
- BGG rank
- BGG #8,878
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Crows Overkill
- 2–4 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 1.2/5
- 2014

2017
Rules assistance for Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit is a board game released in 2017 for 2–4 players, 20–40 minutes per game, and ages 6 and up. It was designed by Roy Nambu and its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Square Grid, and Grid Movement.
卓上ヘボコン, a.k.a. Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit, is a Japanese game based on the theme of "HEBOCON". This is form of 'robot-wars' events, with microbots fighting Sumo matches. One robot must defeat the other according to Sumo wrestling rules, such as pushing them out of the circle, or flipping them to a fall. At HEBOCON events, people construct their own robots and fight knock-out matches to find a winner. HEBOCON is derived from the Japanese word Heboku, meaning 'bad' or 'heavy', something that is childish. HEBOCON is designed for people with little technical ability. This game recreates that experience in a simple build and fight way. During the game, players collect tiles and place them in their build area, a 6x6 grid. Gathering tiles and building is how the player programs their robot to fight. Players gain victory points during the Gather and Build stages, and get more VPs through winning fights in the Battle stage. The player with the most points will be the HEBOCON champion! In the Gather stage, each player takes turns to take a tile from a large circle of pieces. You move your robot forward, taking a tile from the circle. Each time the last player makes a complete lap, they place a nut on the gameboard to show a lap has been completed. Once each player has made nine circuits and collected a stack of nine tiles, then they start to Build. Whilst collecting tiles, players cannot look at their stack and must use their memory for what they need to build. In the Build stage, a player starts a digital timer and everyone has a brief time to assemble their bot. If a player fills out all 36 squares of their grid, they suffer a penalty as their robot is too technical! This reflects the same rules in HEBOCON. Players score points for a solid, connected build, which in HEBOCON is more important than winning a fight. Finally the players Battle with their bots, by placing a nut on a tile on their grid. These are the bots actions, such as moving and making turns in the sumo ring. Once combat is finished, the player with the most points overall is the winner. As well as all the boards and tiles, the game includes a digital timer and a bunch of metal nuts to mark actions in the game. Publisher's summary "Tabletop Hebocon” is themed on HEBOCON, “a robot sumo-wrestling competition for those who are not technically gifted” . Let’s GATHER, BUILD (program), BATTLE and compete for points. Even if a robot doesn’t work well, praise its performance with a shout of “HEBOI!”. 「卓上ヘボコン」は、「技術力の低い人のためのロボット相撲」こと、 「ヘボコン」をテーマにしたボードゲームです。 ロボットを組み立てて、対戦して、より高い点数を競いますが、 思ったように動かなくても「ヘボい!」とその出来をたたえましょう。 「桌上廢柴機械人大戰」是一款以「廢柴機械人大戰 HEBOCON」作主題的桌遊。 HEBOCON 是一個專門給沒有技術人士參加的機械人比賽。 我們來組合、編程、對戰、竟爭分數吧! 即使機械人運作不佳,也來叫他們一聲「廢柴!」稱讚一下他們吧!
Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit is 20–40 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit for ages 6 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit belongs to these categories: Fighting, Puzzle, and Real-time. Its main mechanics are Tile Placement, Square Grid, and Grid Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit are: Roy Nambu. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Desktop HEBOCON Battle Kit as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.