Rock... Paper... Clix! - A HorrorClix Variant

Rock... Paper... Clix!
A HorrorClix Variant by The 4th Horseman

Rock... Paper... Clix!

Background
Generic card games, chess or other games where every player has easy and affordable access to all game pieces, put people on an even playing field. Many collectible games and even some computer games are unbalanced. These games feature powerful characters, cards or items, that you MUST have, at huge expense, if you want to be successful in the game. Though HorrorClix is not one of those unbalanced games, there is still the possibility that some players do not have access to LE figures or cannot afford to buy enough boosters to get the figures they need for their army. The game I have created eliminates the need for powerful characters, and is a game where the lowliest common can beat the strongest and rarest of monsters.

What are you doing with the piles of unused monsters lying in your room? Can’t find anyone to buy them, let alone take them? Infuriated by drawing your 10th Skeletal Maiden? Well RPS Clix is the game for you. This game allows you to use those cheap filler characters, or any character for that matter. Do you have a favourite monster that just doesn’t cut it in HorrorClix? Well it will work in RPS Clix.

RPS Clix is a combination of Rock Paper Scissors, The Beast Wars Board Game and HorrorClix, basically one hell of a game. This is a completely new and different way of playing HorrorClix.

Rock Paper Scissors: Basic game play in determining the winner of battles
Beast Wars Board Game: General game concept - battle, move and summoning rules
HorrorClix: Game pieces and map

Materials
For this game all you need is the pieces that you require for a regular HorrorClix game, no extra things needed! If fact, you don’t even need all the pieces a regular HorrorClix game requires, all you need is monsters and a map. No specific monsters or map either, a big plus for those who want to keep costs down!

What players will need:
Any number of HorrorClix monsters, the # depends on what the player wants
Any HorrorClix map (only part of it will be needed)

The Game
Because most monsters are Rookies, Experienced or Veteran, indicated by the experience ring with colours: yellow, blue and red, this is where the idea of Rock Paper Scissors comes in. In this game you can only use monsters with experience rings whose colors are red, yellow or blue, therefore no Uniques or Limited Editions. Another plus to those who can’t get these rare pieces! I assume that everyone knows what Rock Paper Scissors is, so I am just going to go on and explain the game. In this game Blue beats Red, Red beats Yellow, and Yellow beats Blue. Here’s a quick reference pic. (Thanks to http://www.wizkidsgames.com/horrorclix/ for the pictures)

Rock... Paper... Clix! Reference

When there is a color tie, the winner is determined by which monster has the higher attack value shown on the combat dial. The attack value shown on the combat dial of the monster does not change in this game; it stays the same from the very beginning. But where do you set the combat dial to determine the monster attack value for the game, the green line? Some other setting? Well the choice is up to you when you first choose your army of monsters.

Instead of points to choose your army, you choose an army whose attack value total is a maximum of 150. The monsters combat dial can be set to whatever setting you want, as long as a number is displayed for attack value, no hourglasses or skulls. The higher average attack value of the monsters you choose the lower the number of monsters you can have in your army, but you will most likely win ties. If you choose a lower average attack value for your monsters, you will have more monsters in your army, but you will most likely not win ties. How to balance your army depends on you.

This game only requires part of a HorrorClix map, a 5 by whatever # squares, this is the battlefield. Fold the map, outline somehow or just remember the boundaries. For the purposes of explaining the game, I will use a 5x7 rectangle. Ignore all walls and barriers when playing; treat the play area simply as clear terrain. You can see an example of a 5x7 square below highlighted in green. It doesn’t have to be clear terrain as on the map below, but can be anywhere on it, just treat the battlefield as clear terrain. (Thanks to www.itswickedfun.net for the picture of the map)

Rock... Paper... Clix! Map 1

Player 1 and Player 2 pick their army of monsters. Player 1 and Player 2 each pick 6 monsters from their army. From these selected monsters, Player 1 selects a monster from P2’s 6 monsters to become Player 2’s army commander. Player 2 then picks Player 1’s army commander. Each player places their 5 monsters on their front line, F1 squares for Player 1 and F2 squares for Player 2. Player 1’s army commander is placed just outside the battlefield, on the square just behind the middle of the 5 frontline squares, marked P1. Player 2’s army commander is placed at P2. Each player faces their monsters toward their opponent’s front line. You can also use some other type of marker to distinguish your pieces from your opponents, like removable dot stickers that I use. To win the game, you must kill your opponent’s army commander.

Playing
Like the Beast Wars Board Game, only one action per turn is allowable:
    1. Move
    2. Battle, or
    3. Summon a monster,
Unlike HorrorClix, you cannot battle or move on angles. The battle or move can only be:
    1. Up,
    2. Down,
    3. Left, or
    4. Right

This is the way the Beast Wars Board Game is played. I play tested it with a friend, and it worked fine without angle battling or movement.

Move: you can only move your monster into an empty space. If you move your monster such that your monsters now occupy the spaces directly in front, behind, to the left and to the right of an opponent’s monster, that monster is considered surrounded. When a monster is surrounded, it is considered killed and is removed from the battlefield. If any of those spaces are the edges of the battlefield, the monster is still considered surrounded, as long as all the other spaces around the opponent’s monster are filled with your monsters. If a monster is surrounded by the opponent’s monsters while it is on it’s controllers frontline, it is not removed from the battlefield. All of these are illustrated below. Squares marked S indicate that the monster on that square is surrounded by their opponent’s monsters on squares Xs. Squares marked N indicate that the monster on that square not surrounded.

   1) The S near the top, surrounded by X (Orange), is considered surrounded. One side is edge of board, and opponent’s monsters X (Orange) fill the remaining squares surrounding it. Therefore this monster is considered killed.
    2) The S in the middle, surrounded by X (Green), is considered surrounded. The squares above, below, to the right and left are filled by opponent’s monsters X (Green). Therefore this monster is considered killed.
    3) The N on the right hand side, with X (Blue) around it, is not surrounded. The square to the left of the N is not filled with opponent’s monsters X (Blue), therefore this monster is not killed.
    4) The N on the bottom left side, with X (Red) around it, is and is not surrounded. If the monster on the square N belongs to Player 2, it is not surrounded because it is on its own front line. If the monster on square N belongs to Player 1 it is surrounded and considered killed.

Rock... Paper... Clix! Map 2

Battle: Your monster can attack an occupied square up, down, left or to the right. First check for color. If your monster color beats the opponent’s monster’s color, you win the battle. Remove the opponent’s monster from the battlefield and move your monster into the space where the opponent’s monster was. If your opponent’s monster’s color beats your monster’s color, you lose the battle. Remove your monster from the battlefield and move your opponent’s monster into the space where your monster was. If both monsters have the same color experience ring, the monster with the highest attack value wins the fight.

Summoning: To summon a new monster to the battlefield, you must have a free spot in one of the 5 frontline spaces. Take one of the monsters you have yet to play and put it in one of the free spots. It is important that you keep these spots free so that you can summon more monsters to the battlefield. If at any time all 5 of your frontline spots are filled by opponent’s monsters, while your army commander is not yet on the battlefield, you lose the game.

While your army commander is outside the battlefield, it cannot be attacked. Your army commander can be brought into the battlefield by using your action of the turn; it can attack a monster on the square directly in front of it or move on to the empty space. Once on the battlefield, the army commander cannot move off the battlefield, and is treated as a basic piece, with color weaknesses and attack value. Once your army commander is killed, you lose the game.

Questions, Comments, Concerns or Suggestions regarding this variant can be posted in our forums