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The game involves a lot of subtraction. Also keeping track of who is weak guides your strategy. Start with the HP number, and each attack subtracts the attack

The game involves a lot of subtraction. Also keeping track of who is weak guides your strategy. Start with the HP number, and each attack subtracts the attack value from the HP number. Get to zero and the character is out, and placed in the discard pile. Troy has not told me what the levels do; they seem to be a way to indicate the more senior characters, but do not affect game play with the LVL number. That would be great if you would play the game in class. We have played four people at a time, three people and two people. The cards don't all have to be played, or you can use multiple decks. More cards==longer playing time. How many kids in your class?

lotharbot 13y ago
I tutor small groups of 4 at a time, all third and fourth graders. I don't actually have a lot of leeway with what I teach, at least not until after standardized tests are done in the spring. So it sounds like there aren't any "points" or "score" during the game, it's just a matter of being the last player standing -- having a card left when nobody else does. The only scorekeeping you have to do during the game is tracking hitpoints and attacks remaining, correct? If two monsters fight, do they each just get one attack (and both could potentially survive) or do they keep fighting until one dies?
- gregpilling 13y ago
  In a two player game, the monsters keep fighting until one dies. In a more than two player game, the monster can attack any of his opponents, so he might alternate between opponents or team up with another to take out a monster. We played last night, and a couple alliances were formed. There were two adults playing (me, Wai-ka) and two kids (Axel and Troy). So Troy would attack me, then Wai-Kai, killing my card. I would attack Troy, then Axel would attack Troy, killing Troy's card. The alliances made during the game are not stable though, and there is a tendency to shift sides if one player is too strong. It reminds me of the reality show Survivor, where people are teams until the end; then it becomes every man for himself. We initially played with a piece of paper to track scores, but found that since it was subtraction only that we could keep the scores in our head and play faster. If you forget your score, your opponent will happily remind you.
  - lotharbot 13y ago
    If you laminate the cards, you can write scores directly on them with dry-erase marker.

lotharbot 13y ago

I tutor small groups of 4 at a time, all third and fourth graders. I don't actually have a lot of leeway with what I teach, at least not until after standardized tests are done in the spring. So it sounds like there aren't any "points" or "score" during the game, it's just a matter of being the last player standing -- having a card left when nobody else does. The only scorekeeping you have to do during the game is tracking hitpoints and attacks remaining, correct? If two monsters fight, do they each just get one attack (and both could potentially survive) or do they keep fighting until one dies?

gregpilling 13y ago
In a two player game, the monsters keep fighting until one dies. In a more than two player game, the monster can attack any of his opponents, so he might alternate between opponents or team up with another to take out a monster. We played last night, and a couple alliances were formed. There were two adults playing (me, Wai-ka) and two kids (Axel and Troy). So Troy would attack me, then Wai-Kai, killing my card. I would attack Troy, then Axel would attack Troy, killing Troy's card. The alliances made during the game are not stable though, and there is a tendency to shift sides if one player is too strong. It reminds me of the reality show Survivor, where people are teams until the end; then it becomes every man for himself. We initially played with a piece of paper to track scores, but found that since it was subtraction only that we could keep the scores in our head and play faster. If you forget your score, your opponent will happily remind you.
- lotharbot 13y ago
  If you laminate the cards, you can write scores directly on them with dry-erase marker.