How To Play: Man-Eater!
Learn the Man-Eater! chase sequence: the shark plots, swimmers roll and move, then the shark moves and resolves attacks.
Man-Eater! is the 1976 shark-and-swimmers game from Footloose Productions. One player controls the shark; the others try to get their swimmers from air mattresses to the safety of the beach. The important rhythm is that the shark commits to a move before seeing where the swimmers end up.
Setting up the chase
Choose the shark player and assign swimmers to the other players. Use your edition’s board and starting-position instructions for the shark and air mattresses. Keep the special red-herring die available for its event rules.
How a round works
- The shark plots its move secretly. Its plan is made before the swimmers move.
- The swimmers roll and move. Their aim is to reach the safe beach.
- The shark reveals and makes its move. Resolve encounters with swimmers after it moves.
Shark attacks
The catalogue rules summary distinguishes two attacks: landing beside a swimmer costs that swimmer legs; landing on the swimmer eats it. The swimmer pieces have detachable legs. The red-herring die introduces random events.
This quick introduction covers the documented chase sequence. Check the rules supplied with your copy for movement allowances, leg-loss effects, safe spaces, red-herring results and the exact end-of-game procedure; postal adaptations use their own numbered map and should not be substituted for the boxed game.
Teaching the first round
Demonstrate the timing with a practice round: the shark commits, then the swimmers move, then the shark resolves its plan. Keep “beside” and “on” distinct when explaining attacks. As a swimmer, think about where the shark might have aimed rather than only the shortest route to the beach.
Rules and further reading
Read our Man-Eater! review for a closer look at the game.