🎯 Objective
Be the player holding The Piggy when the 5-minute timer runs out!
🎮 Game Setup
- Choose number of alien opponents (1-5) on the start screen
- Select your alien species - each has unique stats and abilities
- Other alien players will be randomly assigned from available species
- All players start on random planets across the star system
- The Piggy starts HIDDEN on a secret planet!
- Each player gets 2 random power cards
🔍 Finding The Piggy
The Piggy's location is hidden at the start of the game! It can be revealed by:
- Landing on its planet - You or any opponent who moves there will discover it
- Using Scan card - Reveals all opponent positions AND the Piggy location
- Using Predict card - Shows you where the Piggy is (or who has it)
Cards like Wormhole and Piggy Magnet won't work until the Piggy has been found!
📖 The Story
You've been drawn into a mysterious board game called Interstellar Pig. The game appears innocent at first, but you soon realize the stakes are far higher than you imagined. Each player represents an alien species fighting across the galaxy for possession of The Piggy - a seemingly worthless pink token that becomes the most important object in the universe when the timer runs out.
Your opponents are not just playing a game - they believe their home planets depend on winning. The player who possesses The Piggy when time expires will save their world, while all others face doom. Is it just a game, or is something far more sinister happening?
📊 Alien Stats
- Strength: Determines combat outcomes! When fighting for The Piggy, your STR + dice roll vs opponent's STR + dice roll. Higher wins!
- Intelligence: Boosts card power! Higher INT means stronger Strength Surge, more cards from Scavenge, better Speed Boost, and more.
- Speed: Movement range. After rolling, you can move up to (roll + SPD/3) spaces in either direction.
⚔️ Combat System
When you're on the same planet as an opponent who has The Piggy, you can fight them!
- Your roll: Your STR + 1d6
- Their roll: Their STR + 1d6
- Higher total wins The Piggy. Ties = stalemate (defender keeps it)
- Opponents will also try to fight YOU if you have The Piggy!
🎲 Your Turn
- Roll Dice: Tap to roll - reachable planets will glow yellow
- Choose Destination: Tap any yellow planet to move there
- Use Power Cards: Tap any card for special effects
- Pick Up Piggy: Grab it when on same planet!
- Use Ability: Activate your special power
- End Turn: Pass to AI players
⚡ Special Abilities Explained
Each alien species has a unique ability you can use once per turn:
- Zena (Lichen) - Photosynthesis: Gains +2 bonus to all stats when on jungle planets. Use this to move faster and win challenges on green worlds!
- Joe (Insectoid) - Exoskeleton: Natural armor gives +2 defense in all challenges. Makes you harder to beat in combat!
- Manny (Aquatic) - Water Adapted: Gets +3 to all stats on ocean planets. Dominates on blue water worlds!
- Crystalline - Hive Mind: Can see power cards held by adjacent players. Use this to plan your strategy!
- Flame-Dweller - Heat Immune: +3 to all stats on volcanic planets. Thrives in the heat of red lava worlds!
- Voidwalker - Vacuum Walk: Can move through space without normal restrictions. Takes shortcuts other species can't!
🃏 Power Cards (36 Types)
You start with 2 cards and can find more on planets (15% chance per landing). Max 6 cards.
Movement Cards:
- 💨 Speed Boost: +3 extra spaces on next move
- 🌀 Teleport: Jump to a random planet
- 🕳️ Wormhole: Jump directly to The Piggy's planet
- 🪐 Gravity Sling: Move 3-7 spaces instantly
- 🚀 Hyperdrive: Move exactly 6 spaces
- ⏸️ Stasis Field: Skip movement but gain a card
Combat Cards:
- 💪 Strength Surge: +5 strength this turn
- 😤 Berserker Rage: +8 strength, -2 intelligence
- 🤜 Iron Grip: Cannot lose The Piggy this round
- 👁️ Intimidate: Force nearest opponent to flee
- 🌊 Force Push: Push opponents off your planet
- 🚫 Disarm: Target opponent loses a card
Defense Cards:
- 🛡️ Mind Shield: Block next ability used against you
- 👻 Cloaking Device: Invisible for 1 round
- 🎭 Decoy: Create fake Piggy signal
- ⚡ Energy Barrier: Opponents can't land on your planet
- 🪞 Reflect: Return next attack to sender
- ✨ Phase Shift: Become intangible, ignore next effect
Intelligence Cards:
- 📡 Scan: See all opponent positions
- 🔮 Predict: Know where Piggy is or who has it
- 💻 Hack: Gather intel on opponents
- 🧬 Analyze: +3 intelligence this turn
- 🔧 Sabotage: Disable opponent's ability
- 🔓 Decrypt: Steal a random card from opponent
Special Cards:
- ⏰ Time Warp: Take another turn immediately!
- 🔄 Quantum Swap: Switch positions with any player
- 🧲 Piggy Magnet: Pull The Piggy one planet closer
- ☀️ Solar Flare: All players move to random planets
- ⚫ Black Hole: Pull nearby players to your planet
- 💥 Nova Burst: Push all players away from you
Utility Cards:
- 🔍 Scavenge: Draw 2 new cards
- 📦 Trade Route: Swap a card with opponent
- 💎 Cache: Gain a bonus card
- ♻️ Recycle: Discard hand, draw equal +1 cards
- ⭐ Lucky Star: Next dice roll is automatic 6
- 🆘 Emergency Recall: Return to starting planet
💡 Strategy Tips
- Timing is Everything: Don't grab The Piggy too early - you become everyone's target!
- Use Your Environment: Move to planets that match your alien's strengths
- Save Your Ability: Use your special ability at critical moments
- Watch the Clock: In the final 2-3 minutes, make your move for The Piggy!
- Card Management: Save powerful cards like Time Warp, Wormhole, and Iron Grip for crucial moments
- Explore for Cards: Moving to new planets gives you a 15% chance to find cards!
- Combo Cards: Use Speed Boost + Lucky Star for massive movement, or Iron Grip when holding Piggy
- One Roll Per Turn: You only get one dice roll each round, so make it count!
- Max 6 Cards: Don't hoard - use cards to make room for better ones!
🏆 Winning
Hold The Piggy when time runs out to win!
📚 About the Book
This game is based on the science fiction novel "Interstellar Pig" by William Sleator.
Publication History: "Interstellar Pig" was first published in 1984 by E.P. Dutton. The novel quickly became a cult classic in young adult science fiction literature.
The Author: William Sleator (1945-2011) was an American author who specialized in science fiction and thriller novels for young adults. He was known for his inventive plots that blended horror, science fiction, and psychological tension. His works frequently explored themes of paranoia, alien contact, and the nature of reality.
Plot Summary: The story follows Barney, a sixteen-year-old spending a boring summer at a beach cottage with his parents. His vacation takes a strange turn when three attractive neighbors - Zena, Manny, and Joe - move in next door. They invite Barney to play their board game called "Interstellar Pig," where players take on alien identities and compete across planets to possess a small pink figurine called The Piggy. As Barney becomes obsessed with the game, he begins to suspect that his neighbors are hiding something sinister - and that the game might be far more real than anyone let on.
Themes: The novel explores themes of paranoia, the nature of games and reality, teenage isolation, and the question of what lengths beings will go to for survival. It cleverly subverts expectations about who the "good guys" and "bad guys" really are.
Legacy: The book won the California Young Reader Medal in 1988 and has remained in print for decades. Sleator wrote a sequel, "Parasite Pig," published in 2002, which continues Barney's adventures with the alien game players. The novel has been praised for its suspenseful pacing, imaginative alien species, and twist ending that challenges readers' assumptions.
Fun Fact: The alien characters Zena (a lichen creature), Manny (an aquatic being), and Joe (an insectoid) from the original novel are featured as playable species in this game adaptation!