Welcome to the Colossal Arena! Today, for your amusement, eight fierce creatures will battle each other in a five round tournament. You have come to the arena to wager your hard-earned gold on these gladiators in the hopes of winning a fortune.
Bet early and bet often to back your favorite creature, because wagers are worth less and less as the competitors are eliminated. In the end, only three creatures will survive...will they be the ones you backed?
In Colossal Arena, 2-5 players take on the role of fans at the colossal arena wagering on monstrous gladiators. The fan who leaves the arena with the most gold at the end of the tournament is the winner!
Components
- 132 Combat Cards
- 11 Spectator Cards
- 12 Creature Cards
- 3 Referee Cards
- 25 Bet tokens
- 1 rule book
Object of the Game
Win the most gold by betting on creatures that make it through the tournament. The earlier a bet is placed, the more valuable it is.
Beware, however, for betting heavily on a creature early in the tournament increases the odds that it will be eliminated by your opponents. At the end of the game, the player whose bets are worth the most gold is the winner.
Setup
Each player is assigned a color (red, green, blue, yellow, or white) and takes the 5 bet tokens of that color.
Select 8 of the 12 creature cards to be used this game (either by player consensus or randomly). Set the other 4 creature cards and their corresponding combat cards aside-they will not be used in this game.
Take the 8 chosen creature cards and lay them side by side in a single line, face- up. The order in which they are arranged does not matter.
Shuffle the remaining blue-backed combat, spectator, and referee cards together to form the draw deck. Deal 8 cards face down to each player to form their hands. A player may look at his hand. Place the rest of the deck face down off to one side of the playing area.
Randomly choose one player to be the starting player.
This is what the play area should look like at the start of the game
Game Summary
The game is divided into five rounds. Each round consists of one or more turns for each player. At the start of the first round, play begins with the starting player. After that, play continues clockwise. At the end of each round, one creature is eliminated from the tournament.
Playing Cards
During each player's turn in a round, combat cards are played below their corresponding creature cards. These cards form a line called the combat row.
New cards are placed so they cover up the old cards that have already been played in the current combat row below the same creature. The top card determines the creature's current combat value.
Checking For Elimination
If, at the end of a player's turn, all remaining creatures have a combat or spectator card played on them in the current combat row, and if there is a creature with a single lowest combat value in that combat row, then this creature is eliminated from the tournament.
When a creature is eliminated, turn the eliminated creature card face down. Then begin a new combat row below the previous combat row and start a new round.
At the end of the game, you will usually have a total of 6 rows of cards (the row of creature cards, and one row of combat cards for each of the 5 rounds of play below that. See the end of these rules for an example of what the playing area might look like at the end of a game).
Bet Values
Each player has 5 bets that he can make over the course of the game. These are represented by his 5 bet tokens. At the end of the game, a bet pays out if it is placed on a creature that has made it through all 5 rounds of combat.
Each bet pays out a certain bet value at the end of the game based on when it was placed, as shown below.
| Round Placed | Bet Value |
|---|---|
| 1 (8 Monsters Left) | 4 Gold |
| 2 (7 Monsters Left) | 3 Gold |
| 3 (6 Monsters Left) | 2 Gold |
| 4 (5 Monsters Left) | 1 Gold |
| 5 (4 Monsters Left) | 0 Gold |
In addition, each player has the option of making one secret bet in the first round that is worth 5 gold if it pays out. Secret bets are explained in more detail later.
The Backer
A creature's backer is the player who has placed the most valuable bets (as measured by bet value) on that creature. For instance, if a player has placed a bet on the Wyrm in both round 1 and round 2, then the total value of his bets is 7 gold (4 for the bet in round 1 plus 3 for the bet in round 2).
Unless another player has a total bet value of 7 gold or more on the Wyrm, that player is the Wyrm's backer, and can use the Wyrm's special power each time he plays a combat card on the Wyrm (as explained later).
If two or more players are tied for the highest bet value on a creature, neither is that creature's backer.
Secret bets don't count towards a player's total bet value on a creature unless they've been revealed. Placing and revealing secret bets is explained later in these rules.
Game Play
Each player's turn consists of four phases:
- Phase 1: Place a Bet
- Phase 2: Play a Card
- Phase 3: Discard and Draw Cards
- Phase 4: Check for Creature Elimination
Remember, if you place a secret bet, that uses up your card play for the turn as well.
Important: If you place a secret bet in phase 1, then you skip phase 2.
Phase 1: Place a Bet
In this phase, you may:
Place a Normal Bet: Play one of your bet tokens above a creature of your choice in the current combat row, as long as there isn't already a bet there. Or
Place a Secret Bet: Play one of your bet tokens on a face down combat card from your hand in front of you to secretly bet on the corresponding creature. You may only place a secret bet during the first round of the game. Once a creature has been eliminated, no further secret bets may be made. Or
Reveal a Secret Bet: Reveal which creature you wagered on with your secret bet, possibly allowing you to immediately become that creature's backer. Or
Pass: Do nothing this phase.
A. Placing a Normal Bet
To place a normal bet, place 1 of your 5 bet tokens in your chosen creature's column, just above the current round's combat row (see diagram). Bets cannot be placed on an eliminated creature.
Remember that your bets' values are determined by the round in which they are placed. Also, no more than one player can bet on each creature during each round. For instance, if another player has already bet on the Cyclops this round, then you cannot bet on the Cyclops this round.
Place your bet token in your chosen creature's column just above the current combat row.
Very Important: You can only place 5 bets per game, and once a bet token is placed, it can't be taken back unless you use the Colossus' special power!
B. Placing a Secret Bet
To place a secret bet, choose a combat card from your hand that corresponds to the creature you wish to bet on. Place it face down in front of you, then place one of your bet tokens on top of it.
For example, if you have the Magus's combat 3 card in your hand, you may place it face down in front of you with one of your bet tokens on top of it to make a secret bet on the Magus'. The combat card is used only to indicate which creature you are placing your secret bet on and it is discarded if you later reveal your secret bet. If a secret bet pays out at the end of the game, it is worth 5 gold.
Keep in mind the following restrictions regarding secret bets:
You may only make 1 secret bet per game.
You may only make a secret bet during the first round of the game. After a creature has been eliminated, no further secret bets may be made.
You do not play a card on the turn in which you make a secret bet. (That is, you skip phase 2 of your turn).
Revealing a Secret Bet
Instead of placing a bet during your turn, you can choose to reveal your secret bet to the other players. To do this, turn the combat card underneath your bet token face up and show it to the other players. Next, place the bet token above the corresponding creature card (not above the current combat row) and discard the combat card.
You may wish to reveal your secret bet in order to become the backer of a creature, since a revealed secret bet has a bet value of 5. Additionally, you may be forced to reveal your secret bet when the Magister card is played. Unlike placing a secret bet, revealing a secret bet does not cause you to skip phase 2 of your turn.
Phase 2: Play a Card
In this phase, you may:
Play a combat card: Combat cards are played in the current combat row in the same column as the creatures they correspond to. Combat cards depicting eliminated creatures cannot be played. Or
Play a spectator card: Spectator cards are played in the current combat row on a creature of the player's choice. Spectator cards cannot be played in the same column as an eliminated creature. Or
Play a referee card: After playing a referee card, follow the instructions on it. Or
Pass: To pass, you must show your hand to the other players to prove that you have no playable cards.
Note: Remember that you cannot play a card in the same turn that you make your secret bet.
A. Playing a Combat Card
When you play a combat card, place it in the current combat row in the same column as the creature depicted on the card. You may not play combat cards depicting eliminated creatures. If there is already a card in that position, cover it up completely with the new card-the old card is overridden and players may not look at it while it is covered by another card.
Note: Players can only play combat and spectator cards on creatures that have not yet been eliminated.
Additionally, when you play a combat card on a creature, if you are that creature's backer, you may immediately use the creature's special power. The creature powers are described in detail later on, but there are several rules that apply to all of them:
The creatures' special powers break the rules. Any time a special power conflicts with a rule, the special power takes precedence.
A creature's special power can only be used by its backer. No other player has access to it.
creature's backer can only activate its special power by playing a combat card from his hand. Spectator cards and combat cards moved around by other special powers do not activate a creature's special power.
B. Playing a Spectator Card
When you play a spectator card, place it in the current combat row in the same column as any surviving creature of your choice (as if the spectator card were a combat card depicting that creature). However, playing a spectator card cannot activate a creature's special power. In fact, a combat card that is played on a spectator card cannot activate a creature's special power either!
Example: Scott plays a spectator on the Magus, covering up its current combat card. On the next turn, Will (who is the Magus's backer) plays a Magus combat card on the Magus, covering up the spectator. Because the Magus combat card was used to cover a spectator, Will cannot activate the Magus'special power!
C. Playing A Referee Card
When you play a referee card, follow the directions on the card and then place it in the discard pile. There are two kinds of referee cards: the two Prefects, and the Magister.
When you play the Magister card, choose a surviving creature. Any players who have made secret bets on that creature must immediately reveal their secret bets. This may result in the sudden change of the creature's backer. (Remember, revealed secret bets are worth 5 gold).
When you play a Prefect card, you may pick up any visible combat card and put it in your hand. This includes any combat card that is on top of any pile in the current combat row or any combat row from a previous round.
Passing
Your hand may sometimes consist of nothing but combat cards for creatures that have already been eliminated. If this happens, then none of your cards will be playable.
In this case, you must show your hand to the other players to prove that you have no legal play and skip playing a card this turn. However, you cannot pass if you have playable cards.
Phase 3: Discard and Draw Cards
During this phase, you may first discard up to 3 combat cards depicting creatures that have been eliminated. You may discard them in any order, but you must show each card to the other players as you discard it to prove that it belongs to a creature that has been eliminated.
After discarding, if you have fewer than 8 cards in your hand, draw cards from the draw deck one at a time until you once again have 8 cards in your hand.
If you draw the last card from the draw deck, the game ends immediately. Do not check to see if a creature is eliminated this turn. This is the only way the game can end with more than three creatures remaining.
Phase 4: Check for Creature Elimination
As the last thing you do in your turn, check to see if a creature is eliminated. A creature is eliminated if it has the single lowest combat value in that combat row and all remaining creatures have a combat or spectator card played on them in the current combat row. If a creature is eliminated, this ends the current round.
End of the Game
The game ends either at the end of the 5th round of play or the moment that the last card is drawn from the draw deck.
All players immediately reveal their secret bets and calculate the total value of the bets they placed on any creatures that have not been eliminated. The player whose bets are worth the most gold is the winner.
If there is a tie for the most gold, then the winner is the tied player who took the most recent turn.
Deal Making
Players are free to make deals with the other players, but these deals aren't binding. In addition, a player cannot show any of his cards to another player unless forced to by the rules, such as when discarding in phase 3 or through the use of a creature's special power.
This is one example of what the play area could look like at the end of the game
In the example above, the surviving monsters are the Amazon, the Troll, and the Wyrm, so only bets on those three monsters pay off.
This means that the white player has scored 2 gold, the red player has scored 6 gold, the yellow player has scored 7 gold, the blue player has scored 12 gold, and the green player has scored a whopping 15 gold (his secret bet on the Troll really helped out, but the key was keeping two of his 4 gold bets alive). Green wins the game!
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