FINDING FROGMAN: the Board Game
Description: Finding Frogman is a wild ride of an investigative board game in which players fulfill the roles of four unique witnesses from different referenced times across seven decades of legend and lore. Explore the historic town of Loveland and collect evidence to support one of four possible conclusions. Up to four players will try but only one will arrive at the accepted conclusion to a long-standing mystery of the legendary anuran-like cryptid.
Our Frogman Boardgame Story: P. House Games is proud to bring you the latest addition to its line of cryptid-themed tabletop games. It is designed to give players a sense of the cryptid-hunting experience while utilizing mechanics and themes inspired directly from actual frogman lore. We hope this game captivates you as the legacy of the Frogman has captivated many for nearly 70 years.
What's in the Box? Game Stats
1 Game Board depicting historic Loveland 2-4 Players
1 Rules Insert Ages 10+
2 Anuran Dice (2d6) Play Time 30-60 min.
4 Witness Pawns (B,R,Y,G) 4 Black Evidence Pawns
5 Witness Cards
Cop--Gamer--Reporter--Travelling Salesman
4 Theory Cards
Exra-terrestrial--Hoax--Misidentified Animal--Mutant
9 Fiver Cards
A Lump in the Road--Anuran Trio--Elusive--Hypnotic--Nocturnal--Sparkley Wand 6 Predicament Cards
Badge--Binoculars--Camera--Flashlight--Glasses--Hanky--Hightops--Jack--Leftovers--Matches--N.S. Textbook
Newspaper--Notebook--Revolver--Suspenders--Spare Tire--Telephone--Walkie-Talkie
Location Cards
Kemper Road--Poorly Lighted Bridge--Little Miami, Secret Lab--South Woods--Town Area, Library--North Woods
Sporting Goods Store--Nearby University--Town Area--Newspaper--Boot Factory--Swamp--Little Miami River
Unnamed Road--Boot Factory 1972--UFO Crash Site--Town Area 1972--Farm Community--Police Station
South Woods, Art Gallery--Town Area 1955--Lake Isabella--Unnamed Road 1955--City Park
Victory: Coordinate your investigation as best you can and gather Evidence. You'll be up against 3 other witnesses from different years. You won't see them, but you'll find clues that they were there. Be the first player to move your evidence marker to 10.
Setup
1. Separate the cards into their four decks and shuffle the decks thoroughly. Place them near the game board.
2. Randomly select your Witness and Theory cards.
3. Place the unfolded game board (Loveland) at the center of the play area. Place 2 dice at the center.
4. Each player places their witness pawn at their starting location (see Witness card).
5. Players place the black evidence tracking pawns on the Theory label on the game board to the left of the evidence tracking bar. The colors of the witness pawn and the theory label should match.
6. Sit at a location allowing easy reach to your evidence tracking bar.
7. Decide who goes first. The game can now begin.
Player's Turn
1. Draw a location/travel card if you don't already have one in your play area.
2. Roll to determine if you can move (roll REFLEX or less with 2d6). NOTE: No movement roll required if your witness' year and the year on the location card match.
3. You may use a card from your play area.
4. Draw a 5er card immediately after you gain your 5th evidence.
Roll to Succeed or Fail: Usually, you'll roll to determine if you move or keep retain evidence. The cards will walk you through it.
Cards are discarded immediately after they are resolved or use.
THE GAME TERMS AND MEANINGS
Evidence: Track your evidence score on the bar located on the game board with a black pawn. If you get your pawn to the #10 first, you win. The location cards tell you where to go to find evidence. Once you arrive at the location you'll have to roll a dice range to determine if you keep the evidence or not.
Witness: A witness card is the character you represent on the game board.
Location/movement Cards: These cards, a.k.a. Movement cards guide your witness to the evidence. Players have 1 location card at a time and spend the majority of their time moving toward the site. Once there, player roll to see if their witness gets to keep the evidence or not.
Items: These cards help and should not be overlooked. In a race against time, movement isn't automatic and evidence isn't easy to come by. If players take advantage of items, they'll relieve a lot of stress.
Theories/Conclusions: These are selected randomly during game setup. Each one is different and has a colored strip on the card. These colors correspond with the colored ribbon strips on the game board to the left of the evidence tracker bars. For example, if a player attains evidence from a site card with a green ribbon, the player who has the theory card with the green ribbon also gets to move their evidence marker.
Extra-terrestrial (dark blue)- This theory holds that the Frogman is a visitor (or castaway) from another planet.
Mutant (green)- Chemical waste from the boot factory, or a secret government lab located beneath it is rumored to be responsible for the mutated amphibians. Escaped lab experiment or a mutated anomaly?
Misidentified Animal (gray)- Locals and visitors alike have misidentified local biota before. Why not this time?
Hoax (light blue)- Reports have been exaggerated or crafted in order to gain attention or as an inside joke.
OPTIONAL RULE
Frogman Lives!: The Frogman Witness card isn't just a bonus promo. It can be used during the game to shake things up for the witnesses. If all players agree, a 5th player may join in as Frogman with the sole purpose of sabotaging evidence. Frogman has all the same rules to follow as the other witnesses except:
1. His goal is to get to locations before the witnesses. If he gets to keep the evidence, the witness still has to arrive there but there is no evidence to be had. If Frogman can do this until the last location card is resolved and no witnesses have moved their evidence pawn to #10 on the tracker bar, he wins the game!
