Ani-Mayhem is a role-playing scavenger hunt. You'll custom-build your own playing field. your "universe" from little piles of "Location & "Item" Cards. Use "Character" cards of your favorite funky Anime Characters with "Power Card" effects to retrieve as many "Items" from the Field as you can. "Disaster" cards will block your progress & sometimes fight you. You can play by yourself or with as many players as you like (each of you builds their own field, then you all play on everyone's fields collectively). But you will all have to play against the Disasters. A game is over as soon as either the Disasters or players have retrieved over 50% of the Items. If the players retrieve half or more, the player with the most number of Items wins. But, if the Disasters retrieve more than half, they win. Happy hunting! & for more info on Pioneer Anime & Ani-Mayhem e-mail us at Panime@primenet.com or check our website at http://www.pioneer-ent.com.
Amount of Damage the card can do.
Defense of the card, and its Health.
The Movement score is the number of Location cards this card can move each turn.
The Charm score of the card.
The Energy score of the card.
Some Power Cards have a temporary or permanent Energy cost.
Note: Many Power cards affect Ability scores. Power card effects with a "+" or "-" add to or subtract from the ability. Effects with a simple number value replace the ability. The same is true of Energy costs.
Disasters
Major Disaster
Combat: there are 2 types of Combat in Ani-Mayhem - Physical & Charm.
Each Combat card has 2 effects.
1 for each type of Combat.
The effect you use will depend on the type of Combat you are in.
Equipment
Global Effect
Enhancement
Flash Effect
Science: some Power Cards & Disasters are labeled or have Science effects.
Dimensional
Planetary
To Scavenge Dimensional or Planetary Locations for Items or even to stop on them, you must have a Character or Power Card with the same symbol on the card.
Haven: see description below.
There are 3 types of cards that do not have symbols in the upper left corner of the card. They are:
have Purple faces & 5 Ability scores on the left side of the bottom half of the card. They also have 2 text boxes. The upper one lists the Character's Skills. The lower one has information about the card's unique Abilities & Flavor text. There is a sexual orientation icon at the lower right.
have a Green faces, a Circular picture frame & 2 text boxes. The upper one lists the Skills necessary to Scavenge that location. The lower one lists any unique information about the Location. Some Locations have Planetary or Dimensional symbols (see above). Others have Attack and/or Defense scores (described later).
There are 9 types of cards distinguished by symbols in the upper left corner of the card. They are:
cards add an element of randomness to Combat. 1 side gives a Physical modifier, the other a charm modifier. These cards are drawn from a separate face-down "Combat" deck. Use them for both your Characters & any Disasters your Characters Combat. Combat cards are not discarded after use. Save them & re-shuffle them when all have been used.
are either Minor or Major & Combat or Non-Combat. Combat Disasters have Attack & Defense Abilities. You must fight them to Defeat them. Non-Combat Disasters are discarded after they complete the effect stated in their text box. Non-Combat Disasters do not steal Items.
Minor Combat Disasters will steal the 1st Item they come into contact with & try to remove it from from the game. The Disaster will Move once per turn (during the Maintenance Phase) Clockwise around the Field. When it reaches the Location it started moving from, both Disaster & Item must be Discarded. Major Combat Disasters will also try to steal the first Item they come into contact with. However, when a Major Disaster reaches the location it started Moving from, only the Item it is carrying is discarded. The Disaster begins Moving again the next turn, again trying to steal the first Item it comes into contact with.
add and/or modify Character Abilities and/or Skills. Skills bestowed by or required for use of the card are listed in the card's text box. Characters may use multiple pieces of Equipment but not more than 1 suit at a time, & not more than 1 hand-held object at a time. Multiple cards with Attack modifiers may be used. Multiple cards with Defense or Movement modifiers may not be used. Modifiers are in effect as long as the Character carries the card.
Equipment can be transferred between Characters during the Equip phase, between Move & Scavenge phases, & between the 1st & 2nd Disasters during Scavenging. If a Character is Bonked or Killed, any Equipment it is carrying falls beneath the Location it is on, but above the Disasters there. If the Character is part of a Party & is Bonked or Killed during Scavenging, the other Characters in the Party can pick up the Equipment after Combat is over.
add and/or modify Character Abilities and/or Skills. Modifiers and/or "Energy Costs" are in effect as long as the Character carries the card. Enhancements can not be transferred. If the Character is Bonked or Killed, the Enhancement is discarded.
are played on the side of the field & affect all of that Players Characters.
can be played any time during the game. "Energy Costs" are restored at the end of the turn or round of Combat the card is used in.
can serve as a player's own personal Locations. Shuffle Havens into your Draw pile. You may play 1 Haven per game automatically on any of your own Locations. Extra Havens can be added to any Location by keeping 3 of your Characters at the Location for 2 complete turns building access to the Haven. The Characters can do nothing else, not even Combat. After the 2nd turn is completed, attach the Haven to the Location. Havens are effectively "off the field." You can store Equipment or Items in one, or your Characters can hide out there safe from Attack.
The number of each type of cards in your deck will break down as follows:
1 player = 9 Locations; 2 players = 7 Locations each; 3-4 players = 5 Locations each; 5 or more players = 4 Locations each.
Separate players may have duplicate Locations, but each individual player may not.
1 per Location. No more than 3 of any Item per Deck. Items will only go under Locations, not in your Draw pile.
No more than 3 of any Combat per Deck. You must have at least 5 Combat Cards.
Separate players may have duplicate Characters, but each individual player may not. You can have as many different Characters in your deck as you wish, but no more than 6 Characters Activated or on the Field at any one time.
No more than 3 of any Power Card in your deck (except when stated so on the card).
2 go under each location. Additionally, you must have at least a number of Disasters equal to 1/2 your total number of Power Cards & Characters, minus 2 per player. (i.e. if there are 3 players & you have 36 Power cards & 6 Characters, you'd need (36+6) = 42-(2 x 3) = 15.) You will shuffle these into your Draw pile. 1/3 of your Disasters must be Major Disasters. 1/2 must be Combat Disasters. No more than 3 of any Disaster are allowed in your deck.
Separate your Cards by type: Combat, Character, Item, Location & all Power Cards.
Shuffle & set your Combat cards face down. This is your Combat Draw pile.
Ani-Mayhem is a game of flexibility and choice. Therefore, there are any number of ways to lay out the Field, from a simple daisy chain of straight rows, to an "X", to a likeness of Honest Abe. We have found the following to be the most effective.
Shuffle your Locations. Deal them face up one at a time. Place the 1st wherever you want. The 2nd can be placed on any side of the 1st. The 3rd on any open side of the 1st or 2nd, and so on, until you end up with a large grid. In a multi-player game, players should take turns laying Locations one at a time.
Shuffle your Items. Place 1 face-down under each of your Locations. No peeking.
Shuffle your Disaster cards. Place 2 face down under each of your Location, but above the Item. Again, no peeking.
Take any extra Characters you want to use & all your Power Cards (Equipment, Enhancement, Globals, Flash Effects & Havens). Shuffle them. Draw 7. This is your first hand.
Shuffle your extra Disasters with your Power Cards & extra Characters. This is now your Draw pile.
You are ready to play. Each player, in turn, performs the following phases:
You may now discard any cards in your hand that you don't want.
Players take turns drawing 1 card at a time each from their Draw piles until they have as many Power Cards as they have Locations. Rotate the player who begins drawing each turn. If any player draws a Disaster, Reloading stops immediately for all players.
Any Disaster drawn during Reload comes into play on the Location to the top & right of the grid relative to the player who drew it. It Moves a number of Locations equal to its Movement score. It will move down each row of the grid and then over one row left (like reading Japanese). The Location it is brought into play on counts as 1 point of Movement or (if it has no Movement) to the nearest Character(s) that can be reached with a normal Movement pattern (down, over, down, over, etc.)
Any Disaster without an Item on a Location, picks up an Item at the Location it is at & Moves now. Disasters affect or Attack Characters at locations they land on now, but they do not take items at their new Locations yet. If A Disaster is on a Location with Items where there are Characters with Items, the Disaster will Attack the weakest Character with Items first. Disasters without Items will stop their Movement to Attack Characters only if the Characters have Items. Disasters with Items will not stop Movement to Attack Characters. Characters can Attack a Moving Disaster.
This is when you play cards that help your characters. You can play 1 each of the following types of cards from your hand if you have them: Equipment, Enhancement, or Global Effect. Play Equipment or Enhancement cards on any Character. You do not have to play them on the same Character. Play Globals to the side of the field. They affect all of your Characters unless otherwise stated. You may also Activate additional Characters up to 6 or place Havens now.
Take turns Moving Characters up to a number of Locations equal to the Character(s)' Movement score in any direction (1 Location per point of Movement). You may Move any of your up to 6 Activated Characters on to or off of the Field from either the Bottom & right or Bottom & left of your OWN Locations or any of your Havens. Characters must re-enter the Field from the same Location at which they left. It takes 1 point of Movement to Move a Character on to or off of the field. A Party of Characters is limited to the Movement of the slowest Character in the Party.
If your Character(s) have the Skills listed on the Location they are now on, they may Scavenge the Location. Turn over the top Disaster under the Location. Combat if necessary. If you defeat the Disaster, discard it. If you wish to stop Scavenging, simply declare so now. The Character(s) must leave the Location (on it but not in it), & your turn is over for that Party. If you wish to continue, turn over the next Disaster under the Location. If you defeat both Disasters you may pick up the Item. You must give the Item to one of your Characters to carry.
Take turns Scavenging. Each party of Characters can only Scavenge 1 Location per Party per Turn. A player may have multiple parties Scavenging different Locations simultaneously, however.
If more than one player has Characters on a Location, they may negotiate as to who Scavenges, they may team up to Scavenge, or they may fight it out to decide.
End of the Turn
Combat, either Physical or Charm, can occur at any time Characters encounter Disasters or other Characters.
If you are on or in the same Location as a Combat Disaster that does not have an Item, it will Attack you. Attack & Defense are simultaneous. The Disaster will Attack the weakest Character carrying an Item first. If no or multiple Characters have Items, the Disaster will Attack the weakest Character (Determine by Defense, then Attack, then Energy, then Movement).
Choose 1 Character to receive a Combat card. Draw 1 card from your Combat deck & give it to that Character. Draw another Combat card from Your Combat deck & give it to the Disaster. Up to 3 Characters can Attack a Minor Disaster & 4 Characters can Attack : Major Disaster. Total all the Attackers' Damage scores & subtract the Defender's Defense score. The remaining number is the Damage the Defender takes. That Damage is cumulative only for each Combat. If a Character takes Damage equal to its basic defense score, it is Bonked. Put the Character off the field (by the Globals). Your next Turn you can put it back in your hand (no more than 7 cards in your hand,however). If a Character takes twice its basic Defense in Damage in 1 Attack, it is Killed & must be discarded. Combat continues until the Characters are all gone, the Disaster is defeated or the Characters run away. If you want to run away from a Combat just say so. Your opponent gets 1 last unanswered Attack. Your Characters must Move their full Movement (they can not Scavenge again this turn). Disasters don't run away unless explicitly so stated on the card. Unless the Disaster has already Attacked them, Characters do NOT get an unanswered Attack on a running Disaster. At the end of Combat, all Damage is healed for Characters or Disasters that remain on the field.
Disasters with Charm will automatically Charm Combat before Physical Combat. Charm Combat is always 1 on 1 & lasts only 1 round. As in Physical Combat, a Disaster will automatically Attack the weakest Character (i.e. with the lowest Charm). If 2 or more Characters have the same Charm, the Disaster will Charm Attack the one that is most powerful Physically. Draw Combat cards as normal, but use the Charm effects on the cards. Compare the Character & Disaster Charms including all modifiers. If the Disaster wins, the target is unable to Attack the Disaster for a number of rounds of Combat equal to the number of points it lost by. If the target was carrying any Items, the Disaster "steals" 1 Item from the target. If the target Character wins a Charm Combat with a Disaster, the Character & its Party get 1 unanswered Attack on the Disaster. If the Disaster was carrying an Item, the Character has effectively "stolen" the Item from the Disaster (although the Disaster will now immediately Attack the Character Physically if it survives the Character(s)' initial unanswered Attack). Charm Combat can only be waged with Disasters with Charm.
Any Character can Charm Attack any other Character within a number of Locations equal so the Attacker's Movement. Combat is as with Disasters, except that each player uses their own Combat cards for their own Character. The Attacker must declare its target, & a Charm Attack can not be made during Physical Combat. If the Attacker wins, it can force the target to perform 1 legal action. If it loses, nothing happens. If it loses by a margin equal to its own Charm, the attempt backfires & the target gets to force the attempted Charmer to perform 1 legal action instead.
In multiple-Character Combat, each player uses their own Combat cards for their own Characters. Each player is still limited to 1 Combat card per Party. Each attacking Character must declare a target. Characters can team their Attacks against the same target.
A vehicle is any piece of Equipment that will carry Character(s). Characters in a Vehicle that has Attack & Defense can not Attack while they are in the Vehicle. Disasters can Attack any Character in a Vehicle that doesn't have a Defense score. Any vehicle with an Attack ≥ 5 will do equal damage to any Character(s) in Combat with its target because of the magnitude of the Attack.
consists of all the Locations collectively (not Havens).
A Turn is the time it takes a player to go through all play phases. A Cycle refers to the amount of time it takes a Disaster to make its way back to the Location it started Moving from. A Round is the time it takes for one exchange of Attacks in Combat If Characters are engaged in Combat ON Locations during the MOVE or MAINTENANCE phases (not during Scavenging), Movement can be made by other Characters at 1 Movement per Round of Combat.
In Combat between groups of Characters, each Character can either attack or protect another Character.
If a Character is attacking, the player must declare a target for the Character's attack.
Two Characters an team their attacks against the same target. If a Character is protecting, the player must declare which other Character it is protecting. The Defense store of the protecting Character is added to that of the Character it is protecting. A Character which is protecting another Character can still defend on its own, but it can not attack.
with Ryoko, Mr. Masamichi Fujisawa, and Ranma Saotome (girl type) is in Combat against
with Ranma Saotome (boy type), Tenchi Masaki, Sylia Stingray, and Magical Girl Pretty Sammy
We'll do this without Power Cards to simplify things.
Ryoko and Ranma (girl type) both attack Sammy. Mr. Fujisawa attacks Tenchi.
Ranma (boy type) and Sammy attack Ranma (girl type). Sylia protects Ranma (boy type). Tenchi protects Sammy.
But first Player 2 declares Sammy will Charm Combat Mr. Fujisawa. Since her Charm of 4 is higher than that of majority of Characters in Player 1's group (Ranma (girl type) is 4, but Ryoko and Mr. Fujisawa are both only 3), she can try.
Player 1 draws a Combat card for Mr. Fujisawa. Player 2 draws a Combat card for Sammy. Both Characters use the Charm effect on the Combat cards.
Mr. Fujisawa gets a Handsome Lad, which reduces Sammy's Charm by 1. Sammy though gets, strangely, a Cool Dude, with a +1 Charm bonus.
The Combat effects cancel each other, so Mr. Fujisawa's Charm is still 3 and Sammy's is still 4, so with a wink and a dreaded hair flip, she befuddles him, gaining control of him for one Combat round.
Sammy orders Mr. Fujisawa to turn his Attack on Ranma (girl type).
Suddenly, however, Ryoko reveals she is carrying the Cute Little Dolly, an Item with a +2 Charm bonus. Now, Sammy does not have Charm higher than that of the majority of Characters in Player 1's group (Now, Ranma (girl type) has a 4, Ryoko has a 5 and Mr. Fujisawa has a 3). She is able to shake Mr. Fujisawa out of his befuddlement and cancel the effects of Sammy's Charming assault.
Each player gets to choose one Character on which to play one of their own Combat cards.
Player 1 selects Mr. Fujisawa. He draws a Bash, with a +1 Attack bonus.
Player 2 selects Ranma (boy type). He draws a Punch, with a +2 Attack bonus.
Ranma (girl type) and Ryoko hit Sammy for 7.
Tenchi is protecting Sammy, so his Defense of 2 is added to her Defense of 3 for a total of 5. Her base Health is 3 — equal to her base Defense. It stays 3, regardless of any Defense bonuses. Sammy takes 2 points of Damage. She survives, but her Health is reduced to 1 for the next round of Combat.
Mr. Fujisawa, with his +1 Bash, hits Tenchi for 6. Tenchi's Defense and Health are 2. Since he takes twice his Health in Damage in 1 attack, he is not just Bonked, he is Killed and must be discarded. Since Tenchi was protecting Sammy, he did not get to attack this round.
Ranma (boy type), with his +2 Punch and Sammy hit Ranma (girl type) for 9. Ranma (girl type)'s Defense and Health are 4, so she takes 5 points of Damage. That reduces her Health to 0, so she is Bonked, but it is not enough to Kill her. She must be pulled back into Player 2's hand. She must be kept out of play for 1 turn, after which she an be returned to the Field, although if she wants to rejoin the group, she'll have to Move to where they are then. Since Sylia was protecting Ranma (boy type), who was not Attacked, she has no action this round.
All Combat cards are removed, but not discarded (When all Combat cards in your pile have been used, re-shuffle the pile and use them again).
Combat continues. Charm Battle is not an option after Round 1.
Mr. Fujisawa and Ryoko both Attack Sylia.
anticipates an attack will be made, and does the following: Sylia protects Ranma (boy type). Ranma (boy type) protects Sylia.
gives a Combat card to Ryoko, hoping to beef up her Attack. She gets a Parry, which gives her a +2 Defense bonus.
gives a Combat card to Sylia. She also gets a Deception, which lowers her opponent's Attack by 2 and allows her to draw another Combat card. She does, and gets a Dodge, with a +1 Defense bonus.
Mr. Fujisawa and Ryoko hit Sylia for 9, minus the 2 from Sylia's Deception for a total of 7. With her Dodge +1 bonus and Ranma (boy type)'s protection, her Defense is 6. Sylia takes 1 point of Damage, but survives. Next round her Health will be 1.
This round, Mr. Fujisawa's special nature kicks in. Every 3rd turn or round of Combat, Mr. Fujisawa is drunk and his abilities are considerably lowered. If Player 1 wants to continue Combat, he'll need to do so with Mr. Fujisawa as a 2 / 2 this round instead of a 5 / 5 (of course, if he decides to run, Player 2 will get one unanswered attack first).
We'll try to make this simple. Our Party consists of: Little Washu, Nene Romanova, Ryo-Ohki (Cabbit), & P-Chan. P-Chan has a Juraian Batttesuit Enhancement. Nene has the Control Cube Equipment.
In their first Scavenging attempt they decide to go into the Hot Springs House. They have 3 Females (Yes, Ryo-Ohki (Cabbit) is a girl), so they can do it.
They turn over a basic Bugrom, Type 1.
If any of the Characters were carrying Items, the Disaster would automatically Attack that Character. Since it's their first attempt, however, none of them are carrying Items.
Note: Pieces of Equipment are not Items. Only cards that say ITEM: are Items.Anyway, since none of them have Items, they could choose to ignore the Disaster. In that case, the Characters would have to stop Scavenging, and retreat to outside the Location (i.e. on the Location, but not able to Scavenge again until the next turn). The Disaster would pick up the Item at the Location, and during the next turn's Maintenance phase (before Movement), the Disaster would Move the number of Locations listed on its Movement (in this case 3). Since it is a Minor Disaster (no !), it would only pick up that one Item. It would continue to move at the rate of 3 Locations per turn, each Maintenance phase until it was defeated or until it got back to its original Location. If it was defeated, it would be discarded and it would drop the Item it was carrying under the Location it was defeated at. The Item would then have to be Scavenged from That Location. If it reached the Location it had originate from, it would leave the Field with the Item it was carrying and both Disaster and Item would be discarded.
If it were a Major Disaster (D!), it would when it reached the Hot Springs House again, the Item it was carrying would be discarded, but the Disaster would continue to Move around the Field, taking Items 1 by 1 until it was defeated.
It's not a particularly tough Disaster, though, and the party should be able to defeat it with little difficulty, so they decide to take it on.
Again, since it is a Minor disaster, a maximum of 3 Characters can Combat it. This player chooses to use Nene, Little Washu, and the enhanced P-Chan, keeping the relatively vulnerable Ryo-Ohki out of the fight.
Damage and Defense scores for the Characters and the Disaster are:
| Damage | Defense | |
| Nene | 1 | 2 |
| P-Chan | 1 + 1 = 2 | 2 + 1 = 3 |
| Little Washu | 2 | 4 |
| Bugrom, Type 1 | 3 | 3 |
Health is the same as base Defense without bonuses, so even though P-Chan's Defense is upped to 3, his Health remains 2.
Little Washu, however, gives a +1 Health bonus to all other Characters in her Party, so Nene and P-Chan will both have a Health of 3.
The player will draw 1 Combat card for the party. He / She needs to declare which Character will receive the Combat card before the Combat card is drawn.
Since none of the Character's have Items, the Disaster is going to automatically Attack the weakest Character in the Party. Weakness is determined first by comparing Defense levels, then Attack levels, then Energy levels. Enhancement, Equipment. Global and Item bonuses should be factored in to determining weakness. Flash Effects are only factored in if they were played before the Disaster was turned over. In this, case the weakest Character is Nene. Knowing she will take the Attack, the player chooses to play a Combat card on her, hoping to beef up her Defense. Nene gets a Smash, which multiplies her Attack by 2 (1 x 2 = 2…too bad).
Now, the player will draw one of his/her own Combat cards for the Disaster. The Bugrom gets a Shaken Up, which adds +2 to its Defense.
The Bugrom hits Nene for 3. Her Defense is 2, so she survives and takes 1 point of Damage. With the bonus from Little Washu, her Health is 3, so during the next round of Combat her Defense will still be 2, and her Health will be 1.
The Characters collectively hit the Bugrom, Type 1 for 6 (P-Chan's 1(+1)) + 2 (Nene's 1 (x2)) + 2 (Little Washu's base Attack) = 6.
With its Combat card bonus, the Bugrom's Defense is 5, so it also survives and takes 1 point of Damage. Its Health will also be 1 during the next round of Combat.
Set the used Combat cards aside (I usually keep them face up underneath my unused Combat Cards). Draw 2 new Combat cards for Round 2.
This time, the player decides to change strategies and beef up a Character with a higher Attack, so P-Chan will get the Combat card. P-Chan gets a Dodge, which gives +1 to his Defense. The Bugrom gets a Club, which gives +2 to its Attack.
The Bugrom attacks Nene again, and hits her for 5 this time. She takes 3 points of Damage, which lowers her Health to below 0, so she is Bonked. She must be moved to the side of the Field (where the Global Effects are played) for one turn, after which she may placed bade into the player's hand during the Reload phase.
The Control Cube Nene was carrying remains at the Location. The other Characters will he able to retrieve it and use it after this Combat is over.
Since Attack and Defense are simultaneous, however, Nene still get her licks in on the Bugrom before it whacks (or more accurately Clubs) her.
The party hits the Bugrom for 5. It takes 2 points of Damage, which is just enough to Defeat it. The party can decide to go on now if they wish. If they decide to stop Scavenging, they will have to exit the Location. They'll stay on the Location, but if they want to Scavenge it again on a subsequent turn, they'll need to get a 3rd female, since with Nene Romanova Bonked, the party only has two now.
Unless Disasters say they will team up (e.g. Kodachi Kuno (The Black Rose)), they are Combated one at a time. If the Characters are not carrying Items and the Disaster is not one which attacks automatically, the player may choose which Disaster to Combat first, or at all. Attacking one Disaster does not necessitate Combat with another Disaster at the same Location. Disasters are solitary by nature, and if a Disaster wasn't going to Attack you anyway, it won't do so just because you are fighting with another Disaster in the same Location.
If the Characters are carrying Items, or if more than one Disaster at the Location is one which attacks automatically, the Disasters attack in the order they arrived at the Location. If Disasters arrive simultaneously, the most powerful one Attacks first. Calculate this first by Attack ability, then Defense ability, then Movement ability if necessary.
as of: 8/6/96.