Arrrrrr , me buckos…
It's time to kick down doors, kill monsters, and take their stuff…on the seven seas. Now the munchkins are scurvy seafarers, talking with the worst accents they can manage!
Munchkin Booty is based on the original Munchkin and can be combined with it, or with any of the other Munchkin card games).
This game includes 168 cards, one six-sided die, and these rules.
Setup
Three to six can play. You will need 10 tokens (coins, poker chips, whatever–or any gadget that counts to 10) for each player.
Divide the cards into the Door deck and the Treasure deck. Shuffle both decks. Deal four cards from each deck to each player.
Card Management
Keep separate face-up discard piles for the two decks. You may not look through the discards unless you play a card that allows you to!
When a deck runs out, reshuffle its discards. If a deck runs out and there are no discards, nobody can draw any of that kind of card!
In Play: These are the cards on the table in front of you, showing your Class and Accent (if any) and the Items you are carrying. Continuing Curses and some other cards also stay on the table after you play them.
Your Hand: Cards in your hand are not in play. They don't help you, but they can't be taken away except by cards that specifically affect “your hand.” At the end of your turn, you may have no more than five cards in your hand.
When Cards Can Be Played: Each type of card can be played at a specified time.
Cards in play may not be returned to your hand–they must be discarded or traded if you want to get rid of them.
Contradictions Between Cards and Rules
This rulesheet gives the general rules. Cards may add special rules, so in most cases when the rulesheet disagrees with a card, follow the card. However, ignore any card effect that might seem to contradict one of the rules listed below unless the card explicitly says it supersedes that rule!
1. Nothing can reduce a player below Level 1, although card effects might reduce a player's or a monster's combat strength (p. 2) below 1.
2. You go up a level after combat only if you kill a monster.
3. You cannot collect rewards for defeating a monster (e.g., Treasure, levels) in the middle of a combat. You must finish the fight before gaining any rewards.
4. You must kill a monster to reach Level 10.
Any other disputes should be settled by loud arguments, with the owner of the game having the last word. You could also read the Munchkin FAQ and errata pages at World of Munchkin, or start a discussion at Steve Jackson Games Forums…unless it's more fun to argue.
Character Creation
Everyone starts as a Level 1 character with no class. (We never get tired of that joke, arrr.)
Look at your initial eight cards. If you have any Class or Accent cards, you may (if you like) play one of each type by placing it in front of you. If you have any Item cards, you may play them by placing them in front of you. If you have any doubt about whether you should play a card, you could read below, or you could just charge ahead and do it.
Starting and Finishing the Game
Decide who goes first in any way that you can agree on. (Snicker.)
Play proceeds in turns, each with several phases. When the first player finishes his turn, the player to his left takes a turn, and so on.
The first player to reach 10th level wins…but you must reach 10th level by killing a monster, unless a card specifically allows you to win another way.
Turn Phases
At the start of your turn, you may play cards, switch items from “in use” to “carried” or vice versa, trade items with other players, and sell items for levels. When your cards are arranged the way you want, go to phase 1.
(1) Kick Open The Door: Draw one card from the Door deck and turn it face up.
If it's a monster, you must fight it. See Combat. Resolve the combat completely before you go on. If you kill it, go up a level (or two, for some especially nasty monsters!) and take the appropriate number of Treasures..
If the card is a curse–it applies to you immediately (if it can) and is discarded.
If you draw any other card, you may either put it in your hand or play it immediately.
(2) Look For Trouble: If you did NOT draw a monster when you first opened the door, you now have the option of playing a monster (if you have one) from your hand and fighting it, just as if you had found it when you kicked open the door. Don't play a monster you can't handle, unless you're sure you can count on getting help!
(3) Loot The Room: If you did not find a monster by kicking open the door and you did not Look For Trouble, you loot the room…draw a second card from the Door deck, face down, and place it in your hand.
If you met a monster but ran away, you don't get to loot the room.
(4) Charity: If you have more than five cards in your hand, you must play enough of them to get down to five, or give the excess to the player with the lowest Level. If players are tied for lowest, divide the cards as evenly as possible, but it's up to you who gets the bigger set(s) of leftovers. If YOU are the lowest or tied for lowest, just discard the excess.
It is now the next player's turn.
Combat
To fight a monster, compare its combat strength to yours. Combat strength is the total of Level plus all modifiers–positive or negative–given by items and other cards. If the monster's combat strength is equal to yours, or greater, you lose the combat and must Run Away. If your combat strength totals more than the monster's, you kill it and go up a level (two for some big monsters). You'll also get the number of Treasures shown on its card.
Sometimes a card will let you get rid of the monster without killing it. This is still “winning,” but you don't get a level. Sometimes, depending on the card, you might not get the treasure, either.
Some monster cards have special powers that affect combat–a bonus against one Class or Accent, for instance. Be sure to check these.
One-shot items may be played directly from your hand during combat. You can also use one-shot items that you already had in play. One-shot items say “Usable once only.” Discard these cards after the combat, whether you win or lose.
Some Door cards may also be played into a combat, such as monster enhancers.
While you are in combat, you cannot sell, steal, equip, unequip, or trade items, or play items (except for one-shots) from your hand. Once you expose a monster card, you must resolve the fight with your equipment as it stands, plus any one-shot items you choose to play.
Discard the monster card, including any enhancers and one-shot items played, and draw treasure. But note: someone may play a hostile card on you, or use a special power, just as you think you have won. When you kill a monster, you must wait a reasonable time, defined as about 2.6 seconds, for anyone else to speak up. After that, you have really killed the monster, and you really get the level(s) and treasure, though they can still whine and argue.
Fighting Multiple Monsters
Some cards (notably Wandering Monster) allow your rivals to send other monsters to join the fight. (And see “Shark” Monsters). You must defeat their combined combat strengths. Any special abilities, such as fighting with your Level only, apply to the entire fight. If you have the right cards, you can eliminate one monster from the combat and fight the other(s) normally, but you cannot choose to fight one and run from the other(s). If you eliminate one with a card but then run from the other(s), you don't get any Treasure!
Asking For Help
If you cannot win a combat on your own, you may ask any other player to help you. If he refuses, you may ask another player, and so on, until they all turn you down or someone helps. Only one player can help you, adding his combat strength to yours. Anyone can play cards to affect your combat, however!
You can bribe someone to help. In fact, you'll probably have to. You may offer your helper any Item(s) you are currently carrying, or any number of the Treasure cards the monster has. If you offer him part of the monster's treasure, you must agree whether he picks first, or you pick first, or whatever.
The special abilities or vulnerabilities of the monster also apply to your helper, and vice versa. For instance, if you are not a Merchant, but a Merchant helps you, the Almighty Cod will be a -3 against you. But if you are facing Sir Francis Drake and a munchkin with a Spanish accent helps you, the foe's level is increased by 5 (unless you, too, are Spanish and the foe's level has already been increased…don't increase it twice).
If someone successfully helps you, the monster is slain. Discard it, draw treasure, and follow any special instructions on the monster card. You go up a level for each slain monster. Your helper does not go up…unless he's an Elf, in which case he also gains one level for each monster slain. You draw the Treasure cards, even if it was your helper's special ability that defeated the monster.
Interfering With Combat
You can interfere with others' combats in several ways:
Use a one-shot item. You could help another player by using a one-shot item against his foe. Of course, you can “accidentally” hit your friend with the item, and it will count against him.
Play a card to modify a monster. These cards (usually) make a monster stronger…and give it more treasure. You can play these either during your own combats or during someone else's combat.
Play a Wandering Monster along with a monster from your hand to join any combat.
Curse them, if you have a Curse card.
Running Away
If nobody will help you…or if somebody tries to help, and your fellow party members interfere so the two of you still cannot defeat it…you must run away.
If you run away, you don't get any levels or treasure. You don't even get to Loot the Room. And you don't always escape unharmed…
Roll the die. You only escape on a 5 or better. Some items or abilities make it easier or harder to run away. And some monsters are fast or slow, and give you a penalty or bonus to your roll.
If you escape, discard the monster. You get no treasure. There are usually no bad effects…but read the card. Some monsters hurt you even if you get away from them!
If the monster catches you, it does Bad Stuff to you, as described on its card. This may vary from losing an item, to losing one or more levels, to Death.
If two players are cooperating and still can't defeat the monster(s), they must both flee. They roll separately. The monster(s) CAN catch them both.
If you are fleeing from multiple monsters, you roll separately to escape each one, in any order you choose, and suffer Bad Stuff from each one that catches you as soon as it catches you.
Discard the monster(s).
Death
If you die, you lose all your stuff. You keep your Class(es), Accent(s), and Level (and any Curses that were affecting you when you died)–your new character will look just like your old one.
Looting The Body: Lay out your hand beside the cards you had in play. Starting with the one with the highest Level, each other player chooses one card…in case of ties in Level, roll a die. If your corpse runs out of cards, tough. After everyone gets one card, the rest are discarded.
Dead characters cannot receive cards for any reason, not even Charity, and cannot level up.
When the next player begins his turn, your new character appears and can help others in combat…but you have no cards.
On your next turn, start by drawing four cards from each deck, face-down, and playing any Accent, Class, or Item cards you want to, just as when you started the game. Then take your turn normally.
Treasure
When you defeat a monster, either by killing it or using a card to eliminate it, you get its Treasure. Each monster has a Treasure number on the bottom of its card. Draw that many treasures. Draw face-down if you killed the monster alone. Draw face-up, so the whole party can see what you got, if someone helped you.
Treasure cards can be played as soon as you get them. Item cards can be placed in front of you. “Go Up a Level” cards can be used instantly. You may play a “Go Up a Level” card on any player at any time.
Example of Combat, With Numbers and Everything
Beth is a 4th-Level Merchant sailing on the Brig (which gives her a +3 to her combat strength). She kicks open the door and finds Greenbeard, a Level 6 monster who has +3 against females. Beth's at a 7 and Greenbeard is at 9, so Beth is losing.
Beth: Too bad about Greenbeard's addiction to the Demon Rum…
Beth plays Demon Rum, adding 4 to her combat strength. Now Beth is winning, 11 to 9.
Drake: Did you say Greenbeard? I believe you mean the legendary Greenbeard…
Drake plays Legendary on Greenbeard, adding 10 to his combat strength. Now Beth is losing again, 19 to 11.
Beth: Hmm. Guess I'll have to use my translation skills, mon ami…
Beth uses her Merchant power and discards a French Accent. She now has all the abilities on the French card, including the “Charm ze Rival” power that allows her to compel any munchkin of the opposite sex to help her in combat. Drake is Level 6 and has enough Items to raise his combat strength to 12.
Beth: And now that I'm fluent in French, how about you help moi, Drake?
Drake: Sacre bleu!
With Drake's 12, the munchkins beat Greenbeard, 23 to 19. Beth goes up one level and claims four Treasures–two from the Greenbeard and two because he was Legendary. (Drake gets first pick of the Treasure because he was Charmed into helping.) And the game goes on…
Character Stats
Each character is basically a collection of weapons, armor, and magic items, with three stats: Level, Accent, and Class. For instance, you might describe your character as “an 8th-level Spanish Pirate with Booty Boots, an Eye Patch, and a Spanish Helmet, sailing a Cutter with a Poop Deck.”
Your character's sex starts off the same as your own.
Level: This is a measure of how generally buff and studly you are. When the rules or cards refer to your Level, capitalized, they mean this number.
You gain a level when you kill a monster, or when a card says that you do. You can also sell items to buy levels.
You lose a level when a card says that you do. Your Level can never go below 1. However, your combat strength can be negative if you get cursed or backstabbed.
Level Counters: It's Not Cheating, It's Using the Rules!
If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch*, you'll like our Level Counter application in the iTunes Store. Just search for “Level Counter” or go here. Even better, it gives you personal in-game advantages to make your friends jealous. Which is what being a munchkin is all about!
*Coming soon: a version for Android!
Accent: Characters speak with a British, Dutch, French, or Spanish accent. If you have no Accent card in front of you, you have no accent.
Each Accent allows you different special abilities or penalties (see the cards). You gain the abilities of an Accent the moment you play its card in front of you, and lose them as soon as you discard that card.
You can discard an Accent card at any time, even in combat: “I don't wanna sound Spanish any more.”
You may not have more than one Accent at once unless you play the Bilingual card. You may not have two copies of the same Accent card in play.
When a Munchkin Booty card mentions (for instance) “French,” it always means a French accent, even if it does not say so. The monsters hear the accent and assume you're really French.
Flavor Note: You do not have to speak with your Accent(s), but if you do, we here at Port Munchkin will be pleased. We are sure that thanks to the wonders of television, you can do an obnoxious French, British, or Spanish accent. Our friends from the Netherlands don't get as much screen time, though, so if you don't know how to sound like a Dutchman, you may agree to fake it with any other accent, up to and including Valley Girl. Gag me with a spoon, matey!
Class: Characters may be Merchant, Navy, or Pirate. If you have no Class card in front of you, you have no class. Yeah, I know, we did that one already.
Each Class has different abilities, shown on the cards. You gain the abilities of a Class the moment you play its card in front of you, and lose them as soon as you discard that card. Some Class abilities are powered by discards. You may discard any card, in play or in your hand, to power a special ability.
See the Class cards for when abilities can be used. You can discard a Class card at any time, even in combat: “I don't wanna be a Pirate any more.” When you discard a Class card, you become classless until you play another Class card.
You may not belong to more than one Class at once unless you play the Super Munchkin card. You may not have two copies of the same Class card in play.
Items
Each Item card has a name, a power, a size, and a value in Gold Pieces.
An Item card in your hand does not count until you play it; at that point, it is “carried.” You may carry any number of small items, but only one Big one. (Any item not designated Big is considered Small.) You may not simply discard one Big item to play another; you must sell it, trade it, lose it to a Curse or Bad Stuff, or discard it to power a Class or Accent ability.
Anyone can carry any item, but some items have use restrictions: for instance, the Silver Long Johns can only be worn by a Pirate. Its bonus only counts for someone who is, at the moment, a Pirate.
Likewise, you may also use only one headgear, one suit of armor, one pair of footgear, and two “1 Hand” items (or one “2 Hands” item)…unless you have a card that lets you ignore these limits. If you are carrying two Headgear cards, for instance, only one of them can help you.
You should indicate items that can't help you, or extras not being worn, by turning the cards sideways. You may NOT change your used and carried items during a combat or while running away. You cannot discard Item cards “just because.” You may sell items for a level, or give an item to another player who wants it. You may discard to power certain Class and Accent abilities. And a Curse may force you to get rid of something!
Trading: You may trade items (but not other cards) with other players. You may only trade items from the table–not from your hand. You may trade at any time except when you're in combat–in fact, the best time to trade is when it's not your turn. Any item you receive in a trade must go into play; you can't sell it until it's your turn.
You may also give items away without a trade, to bribe other players–“I'll give you my Thigh Boots if you won't help Bob fight that Jellyfish!”
You may show your hand to others. Like we could stop you.
Selling Items for Levels: During your turn, you may discard items worth at least 1,000 Gold Pieces and immediately go up one level. If you discard (for instance) 1,100 Gold Pieces worth, you don't get change. But if you can manage 2,000 worth, you can go up two levels at once, and so on. You may sell items from your hand as well as those you are carrying. You may not sell items to go to Level 10.
Ships
Dear to a seafaring munchkin's heart (as of now) is his sturdy Ship. Because, of course, it gives bonuses. Ships are found in the Door deck.
Normally, no player can have more than one Ship. Cheat! cards and special powers can allow extra ships.
Ships are Items, and follow normal Item rules. Anything that affects an Item can affect a Ship. Ships carry themselves. A Ship is “Big,” but it does not count against the number of Big items you can carry (in fact, some let you carry extra Big things). The “Big” designation on Ships is to control what Traps and Curses affect them, and to keep Thieves in a blender game from pocketing them and walking off.
There are also a few Items that specifically enhance Ships. Ships can also be enhanced by regular “Item Enhancers” from other sets, if those Enhancers otherwise apply. Enhancers cannot be moved between Ships. A Ship with an Enhancer has the Enhancer's gold value added to its own.
If a Ship gives a bonus or penalty to Run Away, that replaces any bonus that its owner gets from Footgear, Steeds (in a blender game), or other possessions. If your Ship gives you a penalty to Run Away, you may discard the Ship before you roll to flee. You don't suffer the penalty, but the Ship goes to the discard pile.
And…if you have more than one Ship, you get all their combat bonuses and the best Run Away bonus. You may ignore any penalty from one ship that the other doesn't also give you, because, being a munchkin, you are always on the best ship at any particular moment.
When to Play Cards
A quick reference guide…
Monsters
If drawn face-up, during the “Kick Open a Door” phase, they immediately attack the person who drew them.
If acquired any other way, they go into your hand and may be played during “Looking For Trouble,” or played on another player with the Wandering Monster card.
Each Monster card is a single monster, even if the name on the card is plural.
Monster Enhancers
Certain cards, called monster enhancers, raise or lower the combat strength of individual monsters. (Yes, you can have a negative enhancement.) Monster enhancers may be played by any player during any combat.
All enhancers on a single monster add together. If there are multiple monsters in a combat, the person who plays each enhancer must choose which monster it applies to. If Legendary, Bloodthirsty, and Accursed are played together, in any order, you are facing a legendary bloodthirsty accursed monster. Good luck…
The ocean is full of sharks…and when one appears there are more nearby. Whenever any Shark is in a combat, any player may play any other Shark from his hand to join it. Some Sharks don't have “Shark” in the monster name, but they all have a “Shark” tag above the monster name.
Items–Playing Them
Any treasure card may be played to the table as soon as you get it, or at any time during your own turn.
Items–Using Them
Any one-shot item can be played during any combat, whether you have it in your hand or on the table. (Some one-shot items, such as the Wishing Ring, may also be used outside of combat.)
Other items cannot be used unless they are active. Items turned sideways cannot help you, even if you could otherwise legally use them.
Other Treasures
Other Treasure cards are “specials” (like “Go Up a Level”). You may play these at any time, unless the card itself says otherwise. Follow the card's instructions, then discard it, unless it has a persistent bonus like an Item.
Curses
If drawn face-up, during the “Kick Open a Door” phase, Curse cards apply to the person who drew them.
If drawn face-down or acquired some other way, Curse cards may be played on ANY player at ANY time. Any time, do you hear me? Reducing someone's abilities just as he thinks he has killed a monster is a lot of fun.
Usually, a Curse affects its victim immediately (if it can) and is discarded. However, some Curses give a penalty later in the game or have a continuing effect. Keep these cards until you get rid of the Curse or the penalty takes effect. If someone plays a “your next combat” Curse on you while you are in combat, it counts in that combat! (Curse cards you keep as a reminder may not be discarded to power Class or Accent abilities. Nice try!)
If a Curse can apply to more than one item, the victim decides which item is lost or cursed.
If a Curse applies to something you don't have, ignore it. For instance, if you draw Lose Your Armor and you have no armor, nothing happens; discard the card.
There will be times when it will help you to play a Curse or Monster on yourself, or to “help” another player in a way that costs him treasure. This is very munchkinly. Do it.
Classes and Accents
These cards may be played to the table as soon as they are acquired, or at any time during your own turn. Super Munchkin and Bilingual may be played similarly, but you must have a Class to play Super Munchkin or an Accent to play Bilingual.
Designer's Note
I have wanted to do a pirate Munchkin game for years, but I always stumbled on the fact that–while historically there were several different sorts of pirates and privateers–they weren't different enough to give me funny Classes. My thanks to Brian Hogue for suggesting that Pirate should be one Class, leaving entirely different types of seafarers as the other Classes. After that breakthrough, the rest of this game fell into place, arrrr. Monica Stephens is responsible for the excellently silly idea that the pirates should not have “nationalities” as such, but should talk in Accents instead.
The faithful Munchkin player will note that the dungeon paradigm COMPLETELY breaks down in this genre. We are sailing the seven seas in search of plunder, yet at the same time we are “opening doors” and “looting rooms.” Yarrrr! We be munchkins an' we don't CARE!
Super-Sized Munchkin
Studies have shown that 8.4 out of 9.7 Munchkin players just can't get enough of the game. Here are some ideas to take your Munchkin games to new heights–or lows:
Combining different Munchkin sets. You can mix two (or more) base sets and expansions together for a genrecrossing mega-Munchkin adventure! Space plus Old West? Kung fu vampires? No problem!
Expansions. Most of the Munchkin core sets have expansions that add still more monsters to kill, new Treasure to loot, and sometimes entirely new kinds of cards. Ask at your friendly local game store, or visit Warehouse 23 to buy directly from us.
Turn it up to EPIC! Playing to Level 10 just isn't enough for some people. To satisfy their insane cravings, we've created Epic Munchkin, a new set of rules that gives all your Munchkin sets that high-octane boost you need to make it up to Level 20! Look for it on our online PDF store–it's completely, absolutely FREE!
All of the above!!!
Faster Play Rules
For a faster game, you can add a “phase 0” called Listen At The Door. At the start of your turn, draw a face-down Door card, which you may play or not. Then arrange cards and Kick Open The Door normally. If you Loot The Room, draw a face-down Treasure, not a Door.
You can also allow shared victories–if a player reaches Level 10 in a fight where he had a helper, the helper also wins the game, no matter what Level he is.
Game Design by Steve Jackson • Illustrated by John Kovalic
“Rawk! Nice Chest!” Guest Card by Phil Foglio • Chief Operating Officer: Philip Reed • Munchkin Czar: Andrew Hackard • Art Director: Will Schoonover • Production Artist: Alex Fernandez • Development Help: Monica Stephens • Prepress Checkers: Will Schoonover and Monica Stephens • Print Buyers: Judey Dozeto and Will Schoonover • Marketing Director: Paul Chapman • Director of Sales: Ross Jepson
Evil piratical suggestions and naughty nautical card ideas: Fox Barrett, Andrew Hackard, Brian Hogue, Fade Manley, Mark Schmidt, and Monica Stephens. Ye playtesters who sent good ideas an’ don’t see ’em here, fear not. Some of ’em are in the first supplement, and we be plannin’ more piratey goodness over the horizon…
As has become our frequent custom, two of the cards in this set were auctioned off at WarpCon (Cork, Ireland) for charity, and John Kovalic drew the winners as seafaring munchkins. Thanks to Donal Behal (the male Super Munchkin) and Niall Bole (the Eyepatch guy) for their very generous contributions to children’s hospitals. Arr, some pirates be good guys indeed!
Playtesters: Afredo, Jimmie Bragdon, Matthew Brown, Jason Cates, Richard Dodson, Clifford Elder, Claire Ford, Chris Galvan, Andrew Hackard, JHG Hendriks, Freya Jackson, Richard Kerr, Birger Krämer, Charles Leake, Fade Manley, Randy Scheunemann, Marcia Schoonover, Will Schoonover, Tom Smith, Wendy Smith, Nicholas Vacek, and Loren Wiseman.
Munchkin, Munchkin Booty, Warehouse 23, e23, the all-seeing pyramid, and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Dork Tower characters are copyright © John Kovalic.
Munchkin Booty is copyright © 2008, 2010 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Rules version 1.5 (September 2010).
“Shark” Monsters