Gaming Guardians

Release Date:
Set Size: 8 Buttons
Publisher: "Graveyard" Greg McNutt
Designers: "Graveyard" Greg McNutt
Artist: The Web Troll and Graveyard Greg
New Rules: Teleport Dice, Evil Dice, Deception Dice, Insult Dice
Rare: The entire set should be considered "Rare," as it was available at a convention only.

Gaming Guardians is a set based upon the web comic of the same name. The set is was infamous for being both overpowered due to assumptions about how Evil Dice worked, and for having multiple Dice Skills, six new Dice Skills on eight buttons, one of which is a duplicate of a previously published skill (Maximum).

"Graveyard" Greg McNutt said the following via email about the creation of this set:

The Gaming Guardians Button Men set got inspired because of Loaded Dice from Randarch. I designed it all.  I played it against the other buttons. I don't remember a single detail about it, though. Woe is me!  If I had real playtesters, I would have caught Teleport Dice causing a possible drawn game.  I think as originally used the die that gets teleported to the opponent no longer has that ability.

I don't recall how I got into Cheapass, to be honest. Maybe at a convention? Button Men was from Cheapass Games. I bought Button Men because it was Cheapass Games. I played it. I loved it. What's not to love?

It's been way too long and I don't even have my set anymore (which makes me weep bitterly)! Alas, I don't know where the old art is nor do I have the rules! (I really wish I hadn't used Comic Sans as the font.)

It was licensed, sold it at one convention, and that was it.  It's rare because it had one printing and we printed the buttons ourselves. Those were the days!

Buttons

• 

  Dream Wyrm
  T(8) (20) (20) (20,8) (U)
• 

  EDG
  I(6) I(8) I(10) (20) (X)
• 

  Graveyard Greg
  (6) (8) {I,M,p,s,z,t}(10) {I,M,p,s,z,t}(10) (X)
• 

  Memento-Mori
  (6) (10) (10) ~[4](12) ~[4](20)
• 

  Radical
  T(4) (20) (12,12) (20,8) (Z)
• 

  Randarch
  M(6) M(6) (10) (10) (X)
• 

  Scarlet Jester
  n(4) E(10) n(12) E(20) E(20)
• 

  Shane Hensley
  E(6) E(6) E(6) E(6) E(6) E(6)

Original Booklet Rules Text

Players: 2

Playing Time: 10 minutes and up.

Equipment: One Button Men button for each player, and various polyhedral dice.

The Game: To begin, take all your fighter's dice, roll them, and arrange the dice in a row so they can easily read. Whoever rolled the single lowest number will go first. If the lowest dice are tied, compare the next lowest dice, and so on until a leader is determined. If they're all tied, put the dice away and consult a spiritual advisor.

On Each Turn: You must make either a Power Attack or a Skill Attack if you can. You may not pass unless you are unable to make a legal attack.

Power Attack: Use one of your dice to capture one of your opponent's dice. The number showing on your dice must be greater than or equal to the number showing on the captured dice. Take the captured die out of play, and re-roll the capturing die.

Skill Attack: Use several of your dice to capture one of your opponent's dice. Your dice must add up exactly to the value showing on the die you capture. Remove the captured die from play, and re-roll all the capturing dice.

Scoring: When both players pass, the round is over. Calculate your score as follows: For each dice you Captured, you score its size in points (a 12-Sided die is worth 12 points). For each die you won that you kept, you score half its size. The player with the highest score wins the round.

The Dice: Each fighter uses several dice of different sizes, as specified by the numbers on their button. As a general rule, small dice mean Speed, whereas larger dice mean Strength.

Deception Dice are labelled with a "D" and have a scoring value of 4. (Ed. note: Denoted "~" in Memento-Mori's recipe above.)

Evil Dice are labelled with an "E". Evil dice can make simultaneous Power Attacks, but can never make Skill Attacks.

Insult Dice are labelled with an "I". These dice cannot be captured by Skill Attacks.

Loaded Dice are labelled with an "L". Loaded Dice always have the maximum value. [Ed. note: Denoted "M" in the recipes above for Maximum.]

Null Dice are labelled with an "N". When Null Dice participate in an Attack (Power or Skill), they remove their target from the game, rather than adding them to the player's captured dice. Null Dice are worth zero points. dice with are "removed from the game" come back at the beginning of the next round. (Ed. note: Denoted "n" in Scarlet Jester's recipe above.)

Specialty Dice are labelled with an "*"/ Specialty Dice can be one type of dice from the following; Insult, Loaded, Poison, Shadow, Speed, or Trip. (Ed. note: These are denoted as Plasma Dice in Graveyard Greg's recipe above, with the indicated skills listed as possibilities.)

Teleport Dice are labelled with a "T". On your turn instead of making an Attack, swap your Teleport Dice with any live dice of your opponent's. You must reroll the new Teleport Dice.

Twin dice appear as two numbers in an oblong frame and are played as two dice that add together. For example; a twin 8 is represented as (8,8) and treated as a single dice. The two 8's are rolled as one, captured as one, and scored as one dice worth 16 points.

Swing Dice: "X", "U", and "Z" are variable dice, or "Swing Dice". You may use any dice between 4 and 20 sides for an "X", any dice between 8 and 30 sides for a "U", and any dice between 4 and 30 for a "Z".