Rules ~ How to Play  (Standard Tournament Play) The Creeps:  Creepy Racer rules are based on standard, tournament play, but home players may decide how they want to separate and sort their Creep cards.  Some players like to create and play their own Creep Decks. Other players like the "luck of the draw".  It's your game so play it the way you want. When you enter a sanctioned tournament, however, the Standard Tournament Rules apply. The Deck: Sort ALL the game cards into two separate piles. The first pile should have ten (10) Creeps for each player (2-4 players) at the table. The second pile contains the other ninety-five (95) cards. The second pile must have sixty (65) Calamity and Good Fortune cards (any thirty (30) matching pairs of Calamity and Good Fortune cards plus the five (5) matching Monster Good Fortune cards.)  The second pile must also have any thirty (30) Hero cards, but may have no more than five (5) Creep Eraser cards. Game Duration: Tournament play is designed to last approximately 1 - 1.5 hours.  To reduce the length of play, simply reduce the number of Creeps in the deck of each player. Shuffle and Deal: One player shuffles the pile of Creeps (Creep Pile). A second player shuffles the pile of all other cards (Play Pile). First, the Creep Pile is dealt clockwise. The first three (3) Creeps are dealt face-up and are kept by the players for the entire game. The remaining seven (7) Creeps are dealt face-down and may, or may not, be played by the receiving player as determined by the Deck Shift (more below).  The Play Pile is then dealt clockwise so a fairly uniform number of cards is dealt to each player.  Each player adds their seven (7) face-down Creeps with all the cards received from the Play Pile and shuffles them together. The new combined pile is the Draw Deck. Shift the Decks: After each player has thoroughly shuffled their Draw Decks they place the deck (face-down) in front of their three (3) face-up Creeps.  The player who dealt the Creep pile rolls a die for a potential Deck Shift.  If the die is even (2, 4, 6) the players keep and play the decks in front of them, but move them to the right of their line of three (3) creeps. If the number is odd (1, 3, 5) each decks "shifts" to the player to their immediate left and the receiving player plays with that deck. Each player should now have three (3) Creeps face-up in a line and a pile of face-down draw cards to the right of the line of Creeps.  Seven (7) of the Creeps should be in the draw deck for each player. (See the image to the right) Roll to Start:  Each player rolls a single die to determine which player goes first. High value starts. Discards: Discarded cards should be place in a discard pile at discard area in the center of the table. Your Hand: Each player picks up the first five (5) cards from their Draw Pile for their initial hand. Standard Tournament Game Play Players take turns moving clockwise around the table. Each turn may consist of two (2) moves. At the start of each turn a player draws two (2) cards from their own Draw Deck. Each player may hold no more than ten (10) cards in their hand at the end of their turn. If they hold more than ten (10) cards they must discard into a common Scrap Pile until they have ten (10) cards remaining. If any player’s Draw Deck runs out of draw cards all cards currently in the discard pile are shuffled and dealt to each player in the game. Each player may, and probably will, have a different number of cards in their Draw Deck. If a Creep is drawn it must immediately be placed in the line of Creeps in front of the player. Laying down a drawn Creep does not count as a move and the player must draw another card.  If two Creeps are drawn, lay both creeps in the line and draw two more cards. After the two (2) cards are drawn each player determines if they want to pass, make one move, or make two moves. If no move can be made the player must pass. The last player with Creeps remaining wins the game. Possible Moves    Calamity Cards Each Creep card has a Strength Value ranging between 3 and 5.  A Calamity Move involves placing a Calamity Card on an opposing players Creep. Doing so immediately reduces the cards Strength Value by one (1) point. If a player is displaying a Monster Good Fortune card it's matching Calamity Card may not be played on ANY Creep in that players line. In other words, Monster Good Fortunes protects all the Creeps from the matching Calamity. The moment a Creep has collected a number of Calamities equal to it's strength it has a Strength Value of zero (0) and is removed from play. When a Creep is removed from play it is placed in a separate Dead Creep pile controlled by the player who dealt the Creeps at the beginning of the game.  This step makes it easier to shuffle and deal the next game. Calamity Cards reduce Creep values by only one (1) point. If the Creep is displaying other value enhancing cards (like a Hero +1, below) the Calamity Card affects the total, overall value of the Creep and the enhancing cards.    Good Fortune Cards During any move you may remove a Calamity that has been played against one of your Creeps by playing a corresponding Good Fortune card on the Calamity. For example, if a Bone Dry has been played on one of your Creeps, and you have or draw an Extra Gas card on your next turn, you may show the Extra Gas card and remove both the Calamity and the Good Fortune cards to the discard pile.  This action increases your Creep's Strength Value by one (1). Good Fortune cards are not played when the Calamity is played, but only on your next turn.    Monster Good Fortune Cards If a Calamity is played on one of your Creeps while you hold the corresponding Monster Good Fortune card the following may immediately occur (if you decide to play your Monster Good Fortune card). Announce that you have the Monster Good Fortune for that Calamity. Place the Monster Good Fortune on the Creep that received the Calamity. Remove ALL matching Calamity Cards from ALL your Creeps to the discard pile. Every Creep that has a Calamity removed gains back their Strength Value. Game play immediately passes to you. It is your turn. The player who played the Calamity on you still needs to discard if necessary. Monster Good Fortune cards stay on the Creep and, while that Monster Good Fortune card remains in the line, no Creep may be attacked with that Calamity. The Creeps, including the Creep with the Monster Good Fortune, are still subject to every other Calamity or attack. The Monster Good Fortune shall remain in the line of Creeps until that Creep is bumped either by attack or other Calamity, at which time all cards are removed to the discard pile. Monster Good Fortune cards may NOT be played at any time other than the exact moment a Calamity is played.  In other words, a Monster Good Fortune cannot be used to remove a Calamity that is already in play from a previous turn.    Monster Good Fortune Cards - Attacking other Players During any move a Creep (or combination of Creeps) may attack any single Creep. Attacking Creeps must have a greater combined Strength Value than the Creep being attacked. For example, a Creep with a Strength Value of four (4) may attack a Creep with Strength Value of three (3), but may not attack a Creep with a Strength Value of four (4). Likewise, two (2) Creeps in combination, having a combined Strength Value of 6 (3 + 3), may attack any single Creep with a Strength Value of five (5) or less. All cards involved in the attack are slid forward to separate the attack and are all subject to loss. The attacked card may, if possible, play a Hero card, which will affect the Strength Value of the card. The Strength Values affected by Hero cards are calculated as follows: Players with NO cards in their hand may NOT be attacked. 2X: The Strength Value is doubled. If the Strength Value was 3, the value is now 6. This card may be played with a Creep to initiate an attack.  For example, a Creep with a value of 3 can attack a Creep with a value of 3 if it is played in conjunction with a 2x because it's value is now 6 (2 x3). 3X: The Strength Value is tripled. If the Strength Value was 3, the value is now 9. This card may be played with a Creep to initiate an attack.  For example, a Creep with a value of 3 can attack a Creep with a value of 4 if it is played in conjunction with a 3x because it's value is now 9 (3 x 3). Modifier: The player rolls the die and multiplies the current Strength Value by the die value. If the Strength Value was 3, and the die rolls 4, the value is now 12 (4 x 3). This card may be played with a Creep to initiate an attack.  For example, a Creep with a value of 3 can attack a Creep with a value of 4 if it rolls the die and it's modified value is greater than the attacked Creep.  If, however, the roll does not increase the value of the attacking Creep to a number greater than the attacked Creep, the attacking Creep loses instantly and is placed in the Dead Creep pile. Reversal: The value of last Hero consequence played is reversed. For example, if the last player played a 2x and you play a Reversal, the 2x moves to your pile and you gain it's power. If you use Reversal as an initial move, your value switches with value of your Creep with the attacked Creep. For example, you may attack a Creep with a Strength Value of 5 with a Creep with a Strength Value of 1 and a Reversal card because the values Reversed. Creep Eraser: Creep Erasers are the most powerful Hero. Creep Erasers stops play immediately and the player using this card automatically wins the attack. Initial moves may not be started with a Creep Eraser. There is no set number of Hero cards that may be played in a single attack. Each player involved takes turns laying down cards until one player has no Hero cards left to play or decides to quit. No player is ever required to play a Hero card. At the conclusion of any Hero attack both players must place all Hero cards in the discard pile.  The losing Creep (or Creeps if the attack was made by combining Creep values) is then removed from the game.      Other Moves Hostage Exchange: At any time a player may ask another player for a Hostage Switch. If the asked player agrees, both players draw a single card from the other player’s hand. At no time before the draw should either player be aware of what card they are drawing. No particular card is needed in your hand to allow this move. One time per game each player may FORCE any other player into a Hostage Exchange. Winning The game continues until all but one player has lost their Creeps. The player with Creeps remaining wins.