Take control of some of your favorite WWE Superstars and enter the ring with WWE Superstar Showdown, a board game of high-flying action, cunning in-ring strategies and spectacular finishes from Gale Force Nine!

In each match of WWE Superstar Showdown, players face-off against one another as a WWE Superstar: the Cenation Commander John Cena, the Apex Predator Randy Orton, the Submission Specialist Daniel Bryan, the World’s Largest Athlete Big Show, the Powerhouse Roman Reigns, or the indomitable Big E.  Players can compete in a one-off match for a quick game or set up a series of different matches, tracking their victories and defeats while improving their Superstars between matches.

Two players can play against each other to determine a winner, or a group of players can create two competing teams of Superstars. With half-a-dozen WWE Superstars in the game, up to six people can play!

~ In-Ring Action ~

WWE Superstar Showdown is driven by the Superstar Decks; every Superstar has their own deck of cards which contains all of their signature moves and actions. Their deck of cards also represents the Superstar’s stamina. As they lose cards in a match; they become more vulnerable to pinfalls and lose key moves which could overpower their rivals.

At the beginning of a round, each player draws a hand of six cards from their Superstar Deck. Players than choose three of those cards and place them face-down on the “1, 2, and 3” positions on the game board. Each card represents a different in-ring action identified by five different card types, Maneuver, Grapple, Strike, Slam and Block. Each type of card trumps another - a Maneuver beats a Grapple, a Grapple beats a Strike, a Strike will beat a Maneuver, while a Slam will always win and a Block will always lose.

Both players reveal their first cards and compare the two, the loser’s card is moved to a discard pile to be reshuffled into the Superstar deck later, while the winner’s Superstar miniature may perform Actions corresponding to Icons on the winning card. Once the player is done performing the Actions on the winning card, the next pair of cards are compared. After all three cards have been compared; the player with the most winning cards may make a pin attempt, so long as their Superstar miniature is in the proper position in the ring. The pinned opponent must Kick Out of the pin or lose the match.  A player can Kick Out of a Pin by removing a card with a Kick Out Icon from their Superstar Deck for the remainder of the game.  If a player doesn’t have such a card in their hand, or doesn’t want to sacrifice a valuable move, they have a ‘three-count’, three chance to blind draw a card from the top of their Superstar deck, to reveal a card with a Kick Out icon.

~ Signature Moves ~

Using the Actions on the winning cards, players move their Superstar miniatures in the ring and attempt to Attack their rival, forcing them to remove cards from their Superstar Deck. Some Actions allow Superstars to move in the Ring putting their Superstar miniature in position to deal a damaging attack or make a Pin Attempt; players can take advantage of the ring itself and gain extra movement by bouncing off the ropes. Some Actions deal a set amount of damage to an opponent while others have variable damage based upon their movement or other Actions. Players also have a limited number of Block cards they can play, which stop incoming damage – Blocks may be used two ways, played facedown in the “1, 2, or 3” positions to prevent damage from the winning card or they may be removed from a player’s hand to prevent the loss of other cards from their Deck. Blocks played to the game board will be reshuffled into the Superstar deck, while Blocks Given Up from a player’s hand are removed for the rest of the game.

Players become masters of the ring as they learn to chain Actions delivering devastating attacks while anticipating and countering which cards their rival’s will place on the board. Keeping track of which cards your rival loses from their Superstar deck during play is sound strategy!

Each Superstar in the game is distinct. Each Superstar deck contains an equal number of cards initially, but the number of card types varies for each Superstar focusing on their signature styles; Big Show has more devastating Strikes in his deck while Daniel Bryan has more nimble Maneuvers. With six Superstars in WWE Superstar Showdown and more in later expansions, mastering the style of each Superstar will be a fun challenge for players.

~ The Main Event ~

WWE Superstar Showdown has rules for four different types of matches, from head-to-head confrontations to dynamic tag team action with multiple Superstars.  Stipulation cards add different rules conditions to a Match, such as changing a simple contest into a grueling Hardcore Match. With these Match and Stipulation Cards, along with bonus cards that players may earn and add to their Superstar decks, players can create an entire WWE event, tracking the rise of their Superstars until a champion is crowned! Lace up your boots and ring the bell - WWE Superstar Showdown is hitting your tabletop this summer!