Puzzle Rumble

In the last hours of the competition, the Informant decided it was time to share with the Heroes the ancient art of Puzzle Rumble. And with good reason too – the evil Enigmatic Legion challenged the Heroes to battle not long afterward.  Given directions to the villains’ secret hideouts, brave Heroes visited each villain and took them on!

Puzzle Rumble Rules

• Summary
  • Puzzle Rumble is the official means of superhero/supervillain combat in APP4. Rumblers allocate their Energy to Attack, Defense, and Powers, attempting to outwit their opponents and knock them out of the battle.
  • The Villains of the Enigmatic Legion have varying Powers. To counteract this, each Team must use the Powers found in the course of puzzle-solving during APP4, and develop a strategy to use these powers based on information they gather about each Villain in their Dossier.  Typically, a Team is allowed only one Hero to participate in a battle against a Villain, and each Hero is allowed to equip two Powers for that battle.
  • Puzzle Rumble is based on “Rumble – The Game of Superhero Combat”, which can be found at http://kevan.org/rumble.cgi?genre=hero&mode=rules, and has been adapted for use in Auburn Puzzle Party 4 – Auburn Puzzle Patrol.
• Basics
  • Each Rumbler; Hero, Villain or otherwise; in the game has a number of Health points, representing their general level of strength, alertness and psychic resolve. Each Rumbler begins a battle with 100 Health.
  • When a Rumbler’s Health drops to zero or below, they are eliminated from the game. The game ends when either the Villain or Hero is eliminated from the Rumble.
  • The game of Puzzle Rumble is divided into a number of rounds, each consisting of an Allocation Phase and a Resolution Phase.
• Allocation Phase
  • During the allocation phase, each Rumbler assigns Energy equal to their Health to attack, defense, and powers.
  • Villains make their assignments after the heroes have revealed their allocations.
  • Example:
    • Our Hero, Mantisman, has 80 Health, so he has 80 Energy to allocate this round. He decides to assign 25 Energy to Defense, 35 Energy to an Attack against Doctor Cuttlefish, and 20 Energy to an Attack against Plasticman.
    • The Villains Doctor Cuttlefish (30 Health), Plasticman (40 Health), and Bookworm (10 Health) then reveal their decisions: Cuttlefish assigns all 30 Energy to Defense, Plasticman assigns 20 Energy to an Attack against Mantisman and the other 20 Energy to Defense, and Bookworm assigns all 10 Energy to an Attack against Mantisman.
• Resolution Phase
  • Each Rumbler totals the Attacks that were made against them this round, and subtracts any Defense they may have made. The remainder is the damage they suffer – this is subtracted from their Health.
  • Example:
    • Mantisman has been Attacked for 30 total Energy.  As he decided to assign only 25 Energy to Defense, his Health decreases by 5.  Mantisman chooses whether this damage is caused by Plasticman’s Attack, Bookworm’s Attack, or partially from both Attacks (i.e. 2 from Plasticman and 3 from Bookworm).
  • When all Attacks and Powers have resolved, and everyone has updated their Health levels appropriately, the next Round begins, starting again with an Allocation Phase.
• Powers
  • Powers drastically change the game by affecting how Rumblers are able to Attack, Defend and otherwise do battle.  Powers may give bonuses to Attack or Defense, or convey some other advantage/disadvantage to a Rumbler or Rumblers.
  • A basic Power is used like Attack and Defense during the Allocation Phase.  These Powers often behave depending on how much energy is allocated to the power. Some examples:
    • Tai-Chi
      • Spend 20 and choose an Opponent: That Opponent’s Defense is added to your Defense this Round. This power may only be used once per Round.
    • Deflector Shield
      • Spend X: You lose X Health at the end of the Allocation Phase. During the Resolution Phase, flip a coin for each Attack and Power which should cause you damage after Defense is applied. If heads, up to X of that damage is nullified and all Opponents lose Energy equal to the amount of damage nullified.
  • Other Powers cannot be allocated to during the Allocation Phase; instead, they are permanent effects that behave as written in the Power’s description. Some examples:
    • Regeneration
      • You gain 3 Energy at the beginning of each Round.
    • Big, Gnashy Claws
      • If you allocate 0 Energy to Powers before the Resolution Phase, all Attacks are increased by 5.
    • Precognition
      • When the Allocation Phase ends, a second Allocation Phase begins where all Rumblers with Precognition may allocate any unassigned Energy to Attacks and Defense. Powers may not be used in this second Allocation Phase.
  • Where a Power’s text is in the form “Cost: Effect”, then the cost must be allocated during the Allocation Phase, and the effect doesn’t occur until Resolution. Unless otherwise specified, Powers can be used any number of times per turn.
  • Each Cost requires the Rumbler to Spend Energy (ex: Spend 20) in the same way it is spent on Attack or Defense.
  • It’s important to note that if a Power and these Rules come into conflict, the Power’s text takes precedence.  If two Powers come into conflict or if one must occur before another, the one with the lower number takes precedence.
• KOs
  • If any Rumbler drops to 0 or less health at the end of any Phase, they are KO’d and immediately removed from the Rumble. Any unresolved Powers, Attacks, etc. do not come into effect.
• Preparing for a Rumble
  • While it may seem that the result of a Puzzle Rumble is a matter of luck, it’s more a function of your Team’s detective work and prior planning. Think of this as your Meta-Puzzle for the day.
  • A Villain’s Powers are kept secret initially, but are revealed as a part of their Dossier, found by solving particular Puzzles.
  • By finding a combination of Powers that properly counter the Villain’s abilities, a clever team should be able to come out on top of any Rumble.
• Winning a Rumble
  • As stated above, a Team wins if every Villain is removed from the Rumble, and at least one Hero is left standing.  The Villain will then give up their final Puzzle Patrol Badge.
  • A Team loses once all their Heroes have been removed from the Rumble (even if all Villains are also removed at the same time).  The Villain will not give up his/her Badge.
• Long Matches
  • If a rumble goes on for very many rounds and is clearly not going anywhere, the Villain may declare the match a stalemate. The Villain will not give up his/her badge.
  • If a rumble is going very slowly and other teams are waiting, the villain may, at their discretion, decide to fight another team first.

Known Super-Powers

These are the powers you may earn during your adventures today.  Recall that the Power Number refers to its priority in resolving during a Rumble – lower numbers take priority.

• Furious Flaming Fists of Fury (Power #21)
  • For every 10 Energy allocated to Attacking an opponent, increase that Attack by 1.
• Flight (Power #20)
  • Spend X, where X is half your health rounded down: You immediately take X damage, but neither deal nor receive any other damage this round.
• Healing Rain (Power #19)
  • At the end of the Round, you gain 1 Health.
• Hypnotic Eye Beams (Power #18)
  • Spend 5: If your target does not spend 15 Energy specifically to avoid your gaze, they are dazed next round and must leave 10 of their energy unspent.
• Zoom In (Power #11)
  • Spend 5: At the end of the round, each Player’s health is multiplied by 10.
• Stylish Hand Gestures (Power #15)
  • Spend 10: You gain 10 temporary energy that may be spent next round.
• Soothing Aura (Power #10)
  • Everyone begins the Rumble with 10 less Health.
• Biting Taunt (Power #9)
  • At the end of each Round, your target loses 1 Energy for every 10 points their Attack was less than yours.

Other Powers

If you are unable to figure out how to beat the villains with these powers, the Informant may be willing to sell you other abilities tailored to the Legion’s weaknesses for 500 points.  He’ll only give up these potent “Key-Powers” if you have solved that Villain’s hardest puzzle, however.

Check your console to see if you’re eligible for a Key-Power.  Puzzles 5, 9, 13, and 17 allow these to be purchased.