WWE Superstar Showdown is a fast-paced action game. Pick your Superstars and create your team. Choose the matches and set the rules for your event! Can your team of Superstars prove themselves in the ring? Will they go down in history as the greatest phenomenon has ever known? Or will they find themselves quickly pinned, destined to be remembered only in their defeat?

How to Use this Book The rulebook is divided into three WHAT‘S IN THE BOX? sections: Core Rules, Sample Turn and Advanced Rules. 6 Superstar Miniatures Core Rules The main rules for one-on-one matches are first, on pages 3-8. These rules have everything you 6 Superstar Stat Cards need to send two Superstars into the Big E Big ring! For your first game, just read Show 4 Match Cards the basic rules and play! Once you’re comfortable with the basic rules, you can add in the Advanced Rules.

Sample First Game Round John On pages 9 and 10, you’ll find a Randy Cena Orton blow-by-blow sample round; a 6 30-Card Superstar detailed explanation of two people Card Decks 10 Stipulation Cards playing a single game round.

Advanced Rules Pages 11-14 of this rulebook include the rules for playing with teams Daniel Roman of players, creating an Event and 30 Gold-Rimmed Bonus Bryan Reigns 6 Team Color Rings: playing Tag Team Matches. Wait until Superstar Cards 3 Red, 3 Blue you have a few games under your Also Included: 1 Game Board, 1 Rulebook belt before using these! 1 BASICS OF THE GAME GAME SETUP WWE Superstar Showdown is a team Before playing your first game, separate the gold-rimmed game: Red vs Blue, with between one Bonus cards and set them aside. They’re used when and three players per team. playing a full Event with the Advanced Rules. Each match consists of a number of For your first few games, play with two players and very fast game rounds. Each round, choose two Superstars for a basic match. For an epic you’ll play cards from your hand to Event, you can use the Advanced Rules to play a series move your Superstar miniature, while of different matches with teams of players and Superstars. trying to attack and outmaneuver your opponent.

Superstar Decks Each Superstar’s deck of cards represent that Superstar’s stamina. When you hit your rival with an attack, they will Give Up cards to you from their deck, reducing their Superstar’s stamina. Set aside the cards your rival Gives Up to you. These cards are your Performance Stack and are used at the end of the game to measure how well your Superstars have done in the ring. When your rival hits you with attacks, you’ll Give Up cards to them for their Performance Stack. Once a card has been Given Up, it won’t be used again during that match. The fewer cards they have in their deck, the more worn down they are Use the colored team rings to mark which Superstar is on which team. and the harder it becomes to Block The two Superstars start on the squares marked with their color star in the attacks and Kick Out of a Pin. picture above. Any time your deck runs out of cards, Shuffle your Superstar Deck and place it on the left hand side of your half shuffle your discard pile and put it of the board, in the spot labeled “Superstar.” In the middle, each player has back on the space for your deck. three places to play cards, labeled 1, 2, 3. Victory and Defeat On the right hand side, there’s a spot for your discard pile. When the To defeat your rival, you need to rules say to “discard” a card, place it in your discard pile. When the rules reduce the number of cards in their say to “Give Up” a card, hard the card to your opponent to add to their deck, wearing down their stamina to Performance Stack. the point you can Pin them to the mat or knock them out! 2 3. Compare Cards GAME ROUNDS After both teams have placed their cards, reveal the cards in position 1 and compare their card types. There are five types of cards: Slam, Grapple, Strike, Maneuver and Block. Game Round Summary 1. Draw Cards Grapple beats Strike. 2. Play Cards to the Board Strike beats Maneuver. 3. Compare Cards 4. Pinning Your Opponent Maneuver beats Grapple. Slams always win. 1. Draw Cards At the start of each Blocks always lose. round, draw cards The Slam-O-Gram from your deck until Leave the winning card in its position. The losing card you have six cards goes in its discard pile. If the Superstar whose card lost in your hand. For is outside the ropes, they must Give Up the losing card example, if you have instead of discarding it. two cards in your Refill your hand to six cards. hand at the beginning of a round, draw four new cards. If you’re out of cards, shuffle your discard pile and use it as your deck again. Do not show your cards to your opponent.

Card Comparison Examples

Playing Blocks Blocks always lose, even to other Block Both players play 3 face down cards to start. cards. Playing a Block prevents all damage 2. Play Cards to the Board from your opponent’s card. After you play a Block card, your opponent may still take all Choose three cards from your hand to play. Place them other Actions listed on their card. face down on the “1, 2, 3” positions on the board. These cards will be revealed and compared to your opponent’s Blocks never tie. If both players play a Block card to the card one at a time. same position, both Blocks are considered losing cards and are placed in their discard piles. 3 Tied Cards 4. Pinning Your Opponent If both teams reveal the same type of card (Slam vs. Slam, Once all three cards have been compared, the Superstar Grapple vs. Grapple, etc.), take the top card of your deck with more winning cards may Pin their opponent, if they are and put it on top of your tied card, then compare the two adjacent to each other in the ring (in side-by-side squares, new cards. If the new cards are a tie, continue revealing not diagonally). The Superstar who has been Pinned must cards from your decks one at a time until one player wins now “Kick Out,” or be defeated. the tie. The player who lost the tie places their stack of If the two players have the same number of winning cards, losing cards in their discard pile. no one can be Pinned. A Superstar who is outside the ring can not be Pinned.

Kicking Out (of a Pin) There are two ways to Kick Out of a Pin. You can Give Up a Kick Out card from your hand to get out of a Pin. If you don’t have a card with Kick Out in your hand, or don’t want to use it, then you have a Three Count to Kick Out. Reveal and Give Up cards one at a time from the top of the deck. If you Give Up three cards from your deck without revealing a “Kick Out” card, you’ve been defeated.

After Pinning, both players put their winning cards in their discard piles and a new game round begins.

Knock Outs If, at any point, your opponent is not able to Give Up as many cards as needed, they’ve been knocked out and Reveal a card from your deck to break ties. have been defeated!

Winning Cards Playing Outside the Ropes Each card has one, two or three Action Icons. When your Your Superstars may end up outside the ring, either card wins the comparison, you may take the Actions on the because you choose to move them out or because their card, in any order you’d like. You’ll use the Actions on your rival has thrown them out! There are a few rules that apply winning cards to do things like move, attack your opponent when your Superstar miniature is outside the ropes: or throw your opponent around the ring. The specifics of each Action are detailed on pages 5-8. Countout If your card loses when Comparing Cards and your After the winning card’s Actions are done, compare the Superstar is outside the ring, you must Give Up your losing cards in the next position. card instead of discarding it. In the case of a tie, you must Give Up all the losing cards from the tie! Defeat in the Ring There are two ways to defeat your oppoent: Knock Out or Get Back in the Ring! Pinning. When a Superstar is unable to play three cards Your Superstar can not be Pinned when outside the ropes. to the board or isn’t able to Give Up as many cards as Catching Your Breath required they have been Knocked Out. Each round, the If your Active Superstar is outside the ropes at the start of a Superstar who has more winning cards will have a chance new Game Round, shuffle your discard pile back into your to Pin his opponent. Superstar deck before drawing cards. 4 Pushing & Shoving CARD ACTIONS If you end your move in the same square as another Superstar, you may shove them one square in any Each Superstar card has one, two or three Action Icons direction. You may not shove them in or out of the ring. along the bottom of the card. You may use the Actions of your winning card in any order, or not at all. All card Actions are optional, you don’t have to take them. With the exception of the Reversal and Kick Out Actions, you may use these Actions when your card beats your opponent’s.

MOVE ACTIONS Move Actions let you move in and around the ring. You may move the number of squares in the Move Icon. When moving in the ring, you may move in any direction, including diagonally. You may move through squares Blue ends his move in occupied by another Superstar. Red’s square, shoving Red a square. Turnbuckle & Ropes Squares You may move into the squares that contain ropes or turnbuckles. These squares have special rules. You can bounce off the ropes when you move into a Ropes Square. Attacks made against a Superstar in a Turnbuckle Square get +1 power. Turnbuckle Squares do not count as Ropes Squares.

Blue moves three squares, through Red’s square.

You may use your movement to go in and out of the ring, as you’d like. Remember, there are advantages and disadvantages to being outside the ropes! See page 4 for all the rules for being outside the ropes. Once you start your movement, you must finish it before taking another Action. You can’t start to move, do something else, and then finish your movement.

Turnbuckle and Ropes Squares have special rules. 5 Bouncing off the Ropes MOMENTUM ATTACK ACTIONS When you move into a Ropes Square with a Move Action, The power of a Momentum Attack is equal you may bounce off the ropes. When you bounce off to the number of squares you move in a the ropes, you can move as many squares as you want, straight line before stopping in a square directly away from the Ropes Square you moved into. You adjacent to your rival. may bounce off the ropes then bounce again when you reach the other side. Once you stop bouncing, your move is over. You may not use a bounce move to go outside the ring.

Red moves three squares before his Momentum Attack, Blue moves two squares into the ropes, for a three card Hit. then bounces off to end adjacent to Red. Off the Ropes Momentum Attacks ATTACK ACTIONS When you bounce off the ropes, you’ll hit your rival with With an Attack Action, you may hit your power equal to the number of squares you move after rival for a number of cards equal to the bouncing. Remember, only straight line movement counts. power of the Attack. To Attack, you must be adjacent to your rival. You may NOT Attack diagonally. Delivering a Hit When you hit your rival with an Attack, they must either Give Up a Block card from their hand or a number of cards equal to the power of your Attack. They may Give Up cards from their hand, from the top of their deck or a combination of the two. These cards are added to You may only attack your Performance Stack. adjacent squares, Blue moves two squares, not diagonally. bounces off the ropes, Performance Stack bounces again, The cards Given Up by the other team measure your then moves five squares straight performance in the ring. These cards are set aside off the towards his rival, hitting Red for board and are used when the match is over. five cards with his Momentum Attack. 6 THROW CARD ACTIONS, CONTINUED With a Throw Action, you may move an CORNER ATTACK adjacent rival Superstar up to three squares Corner Attack Actions must be made from from their current position. Remember, Turnbuckle Squares. With a Corner Attack, your card’s Actions can be taken in any you may move 3 squares and then make order: you can move to your opponent, a power 3 attack. All the normal rules for then Throw them. Alternately, if you’re starting next to your Attack Actions apply. You can not bounce opponent, you can Throw them first, move, then take your off the ropes with a Corner Attack’s movement. third Action. You may use a Throw Action to move your rival in or out of the ring.

Red Throws Blue three squares, into the turnbuckle. When Throwing a rival Superstar, all the normal rules In a Corner Attack, you can move up to three squares for movement apply. You can Throw your rival on top of from the Turnbuckle Square. another Superstar, to shove them one square. SETUP ACTIONS Setup Actions give you a bonus to your next winning card this round. Playing a Setup Action in your third card spot has no effect. MOVEMENT SETUP Your next winning card gains +1 movement. If your next winning card does not have a Move Action, treat it as having a 1 Move Action. POWER SETUP Your next winning card gains +1 power. If your next card does not have an Attack Action, treat it as having a 1 power Attack Action. Note: If your first card has a Setup Action and wins and your second card loses, your third card can still get the Setup bonus from your first card. Big E Shows Off His Immense Strength 7 STUN REVERSALS Some attacks leave their targets reeling. Unlike other Actions, the Reversal Action is When your opponent Gives Up cards and only used when the card LOSES. When a your winning card has a Stun Action, you Reversal card loses, you may play a card may play an additional, extra card from your from your hand that beats your opponent’s hand after taking all your Stunning card’s card. Place the new, winning card on top of other Actions. the Reversal card. The card you play from your hand must Resolve the extra card as if it were a winning card, taking win. If you can’t play a winning card, you aren’t able to pull all the card’s Actions normally. At the end of the round, off the Reversal. the extra card counts as a winning card for purposes of If you both reveal Reversal cards, the player with the losing Pinning. If the extra card also has Stun, you may continue card may play a card from their hand first. If they do, the to Stun your rival and play additional bonus cards, for as other player may then use their Reversal. long as you have more Stuns in your hand. If you don’t Reversals have no effect in ties: if two Reversal cards are have any cards in your hand, you can’t use the Stun tied, resolve the tie normally. Action.

Reversing into a Slam is a devastating surprise!

KICK OUT Kick Out is only used when you are Pinned After stunning by your opponent. If you are Pinned and his rival, Big E have a card with Kick Out in your hand, you plays a Slam from his hand. may Give Up the card to escape from the Pin. If you do not Give Up a card from your hand, you have three chances to reveal and Give Up a Blocked Stuns card from the top of your deck with the “Kick Out” Action, or In order to Stun your opponent, they be defeated. must Give Up cards. If your opponent Blocks your card’s attack, they Example: is Pinned by . Cena’s have also avoided being Stunned. player doesn’t have any cards with “Kick Out” in his hand, Once they are Stunned, a Stunned so he must Give Up cards from the top of his deck to try to opponent may not play a Block card get out of the Pin. from their hand to Block the damage “One!” He Gives Up the first card: no Kick Out. from your bonus card. “Two!” Cena Gives Up a second card: no Kick Out. “Three!” For his third final card: no Kick Out. Cena has been Pinned and is defeated by Orton! 8 Pete may now take the three Actions listed on his card. SAMPLE FIRST ROUND He can take these three Actions in any order. He wants to close with Liz, so he moves three squares toward her. Liz and Pete start a game of WWE Superstar Showdown. Since “Leapfrog” has Setup Movement, Pete’s next winning Liz is using Randy Orton and Pete is using John Cena. At card will get +1 movement. His third Action, Reversal, is the start of the first turn, they both place their Superstars in only used if the card loses. starting squares of the ring and draw six cards.

Both players draw six cards to start and place their Superstars in their starting squares. Cena’s first card wins and Looking at their cards, they each choose three cards to he closes in! play, then place the cards face down in the 1, 2, 3 positions on the game board. Second Cards For their second cards, Liz reveals another Grapple, “Elevated DDT” and Pete reveals a Strike, “One-Handed Bulldog.” Orton’s Grapple beats Cena’s Strike this time, so Pete places his losing card to his discard pile and Liz is able to take the Actions Place the 3 cards face down in front of you. listed on her card.

First Cards Once they’ve both placed their three cards on the board, they each reveal their first card: Liz reveals Orton’s Grapple, “Inverted Backbreaker.” Pete reveals Cena’s Maneuver, “Leapfrog.” Pete’s Maneuver card Playing a Block card from his hand wins, so his card stays Blocks all damage from the Attack! face up on the table and Liz places her losing card Since Liz’s winning attack has Stun, Pete decides to play a on her discard pile. Block from his hand. Because the damage is Blocked, Liz isn’t able to play an extra card. 9 Third Cards Block, so he has to take the hit. Pete gives up the last two They’re both trying to end cards from his hand, plus two more cards from the top of the round with a Slam! his deck. Liz sets these cards off to her side of the board, To break the tie, they both starting her Performance Stack. reveal the top card of their deck and place the cards End of the Round on top of their Slams. Of the three pairs of cards that have been revealed and compared, Liz won two cards vs. Pete’s one winning card. Liz reveals a Strike and Because they are ending the round with their Superstars Pete reveals a Maneuver: Liz wins the tie! next to each other in the ring, Orton has Pinned Cena. Pete doesn’t have any cards in his hand, so he has a Three Count from his deck to reveal a Kick Out card.

Since Liz won the tie, she can now take the Actions on her tie-breaking “Running Clothesline” card. She moves two squares towards the ropes, bounces off the ropes, moves all the way across the ring, bounces again and stops next to Pete.

And he just barely Kicks Out with his third card!

All three cards Pete reveals when trying to Kick Out are Double bounce off the ropes Given Up to Liz’s Performance Stack. Having Kicked Out for a brutal Running Arm Smash! of the Pin, Cena is ready to go another round! At the start of the next round, both Pete and Liz will draw new cards The “Running Clothesline” is a Momentum Attack and Liz from their decks, until they have six cards in their hands. moves four spaces in a straight line before stopping next to Pete’s Superstar for her power 4 Strike. The Match continues until either Cena or Orton is defeated! Pete now has to Give Up four cards or play a Block card from his hand to stop the attack. Pete doesn’t have another 10 ADVANCED RULES

Games with More than Two Players With the advanced rules, you can play with more than two players. You can play with one, two or three players per team. It’s up to each team of players to decide who is going to play when. You may decide to take turns, or each player can play as a specific Superstar. When playing with teams of players, cards Given Up by the other team are all put into one combined team Performance Stack. Each team will have only one Performance Stack.

Drafting Superstars When playing with the advanced rules, the first thing you need to do is select two teams of Superstars. Flip a coin to decide which team picks a Superstar first. The other team then gets to pick two Superstars. After that, take turns picking one Superstar at a time, until all the Superstars you want to use are chosen. Both teams must have the same number of Superstars. As a team game, you can have any number of people There’s no force on Earth like ! playing on each team. It’s up to each team to decide which team members are going to play each Superstar. Playing an Event For shorter games, you can play a single Match card. For longer games, you can put together a series of Matches to Match Cards create an epic Event! When you’re playing an Event, the Match cards describe different types team with the most Ranking Points at the end of the Event of matches, each with their own has dominated the ring and won the game! rules. After you’re finished playing a Match card, both teams earn Ranking Points based on how well Creating an Event they did in the ring. 1. Decide how many Matches you’re going to play. You can play as few as two Matches, or as many as you’d Match Stipulations like. Stipulation cards introduce special rules for that Match, making it a 2. Choose your Match cards beforehand or shuffle “Hardcore Match” or “Last Man Tag Team Match Card the Match cards and choose randomly before each Standing Match,” for example. Match. The game also includes three “Standard Rules” Stipulation cards 3. Decide which Stipulation cards you want to use that you can shuffle together with for each Match or shuffle the Stipulation cards and the special Stipulation cards to make choose Stipulation cards randomly. whether or not your match will have a special Stipulation unpredictable. Stipulation Card 11 Send a Superstar into the Ring Match Bonuses After selecting your first Match and Stipulation card, it’s After a Match is over, both teams can spend the cards time to send one of your team’s Superstars into the ring! in their Performance Stack on Bonus Superstar cards or Place your chosen Superstar’s Stat card face down next to Bonus Ranking Points. If you’re playing an entire Event, the Match card. Once both teams have placed their chosen adding Bonus cards to your Superstars’ decks increases Superstar card, reveal the cards to see who is facing off in their stamina, making them tougher to Knock Out and Pin. the ring! The most powerful Bonus cards introduce extra Slams, making your Superstars even more devastating in the ring!

If you look at a Bonus Superstar card, you’ll see a price listed on the card; this is how many of your Performance Stack cards you must spend to add that card to any one of your Superstar’s decks. Bonus Card Price You can also exchange your Performance Stack cards for bonus Ranking Points. You can do this whether you won or lost the Match. Be careful though - if Place your Stat card face down to keep your you turn too many cards into Ranking Points, you may choice hidden, until both Superstars are placed. find yourself getting crushed in the ring by Superstars with extra cards in their decks!

Scoring Points in a Match For example, if you finish a Match with 30 cards in Every Match card will list a number of Ranking Points you your Performance Stack, you could choose to add one get from winning the Match. The bigger the Match, the powerful 25 point Slam to one of your decks and take 5 more Ranking Points you’ll earn. You may also get bonus bonus Ranking Points, or add two 15 point cards to your Ranking Points from the Performance Stack cards you’ve Superstars’ decks. collected from your rivals. Note: You need to exchange all your Performance Stack cards for either Bonus Superstar cards or Ranking Points. You can’t save cards in your Performance Stack from Match to Match.

Example: John won a Tag Team Match and scored 60 Ranking Points for his win. He ended the Match with 42 cards from the two rival Superstars in his Performance Stack. John decides to purchase a new Slam card for his Gauntlet’s Scoring Rules team, which costs 25 points. With the 17 remaining cards Winning a Match in his Performance Stack, John could get another 15 point Each Match card details what you need to do to win the bonus Performance card. Instead, he decides to turn the Match. For example, in the basic “Head-to-Head” Match remaining points into bonus Ranking Points. In the end, card, defeating the other team’s Superstar is all you need he’s added another Slam to one of his Superstar’s decks to do to win the Match. In a Match card like “Gauntlet,” and scored a total of 77 Ranking Points! defeating one opponent is the first step to winning the match! 12 The Tag Zone TAG TEAM RULES Each team has a Tag Zone bordering their corner, marked in red or blue on the board. In order to Tag Out, your Some of the Match cards are Tag Team Matches. In these, Inactive teammate must be in the legal Tag Zone. Canny each team will select two or three Superstars from their players can exploit this by Throwing their weakened team to send into the ring. There are a number of rules that opponent away from their teammates! are only used in Tag Team Matches.

Active Superstars In a Tag Team Match, there is only ever one Active Superstar. The Active Superstar’s deck is placed on the board; the Inactive Superstars’ decks are set aside. You only draw cards from the Active Superstar’s deck and only the Active Superstar Gives Up cards from their deck. The Inactive Superstars are still part of the Match: where they’re standing and what they’re doing is very important!

To Tag Out during a match, your teammate must be in one of the six squares of your Tag Zone.

Tagging Out At the very end of a round, if the Active Superstar is adjacent to one of his teammates in the Tag Zone, he can Tag Out: shuffle the Active Superstar’s discard pile and all the cards in your hand into his deck; any cards that the Active Superstar has Given Up stay out of their deck. Set the shuffled deck aside and place the tagged-in teammate’s deck in the Active area. Swap the positions of the two Superstars on the board and start a new Round.

Tag Team Kick Outs If you’re Pinned and next to an Inactive teammate in your Tag Zone, you may Kick Out of the Pin by immediately Tagging Out. You do not need to play a Kick Out card.

6-Man Tag Team Match In 6-Man Tag Team Matches, you’ll have two Inactive Superstars outside the ring. You can Tag Out with either Inactive Superstar, as long as they are in the legal Tag Zone.

Yes! Yes! Yes! 13 Movement in Tag Team Matches Teammate Interference Inactive Superstars may not enter the ring. While Inactive Superstars can’t directly fight, they can You may Shove your teammates. sometimes get in a quick hit from outside the ring. For each teammate that is next to your rival when you Attack, you Each time the Active Superstar has a winning card, one of get +2 Power to your Attack Action. their Inactive teammates may take a Move 3 Action. This teammate’s Action can be taken before or after the Active Superstar takes the Actions on their winning card. The active player chooses which of their teammates may move, and whether or not they move before or after the Active Superstar.

Blue Attacks Red, with his Inactive Teammate adjacent to Red, for +2 power to Blue’s Attack. Inactive teammates can be moved to shove another Superstar out of their Tag Zone.

Roman Reigns Unleashes a Devastating Attack! 14 SAMPLE EVENTS

SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM SERIES ULTIMATE ENDURANCE One of Each Match combined with Stand Together or Fall Alone! A Brutal Series of four Matches, Random Stipulations makes for an Every Match is a Tag Team Match! with Endurance Match Stipulation in Event you can play every week! Teamwork and coordination will win place for all four! the day! MATCH STIPULATION MATCH STIPULATION 1 MATCH STIPULATION 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4

CREDITS GAME DESIGN DESIGN DIRECTOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sean Sweigart John Kovaleski WWE: Scott Halpern, Diane Udin, Ashley Zuzik Aaron Dill PRODUCERS Special Thanks to all the WWE Superstars for SENIOR PROOFREADER Peter Simunovich providing edge-of-our-seats entertainment all these years! Peter Przekop John-Paul Brisigotti GRAPHIC DESIGN 3D DESIGN Katie Dillon Charles Woods PLAYTESTING Lizzie Willick, Jason Buyaki, Jason Delaney, Mark Honeycutt, Sally Honeycutt, Christopher Kovaleski, Leonard Landrey, Stuart Lapwood, Ray O’Connor, Phil Petry, Kevin Sugiyama-Allen, Alyssa Sweigart

Game Design © Gale Force Nine 2015. All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2015. All Rights Reserved. Gale Force Nine is a Battlefront Group Company.