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Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000

2-2 players 45-45 min 7.2 Board Game Geek Rating

This Smash Up expansion adds four unique factions with distinct abilities: Killer Plants spread rapidly across bases, Ghosts gain power with fewer hand cards, Steampunks modify base abilities, and Bear Cavalry uses intimidation tactics. Players combine two factions to create powerful synergies, deploying minions strategically to capture bases and score victory points first.

Published 2013

Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Choose factions
Each player selects two different 20-card factions and shuffles them together to make a 40-card deck
2
Prepare the base deck
Shuffle all base cards together to form a single deck
3
Deal bases
Draw one base per player plus one additional base and place them face up in the middle of the table
4
Draw starting hands
Each player draws five cards from their deck
5
Check for minions
If you have no minions in your opening hand, show your hand, discard it, and draw a new hand of five cards which you must keep
6
Determine first player
Whoever got up earliest that morning goes first, with play continuing clockwise

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Crank It Up
Resolve any abilities that happen at the start of your turn
2
Play cards
Play one minion and one action in either order, or play fewer cards if you choose
3
Use Talent abilities
Once per turn, activate any Talent abilities on your minions in play
4
Check for scoring
After playing cards, check if any base has total minion power equal to or exceeding its breakpoint
5
Draw two cards
Draw two cards from your deck, discarding down to a maximum hand size of 10 if necessary
6
Reshuffle if needed
If your deck is empty when you need to draw, shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck
7
Shut It Down
Resolve any end-of-turn abilities, then pass play to the left

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Reach 15 victory points
The game ends at the end of any turn when a player has 15 or more victory points
2
Determine the winner
The player with the most victory points wins the game
3
Break ties
If players are tied for the most VP, continue playing additional turns until one player has the most points

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000 Unboxing

Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000 Unboxing

Instructional

Strategy Primer for Awesome Level 9000

Strategy Primer for Awesome Level 9000

Instructional

MORE VIDEOS

FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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