Gamehelpmegalomania
Introduction
World full of arrogance. A place where a Farmer can become the emperor, whereas Dwarf can be the highest.
Every path of the explorer is not viable. Night’s shield will not protect you from the wizardry and you won't be able to say who is the real Oracle, as he might turn up disguised and the Assassin will appear suddenly, when you’re not expecting.
Megalomania is a trick taking card game, played in 2 to 4 players (can be played in pairs). Players are trying to complete missions and gain points, with the help of the power crystals, cubes and scrolls.
This is the game where there is no strongest card. You can even beat the Emperor, the highest value card, with the Farmer the lowest value card, if you follow the right tactics and timing. There are different missions that you complete during the game and the winner is the player who scores the most points.
Initial Setup
The game consists of 32 playing cards, which are divided into cards of 4 different colors. Cards in each color are divided according to the value, which is called a card rank. All card ranks have a corresponding value.
Shuffle the decks of Missions and Scrolls and arrange them face down on the game table. Arrange the Power Crystals and Cubes near these decks. Shuffle the playing cards and place them in the center of the playing area. Take the scoresheet and hand it over to one of the players so that they can keep track of the points.
Missions and point system
The game has 25 different missions. A mission card describes the task and the corresponding score for completing this task. According to the mission, the player may gain or lose points. The game has 2 types of missions: missions on which players gain or lose a fixed points and missions on which players gain or lose variable points. The mission card is marked with fixed and variable points, card dealing rules, tasks, and points.
Playing the cards
The player sitting to the left of the dealer leads the card at the beginning of the round. They can lead any card. The turn continues clockwise. In this turn, all players must play the card of the corresponding color of the leading card, if the player does not have a card of that color, then they must play a dominant color card, and if none of these conditions are met, the player can play any card
The rule of Taking Trick
The trick is taken by the player who played the highest value card of the dominant color, and if the dominant color card was not played on that turn, the card with the highest value of the corresponding color of the leading card, takes it. In case of equal values, the first card played is considered to be the higher of the two. The player who takes the trick leads the next turn.
Resources
- Power Crystal – use power crystal to activate unique ability of a playing card
- Cube – A Cube is an element that allows a player to increase or decrease the value of cards on a given turn
- Scroll - A Scroll is a supporting card that gives the player an advantage and helps to complete missions.
| Value | Name | Simplified ability description | Full description of unique ability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Emperor | Disable unique powers | After using the Emperor’s power, players are not allowed to use unique powers and cubes on that turn. The powers and cubes used before, remain active. Only one Emperor’s power can be used per turn. |
| 12 | Oracle | Change the color | In case of using Oracle’s unique power, the player changes the color of the Oracle they played. The player cannot change the color of played card into a dominant color, however, if played Oracle card is the dominant color, the player can change it to any other color. |
| 9 | Knight | Cancel Dominant color | In case of using Knight’s unique power, the player changes the rule of taking a trick on that turn, which means that after using this power the played dominant color cards lose the advantage. This condition does not apply to dominant color cards played before the power was used, therefore in such a situation the dominant color cards played before the using of power, retain the advantage. Only one Knight’s power can be used per turn. |
| 7 | Wizard | Play the lowest | in case of using Wizard’s unique power, the player changes the “Playing the cards” rule that turn, which means that after using the power, all other players must play the lowest card of the leading color, and if the player does not have a card of the leading card color, they must play the lowest card of the dominant color, and if none of these conditions are met, the player can play the lowest card of any color. Only one Wizard’s power can be used per turn. |
| 6 | Dwarf | The lowest value takes the trick | In case of using Dwarf’s unique power, the player changes the rule of taking a trick on that turn, which means that the player who played the lowest value of the dominant color card takes the trick, but if the dominant color card was not played on that turn, the player who played the lowest value of the leading color card takes the trick. Only one Dwarf’s power can be used per turn. |
| 4 | Explorer | Discover the card | In case of using Explorer’s power, the player randomly takes one card from the previous trick and can replace it with the card from their hand or return the taken card. The Explorer’s power cannot be used on the first turn. In case if more than one player uses the Explorer’s power in one turn, the player who used this power first takes the card from the previous trick first, then is the turn of the player who used that power next, and so on clockwise. |
| 2 | Assassin | Play on any color | In case of using Assassin's unique power, no matter what was the leading card color, the player can neglect the “Playing the cards” rule and play Assassin card even if they had to play another card. |
| 1 | Farmer | Choose who leads the next turn | In case of using the Farmer’s unique power, the player can choose any player (including himself) who will lead the next turn, regardless of who takes the last trick. Not more than one Farmer’s power is allowed per turn. |
Winner of the game
At the end of the game, points of the players are counted according to the following principle. After 12 rounds, points of each player will be summed up according to the completed missions. Players with at least one unused Scroll gain 2 additional points. After summing up all the points, the player who has the most points is the winner. If two players have equal points, then the winner is the player who has earned fewer negative points, and if the negative points are equal, then the winner is the player who has no unused Scroll.
