A fight for 2–4 players

Objective

Your goal is nothing short of total global domination! Use your minions to crush enemy bases. The first player to score 15 victory points (VP) wins!

Game Contents

This set contains:
• 8 factions with 20 cards each (160 cards total)
• 16 base cards
• This rulebook

Setup

Each player shuffles together two different 20-card factions to make a 40-card deck

If you have two copies of Smash Up, different players can use the same faction, pitting wizards versus wizards for instance. But one player can’t play with two copies of the same faction. I mean, come on.

Shuffle all the base cards together to make a deck. Draw one base per player, plus one (for example, use four bases for three players). Place the bases face up in the middle of the table. Each player draws five cards. If you have no minions in your opening hand, show your hand, discard it, and draw a new hand of five cards. You must keep the second hand.
Whoever got up the earliest this morning goes first. Play continues clockwise.
You're ready to smash up some bases.

Aside - Kickin’ It Queensberry
For formal play, put all the factions in the middle of the table. Randomly determine who goes first. The first player chooses one faction. Choice continues clockwise. When everyone has chosen one faction, the last player chooses a second faction. Choice continues in reverse order.

This Is How You Roll

1. Crank It Up
Some abilities happen at the start of your turn. This is when that goes down. Yo.
2. Play Cards
On your turn play one minion, play one action, or play one of each… for free! You can play your cards in any order. You don’t have to play any cards.

Minions
To play a minion, choose a base and put the minion card beside it, facing toward you. Do what the card says. (Cards that start with Special are a special case. See page 8 for an explanation.)

Actions
To play an action, show your card and do what it says. Boom! Then discard the action (unless it has an Ongoing ability).
3. Check for Scoring
After you are done playing cards, check to see whether any bases are ready to score (see page 6). If any are ready, you must start scoring. After scoring bases, check to see if any players have 15 or more victory points. If so, see The End of the World

4. Draw 2 Cards
Just what it says. The maximum number of cards you can have in your hand at this time is 10. If you have more than 10 after drawing, discard down to 10.
If you need to draw or reveal a card and your deck is empty, shuffle your discard pile. Put it on the table face down—that’s your new deck. Start drawing from there.

5. Shut It Down
Anything that happens at the end of the turn happens here. Play passes to the player on the left.


Aside - Cheater! Y U Action Twice? Abilities only happen when you play a card from your hand, or any time a card says “play.” When minions just move around, that’s not playing them.

Getting to know your cards

In the accessible version, Each card has 1 letter representing the faction followed by either a for action or m for minion. The base strength of the card and the name is listed in braille but the special effects are on reference sheets. There is one reference sheet per faction.

The base cards have b in front of them to differentiate them from the main cards. The first number represents the break point, then the name of the card followed by the rewards. The special effects of the bases are not listed on the card and a reference sheet must be used.

The Big Score

Score a base if the total power of all minions on that base equals or exceeds the base’s breakpoint. If more than one base is ready to score, the player whose turn it is decides which one to score first.
When a base has been chosen to score, each player first gets to use any Special abilities that happen “before” the base scores. If the total power on a base drops below its breakpoint, you still finish scoring the base.
For example, a pirate player sees that she will be the runner up at Jungle Oasis. Since that’s worth 0 VP, she plays Full Sail (it’s Special) to move all her minions away to another base. That drops the total power on this base below 12, but since it’s already started scoring, it still finishes.

Me First!

If more than one player wants to use a Special ability, start with the current player and go around the table clockwise until all players pass in sequence (if you pass and another player uses a Special, you can then still choose to use a Special of your own). If your Special allows you to play extra cards, you must play those immediately or not at all.

Awarding VP

The player with the most power on a base is the winner! That player gains victory points equal to the number on the left. The second highest player is the runner up, and receives the middle number. The third highest is just third place but does receive the lovely consolation prize of the number on the right. You must have at least one minion on a base to get victory points.

Back to Your Corners

After scoring, players can use Special abilities that happen “after” a base scores. Then all cards still on that base go to their owners’ discard piles. This does not destroy them, but might trigger abilities that happen when they go to the discard pile.
Put the scored base into the base discard pile.
Replace it with the top card of the base deck, if any. Check to see if another base is ready to be scored. Score it too, the same way.

Tie Fighter

If players are tied on a base, all involved players get points for the best position they tied for. So, if three players had 10, 10, and 5 power on a base when it scores, the winners with 10 power each get first place points! The player with 5 power then gets third place, not second. If two players tie for runner up, no one gets third place. Harsh.
If players tie for a base’s ability (such as the one on Ninja Dojo), they each get to use it. See Me First! on the previous page to settle conflicts.

aside - Game Over, Man! At the end of any turn that someone reaches 15 VP, the player with the most victory points wins. If there is a tie for the most, keep playing turns until there isn’t. No sharing! Except for your two factions. You guys are BFFs.

Terms and Restrictions

Some restrictions apply.
See rules for details.
Supplies limited.

Affect: A card is affected if it is moved, returned, destroyed, or has an action attached.

Destroy: When a card says to destroy another card, put the destroyed card in its owner’s discard pile.

Discard: When a card gets discarded, it goes to the discard pile of the player whose deck it came from, no matter who played or controlled it.

Extra: Normally, you can play only one minion and one action each turn. A card that lets you play an extra minion or action lets you play an additional card of that type during that turn. You can play cards in any order, so you don’t have to play the extra card right away.

Move: This lets you move a card from one location to another. Moving a card does not count as playing it. Minion abilities do not happen when you move a card.

Ongoing: Most abilities happen, and then they're over. Ongoing abilities are active for as long as they're in play.

Play: You play a card when it’s one of the free cards you get in step 2, or any time an ability specifically says that you’re playing it. A card’s ability happens when you play it. When cards are moved, placed, or returned, they’re not being played, and their abilities don’t happen.

Return: This means that a card goes back where it came from. When a card returns from a base, discard attachments on that card.

Special: Most abilities happen when you play a card. Special abilities happen at unusual times or in unusual ways.
Special abilities might be on a card already in play or held in your hand. A card’s ability will describe how it can be used. If you use a Special ability to play a card on your turn, it doesn’t count as one of your free cards for that turn.

Void Where Prohibited

Often, card text and rules text will conflict. When there's a fight, card text always wins. It has a black belt in rule-fu.
If cards conflict, the one that says you can't do something beats the one that says you can. If multiple effects would happen at the same time, the player whose turn it is chooses the order.
You can play a card even if its ability can’t happen. For example, you can play an action that destroys a minion even if no minions are in play. This helps you get unneeded cards out of your hand. You must follow a card’s ability, even if it’s bad for you. However, if a card says you may do something, you have a choice whether to do it.
If an ability says “any number” you may choose zero. You may play a card that says “all” even if there are no targets.
If you get to play extra minions or actions while a base is being scored, you must play those extra cards immediately or not at all.
When a card gets discarded, it goes to the discard pile of the player whose deck it came from, no matter who played or controlled it.
Anyone may look through any discard pile at any time. And yes, zombie fans, they will be rifling through yours all the time if they’re playing smart to keep track of what you have. . . .

The Factions

This core set of Smash Up features eight factions, which combine to make 28 possible decks.
As more factions join and try to take over the world in future expansions, the full number of possibilities will grow. Mix and match factions to suit your play style.

Aliens
Aliens love to mess with people, and they love to mess with other players even more. From bouncing minions back to players’ hands, to replacing bases in play, aliens are out to have a great time, at any planet’s expense.

Dinosaurs
If there's one thing dinosaurs know how to do. . . actually, with a brain the size of a walnut, they don't really know how to do anything. But they are big. And—holy cats!—someone gave them lasers!

Ninjas
If you can see a ninja, chances are you're already dead (and if you can see them while dead, skip ahead to the zombie section). I don't want to give away the secrets or anything, but most of what this faction does is sneaky, happens fast, and at the last second. So look out for that.

Pirates
You know what's better than roving the high seas? Roving anywhere you want. Pirates buckle their swashes in every port, and you'll walk the plank if you don't like it.

Robots
Captains of industry built the robots, and then the robots took over and made the process even more efficient! Now they can churn out more little, highly specialized bots than their enemies can handle. Oh, and a few massive ones as well. . . .

Tricksters
Stealing things, stopping things, starting things, hiding your keys in the morning, collecting underpants for profit… for years, you've thought of these little people as pests. Now they've turned up as pesticide.
aside -Moar Factions! Does more than one person want to play Ninja? Great! Combine two sets of Smash Up so people can draft and play the same factions against one another. Remember, you can’t put two of the same faction together though! Just use one set of bases when combing

Wizards
Presto! Wizards conjure what they need with actions galore. They just keep pulling things out of their hats, so watch their hands. Or their hats. . . or that big portal to another reality they just opened in your kitchen.

Zombies
“They’re coming to get you, Player 2.” It's hard to keep a good walker down. Zombies just keep coming back, and sometimes they come in waves. Sending zombies to the discard pile isn't “so long,” it's just “see you later!”

Roll Credits

Game Design: Paul Peterson
Additional Design: Edward Bolme, Murray Chu, Todd Rowland, Mark Wootton
Development: Todd Rowland, Mark Wootton
Art Direction: Todd Rowland
Cover Art: Conceptopolis
Graphic Design: Kalissa Fitzgerald
Writing: Jeff Quick
Editing: Edward Bolme
Proofreading: Murray Chu, John-Paul Cheyne, Jeremy Holcomb, Bryan Reese
Layout and Typesetting: Kalissa Fitzgerald, Todd Rowland Production: Dave Lepore
Brand Management: Todd Rowland
Art: Dave Allsop, Bruno Balixa, Carmen Cianelli, Conceptopolis, Crut, Saliym McCullin, Pierre Ravaneau, Isuardi Therianto, Francisco Rico Torres
Playtesting: Ken Andrews, Jon Angus, Isaac Barry, Janet Bozarth, Amberle Browne, Samantha Browne, Matthew Brubaker, Paul Butler, Gary Campbell, William Collie, Jeff Combos, Adam Conus, Mike Cook, Jason Crognale, Arnold Daly, Colin DeBernardo, Ben Ebell-Solomon, Mark Fortin, Jim Getz, Eric Goodheart, Ken Grazier, Nate Hedrick, Brian Hutcheson, Chris Hyun, Chris Keener, Sean Kelly, Wendy Kelly, Chris Krueger, Greg Krywusha, Hannah Lodge, Eric Meli, Braden Moulton, Sean Orms, Noel Paterson, Joshua Pavlisko, Leon Phillips, Kyle Pinion, Meredith Quick, Tiffany Rau, Aaron Richardson, Shawn Riley-Rau, Ruben Riordan, Jamie Ross, David Sansfacon, Lee Shelton, Michael Shimek, Matthew Ussary, Eli Vlaisavich, Brad Wells, Chris Wilson, Alyssa Yeager Production Babies: Eva Fae Peterson, Abigail Kathleen Rowland
Special Thanks: Paul would like to thank his wife Kendra for all of her support. AEG would like to thank everyone for their help on the game, large and small. Todd would like to thank his boys, Jackson and Tyler, for telling him the Dinosaurs needed laser beams.
Legal Mumbo-Jumbo Copyright © 2012 Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc. Smash Up, Shufflebuilding , Alderac Entertainment Group, and all related marks and images are TM and © Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Printed in China. Warning: Choking hazard! Keep away from small children!
Smash Up mechanic designed by Paul Peterson used under license by Alderac Entertainment Group.
Smash Up the Interwebs
www.alderac.com/smashup and www.alderac.com/forum Questions? Email CustomerService@alderac.com

Back Page Reference

All Your Basics

Set Up
Each player chooses two factions and shuffles them together to make a 40-card deck. Draw a hand of five cards. Place one more base card than you have players in the middle of the table (that is, use five bases for four players).
On Your Turn

Play 1 minion and 1 action in either order. You can play less if you want to.
Follow all instructions on card abilities as you play them.
Check to see whether any bases can be scored. If they can, score them.
Draw two cards. Discard down to a hand of 10 if necessary.
Scoring

After you are done playing minions and actions, if the total power of all minions meets or exceeds a base's breakpoint, that base scores. The player with the highest power at that base is the winner and scores first place victory points. Second highest is the runner up and scores second place. Third highest scores third place. In case of a tie, each player receives full victory points for the highest place he or she qualified for.
Resolve the ability on the base, discard minions there, and then replace it.

Winning
When a player has 15 or more victory points at the end of a turn, he or she wins. If two or more players have more than 15 VP, the one with the most victrory points wins. In case of a tie, play another turn.

Additional Rules
When a card disagrees with the rules, the card wins.
If cards conflict, the one that says you can't do something beats the one that says you can. If multiple effects happen at the same time, the player whose turn it is determines their order.
You can play a card even if its ability can’t happen.
You must follow a card’s ability, even if it’s bad for you. If a card says you may do something, you have a choice whether to do it.
If an ability says “any number” you may choose zero. You may play a card that says “all” even if there are no targets.
Anyone may look through any discard pile at any time