EMF - boardgame version

Object of the Game:
Become a frontiersman by being the first to traverse a light ray across the Electromagnetic Frontier from East to West
Prevent the world from implosion by killing a dragon and shutting down the magnetic mountain that is drawing the world unto itself.

Panic has seized the United States of America after a devastating earthquake saddling the San Andreas Fault has destroyed much of the lower half of California. Lamentations are heard as lava flows through the streets of Hollywood. A chain reaction of explosions deep within the earth has ruptured the planet’s electromagnetic field and caused a warp in the space-time continuum. An enormous volcanic mountain, radiating a strange gamma ray light never seen before, has arisen where coastal California once stood proud. The geothermal radioactivity has ripped a dimensional veil and destroyed the barrier between the past and present. Different peoples and creatures from the past are suddenly walking forth in the present. The world is overcrowded with its history.

Everyone is being drawn in a westward direction toward the volcanic mountain which is attracting the world like an enormous magnetic black hole vortex. An ancient sea creature circles the volcanic mountain and has begun consuming all life that approaches and preventing any attempts to shut down the volcanic mountain or to ascertain why it is exerting an electromagnetic pull. The world is about to implode upon itself as civilization approaches a critical mass. Both theologians and scientists argue that this is the end...

The energy crisis has made it virtually impossible to rectify the situation. Civilization has taught mankind to depend on energy that flows from a cosmopolitan grid. Due to the present chaos, however, people are no longer able to derive their power from artificial sources. Older survival tactics from the period of frontier settlement must be studied so that power can once again be retrieved from natural organic sources. Oil reserves have been disrupted and most roads destroyed because of the earthquakes Mechanical transportation is currently defunct. The only way to travel other than foot or horseback is by light waves on...The Electromagnetic Frontier.

In order to save the World from implosion you have to voyage out upon The Electromagnetic Frontier, crossing the country from East to West and moving from radio waves up to and through the dangerous gamma rays being emitted by the volcanic mountain over which the monster keeps guard. This is the source of the electromagnetic attraction that is pulling everybody to California. You must kill the monster and shut the magnetic mountain down. The roads and highways that you will be using are light rays picked up by a highly sensitive radio transmitter/receiver known as the Super Eye, which sits in a treehouse on Cumberland Island just off the coast of Georgia. This is a battle of East versus West.

It is a stormy night and the lightning provides you with ample energy to fly West through the light tunnels. You must get there without the monster seeing you. There is a red, a green, and a blue ray ahead. Be sure to become adept at shifting gears and switching rays by means of the dirt road rays on the Electromagnetic Frontier. This may be advantageous. You must get to California before the world implodes. Once there you must save the day by turning a gamma ray back on the monster. Do this before any of your opponents and you win the game!

Because of the storm raging, you are able to transpose lightning bolts into Red, Green, or Blue light so that you can utilize the energy to travel along the way and to shoot gamma rays at the monster. Destinations are signified by silver stars. And you are trying to establish yourself down one entire Ray using tacks to mark your path. Every time you stop at a silver star put your tack in the hole. You have the option of gathering energy by rolling the yellow 4-sided die to see how many times you are struck by lightning. With each strike, you receive a lightning bolt. This will become important. You have now "occupied" this territory. One of the prime goals of the game is to fill an entire light ray (RGB) with your tacks traversing the entire country and reaching the volcanic mountain in California.

To begin the game you must understand that you are travelling in terms of light years. This is how you are able to see the ghosts of the old Frontiersman. You are not only travelling through space but also time. The SpEyE is, in this sense, an actual time machine radio transmitter. For the purposes of the game, light years will coordinate with light mileage across the country. After you have spun to see what path you are on then look to see how far it is to the next star. There is a number between each destination. It is always in the range of 10-40. If you roll above the number given then you are able to traverse the distance on this turn. If not then your turn is over and you must wait for another round. What we are looking at is a futuristic highway map of the United States. The road rays do slightly differ in length and also in obstacles/options. It may not at times be wisest to take the "shortest". It may be advantageous to strategize upon the path that you choose.

The trip can be enhanced through the use of the dirt road ray. The dirt road rays lead off of the main paths. This is the joyride short cut/ long cut excursion into the countryside seeking other forgotten forms of power to help the city in its present time of crisis. The dirt road ray may be a connector to another larger Ray but it can also lead to a dead end. This is not a bad thing. At a dead end is the grave of an old Frontiersman whose ghost may appear to you and share wisdom about surviving on the Frontier. The communication is made possible by the warp in the Electromagnetic field caused by the earthquake in California. This wisdom comes in form of a remembrance of a heroic deed that that particular frontiersman accomplished during his life. If pressed they also may give you special magnets that can generate power alone or in combination with the lightning bolts.
You have to have four lightning bolts to generate a gamma ray out of your wand of power. The gamma death ray is symbolized by the large 30 sided die and is the aggressive weapon of the game wielded only by the monster. The player also carries an electric and a magnetic six-shooter which can also generate a gamma death ray through the use of electricity and magnetism symbolized by the two six-sided dice. Once you have at least four bolts, you have the option of trading them in and attempting to shoot a gamma ray at the dragon. To fight the monster, you must roll two six sided die(red and blue signifying electricity and magnetism). It takes a double(electricity plus magnetism) to hit the mosnter. If you shoot and miss then your turn is over. At the beginning of each turn, you must spin the compass to see which path you will attempt. You may freely traverse over your occupied territory as long as the tacks leads lead consecutively back to the SpEyE in the Treehouse at home.

The magnets work a little differently. With the magnets, you may either challenge your opponent to a duel and take his "tacked" territory or combine 1 magnet with one lightning bolt to generate a gamma ray. And if you are able to combine ten charismagnets into a "rod" then you can use the bar to take an automatic gamma ray hit on the monster.

At the beginning of gameplay one of the players(Cyan, Magenta, or Yellow) spins to determine the ray that he will be travel. Then the player turns over the hour glass. His turn can possibly last the duration of the hourglass(if he makes it to a dead end dirt road ray he can pause the hourglass).

After the hourglass has initially been turned, the player rolls the "highway" die (blue-multiple of 10) and moves up appropriately or not. If he lands on "occupied" territory (those with tacks), he either falls back 1 or if he has a magnet he can wager it to oust his opponent from the contested star with his six shooters. He rolls the double six die and if he gets a double he takes over the territory by removing the opponent's tack and replacing it with his own. If he doesn't get a double, then the player is unable to generate enough electromagnetic power to remove his opponent. If this happens, can either wager two of his bolts and "leap over his opponent if there is room to land on the other. If the opponent has a series of tacked stars, the jump cannot be made and the player must drop straight back to the next open star or back to the SpEyE at Home(whichever is closest).

Upon moving to a new destination star, you have the option of gambling to see whether or not you can see the monster. First roll the yellow die to find out how many lightning bolts strike you. Collect the bolts.. If you have at least four bolts, then you can wager to SEE the monster. It costs four bolts for each shot.

Now roll the orange ten sided die the appropriate number of times(depending on bolts that you have wagered) to see if you can see the monster from your current vantage point. 4-5-or 6 enables you to see the monster. And if you see the dragon, then you can have a duel with him. Roll the double- six. If you get a double, then you hit the monster and can roll again. And again. The dragon has twenty four points of life. Keep track of reductions on the chalkboard. It is a common goal to kill the monster. All of the players engage in this pursuit. And though you may not be first to get to the mountain and shut down its magnet, you can take credit for finishing off the monster. The monster's life is symbolized by 24 blood stones. If you get a successful hit then you receive a bloodstone as a trophy.
Now if you roll a 1 or 10 then the monster sees you first. If the monster sees you, roll the gamma die. If the roll is above 15, then he destroys your current efforts to prevent the implosion by knocking you out of your occupied territory and sending you back home . If you cannot see the monster and he cannot see you(2-3-7-8), then take a load off. It's the next player's turn unless there is still time on the hourglass. Of course you could choose not to wager to see the monster until you are all the way on the other side of the country and are locked in on the volcanic mountain.
If you manage to get a tack in the last star then you can duel the monster as long as you have lightning bolts to wager. The advantage in getting across the country to fight is that the Super Eye is able to lock in on the particular ray that you have travelled down. Your opponents are not able to occupy any of your territory. The only way that you can lose it is by getting hit by one of the monster's gamma rays. For each hit, you lose a tack.You may have to back track to collect more bolts. Between some of the stars, you will notice dirt road access. When you move over these you have the option of taking a detour and trying to pick up a couple more charismagnets from old frontiersmen. Roll the eight sided red die. Odd numbers are successful dirt road excursions and allow you to roll the yellow die. Even numbers mean that you were unable to slow down in time. Don't forget that you have a chance to see the monster at each star but not at the dirt roads. They are too deep in the wilderness.