you pull out a low damage or otherwise useless-to-their-current-dungeon-layout card you may flip a coin to decide if it will be placed.
In terms of room placement on behalf of NPC’s you may either make it entirely random and use the number generator for room placement, or you can make a sensible judgement call on their behalf. (Like not deliberately placing the dragon hatchery, or other 0 -1damage cards, over a powerful advanced room.) There should not be deliberate sabotage of the NPC’s on their behalf. This kind of defeats the purpose of this single player mode if you’re just going to make yourself always win.
Spell and Ability Phase:
Between the build phase and the adventure phase there is now a spells and abilities phase.
- Each player, including you, may only play one spell per turn.
- - Flip a coin for each NPC player to determine whether they will play a spell or not. (if they have spells in their hands)
- - Place all spells being played face up next to the casting boss.
- This is where you as the player must temporarily become impartial to make judgement call to decide how these spells will interact with one another and in what order they get played. I will not list all possible outcomes here but I will give a few examples.
- - If the spell is either pointless or not applicable return it to the NPC’s hand.
o E.g. it’s Cave-In, Annihilator or Giant-Size but the NPC does not have any heroes coming through their dungeon this turn. Or their dungeon would do enough damage without the use of that spell.
o Trepidation is played but the requirements are not met by opponents.
o Cave-in or exhaustion are played but no heroes are entering their dungeon
o Freeze is played but no heroes are entering any dungeon
o Teleportation is played but no heroes are entering the NPC’s dungeon, or their dungeon would do enough damage to kill the hero without it.
o Assassin or Zombie Attack is played but the requirements are not met.
- - If a counter spell is turned over it always gets played in retaliation to another spell. If 2 players both use a counter spell, that it pointless so both spells get returned to the hand.
- - If Freeze is played it gets directed at the opponent with the highest soul value and it always freezes the highest value room. If there is a tie in any way use coin flipping or the number generator to determine who the recipient of the spell will be.
- - If Kobald strike is played and there is no counter spell return all built rooms to appropriate hands.
- - If you were intending to play a spell this turn you spell over at the same time as the NPCs. If
- - If you were not going to play a spell but then one of their spells gets directed at you you may play a spell in retaliation.
- - Once again, one spell per player per turn. There can’t be any spell wars in this mode due to the NPC’s having no ai.
Example turn with 3 players:
NPC1: is playing Cave-In and has 0 heroes entering their dungeon this round
NPC2: is playing Freeze and has 1 hero entering their dungeon this round
You: were not going to play a spell this turn, and have 2 heroes entering your dungeon this round
NPC1 actually has no heroes entering its dungeon this round so Cave-In is not played and is returned to its hand.
NPC2 will then play Freeze against you, since it would be pointless to use it on NPC1. By default it will freeze your highest value room.
You, who were not going to play a spell this turn but happen to have both teleportation and fear in your hand may play one of these spells. Assuming that with your highest value room frozen you do not do enough damage to kill either hero you can use either fear or teleportation to save yourself from one wound but you cannot use both.
Abilities:
This stage is basically the same as the spell phase. What you are taking into account here is rooms that have an ability when they are destroyed, rooms that allow you to discard a card to draw a card and the abilities of items (if playing with items). I’m not talking about room abilities that are activated upon hero death.
- - NPC’s may only use one room ability per turn.
- - You may use your room abilities however you want.
- - Flip a coin to decide if NPC’s will destroy a room or not.
- - Carry out the action using coin flipping and number generators where needed.
- If items are included in play and the NPC’s have a face-up item flip a coin to decide if they will use it this turn. (They can only then follow through using it if applicable.)
Boss Level ups:
For bosses that have a simple level up things remain straight forward: e.g. Cleopatra, Gorgona, Jarin and Kiraxx. For bosses who have turn based level ups, like adding damage counters for discarding rooms once per turn you may check the NPC’s hand to see if this is possible and then flip a coin to determine whether they will or not. Explodo’s level up should be used as needed by the NPC. For some bosses with complicated level-ups; like Hellcow it is easier to just not include these in solo play.
Adventure Phase:
The adventure phase then plays out like the regular game with heroes passing through each dungeon in XP order.
Bullet point Checklist for each turn:
- - Turn over heroes (apply items if applicable)
- - Draw room cards
- - Play room cards
- - Check which heroes are going to which dungeon
- - Spell check
- - Room ability check
- - Boss ability check
- - Item ability check
- - Apply spell/room/boss/item effects
- - Adventure phase as normal.
Scoring:
As mentioned scoring is altered so that you need to collect 12 souls instead of 10 per game but you still die at 5 wounds. NPC players only need to collect 8 souls per game and can take 8 wounds before they are killed.
- A boss is knocked out once it has reached its maximum wound threshold.
- The game ends when a boss has met its soul count threshold.
- If at the end of a turn both you and an NPC player have reached your winning soul count you then do souls minus wounds, as with regular play.
Because the winning count is different for NPC’s and you, the numbers are not taken at face value and are instead used in relation to the winning threshold. (That sounds confusing, but it isn’t, here’s an example :p)
Souls Wounds Threshold Difference
Me: 14 3 12 -1
NPC1: 9 1 8 0
NPC2: 5 5 8 -8
So even though I have won by having 2 more souls than needed I also have 3 wound which when taken from my score of 14 leaves me 1 soul below 12.
NPC1 only got 9 souls, but also only has 1 wound, so when his wound is taken from his score he has 8 which is the amount needed to win.
Therefore NPC1 is the winner in this instance.
I have played this mode many many times now and it is just as possible to totally win as it to get totally trampled on by the NPCs. Try it out and let me know how it goes :)
(Section added by Tippex)
Ive had this idea sitting in the back of my mind for a while: for a single player mode, you could just play like regular boss monster but it’s just you, and you could play it so your score is souls minus wounds like in infinite lives.