Top 40 · #9 of 19 in Co-op
Mechs vs. Minions
Set in the world of the popular game League of Legends, this cooperative game has players combine programmed commands for champion robots (Mechs) to fight off a minion horde. Because pre-programmed commands get tangled up by unexpected damage during execution, even a perfect plan can turn into chaos in an instant.
Rules
League of Legends' Heimerdinger, Tristana, Corki, and Ziggs pilot Mechs against a minion horde in this fully cooperative programming game. You program your moves ahead of time and execute them all at once, so even a perfect plan can fall apart the moment a Damage Card hits.
Components
| Component | Count | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Map Tiles (game board) | 5 | Laid out per-Mission to build the battlefield |
| Command Line boards | 4 | One per player — a 6-slot programming board |
| Mech (champion) miniatures | 4, painted | Heimerdinger, Tristana, Corki, Ziggs |
| Minion miniatures | 100 | The shared enemy unit |
| Command Card · Damage Card decks | — | Two separate decks: abilities (Command) and setbacks (Damage) |
| Zhonya's Minuteglass (sand timer) | 1 | Times the draft — the First Player flips it |
| Power-source miniature ("The Bomb") | 1 | An objective in some Missions — can be Pushed and Towed like a Mech |
| Metal trackers | 6 | Gear markers for the Gear Tracker (Team Gears, Minion Kills, Doom Track) |
| Acrylic Crystal Shards | 4 | An objective in some Missions. A Mech can carry only one at a time |
| Dice | 4 | A Number Die (6-sided, for targeting slots) and a Rune Die (12-sided, 4 colors), among others |
| Mission envelopes | 10 | Each holds that Mission's own boards, cards, and dossier — open only the one you're playing |
Component counts follow the official site's "What's in the box" FAQ. Don't open a Mission envelope early — the campaign's surprises live inside them.
Setup — Mission 1
- 1Open only the Mission 1 envelope and take out its Map Tiles and cards. Leave every later Mission's envelope sealed until you actually start that Mission.
- 2Lay out the Map Tiles as instructed by the Mission dossier.
- 3Each player takes a Command Line board and a Mech miniature (Heimerdinger, Tristana, Corki, or Ziggs) and places it on the indicated starting space.
- 4Set every track on the Gear Tracker (Team Gears, Minion Kills, Doom Track) to 0, and shuffle the Command Card deck and Damage Card deck separately.
- 5Roll the Rune Die and use the Crystal Compass to find the first First Player, then place Zhonya's Minuteglass beside that player.
Mission 1 has no Boss and no Bomb
This guide follows the shared rules reference that every Mission uses. The Danger Phase, Boss, and Crystal Shards mentioned below are systems introduced in later Missions and are not needed for Mission 1. Specific objectives and layouts from Mission 2 onward are spoilers and are not covered here.
Round Structure
- 1Player Phase — Draft: Starting with the First Player and going clockwise, players draft Command Cards. Typically one card is picked from 5 revealed (later in the campaign, a "Double Draft" deals 10 and each player takes 2), and if Zhonya's Minuteglass runs out before everyone has picked, remaining cards are dealt out randomly.
- 2Player Phase — Program/Scrap: Slot each card into an undamaged, empty slot of your Command Line (Program), or discard it for an immediate effect (Scrap). Everyone decides at the same time.
- 3Player Phase — Execute: Starting with the First Player, each player executes their entire Command Line in order from slot 1 to 6. Skip empty slots; any slot holding a card must be followed exactly.
- 4Minion Phase: Minions move, new Minions spawn, and Minions deal damage to Mechs.
- 5(Some Missions) Danger Phase: A Mission-specific threat such as the Boss or a Lava Wall acts. Mission 1 has no Danger Phase.
- 6The First Player role passes one seat clockwise and the next round begins.
The Command Line and Cards
| Element (color) | Used for | Scrapping during draft |
|---|---|---|
| Fire 🔴 (red) | Attack · Move | Discard a Damage Card to repair 1 damage |
| Metal 🔵 (blue) | Attack · Move | Discard a Damage Card to repair 1 damage |
| Electric 🟡 (yellow) | Attack · Move · Turn | Swap the contents of 2 slots to reprogram your line |
| Computery 🟢 (green) | Attack · Move · Turn | Swap the contents of 2 slots to reprogram your line |
You may never skip a Turn Command
Move Commands go farther or hit harder at higher Power, and a 3-Power Turn Command can turn a full 360 degrees. But whenever a Turn Command comes up, you must execute it — it is one of the few mandatory instructions in the game.
Push and Tow are not the same thing
When a Mech moves into another Mech or the Bomb, it Pushes that object forward. To instead Tow an adjacent Mech or the Bomb toward you, you need a Move Command of Power 2 or more — two separate 1-Power Move Commands will not do it. Mechs cannot Push the Boss; only the Boss can Push Mechs.
Minions and Damage
- Minions can never move into a space occupied by another figure, or off the board (except onto a space held by a Mech carrying a Crystal Shard).
- Minions cannot Push Mechs.
- A Minion's attack always deals 1 Damage, resolved by drawing a Damage Card.
- A Minion dies the instant it takes 1 Damage. A Mech moving onto its space (Stomp) kills it too.
There are three kinds of Damage Cards. ① Glitch Damage applies its effect immediately and is discarded right away. ② System Damage has an ongoing effect and stays next to your Command Line. ③ Slot Damage lands on a slot chosen by the Number Die and covers it with an uncontrollable action.
Damage is repaired by scrapping a Fire or Metal card during a draft, or the instant a Mech steps onto a Repair Pad space, which repairs 1 damage immediately.
Goal and Common Losing Conditions
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Victory | Achieving the unique goal specified in that Mission's dossier (escort, defend, escape, defeat, etc. — different per Mission) wins the game immediately. The campaign has 10 Missions, each taking roughly 60–90 minutes. |
| Common loss ① | In a Mission featuring "The Bomb," if its health reaches 0, you lose immediately. |
| Common loss ② | In a Mission featuring a Boss, if any slot of the Boss Command Line executes at "3-Power" (the GG-101 Doom Cannon fires), you lose immediately. |
| Other conditions | Any further win/loss conditions are written only in that Mission's own dossier — not covered here to avoid spoilers. |
Mission 1 has neither "The Bomb" nor a Boss. Both common losing conditions above are shared rules that start applying from later Missions — Mission 1 is the tutorial for getting comfortable with the Command Line and drafting.
Strategy Tips
- A Turn Command can never be skipped, so before slotting a Move Command, work out which way your Mech will be facing by the time the next slot executes.
- Stacking same-element cards in one slot raises its Power, but every card spent stacking leaves another slot empty — your turn gets less flexible the more you stack.
- A damaged slot only gets fixed by a Repair Pad or by scrapping a Fire/Metal card. Memorize where the Repair Pads are before the damage piles up.
- A move across an Oil Slick keeps sliding until it hits something. Try not to program a path that slides toward an obstacle.
Editions and Availability
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Publisher · release | Riot Games, 2016 |
| Expansions | No standalone board game expansion exists. There was an official "Scenario Tool" page for players to build and share their own Missions, but the featured microsite itself is now gone entirely (confirmed dead, 2026-10-11). |
| Current availability | The Riot Games Merch Store listing that originally sold it now returns a 404 (confirmed 2026-10-11). ⚠️ Unconfirmed: current stock or reprint status could not be verified from official sources. |
| Korean edition | None — see below. |
No Korean edition exists
The publisher's own FAQ states it is "available in English, German and Simplified Chinese" only. No Korean distributor (e.g. Korea Boardgames) or Namuwiki record of an official Korean release could be found either.
Rules People Get Wrong
Q. Can I program a new Command Card into a damaged slot?
No. A damaged slot executes the Damage Card instead, and cannot be programmed again until it's repaired.
Q. What happens if I place a different-colored card on an existing stack?
The whole stack is discarded, leaving only the newly placed card in that slot — Power resets to 1.
Q. Can a Turn Command be skipped?
No. A Turn Command is one of the few instructions you must always execute.
Q. Can a Mech Push another Mech?
Yes, via the Push rule. Mechs cannot Push the Boss, though — only the Boss can Push Mechs.
Q. What do we get for killing Minions?
Mark it on the Minion Kill Tracker; every 5 kills earns the whole team 1 Team Gear. Enough Team Gears activate Schematic Cards — special team-wide abilities.
Q. What happens to the draft once Zhonya's Minuteglass runs out?
Anyone who hasn't picked yet is dealt a card at random. Programming or scrapping the cards you already hold is unaffected by the timer, so take your time with that part.
Q. Does Mission 1 include a Boss or "The Bomb"?
No. Both are introduced starting in later Missions — Mission 1 is a tutorial for the basics of the Command Line.
History and Awards
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designers | Chris Cantrell, Rick Ernst, Stone Librande, Prashant Saraswat, Nathan Tiras |
| Publisher · release | Riot Games, 2016 — a fully cooperative board game set in the League of Legends universe |
| Award | Won "Best Cooperative Game" at the 2016 Golden Geek Awards, and was also nominated the same year for "Board Game of the Year" and "Most Innovative Board Game," among other categories |
| Other nominations | Nominated for "Game of the Year" at the 2017 SXSW Tabletop Awards; finalist nominee for the 2018 Juego del Año |
⚠️ Unconfirmed: a Namuwiki search turned up no dedicated article for this game (checked 2026-10-11) — no separate record of a Korean distributor or release could be found.
Sources
Official Riot Games Rules Reference (English, Wayback Machine capture)Official Riot Games FAQ — Mechs vs. Minions (Wayback Machine capture)Cross-checked against Wikipedia: Mechs vs. MinionsRule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
Spotted a mistake? Tell us in the comments below →
Last updated 2026-10-11
💡 Master tip
If the order of a Turn Command and a Move Command gets swapped, your Mech ends up flying off in the wrong direction. Picture the chained movement path across slots 1 through 6 in your head before you program it.
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