Monster Biotope

In Monster Biotope, players will work together to build a pyramid-shaped food chain, aiming to bring about the birth of a king monster at the top! Below is a brief overview of the game. More detailed rules can be found in the rulebook.

Action Overview:
The main objective of the game is to build a pyramid in such a way that a king monster (who will help maintain ecological balance) card can be placed on the 6th or 7th row of the structure. Keep that in mind as you build your food chain!

After distributing the cards based on the number of players, players take turns doing one of the following actions:
- Placing a card
- Moving a card
- Placing a king monster card
※ Using the normal rules, players may speak freely about strategy, but cannot tell each other the cards they have in their hand.

Placing a Card:
Placing a card involves placing a card from your hand so that it is connected with the cards already in the pyramid. The lowest row of the pyramid can be up to 7 cards wide. When placing cards above the first row, you must "stack them on top" of two cards on the row below, making sure their gene marks match up exactly. Because each card has two possible orientations (usually with different gene marks), there are many possibilities! Cards must also be the same color as at least one of the cards they are placed above.

Moving a Card:
Instead of a placing a card on your turn, you can choose to move a card already in the pyramid to a different location, provided it meets the above placement rules! Cards with other cards on top of them or cards moved during the previous turn cannot be moved.

Movement is key to opening up opportunities for additional card placements - this game is like a puzzle - sometimes you may need to shift things around so your teammates have the chance to place one of their cards optimally.

Placing a King Monster Card:
King monster cards are the win condition of the game - placing one on the 6th or 7th row (following normal placement rules) ends the game in an immediate victory...but king monster cards can also be used another way! When flipped over, king monster cards become wild cards - this means that as long as they are the same color as one of the cards beneath them, they can be used with any combination of gene markings. Just note that there is only one king monster card of each of the three colors in the game, so they can't all be used as wild cards!

Losing the Game and Other Modes:
If at any time players cannot perform one of the three actions on their turn, the game ends in a player loss.

The game has 5 total difficulty levels ranging from an easy mode where everyone's cards are visible (good for families with younger children) to "extinction" mode where players can't speak or use any wild cards. It also has a solo mode for those looking for a cuter card game than standard solitaire. Will you be able to create a balanced biotope?

The following is a brief introduction to the game. For the time being, the video is only available in Japanese.

Click here to view a Google Docs rulebook for Monster Biotope. You may download a pdf version, but please be aware that the formatting may change.