Getting Started

Overview

At its core, Minion Master is a Digital Boardgame focused on Strategy and Tactics. Each game begins with a Game Board occupied by one piece, the Avatar, per player. Every Player brings to the Board a deck of cards which they will use to play the game.

A Player's Deck may be pre-defined or customized. Each deck contains Summon and Modifier cards. Summon Cards add Minions to the Board and Modifier Cards alter or affect the Minions already on the Board.

The Game Board's layout affects how Minions move as well as giving location-based bonuses. Players will want to take this into account when deciding which Minions and Modifiers to include in his or her deck. Players can choose from a variety of pre-made Game Boards or use the Level Editor to create their own.

The goal of Minion Master is simple: to defeat all the other Players on the board. To do this, you must destroy that Player's Minions before they can destroy yours.

Card Playing Mechanics

• Video
• Screen Map
• Earn Mana
• Neutral
• Play
• Commit
• End

Let's walk through a sample game round to get familiar with Playing and Discarding Cards.
Below is the Card Playing Interface.

1. Card Choices / Neutral Card Position These are the 5 cards which you have to work with this Round.
2. Discard Position Put cards in the Discard Position by clicking on the bottom half of a card. When a card is in the Discard Area, you will see its Discard Value added to your Mana count.
3. Play Position Put cards into the Play Position by clicking on the top half of a card. A card may only be put into the Play Area if you have enough Mana to play it.
4. Mana This is the count of Mana points that you currently have available.
5. Commit Press the Commit button to Play and/or Discard cards that are in the Play and Discard Positions.
6. Time This is how much time (in seconds) you have left to make your moves for this round.

To earn Mana, you must first Discard. To put a Card in the Discard Position, click on the bottom half of a card. To return the card to the neutral position, click on it again.

Cards in the Neutral Position will appear with a Green or Blue border. Cards with a Green border can be played, cards with a Blue border cannot.

To put a Card into the Play Position, click on the top half of the Card. To return it to the Neutral Position, click on it again. When you are ready, press the 'Commit' button.

When you press the "Commit" button, Cards in the Discard Position will move to the Discard Pile. Cards in the Play Position will be queued up to Play. If you have cards remaining in the Neutral Area, they will be discarded.

After all Cards have been Played or Discarded, the Action Phase begins. All cards you played will be brought to life on the board.

Minions

Every Minion is made up of Stats, Tactics, and a Combat Style. All Minions are designed to have unique tactical properties.

• Stats define a Minion's strength in certain categories.
• Tactics dictate who a Minion chooses to attack and how they move on the board.
• Combat Style determines how a Minion attacks.

• Stats
• Combat Styles
• Tactics

Attack		The power behind an attack.
Range		From how far a Minion can attack.
Movement		The maximum distance a Minion may move each turn.
Defense		Ability to stop attacks from suceeding.
Health		How many hits it takes to destroy the Minion.

Combat Styles

Combat styles are the combination of both a style and a modifier value. Combat Style determines what kind of Attack the Minion will perform. Combat Modifier is a number that adjusts a property of the Combat Style.

Standard	A Minion with the Standard Combat Style may attack from one tile per Action. The Combat Modifier determines how many attacks the Minion gets each round.
Trample	Allows the Minion to overtake a tile after successfully destroying another Minion occupying that tile. The attacking Minion will continue to attack other Minions in a direct line. The Combat Modifier determines the greatest number of attacks the Minion can perform in a round.
Splash	Fires off an explosion. It will attack the tile it lands on and expand in a circular fashion. The Combat Modifier determines how large the attack's radius extends.
Line	Attacks a series of adjacent tiles in a straight line. The Combat Modifier determines how far the Line extends.
Arc	Attacks a series of adjacent tiles in circle. The number of tiles attacked is determined by the attacking Minion's Combat Modifier.

Tactics

Tactics determine what and where a Minion will choose to Attack. Generally, a Minion will choose what to target and then from where to target it. Each Minion has a list of Tactics that determine its behavior.

Target Least Enemies	Attack the smallest number of enemies possible (while still attacking at least one enemy).
Target Most Enemies	Attack as many enemies as possible.
Target Least Allies	Attack as few allied Minions as possible. Most Minions with Splash or Line Attack Styles employ this Tactic.
Target Most Allies	Attack as many allies as possible.
Target Least Minions	Attack as few Minions (of either side) as possible (while still attacking at least one).
Target Most Minions	Attack as many allies as possible.
Closest	Attack the nearest possible target.
Farthest	Attack the farthest possible target.
Least Attack	Attack enemies with the lowest Attack statistic.
Most Attack	Attack enemies with the greatest Attack statistic.
Least Range	Attack enemies with the lowest Range statistic.
Most Range	Attack enemies with the greatest Range statistic.
Least Defense	Attack enemies with the lowest Defense statistic.
Most Defense	Attack enemies with the greatest Defense statistic.
Least Health	Attack enemies with the lowest Health statistic.
Most Health	Attack enemies with the greatest Health statistic
Weakest Line	Attack a line of Minions with the lowest combined Defense & Health statistics.
Strongest Line	Attack a line of Minions with the greatest combined Defense & Health statistics.
Least Collateral	Adjust attacks to cause the least amount of damage to allied Minions as possible.
Most Collateral	Adjust attacks to include the most amount of damage to allied Minions as possible.
Target Random	Attack a random target.
Attack Minion	Targets and attempts to Attack an assigned Minion.
Defend Minion	Attempts to Defend an assigned Minion.
Defend Tile	Moves to an assigned Tile and sticks there.
Engage Close	Position the attacker as near as possible to its target.
Engage Far	Position the attacker as far as possible from its target.
Position Least Enemies	Position the attacker near as few enemies as possible.
Position Most Enemies	Position the attacker near as many enemies as possible.
Position Least Allies	Position the attacker near as few allies as possible.
Position Most Allies	Position the attacker near as many allies as possible.
Position Least Minions	Position the attacker near as few Minions as possible.
Position Most Minion	Position the attacker near as many Minions as possible.
Position Tile Synergy	Position the attacker on Tile types that give a bonus and away from Tile types that debuff.

Combat

When a Minion attacks, combat occurs. The winner is determined based on a number of factors and steps.
1. The chance to hit is calculated. This is determined withe the formula:
Attack*100 / (Attack + Defense)
In the case of a Knight (Attack 50) attacking a Troll (Defense 40), the chance to hit is 56% (50/90 = .556 * 100 = 56).
2. The Attacker rolls a 100 sided die. If the roll is LESS THAN the calculated hit, the Attack is successful. In our case of Knight v Troll, all the rolls from 1 to 56 are considered a hit, while 57 to 100 are a miss.
3. If the attack is successful, the attacker applies some damage to the defender. By default, this is the 1 point of Health.
Exact rolls can be seen by checking the Combat Log (press 'L' to open and close the log). To keep things simple and moving quickly on the game board, the Attack and Defense stats are consolidated into a 'Pip' system. During combat, two sets of Pips will appear over the Defender. On the left, in red, are the Attacker's pips. The number of filled pips to empty pips gives you an idea of how high or low the Attacker rolled. The Defender's pips appear on the right in blue. If the Attacker fills more pips than the Defender, the attack landed successfully.

Playing a Game

Now that you know a little bit about the elements which make up Minion Master, you're ready to play a game. The first thing to do when playing a Game is to choose a Game Board and a Deck of Cards. There are a variety of pre-built Game Boards and Decks for you to choose from, though you can always build your own.

Each Game takes place in a series of Rounds. Rounds will continue until one player has completed the win condition. Each Round is divided up into two Phases, the Play Phase and the Action Phase.

Rules

While playing a Game is simple, knowing all the rules can help you strategize more effectively and become a true Minion Master.