How to Play Martian Coasters
Designed by Andy Looney
Introduction: These colorful beverage coasters form a gameboard that changes during the game. Why the name Martian? Because the fi ctional origin of these pyramids is in the lost, ancient cities of the planet Mars.
Number of Players: 2-4
Equipment: 1 Rainbow Stash, 4 mini-gameboards (included in PDF), 1 regular die, 1 Treehouse die (if you don’t have a Treehouse die, use another regular die plus the chart)
Setup: Arrange the four coasters in a square. (Notice the small dot in the corner of each coaster: to maximize fairness, place the coasters together with all of these circles in the center.)
Assign a color to each player. (Set the extra color(s) aside.) Place the pyramids onto the coasters thusly:
- 4 Players: Build four mixed-color Trees and place each Tree in the center of the Coaster of the color not included in that Tree.
- 3 Players: Make a stack with the three Drones and place it on the center of the coaster not assigned to anyone. Build three two-tone Pawn-Queen stacks, and place each one on the center of the remaining coaster of a color not included in the stack. (To maximize fairness, build the Drone tower in reverse turn order.)
- 2 Players: Place the two Drones onto the center squares of the opponent's home coasters. Place each Pawn onto the opposite color Queen, and place these stacks onto the center squares of the remaining two coasters.
Who Starts: The highest roller goes fi rst.
Goal: The object of the game is to assemble your three pieces, in a Nest, in the center spot of the coaster which features the color of your pieces.
How to Play: On your turn, roll both dice. The Treehouse die gives you a special Action (see chart), while the standard six-sider determines your Movement Points.
Moving: You may take your Action at any time during your turn, be it before, after, or in the middle of using your Movement Points. You may only move your pieces in the directions indicated by the arrowheads.
How far your pieces may go is determined by each piece's pip count. It costs three Movement Points to move your Queen one space, but only two to move a Drone one space, and Pawns cost one Movement Point per space to move. You can only move your own color.
A piece may not be moved if another piece is sitting on top of it, but a piece may be moved to the top of the stack it's in by spending the Movement Points needed to move that piece one space.
You may spread your Movement Points over as many pieces as you wish, including using them on one pyramid, then taking your Action, then continuing to use them on the same pyramid again. You are not required to use all of your Movement Points.
Notes: You may not Hop in such a way as to cause any coaster to become disconnected from the rest of the group. It's OK to Hop to the same location, but in a new orientation (i.e. you can use your Hop to Aim a single coaster). Multiple Aim or Dig actions must be done at one time. Your Treehouse Action is optional.
Winning: The fi rst player to build a nest in the center of their coaster wins! It doesn't matter if other players' pieces are in your way; you can just build your Nest on top of any obstructions. (But you can’t have other colors between your pieces).