Table of Contents

Getting started

The Move

Properties and Rent

Special Squares

Momentum Rules

Reincarnation Rules

Miscellaneous Notes

References and Inside Jokes

REVENGE!

The object of REVENGE! is to acquire a useful holding of property and defenses against the game's hazards in order to selectively do in your opponents. But even when meeting one of the game's horrible dooms, a player may be able to do in some of his enemies, and it is possible to reincarnate once. REVENGE! is sweet.

Background of REVENGE! Charlo the Chortaless has usurped the throne from Prince Putrid, rightful ruler of the galaxy, and believes him dead somewhere on Putridor or Double Cross. As a precaution, the Teleport System to the Green Planets has been disrupted, especially since the Green Slime is down there too. All Players are loyal to the Emperor, with the exception of Prince Putrid, naturally, and the Green slime, which has no human emotions save REVENGE!

Believing his rival dead or powerless, the Emperor has somewhat retired, occasionally visiting the opera on nearby Fledermaus, inventing carnivorous cacti in the Laboratory, and the like. He collects Intelligence Reports supplied by his Spy System. On occasion he will form an Elite Corps for a special suicide mission. They aren't always fatal, but they're always messy. Naturally every Loyal Subject yearns to go on one.

Possible roles one may reincarnate into are:

If the resurrected player dies in one of these roles, the role may be used later by another player. You can only reincarnate once. Typical game length: 6 to 10 hours. It is often impractical to play until only one player survives; it is suggested that the players agree in advance on a time after which only one more round of turns is taken, then the final score is computed.

REVENGE! is the brainchild of Jack Harness, as edited and modified by Lee Gold. Thanks are also due to Phil Castora (see also http://efanzines.com/Castora/Castora.pdf), Sandy Cohen, Barry Gold, Ted Johnstone, and the Rotating Bucket.

Any number can play, but fewer than 3 or more than 6 is not recommended.

You will need the following to play REVENGE!:

  1. Rules
  2. REVENGE! board
  3. Cards: Momentum, Fate, and Imperial Intelligence. Trail of the Green Slime, Property deeds
  4. One token per player, plus one for the torturer's daughter as a bride. (see note 1)
  5. Five dice: two used in normal play, all five used in duels.
  6. Markers:
    • Working teleport (both the teleport and its power station are owned)
    • Armed planet (see Properties)
    • Bombs
    • Trail of the Green Slime
    • Extra yield from the Diamond Asteroid: One extra choice for each player or re-incarnatee who has fallen into the Black Hole.
    • Bombed out Property
    You can use different colored poker chips, or bits of (preferably colored) cardboard with something written on them, e.g., "armed", "bomb", etc.
  7. Money (see note 2)

1 A cheap costume jewelry wedding ring is nicely symbolic

2 A set of Monopoly Money works well. You can buy Monopoly Money at most toy stores or over the web from Amazon, Wal-Mart, or other sources. Add two zeros to each bill: $1 becomes Cr 100, $20 becomes Cr 2,000, $500 becomes Cr 50,000 etc.

See Resources for hints on how to create your own REVENGE! set.

Before Starting

One player should act as Banker and take care of the money. The bank never goes broke. If necessary, the Banker should forge create more money.

Another player should take care of the property deeds and working teleport markers. He or she is responsible for distributing deeds to players who buy property or reincarnate — and for collecting them from players who die.

Another player should be responsible for keeping track of Vulchurella's Dowry — the money and property deed given up by players who suffer in the Torture Chamber.

Starting

Shuffle each stack of cards (Imperial Intelligence, Fate, and Momentum), and place the stacks face down in a convenient position by the side of the board.

Players roll dice to see who goes first. Highest goes first, then the turn passes to the left. All players start at the Launchpad. (I know it's obvious, but...)

Each player has an initial Geas (obligation) to pay respects to the Emperor by passing the Imperial Palace clockwise. After that he can move in any direction he chooses, unless he acquires another Geas. If detoured off his original route by a card or by landing on the Laboratory, the player must proceed to the nearest point from which he can pass the Palace clockwise.

Long Game: Each player starts with one momentum card, 10 armies, and Cr 3,000.

Short Game: Each player starts with three momentum cards, 20 armies, Cr 5,000 and five properties (dealt at random).

Lethal Conditions

A player who is required to pay anything (money or property deeds) and cannot, dies. A player killed in a duel to the death dies. A player who eats flaming death in the Uranium Mines dies. A player hit by the radioactivity of a bomb or the Green Slime dies. A player who enters the Black Hole dies.

The Move

On your turn, you have your choice of the following:

  1. Throw one die or two dice (your choice). If you throw, you must move the indicated amount. After rolling and moving, you may play a Momentum card on yourself to alter your position. A plus card increases the distance you moved, a Minus card decreases the distance. Only the final resting place is counted as having been landed on. If you roll doubles, you cannot alter your resting place with a Momentum card, and you must roll again that turn after completing the move indicated by the first roll. If you roll doubles three times in a row, you go immediately to the Uranium Mines. (But you can always avoid this by rolling just one die after rolling doubles twice in a row.)
  2. Teleport (see Teleport Rules)
  3. Play a Momentum, Fate, or Imperial Intelligence card on yourself. See Momentum Rules.
  4. Play or offer/threaten to play a card on another player. Once you have accepted a bribe to not play the card, it goes back to the stack.

Note: If you play a card on another player, he must then pay rent, draw a card, etc. as appropriate to the square he is now on. This also when you play a card on yourself. (He can also buy the property, if unowned.) You are also counted as having just landed on the square you are on for rent, card drawing, etc. purposes. This also applies to the NULL and KILL Momentum cards. If you are bribed not to play a card, you are still counted as just having landed on the square you are on, but the player who pays the bribe is unaffected.

Only the player whose turn it is may make deals. You may propose deals to others, or others may propose deals to you, but there must be no side deals (between two players, neither of whom have the turn at the moment). The physical transfer of property deeds, money, cards, etc. may be taken care of during the next player's turn, as long as you have announced your intentions during your own turn.

Properties (and Rent)

If you land on an unowned property, you may buy it. You may also arm it immediately; you may arm a planet at the end of any turn. Arming a planet requires 1 army for each Cr 50 of the planet's face value; return that number of armies to the bank. For example, Urnaland has a face value of Cr 450, so you would need 9 armies to arm it. You may also disarm a planet at the end of your turn: draw the armies from the bank.

If you land on a property that belongs to another player, you must pay rent.The initial rent for a planet is half the face value of the planet (rounded down). If the planet is armed, the base rent is doubled: the full face value. The rent is doubled for each additional planet of the same System (Planets near each other on the board and having the same color rectangle). Thus, if someone owns one Green Planet (e.g. Melvin), the rent is Cr 50; if he owns two, it is Cr 100, if he owns three, it is Cr 200; if he owns four, it is Cr 400; if he owns all five, it costs Cr 800 to land on any of them. If one person owns all five Putrid Green planets and someone lands on one that is armed, the rent is Cr 1600.

Power Stations behave the same way as planets. They cost Cr 200 and charge a Cr 200 Rent, doubled for each additional Power Station owned by the same player. Teleports cost Cr 200 but there is no charge for landing on one. See Teleport section for use charges.

Card Squares

Momentum: draw one Momentum card and keep it for future use. See Momentum rules.

Space Station: draw two Momentum cards; see above.

Fate: Draw the top FATE card and play it on yourself

Imperial Intelligence: Draw the top two IMPERIAL INTELLIGENCE cards and immediately play one of them (your choice) on yourself. Keep the other: you can later play it on yourself or another player or sell it to the Emperor for Cr 400. (Selling does not count as taking a turn.) The sold card is placed in the tax pile.

Diamond Asteroid: Collect your option of Cr 1000 or 10 armies. Each player who has gone into the black hole adds an additional option of Cr 1000 or 10 armies. Keep the card you drew for future use.

Money Squares

Launchpad: Collect Cr 1000 from the bank when you land on or pass the Launchpad. (Appearing on Launchpad at the start of the game doesn't count.) until at least 25 properties are owned, collect only when passing clockwise by dice, Momentum, or Teleport (between TP ONE and TP TWO). After 25 properties have been bought, you collect when passing counterclockwise as well.

Laboratory: Pay Cr 200 Lab Fees to the Tax Pile. You then acquire a Geas to move toward the Space Station until you reach or pass it — or exit by a working Teleport.

Diamond Asteroid>: see Diamond Asteroid under Card Squares

Imperial Palace: If you land on or pass the Imperial Palace by dice or teleport (in either direction), collect Cr 200 as welfare payments.

If you land on the Imperial Palace, you have the option of becoming Emperor (unless somebody is already playing the Emperor). If you become Emperor, your first life is over, just as if you had died and reincarnated as Emperor, but you keep everything you have: money, property deeds, cards, etc. If you die as Emperor, you are doubly dead and cannot reincarnate again. If you do not become Emperor, you are under a Geas to move towards the Torture Chamber until you reach or pass it — or exit by a working Teleport.

Duelling

A challenge may be issued only while on a Blood-Red Planet; the player challenged goes to the same planet immediately, and the duel is fought in the same turn. No duel may be fought on an unowned planet, but you may land on a Blood-Red Planet, buy it, and challenge someone to a duel the same turn. The owner of a Blood-Red Planet cannot be challenged to a duel on that planet. Neither duelist may trade property deeds, money, armies, or other items with other players on the same turn as the duel.

Each duelist puts up 3 armies. (See note 3). The Challenger rolls 3 dice, the Challenged player 2 dice. The Challenger's highest die is compared with the Challenged's higher die. The Challenger's second highest die is compared to the Callenged's lower die.

The Challenger wins a comparison if his die is higher than the Challenged's die; if the Challenged's die is higher, or there is a tie, the Challenged win's the comparison.

The results are:

Duels on the Arena of Blood and Painworld are fought for only one duel round, but may be fought to the death if both players agree.

Duels on the Planet of Death must be fought to the death — that is, until one player has no armies left to stake.

The loser of a duel pays rent for both duelists to the owner. When the owner is the challenger, the challenged pays only his own rent if he loses, and no rent is paid if he wins. If the duel was to the death, the rent is subtracted from the loser's estate; the remaining property is then split as evenly as possible by a neutral player. The victor chooses one pile sight unseen. The other goes to the Tax Pile.

Radioactive players cannot participate in a duel. If challenged, they default and pay a fine of Cr 500 if challenged on the Arena of Blood or Painworld and Cr 1000 if challenged on the Planet of Death. A player who is carrying a bomb or suffering from Gronk rays is radioactive, and the Green Slime is always radioactive.

3 Or a multiple of 3 armies, if both duelists agree to larger stakes

Pournelle's Point

A player who lands on Pournelle's Point must move towards the Singularity. If he reaches it, he will die and be converted to a small Diamond asteroid. The player may roll one or two dice going down the Black Hole, but may play up to two cards a turn on other players before rolling.

The only way to escape is to cause another player to reach the Singularity first, whereupon any players currently on their way down will ride out of the Black Hole on anti-gravity waves, throwing only one die each turn until out. These anti-gravity waves are peculiar to exiting players and do not affect anyone who enters the Black Hole while others are leaving. Note: If an exiting player lands on Pournelle's Point on his way out, he will not re-enter the Black Hole.

Cards cannot be played on players going down (or up) the Black Hole, nor can they be moved by the Emperor.

Torture Chamber

On arriving in the Torture Chamber, roll both dice on your next turn.

7 or doublesWalk out free, having duly inspected the Torture Chamber. You may marry Vulchurella, the Torturer's Ugly Daughter, if you wish. If you do, you must take her on a honeymoon.
3, 4, 5Torment: 30 lashes and the Torturer collects one of your property deeds (your choice) in return for feeding you crusts of bread.
6, 8, 9Unbearable Torment: 50 lashes and the Torturer collects two of your property deeds (your choice) plus Cr 400 in return for feeding you moldy gruel.
10, 11:Blissful Matrimony: it occurs to you that the Torturer's daughter is unwed, and you propose marriage. The Torturer drops his whip in surprise and (as a Public Official) pronounces you man and wife (or woman and wife) on the spot. (See Marriage with Vulchurella)

Note: If tormented, you stay in the Torture Chamber and roll again next time — unless you are radioactive, in which case you pay Cr 1000 for radio-active decontamination and move out on your roll. If you do not have the required planets or cash, you are dead. (You may reincarnate if still on your first life.)

Marriage with Vulchurella

Vulturella is the Torturer's Ugly Daughter. She has warts in places where most people don't have places. Her Dowry consists of everything the Torturer's has collected (since the beginning of the game or since the last time he had to pay a dowry). If less than Cr 3000 total of cash and property, the deficiency is made up by the bank.

Vulchurella's groom takes her on a honeymoon of two clockwise turns around the board. You may use either the short route (via the Space Station to Laboratory leg) or the long route (via the Uranium Mines to Launchpad leg). Neither the groom nor the bride may teleport. Vulchurella moves one square behind the groom (symbolized by a ring). She cannot buy property or collect cards. He pays rent for both of them out of his own funds; he cannot use the Dowry until the honeymoon is over. If other players play cards on him, she follows, one step clockwise behind him. The Laboratory Geas does not apply, and the groom may pass free through the Torture Chamber.

Vulchurella will leave the groom the second time she passes through the Torture Chamber — and he keeps the Dowry. If Vulchurella lands on Pournelle's Point, she will free fall into the Black Hole. (No need to roll dice, no anti-gravity waves are generated, and the yield from the Diamond Asteroid is not increased) and the groom keeps the Dowry. If Vulchurella lands on the Planet of the Sex Maniacs or Fazool, she stays there with the Dowry. If the groom sends someone else there, the original groom gets the Dowry and the newcomer the honeymoon obligation. If another player just lands there, he picks up both the remaining honeymoon obligation and the Dowry once the honeymoon is over.

If Vulchurella is in play — as a reincarnated role or already on her honeymoon — and somebody lands in the Torture Chamber, he may marry one of her many kid sisters: Buzzardette, Kitina, Little Baldie, etc. The Torturer has many ugly daughters.

Uranium Mines

On arriving in the Uranium Mines, lose one turn and wait in quaking fear for what will happen to you. Then roll both dice to determine your fate. You may not play cards while in the Uranium Mines.

2, 12InsanityThe Gronk Rays burn out your brain. A human vegetable, you cannot collect money or property, nor play cards on others until you reach or pass the Laboratory. Then lose one turn while scientists repair you.
3, 11EscapeYou escape with a Bomb. You are a Marked Man
4, 10RescueYour friends on the Space Station rescue you. You must go toward the Station and cannot play cards on others until you reach or pass there. You are a Marked Man.
5,9RansomYour loyal friends ransom you. All other players pay Cr 400 each to the Tax Pile. Smuggle out a Bomb
6,8PardonA power friend in High Places has put in a good word for you to the Emperor. All actual cash you have goes to the Torturer's Dowry as a bribe.
7Eat Flaming DeathReincarnate if you can.

Bombs are obtainable in the Uranium Mines (with luck). A player who owns one may bomb a Planet, Power Station or non-working Teleport he is on instead of his usual move. When he moves out, the the property square is "bombed out". It is radioactively lethal. Any player who lands there will die, except for those who are (a) Radioactive, (b) Carrying a bomb, or (c) An Elite Corps member who is hunting the Green Slime.

Non-property squares cannot be bombed. A working Teleport cannot be bombed. Once a non-working Teleport has been bombed, it cannot become working again.If a Power Station is bombed, its Teleport becomes non-working and cannot become working again.

A player may not keep a bomb longer than ten turns, unless it is dedicated to the destruction of the Green Slime via a card. Such a bomb makes its holder immune to radioactivity from the Green Slime or a bombed-out property. The Green Slime can either be bombed in the usual way (player moves off, leaving the bomb behind to explode), or the bomb can be launched at the Slime by dice throw or momentum card on the holder's turn. Like all other players, the Green Slime can only be bombed when on a property. The property on which the Green Slime is killed, like all bombed properties, becomes radioactively lethal (see above).

The Elite Corps

You may join the Elite Corps as a mission leader by landing on the Recruiting Station, or by having a card played on you. As Elite Corps mission leader, you may recruit enlistees. Any player you pass is recruited, except that you cannot recruit a Marked Man. Each new recruit follows one square behind you, or behind the prisoner, or behind the previous recruit, as the case may be. The mission leader may force recruits (but not prisoners) to sell him Momentum cards at Cr 100 per card. Recruits roll one die on their turn, shifting the entire mission over to new squares. Thus, each turn for any member or prisoner of the Elite Corps forces all members to pay rent, draw cards, etc.

Option: If the mission leader passed a Marked Man, the Marked Man may voluntarily join an Elite Corps mission, after which he will no longer be a Marked Man. This option is not available to the Green Slime or Prince Putrid, who are permanently Marked.

As the mission leader, you have the following possible missions. You must take the highest priority mission that is currently available.

Priority One: If Prince Putrid is in play, herd him to Pournelle's Point. If you pass him, he is captured and follows one step behind you. He stays in this position with respect to you until he is dropped down the Black Hole or escapes. He escapes if he lands on the Laboratory, Space Station, a working Teleport, or Fazool, or is granted Sanctuary in person by Pastor Fazool, or if the mission leader dies. Prince Putrid rolls one die on his turn, shifting the mission leader with him (in the same relative position) when he moves. He cannot play cards on the mission leader, but he may play cards on others. If you lose Prince Putrid, go to the Torture Chamber (if you are still alive).

Priority Two: If any other Marked Man is in play, herd him to Pournelle's Point by the same rules.

Priority Three: Your choice of the following:

Teleports

A teleport is in working condition only if both it and its Power Station are owned. (A Teleport or Power Station in the Tax Pile or Dowry is still owned; rents and use payments go to the tax pile or Dowry respectively.) Teleport Six is powered by the Black Hole and doesn't require a Power Station.

You can teleport through any sequence of linked, working Teleports. You may not retrace a leg of the diamond or triangle, but you may use any given Teleport twice (or three times if you visit all six teleports starting and ending on Teleport 6).

After making two teleportation turns, you must leave the Teleport booth before teleporting again. You may delay things a while by playing a NULL momentum card on yourself, or by playing cards on other players, but you must leave the Teleport System and reenter it before you can teleport again.

Teleportation is instead o fall other options for the move. Fee: Cr 50 per teleport leg. If you own a Teleport or Power Station, you get one free leg on each teleport move for each Teleport or Power Station you own. A player who is radioactive or has a bomb can teleport free.

Teleport fees are paid to the owners of Teleports you enter, leave, or use during a teleportation move. You can choose which players to pay, but you may not pay yourself.

Sanctuary

A player cannot be moved off Fazool by any other player. A player in a working Teleport cannot be located and thus cannot be moved or have cards played on him. If a Marked Man lands on Fazool, its owner becomes a Marked Man. Pastor Fazool has perpetual sanctuary from FATE and Imperial Intelligence cards being played on him, and he may extend this sanctuary to any player on the same square with him — out of altruism or for a bribe. If he extends this sanctuary to a Marked Man, he too becomes a Marked Man.

Momentum Rules

After you roll die or dice, you can modify your roll with a momentum card. A plus momentum card is added to the die roll; a minus card is subtracted. The combined result determines what square you land on. But if you roll doubles you cannot use momentum to modify the roll.

You can also play a momentum card on yourself and move the number of spaces indicated on the card. Or you can play a momentum card on another player and move him the number of spaces. A null card leaves you (or the other player) on still on the same square; the usual rules apply: pay rent, draw cards, etc.

Some momentum cards offer you a choice. "Plus One/Two" may be used as a +1 or +2; "Plus/Minus Two/Three" may be used as +2, -2, +3, or -3. If used to modify a dice roll, "plus" means in the direction moved by the dice roll; "minus" means in the opposite direction. If a momentum card is played by itself, then whether it is plus or minus doesn't matter as the player is not currently in motion — unless he is currently under a Geas to move toward a particular point. When under a Geas, a plus card moves the player toward the goal square; a minus card moves the player away from the goal square.

A KILL Momentum card can be used: (1) to kill all of another player's Momentum cards (he must put them face-up on the bottom of the stack), (2) kill (nullify) a Momentum card played on you.

Reincarnation Rules

The Emperor: Starts with the contents of the Tax Pile. The Emperor always stays in the Imperial Palace. He collects taxes and Lab Fees, plus occasional cash, armies and planets as the results of cards. Unless someone is playing the Emperor, everything the Emperor collects goes into the taxes stack, and everything he pays out comes directly from the bank.

On his turn, the Emperor rolls the dice and may either move another player that amount or threaten to do so. Or he may play a card on a player or threaten to do so. As usual, threatening to play a card uses the card up: it is returned to its stack.

At the end of each turn, the Emperor must pay Cr 300 to the bank. If he does not have enough cash, he can sell properties, cards, and/or armies to the bank for their standard values. The bank cannot go broke, but the Emperor can — and if he does, he dies.

Vulchurella: Starts with the current Dowry (minimum of Cr 3000). She begins on the Torture Chamber, and may always land there safely except when incognito. If she lands on the same square as another player, she may choose to send him to the Torture Chamber. She gets the loot they lose, and if they escape they can marry her kid sisters.

Pastor Fazool: Starts with the three yellow planets — armed — Cr 5000, and two Momentum cards. If anybody else (including the Tax Pile or Dowry) owned a Yellow Planet, they lose it to him. He begins on the planet Fazool. Fate and Imperial Intelligence cards cannot be played on him, although Momentum cards and Imperial dice may be. As a man of pece he need pay only half normal rent. See also Sanctuary.

Prince Putrid and The Green Slime: whichever reincarnates first gets all five Green Planets (fully armed). If anybody else (including the Tax Pile or Dowry) owned a Green Planet, they lose it to him. The Second to reincarnate gets his own world and the planet next to it (fully armed). They both collect rent on the middle planet, Double Cross. Thus, if both are in play, each collects Cr 100 (or 200 if armed) if somebody lands on one of his Green Planets, but if a player lands on Double Cross he must pay Cr 400 (or 800); half goes to Prince Putrid and half to the Green Slime.

Prince Putrid: gets planets as detailed above plus Cr 4000. He begins on Putridor. He is a Marked Man. As rightful heir to the throne, he pays only half normal rent. If he lands on the Imperial Palace, he may become Emperor; the old Emperor (if any) then dies. He cannot be moved by the Emperor — not by cards, by dice, or any other means).

The Green Slime: gets planets as detailed above plus Cr 4000. He begins on Green Slime. He is a Marked Man. Any player he lands on the same property as (except working Teleports) dies; Any player who lands on a property the Slime landed on last turn dies. A player who is already radioactive or carrying a bomb, or the leader of an Elite Corps mission against him, is immune to his radioactivity. He may not own any non-Green properties.

Miscellaneous Notes

The Green Slime suffers normally in the Uranium Mines. In the Torture Chamber, he is subject to the rules for radioactive players: he is tortured at most one round, then pays Cr 1000 for decontamination and moves out. He can marry Vulchurella. As her bridegroom, he equips her with radioactive armor (no fee), so she is not killed if she moves onto a square he previously landed on. The Slime can be killed by an exploding Bomb, but he can land on a previously bombed out property without being bothered.

Marked Men (including the Green Slime and Prince Putrid) can draw, sell, adn act on Imperial Intelligence cards, no matter how incongruous. They do not collect welfare when the pass the Imperial Palace.

A player in the Uranium Mines, Torture Chamber, Pournelle's Point or going down (or up) the Black Hole cannot be moved by duel challenges, Momentum cards, Imperial Intelligence cards, Fate cards, or anything else. Nothing can save him from suffering his allotted fate.

Geases may be stacked. Do the most recent Geas acquired, then the next most recent, and so on, finally wiping out the oldest one that anybody can still remember.

For example, a player may begin by rolling 5-5 and land on the Laboratory with no way to use a Momentum card. He then rolls 2-1 and lands on Fate, drawing a card which sends him to Tongmari. On his next turn(*), he must return to the center leg, then travel by dice roll until he has passed the Space Station.

After that, the first geas applies: he must travel by the shortest route to a square where he can pass the Imperial Palace clockwise. Assume the move that passes the Space Station lands him on Excelsior or Cerberus. Then he would have to return to the center leg and pass the Laboratory so he can continue toward the Imperial Palace. But if that move lands him on Urnaland, he would have to go past the Torture Chamber until he reaches Fledermaus or one of the other squares on the Laboratory to Imperial Palace leg. Then he would reverse direction and go clockwise past the Imperial Palace. And then, at last, he would be free to move in whatever direction he wishes.

(*) He can delay this trip for a little while by playing cards on himself or others.

If he is very lucky, some other player might activate teleports III and IV. Then if he lands on Teleport VI, he would be able to use the teleport system to fulfill his initial geas by teleporting from VI to III to IV in a single move.

The bank will buy certain items back at fixed rates. Other players may be willing to bid higher.

Property deeds

face value

Fate cards

Cr 400

Momentum cards

Cr 100 per option (e.g., plus/minus two/three = Cr 400)

Bombs

Cr 1000

Any situation not covered by the above rules can be settled in the following order of priority:

  1. Decree of the game owner (aka "house rules")
  2. Duel by the two opposing sides on the Planet of Death, by mutual consent
  3. Appeal to the Emperor, by general consent
  4. If none of the above are acceptable, flip a coin (or roll a die: odd vs. even)

References and Inside Jokes

Jack Harness wrote REVENGE! as a way to keep people busy so they wouldn't kibitz the poker game he was playing in. But he also filled it with references and inside jokes so people would enjoy reading it. Jack was very fond of puns and references, to the point that LA fans coined a term, "Harnessism". That is a joke that, even after it's explained to you, you still don't understand it. But most of the references in REVENGE! aren't that hard.

Urnaland, Tongmari, and Cerberus: Planets in a shared world story universe, created by Dan Goodman, Jack Harness, and Lee Gold, respectively.

Arisia, Ploor, Eddore: From the Lensman saga by E. E. "Doc" Smith

Barsoom and Apeworld: Edgar Rice Burroughs's novels. Barsoom shows up in his "John Carter of Mars" series, and "Apeworld is, of course, "The Planet of the Apes".

Dottore Givago: A pseudo-Italian version of "Dr. Zhivago," as though an Italian composer had done an opera based on Dr. Zhivago.

Fagroon: The noise of a skyscraper falling down, in 1950s cartoons in Mad Magazine

Feghoot: The Ferdinand Feghoot stories by SF author Reginald Bretnor, writing under the pseudonym "Grendel Briarton"

Fledermaus and Utopia: These worlds are used by the Imperial Opera Company. Fledermaus refers to "Die Fledermaus" (Beethoven's only opera), and Utopia refers to "Utopia, Limited," a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Fugg: A not-very-far-away euphemism for the F-word. In fanspeak, it most commonly occurs in combination as "fugghead": someone who will not listen to reason, someone who persists in doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, etc.

Green Slime: REVENGE! was written shortly after Dungeons and Dragon came out. Green slime is a monster in D&D; it dissolves and eats anything organic it comes in contact with.

Melvin: One of several names that Mad Magazine seems to have considered "inherently funny". Often paired with the last name "Cowznofski". I suppose this might have been an early "Polish joke". Also a unit in the magazine's Potrzebie unit system created by Donald Knuth.

Mung: Something of no value, or to ruin something so it has no value. Reportedly a recursive algorithm: Mung Until No Good.

Null set symbol Serious: The O with a diagonal through it is the standard mathemetical symbol for the empty set, that is, the set containing nothing. So "Nothing Serious".

Pastor Fazool: Pasta e fagioli, which sounds a lot like "pasta fazool"

Planet Ahead: "There's a planet ahead," as in "You're about to crash into it, dummy."

Schitzki: Just what it sounds like.

The Emperor is a Fink: Cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart used to draw a daily comic strip, "The Wizard of Id". One of the characters is The Lone Haranger, who gallops up to the castle, yells, "The King is a Fink" and gallops off, "Galoop Galoop Galoop".

The tribbles are eating...: Tribbles are an alien species in the Star Trek universe.

Tralfamador: Kurt Vonnegut had a planet named "Tralfamador" in several of his novels. Although the name was the same, the characteristics of the planet and its people were different each time.

Trotzki: "The Trots" = diarrhea.

Vulcan, Trianus 6, and Tribbleheim: Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek TV series. Tribbleheim refers to the episode "The Trouble with Tribbles," written by David Gerrold.

Ye Olde Assassin's Guild: A meme that infected fantasy stories set in a pseudo-medieval culture: that there is a "guild" of assassins that enforces certain rules, where you can go to hire one, etc. Nobody has found any historical evidence that such a thing ever existed. Assassins appear to have been purely free-lance, and did not do assassination as a full-time job. Murder, Inc. appears to have been an exception, but they didn't do murder for just anybody: they did "jobs" for whichever Mafia boss they worked for.

Zonk: "Zonked out", meaning either so tired or so drunk/stoned that you can't focus

OK, For Completeness Sake, Even The Obvious References

 

Always keep beer in a dark place: Good advice, it will last longer. Of course, it applies only to beer in glass (or tranparent/translucent plastic) bottles. In a can, it doesn't make any difference as long as you don't let it get above room temperature.

The butler did it: A classic "spoiler" for murder mysteries, to the point where it's a cliche.

Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker: A poem by Ogden Nash. Giving a woman candy may make her happy, but alcohol will relax her inhibitions and increase your chances of a more intimate encounter.

Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker

Don't tell the peasants how good the pears are with the cheese: Have you ever tried eating alternate bites of sharp cheddar and pear (or apple)? Works for swiss and many other cheeses as well.

The Green Slime sucks! Well, it does. Just try getting it off you, it's almost as bad as oobleck.

Incredibly secret code: It would take an average person about a minute to crack this; a cryptologist maybe 2 seconds.

The Invisible Planet: It's invisible. Nobody can find it except by landing on it. If you're on the Invisible Planet, nobody can find you.

It's "I" before "E" except after "C": A mnemonic for English spelling rules, although there are a dozen exceptions even to the longer form: "I" before "E" except after "C" or when sounding like "A" as in neighbor and weigh.

Pournelle's Point: Essayist and SF writer Jerry Pournelle write severak stories about Black Holes. He also edited an anthology of stories about them.

...thinks you are Julius Caesar: A twist on the classic theme of somebody in an insane asylum (see note 4) who thinks they are Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Rain in Spain: From the musical "My Fair Lady". "The Rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain."

To get to the other side: The traditional answer to "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

To keep his pants up: The traditional answer to "why does a fireman wear red suspenders?"

Two plus two equals four: Well, it does.

 

4 Mental hospital, to be politically correct

Resources: How to Create a REVENGE! Set

Rules Cards and
Property Deeds
REVENGE! board
this page zipfile 8"×10" image
PDF PDF 16"×20" image
MS Word document PowerPoint file 8"×10" PowerPoint file
    16"×20" PowerPoint file
Five ordinary dice Most toy stores, or online at Amazon.com.
Monopoly Money Most toy stores; also sold by a variety of online retailers.
Add two zeros to each bill: $1 becomes Cr 100, $20 becomes Cr 2,000, $500 becomes Cr 50,000 etc.

I recommend you print the board in color on white paper, then cement it to 4-ply or even 8-ply chipboard with a thin layer of glue that dries fairly slowly: you want to be able to smooth all the wrinkles out before the glue sets. White glue (aka wet glue) should work fine. Don't use too much. You might want to watch this video on how to apply wet glue.

It's easier to print the 8"×10" board, but the 16×20 board will work better for 4 or more players.

For the larger board, you will need to find someplace that can print on 17×22" paper. After you've glued the paper to chipboard you may want to cut the larger board along the outer edge of the heavy line to the left(*) of the central leg of the board, so that you can fold it up and store it folded. Use plastic tape (aka electrical tape) to attach the halves together in the folded-up position. There will be a small gap between the pieces when it is unfolded for use.

(*) "Left" determined with Launch Pad at the lower right and Space Station at the top.

Modifying REVENGE!

Maybe you find some of the references in REVENGE! too obscure, and would like to use names that suit your taste. Or maybe you'd like to print your own version of the rules, your "house rules." The above resources provide the means to make your own version of the game if you wish to.

Completed: May 25, 2016
Last Change: June 1, 2016