We keep you alive to serve this ship. So row well, and live.
Current Sheets (Apr ’08 uploads in bold):
- Arena Maximus v3
- Arkham Horror v3.1
- AT-43 Basic v1
- Babel v2
- Battlecars
- BattleLore v2.1 & v8.1
- Betrayal at House on the Hill
- Blue Moon
- Blue Moon City
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Game
- Call of Cthulhu CCG
- Camelot Legends v1.1
- Citadels v2
- Cleopatra and the Society of Architects
- Colossal Arena
- Colosseum v1.1
- Conquest of the Empire
- Descent v2.1
- Doom
- Dracula
- Duel in the Dark v1.1
- Dungeon Twister
- Fire & Axe v1.1
- Fury of Dracula
- Fury of Dracula 2nd Edition
- Heroscape
- Horus Heresy
- Hybrid
- Il Principe v1
- Jamaica v1
- Jambo
- Last Night on Earth v1
- Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
- Mall of Horror
- Man O’ War v1
- Marvel Heroes v1.1
- Memoir’44
- Minotaur Lords
- Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel v1.1
- Mystery of the Abbey v2
- Nexus Ops
- Odin’s Ravens
- Pirate’s Cove
- Prophecy v1.1
- Puerto Rico v1.1
- Runebound 2nd Edition v2
- Runebound: Sands of Al-Kalim v1
- San Juan
- Scarab Lords
- Settlers of Catan Card Game
- Shadows Over Camelot
- Silk Road v1.1
- Space Hulk 2nd Edition
- Starcraft v1.1
- Star Wars: The Queen’s Gambit
- Talisman 4th Edition v1.1
- Tannhäuser v2
- Ticket to Ride v1
- Ticket to Ride Europe v1
- Tide of Iron v2
- Wings of War
- Wreckage
- Zombies!!! v1.1
- Zombie Plague
- More coming soon!
Headless Hollow Boardgame Reference Sheets
There’s few things as enjoyable as a few friends and a few drinks around a good boardgame. Gaming has been a hobby of mine for many years, but recently the industry has been undergoing something of a renaissance, led by a huge influx of easy to learn, fun and imaginatively themed games from Germany. I put them all away for a while, but in the last few years the games and I have come back out of the game closet and I’m proud to be a gamegeek!
One frustration with games however, is that you often have to re-read the rules before playing if you haven’t got it down from the shelf for a while. So over time I’ve created rules summaries to make it easy and quick to go over the rules of a game before playing. It’s now become a little ritual every time I buy a new game. They’re designed to be printed on two sides of one sheet (a few are single sided), are small to fit in game boxes, and look best when laminated and then cut to size. I’m making these PDF files available here, and like my game collection, this section is always growing. Be sure to check out these games; out-of-print ones can still be found on eBay!
Please note: These sheets are intended only for the personal use of existing owners of the games listed as additional reference. Universal Head makes no claim whatsoever to the rights of the copyright holders of these games. Content re-written and game artwork used without permission.
These PDFs may not be re-posted online, sold or used in any other way without my written permission. I’ve already posted them to BoardgameGeek so do not do so again! It’s rude and very annoying.
Files printing at the wrong size? It’s a common error to have Fit to Paper selected in the Acrobat print settings, especially if your default paper size is different from A4—so make sure you’re printing at 100%.
Chariot racing with a fantasy feel and a bit of chaotic spell-casting thrown in. The board is revealed as you play so there’s a lot of amusing potential for hitting traps and pits at high speed!
Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 171Kb)
V3, Jun’07
Thematically rich role-playing boardgame or long-winded dicefest? You decide. Arkham Horror is certainly a beautiful game, but it can often lack tension due to its fiddly rules and anti-climatic pacing. Here’s a whole lot of stuff to make the experience smoother. I also highly recommend a variant you can find here, that really improves the flow of the game.
Rules Summary (PDF 146Kb)
V3.1 Aug’07
Reference Sheet (PDF 63Kb)
Playsheet (PDF 211Kb)
Location Reference (PDF 188Kb) Two versions, one with location stability and one without.
The French company Rackham, known for slightly dodgy rules translations but beautiful miniatures, introduce their new sci-fi miniatures game AT-43 with the starter set Operation Damocles. The best thing is, the miniatures are pre-painted.
A surpringly vicious, ‘take that!’ card game that reveals a lot of interesting strategies if you play it enough. Lots of room for gazumping your opponent with well-timed card combinations. A 2-player favourite.
An absolute classic from the golden oldie days of Games Workshop. Road rage at its finest. I like this game so much I remade it at Matchbox car scale! The following reference sheets combine the car/bike sheets with their appropriate driver sheet plus modifications specific to that car/bike. Read my full review here.
Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 189Kb)
Car Reference Sheets (PDF 896Kb)
Bike Reference Sheets (PDF 1.1Mb)
Days of Wonder have outdone themselves with this new fantasy medieval game using Richard Borg’s Command & Colors system, and they have big plans for its future. Everything you’d want in a fast-playing miniatures boardgame. I’m so impressed with this game I decided to create a fansite for it: BattleLoreMaster.com: check it out for more.
Rules Summaries (PDF 394Kb)
V2.1, Jan’08
Reference Sheet (PDF 1Mb)
V8.1, Sept’07
This B-movie haunted house romp is pretty standard fare until the ‘haunt’ kicks in, and one of 50 unique plots pits one of the players as the Traitor against the others. Not only have I done a rules summary (in two sizes!), but the booklets here are the revised and corrected ones available from Avalon Hill, but reworked to match the graphic style of the game. There is also a set of character cards to put players in the mood, and a redesigned Haunt Chart.
Rules Summary (180x185mm, PDF 160Kb)
Rules Summary (152x229mm, PDF 163Kb)
Secrets of Survival Booklet (PDF 732Kb)
Traitor’s Tome Booklet (PDF 589Kb)
Haunt Chart & Character Cards (PDF 495Kb)
A clever little card game from Reiner Knizia with a strange, very European, fantasy theme. The base set caters for play between two races, and several more races can be purchased separately. Surprisingly deep if you play often.
The same theme, and many of the same illustrations, from Blue Moon, but a clever tile-and-card boardgame which sees players rebuilding Blue Moon City with the help of the various races and their powers. The theme just barely hides the mechanics, but the game is excellent nonetheless.
Update: With the help of Laszlo A. Koller, the four Blue Moon City expansion building tiles have been added to this reference.
Well, OK, you probably have to be a fan. But this Buffy-branded board game is a surprisingly good, well-made game and the perfect way to introduce non-gaming (Buffy-fan) friends to the world of boardgames.
Probably my least printer-friendly sheet yet (black background and reversed type)—sorry about that. The reference cards are small reminder cards especially useful for those non-gaming friends just mentioned.
I’m not a fan of Collectible Card Games as a rule, but I couldn’t resist the theme and (usually) stunning art on this one. And the game isn’t bad, though it suffers from all the usual baggage that comes with CCGs. This rule card and reference card are made extra small to fit snugly in a Starter Set box.
A nice King Arthur-themed card game for 2-4 players—lots of info on the cards to keep track of, but lovely card artwork. This rules summary (standard rules) and new player reference sheet includes the official ‘Lords of Camelot’ game variant.
Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 307Kb)
V1.1, Oct’07
Enjoyable card gaming at its best, this very popular game is simple but great fun. Read my review here. In addition to a rules summary (including expansion setup rules), this file includes a turn sequence and character description reference for all 18 characters.
Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 235Kb)
V2, Nov’06
You can’t beat Days of Wonder for stunning looking games, and Cleopatra and the Society of Architects is no exception. Simple play, fun and rich in theme. Like Ticket to Ride, good ‘gateway’ game to introduce newbies to the world of boardgaming.
A very strategic and enjoyable card game where players place bets on which monsters fighting in the arena will emerge victorious at the end of five rounds. Special powers spice up the outcomes, and spectators can jump into the arena to change the odds. A rework of the classic Titan: The Arena.
Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 142Kb)
Round Counters (PDF 188Kb)
Another beautifully produced, enjoyable game from Days of Wonder, Colosseum is the perfect game for getting those fledgling gamers into something just a little more complex. Smooth Euro mechanics balanced with a fun and interesting theme of Roman impresarios vying to produce the most successful arena spectacle.
Rules Summary (PDF 311Kb)
V1.1, Nov’07
Plunge into the politicking and military strategies of Ancient Rome. Read my review here.
Reference Sheet: dark background (PDF 34Kb) and light background (PDF 87Kb) versions
The Doom game system quickly spawned this fantasy-themed offering, which takes up the mantle once held by now-OOP classic games such as Heroquest and Warhammer Quest. The huge box is chock full of plastic monsters and fun dungeon-delving adventuring.
I’ve completely revamped this rules summary and reference sheet to also include double-sided reference sheets for the overlord and hero players, a town equipment list to speed up buying starting equipment, and a complete list of all the heroes and their stats. Covers the base game and the two expansions, Well of Darkness and Altar of Despair.
Rules Summmary and Reference Sheets (PDF 3.3Mb)
V2.1, Sept’07
Proving how popular boardgames have become lately, Doom is based on the best-selling computer game and captures its tense, claustrophobic atmosphere. For my money far more entertaining, and sociable, than the original. Read my full review here.
Original Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 61Kb)
Rules Summary (includes Expansion) (PDF 188Kb)
Reference Sheet (includes Expansion) (PDF 364Kb)
A simple memory game that’s a fun way to pass half an hour. Not the best game for people like me with terrible memories of course!
An excellent, very original game that simulates British WWII bombing raids over Germany. Lovely design and orginal mechanics make for a great gaming experience, especially if you're interested in the period.
Rules Summary (PDF 426Kb)
V1.1, Feb’08
An interesting and slightly unwieldy blend of dungeon bash and thinking strategy game, Dungeon Twister doesn’t quite seem to know what kind of game it wants to be. Still, it’s entertaining and has spawned several expansion sets that are slowly being released in English. The board artwork is a little too obviously ‘Photoshoppy’ for my liking.
Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga is a lovely blend of rich theme and smooth mechanics; just my favourite style of game really. Unlike Hollywood Vikings there’s plenty of trading and settling as well as attacking and pillaging. The Saga cards give the game a nice epic feel and the production is top notch.
Rules Summary & Reference Sheets (PDF 232Kb)
V1.1, Nov’07
Original 1987 version. This may hold the crown for best Games Workshop game—certainly it’s their best boardgame. Fury of Dracula drips atmosphere and plays beautifully—especially late at night.
New 2006 version. Fantasy Flight Games wisely resurrected this undead classic in 2006, and the reprint still has the magic of the old Games Workshop classic. Several important changes have been made, but it’s still a toss-up between the two which is best.
Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 188Kb)
Reference Sheets: 2 to a sheet (PDF 232Kb)
Miniatures gaming with all the serious mucking about taken out and all the fun left in. Read my full review here. Note the double sided rules summary below is in colour and for the Master rules only.
Furious battles between the Chaos hordes of the traitor Horus and the armies of the Emperor in the Games Workshops’ Warhammer40,000 universe. A old-style game in the ‘cardboard counter wargaming’ tradition. Read my full review here.
A gorgeous, if somewhat expensive, tactical miniature combat game from French company Rackham based in the crumbling underground laboratories of a science-fantasy world. The good guys (Griffons) battle against cloned monstrosities (Scorpions). In the vein of Space Hulk, but more tactically complex. The miniatures and graphic design are stunning, but the rules translation leaves much to be desired; hence my rules summary (includes rules from the supplement Nemesis).
Rules Summary and Reference (single ZIP 429Kb) or
Rules Summary (PDF 195Kb)
Griffon Reference Cards (PDF 148Kb)
Scorpion Reference Cards (PDF 148Kb)
I have yet to get this on the table but it looks like an interesting Euro-style game in the mold of Puerto Rico (set in medieval Italy).
Racing, pirates, battles and doubloons. This beautifully designed game was made for the European insurance company ASSURA SA by GameWorks. The marketing department must be big boardgame fans. What's more, they have the intelligence not to splash their company logo all over it. A tough game to get hold of, but definitely worth it, and as high quality as anything from industry leaders Days of Wonder (whose game, Pirate's Cove, it calls to mind).
Rules Summary (PDF 199Kb)
V1, Feb’08
A simple, fun card game with the unusual theme of trading goods in pre-colonial Africa. Lovely illustrations and great for two people.
Simple zombie fun done right, with a liberal dose of dice rolling, B-movie characters and clichés. Last Night on Earth takes few risks when it comes to mechanics, but the photographic art is well done and the game doesn't take itself too seriously. The first expansion is already in the works. Comes with a CD soundtrack that unfortunately is best used as a drink coaster.
Rules Summary (PDF 299Kb)
V1, Sept’07
A classic, deceptively simple but strategically rich game that manages to mix elements of Chess and Stratego with a perfect Lord of the Rings theme. The deluxe edition by Fantasy Flight Games includes classic and variant versions. A brilliant two player game.
Rules Summary (PDF 155Kb)
Smaller Reference Sheets (PDF 447Kb)
A slightly black voting and negotiation game with a zombie theme. Complete with chainsaw, of course. Fun with the right people.
One of the best, if not the best, Games Workshop games ever made, Man O’War is a game of spectacularly entertaining and visually stunning ship to ship battles on the high seas. Out of print now and pretty pricey, but well worth the investment.
With the invaluable help of Scott Di Bartolo, I recreated the entire set of ship templates at a small, easy to use card size which you can print out, put in card protectors and mark with non-permanent pens. Much easier than the unwieldy original templates and counters. Some old rules contradictions have been resolved as well.
Rules Summary (PDF 209Kb)
V1, Sep’07
Ship Cards (ZIPPED PDFs 1.6Mb)
V1, Sep’07
I’m not usually much of a comic superheroes fan so I bought this on impulse, largely because it's the same team who made the excellent War of the Ring. It's an interesting game, but it seems to get too tied up in its somewhat clunky mechanics and sacrifices the fast and furious fun that a superheroes game should feature. Maybe it's more fun for comic fans.
Rules Summary (PDF 730Kb)
V1.1, Dec’07
Memoir ’44 is a fast-playing, easy to learn two player game with scenarios set around the period of the D-Day invasions.
Rules Summary (PDF 88Kb)
New Reference Sheets (PDF 2.2Mb) includes all the expansions
I still have yet to get this on the table, but it comes highly recommended as a worthy precursor to Doom and Heroquest so I picked up a copy on eBay. Sci-fi corporations duke it out on an alien world.
Rules Summary (PDF 184Kb)
V1.1, Nov’07
A very entertaining whodunnit game in the tradition of Cluedo, but set in a medieval monastery and far more entertaining. A CD of chanting monks and playing by candlelight is highly recommended for the full effect!
Rules Summary (PDF 663Kb)
V2, Aug’07
Probably the best of the wave of games from the Hasbro-owned reincarnation of Avalon Hill, this game is a classic ‘build your forces up and kill the other guys’ wargame with a thin sci-fi theme of other-planetary mining and corporations in conflict. Renowned for its glow-in-a-black-light candy-coloured figures.
A clever little card game and a favourite with my girlfriend. One of those games where fortunes can drastically change from turn to turn due to a clever strategy and a bit of luck.
A great game for 3 to 5 players. Talking like a pirate highly recommended. Beautiful production from the game company Days of Wonder.
An excellent, 'classic' adventuring fantasy boardgame in the mould of Talisman but with more interesting choices, I'm proud to say I did an extensive redesign of this game for Z-Man Games, and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. We didn't have room to include this rules summary, but here it is, straight from the game's graphic designer!
Rules Summary (PDF 491Kb)
V1.1, Feb’08
Famous holder of the #1 spot on BoardgameGeek for many years now, the much-analyzed Puerto Rico is the jewel in the crown of so-called 'Euro games'. It's an entertaining challenge and the perfect introduction to something more complex and 'gamey' for new gamers. Though perhaps lacking a bit in the way of player interaction, no one can deny the mechanic of choosing new 'roles' each turn is brilliant.
Rules Summary (PDF 295Kb)
V1.1, Nov’07
Fantasy Flight Games has gone expansion crazy with this spiritual successor to the old Talisman fantasy adventure game. It has been criticised as suffering from a lack of player interaction and a long turn downtime, but later expansions attempt to address this. Good for playing solo. This rules summary is for the basic 2nd edition game.
Rules Summary (PDF 243Kb)
V2, Nov’07
This major expansion to Runebound 2nd Edition takes the adventure to a Thousand and One Nights medieval desert setting and spices the gameplay up with Legendary Quests. Definitely the most successful of the Runebound expansions.
The card game version of the classic Puerto Rico cleverly replicates many of that game’s mechanics in card form—and can be played by two players. A bit dry, but clever and engaging.
The excellent Scarab Lords and its successor Minotaur Lords seem to have been forgotten with the success of Blue Moon, Reiner Knizia’s newest non-collectible card game, but this earlier system by the prolific game designer is still great fun. This rules summary covers both games and fixes the error in the Minotaur Lords rules.
Settlers of Catan is an elegant empire building game and a perfect example of the ‘new’ German games. Its success has spawned many expansions and versions. This rules summary is for the basic card game version.
Great co-operative boardgame where Questing Knights battle the dragon, search for the Holy Grail, fend off invading barbarians and destroy besieging engines. Beware the traitor ...
Read my full review here.
Colour Rules Summary (PDF 72Kb)
Download the extra character Sir Bedivere Coat of Arms: front (PDF 2.8 Mb) and back (PDF 3.3 Mb)
A game of trading along the ancient Silk Road. Have yet to play this one.
This reference card doubles as a rules summary and reference sheet—print one for each player.
Rules Reference Card (PDF 230Kb)
V1.1, Nov’07
Way before Doom, there was Space Hulk. This tense game of relentless combat with the Alien-like Genestealers is a classic. This rules summary is for the second edition of the game.
One of the best ‘big’ games Fantasy Flight has released ever, and not just because you can play it in a reasonable length of time. Clean, interesting game mechanics meet tons of plastic figure goodness meets big sci-fi theme. A winner that seems complicated on first read but flows beautifully in play.
Rules Summary (PDF 557Kb)
V1.1, Apr’08
Sure it’s a dice fest, sure the Star Wars Episode One theme is a bit kiddy, but with chrome galore in the form of piles of plastic figures and a three-tiered palace board and a fun game behind it all, it’s worth putting aside your intial reservations and giving this game a go. Rapidly increasing in price on eBay as a result.
Some call it a classic, and early editions cost a mint on eBay, but I’m sure a lot of the hoopla is due to nostalgia as Talisman is still a pretty dull roll-and-move fantasy boardgame. This new 4th edition takes the safe path by not changing anything, just updating the art and components. Not even plastic figures! Still, after a few drinks it can still be a laugh.
Rules Summary (PDF 332Kb)
V1.1, Feb’08
Take On You, the French company that created this game, may have stolen the whole occult Nazis thing from Hellboy, but the alternative history magic-and-technology WWI melieu was just waiting to be given the game treatment. The result is this fast, richly thematic combat skirmish game. As is usual for French translations, the game looks great and the manual is terrible. This reference pack, in addition to the usual rules summary, also includes more logical reference sheets for the many weapon tokens available to both sides (including new online tokens as they are released), plus card-sized references for the Equipment Packs used by the various characters. Expect frequent updates as more material is released for this game.
Update: v2 (Dec’07) includes the Wolf and Yula special figure tokens.
When a couple of friends first came over with this new game, winner of the Spiel des Jahres 2004 (the world’s most prestigious game award), the game was so fun we bought it the next day. Highly recommended for gamers and non-gamers alike. The Europe version adds ferries, tunnels and stations to the mix.
Note the original game rules summary here includes the variants given in the 1910 expansion.
Ticket to Ride Rules Summary (PDF 150Kb)
V1, Nov’07
A friend reckons it's ‘Squad Leader-light’, but this new big box WWII squad level combat game from Fantasy Flight promises a faster, simpler system with a good dose of strategy—and lots of plastic army men!
This comprehensive rules summary and reference sheet has a customised side for either the American or the German player, and now v2 includes a special Combat reference sheet.
Rules Summary & Reference (PDF 946Kb)
V2, Oct’07
Elegant, easy to learn and played only with cards, Wings of War nevertheless manages to capture the feel of WWI dogfighting almost as well as a miniatures game. There are several sets available; this rules summary includes the basic rules and the Altitude, Ground Fire and Balloon rules from the set Burning Drachens.
All the fun of tabletop post-apocalyptic car combat, complete with rocket launchers. The game comes with car counters, but is really designed for use with matchbox-scale cars for best enjoyment.
Zombies!!! has its fans and its detractors, but everyone loves the 100 plastic zombies you get with every copy. Twilight Creations has milked this cash cow for all its worth by releasing quite a few expansions, despite the fact the game is a very thin one indeed. However this variant cooked up by fans makes the game quite playable in a ‘beer and pretzels’ kind of way.
Variant Rules Summary (PDF 105Kb)
V1.1, Nov’07
Ahh, zombies, we all love ’em. This free game captures that trapped - in - a - house - surrounded - by - zombies feeling that never fails to entertain. They’re slow, but they're relentless! Download the game here, and read my full review here.