Munchkin Warhammer 40-000 Rules
Munchkin Warhammer 40-000 Rules
setup
Play proceeds in turns,
each with several phases
(see p. 2). When the first
Each player takes two standies in the same color and chooses player finishes a turn, the
one to place on the space marked “1” on the gameboard. The player to the left takes a
other standie goes in front of the player as a color reminder. turn, and so on.
Divide the cards into the Door deck and the Treasure deck. The first player to reach Level
Shuffle both decks. Deal four cards from each deck to each 10 wins . . . but you must reach
player. Place the rest of the cards in the appropriate spaces on Level 10 by killing a monster,
the gameboard. unless a card specifically allows
you to win another way.
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.
In Play: These are the cards on the table in front of you,
ConfliCts Between
showing your Army (if any) and the Items you are carrying.
Continuing Curses and some other cards also stay on the table
CarDs anD rules
after you play them. Cards in play are public information and This rulesheet gives the general rules. Many cards
must be visible to the other players. add special rules, so in most cases when the rulesheet
Your Hand: Cards in your hand are not in play. They don’t disagrees with a card, follow the card. However, ignore any
help you, but they can’t be taken away except by cards that card effect that might seem to contradict one of the rules
specifically affect “your hand.” At the end of your turn, you may listed below unless the card explicitly says it supersedes
have no more than five cards in your hand (see Charity, p. 2). that rule!
Cards in play may not be returned to your hand – they must 1. Nothing can reduce a player below Level 1, although
be discarded or traded if you want to get rid of them. card effects might reduce a player’s or a monster’s combat
strength (p. 3) below 1.
Character Creation 2. You go up a level after combat only if you kill a
Everyone starts as a Level 1 monster.
civilian. Look at your initial 3. You cannot collect rewards for defeating a monster
eight cards. If you have any (e.g., Treasure, levels) in the middle of a combat. You must
Army cards, you may (if you finish the fight before gaining any rewards.
like) play one by placing it in 4. You must kill a monster to reach Level 10, and you
front of you. If you have any cannot force another player to help you do it.
usable Items (p. 3), you may
play them by placing them Any other disputes should be settled by loud arguments,
in front of you. If you have with the owner of the game having the last word if the
any doubt about whether you table can’t reach consensus. You could also read the
should play a card, you could Munchkin FAQ and errata pages at munchkin.game, or
read below, or you could just start a discussion at forums.sjgames.com/munchkin . . .
charge ahead and do it. For unless it’s more fun to argue.
the Emperor!
when you May take aCtions CoMBat: BasiC rules
You may perform these actions at any time: When you fight a monster, you compare your combat
Discard an Army. strength (your Level plus any bonuses or penalties) to
Play a Go Up a Level. the monster’s combat strength. If your combat strength
is greater, you win! If it is tied or lower, the monster wins.
Play a Curse.
For the full explanation, see Combat, p. 3.
You may perform these actions at any time, as long as
you are not in combat:
Trade an Item with another player (the other player
may not be in combat, either).
Change which Items you have equipped.
CharaCter stats
Each character is basically a
Play a card that you have just received (some cards collection of weapons, armor, and
may be played even during combat; see above). magic items, with two stats: Army
and Level. For instance, you might describe your character as
You may perform these actions on your own turn:
“a Level 8 Ultramarine with Power Armor, a Misericordia,
Play a new Army card (at any time). and a Valhallan Helmet.”
Sell Items for levels (except when you are in combat).
Play an Item (most Items cannot be played during Level: This is a measure of how generally buff and studly
combat, but some One-Shots can; see p. 3). you are. When the rules or cards refer to your Level,
capitalized, they mean the number in the space where
your standie is.
turn phases 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 (see Items, p. 3).
Your turn begins as soon as the previous player’s
You lose a level when a card says you do. Your
turn ends. When your cards are arranged the way
Level can never go below 1. However, your combat
you want, go to phase 1.
strength can be negative, if you get hit by a Curse
(1) Kick Down The Door: Draw one or suffer some other kind of penalty.
card from the Door deck and turn it
face up. Army: Characters may be Aeldari, Death
If it’s a monster, you must fight it. See Guards, Necrons, Orks, Tyranids, or Ultramarines.
Combat, p. 3. If the card is a Curse – see If you have no Army card in front of you, you’re a
Curses, p. 5 – it applies to you immediately lowly civilian.
(if it can) and is then discarded (unless it Each Army has special abilities, shown on the cards. You
has a persistent effect or you keep the card gain the abilities of an Army the moment you play its card in
as a reminder of an upcoming effect). front of you, and lose them as soon as you discard that card.
If you draw any other card, you may See the Army cards for when abilities can be used.
either put it in your hand or play it You can discard an Army card at any time, even in
immediately. combat: “I don’t wanna be a Death Guard anymore!”
When you discard an Army card, you become a civilian
(2) Look For Trouble/Loot The Room: If you fought a again until you play another Army card.
monster in phase 1, skip this phase and go to phase 3. You may not belong to more than one Army at once
If you did NOT draw a monster when you first opened the unless you play the Alliance card.
door, you have two choices: either Look For Trouble or Loot
The Room.
Alliance
Look For Trouble: Play a monster from your hand and fight This card may be played when-
it, just as though you had found it when you kicked open the ever it is legal to play an Army card,
door. Don’t play a monster you can’t handle, unless you’re sure as long as you have an Army to
you can count on getting help (see p. 4)! attach it to. You cannot have more than
Loot The Room: Draw a second card from the Door deck, one of the same Army in play at once.
face down, and place it in your hand. Tyranids can fight a
monster they get here, but no one else can.
(3) Charity: If you have more than five cards in your hand,
you must play enough cards to get you to five or below – for level Counters: it’s not Cheating,
instance, you can play Curses, sell Items from your hand, or
play Items to the table. If you cannot reduce your hand to five it’s using the rules!
cards, or do not want to, you must give the excess cards to the If you have an iOS or Android device, you’ll like our
player with the lowest Level. If other players are tied for lowest, Level Counter smartphone app. Just search for “Munchkin
divide the cards as evenly as possible, but it’s up to you who gets level counter” or click the link at levelcounter.sjgames.
the bigger set(s) of leftovers. If YOU are the lowest or tied for com. Even better, it gives you personal in-game advantages
lowest, just discard the excess. to make your friends jealous . . . which is what being a
munchkin is all about!
As soon as you are finished with Charity, the next player’s
turn begins.
2
If you play Alliance with a single Army, you get all the Trading: You may trade your carried Items (but no other
advantages of being that Army (the ability to equip Army-only cards) with other players. You may not trade any cards from
Items, and monsters with penalties against that Army suffer your hand. You may trade at any time except when you or your
those penalties) but none of the disadvantages (monsters do not trading partner are in combat. Any Item you receive in a trade
get bonuses because of your Army). If the Army has an ability must remain in play.
that has a cost, however, you still have to pay it, You may also give Items away without a trade, to
soldier! bribe other players – “I’ll give you my Lasblaster if
If you play Alliance while you have two you won’t help Bob fight that Horror of Tzeentch!”
Armies, you have all the normal advantages You may show your hand to others. Like we could
and disadvantages of both Armies. stop you.
Selling Items for Levels: At any point during
treasures your turn except during combat or Running
Away, you may discard Items worth a total of
Treasure cards include permanent and at least 1,000 Gold Pieces and immediately go
One-Shot cards. Any Treasure card may be up one level. (“No Value” cards are the same as
played to the table as soon as you get it, or at zero Gold Pieces.) If you discard (for instance)
any time on your own turn except during 1,100 Gold Pieces worth, you don’t get change.
combat (unless the rules below or the But if you can manage 2,000 worth, you can go
card itself says otherwise). up two levels at once, and so on. You may sell
Items from your hand as well as those you
Items are carrying.
You may not sell Items to go to Level 10.
Most Treasures are Items. Items have a Gold Piece value.
(“No Value” is equivalent to zero Gold Pieces, and a “No Value”
card is considered an Item.) “One-Shot” Treasures
All Items you have in play are considered “carried.” Items Some Treasure cards are labeled One-Shot. Most of these
that are actually giving you a bonus are “equipped.” You should are used during combat to strengthen the munchkins or the
indicate Items that are not equipped by turning the cards monsters, and may be played from your hand or from the table.
sideways. You may not alter the status of your Items during a Some have other effects, however, so read the card carefully!
combat or while running away. Discard these cards as soon as the combat is over or their effect
Anyone can carry any Item (except for extra Big items; see is resolved. Once a One-Shot is played, it doesn’t have an owner
below), but you may equip only one Headgear, one suit of and isn’t a valid target of Curses or Bad Stuff, even if you are
Armor, one pair of Footgear, and two “1 Hand” Items (or one still resolving its effect.
“2 Hands” Item) . . . unless you have a card that lets you ignore One-shot cards with a Gold Piece value may be sold for levels,
these limits, such as Cheat!, or one of the cards says otherwise. just like other Items.
If you are carrying two Headgear cards, for instance, you can
equip only one of them at a time.
Likewise, some Items have restrictions: for instance, the
Other Treasures
Other Treasure cards (like Go Up a Level cards) are not
Plasma Incinerator can be wielded only by an Ultramarine.
Items. Most of these cards say when they can be played, and
Its bonus counts only for someone who is, at the moment, an
whether they stay in play or are discarded. Go Up a Level cards
Ultramarine.
may be played on yourself or any other player at any time, even
You cannot discard Item cards “just because.” You may during combat, unless a card has a specific rule about when it
sell Items for a level, trade Items with other players, or give an can be played. Discard them once they are played.
Item to another player who wants it (see below). And a Curse
CoMBat
or a monster’s Bad Stuff (see p. 5) may force you to get rid of
something!
Big Items: You may carry any number of Small items, but
To fight a monster, compare its combat strength to yours.
only one Big one. (Any item not marked Big is considered
Combat strength is the total of Level plus all modifiers – positive
Small.) You may not discard one Big item to play another; you
or negative – given by Items and other cards. If the monster’s
must sell the first Item, trade it, or lose it to a Curse or Bad
combat strength is equal to yours, or greater, you lose the
Stuff. (Vehicles are an exception; see below.)
combat and must Run Away (see p. 5). If your combat strength
If something lets you have more than one Big item and you totals more than the monster’s – note that monsters
lose that Item or ability, you must either correct the problem win ties! – you kill it and go up a level (two levels
immediately or get rid of all but one Big item. If it’s your turn for some big monsters). You’ll also get the
and you’re not in combat, you can sell the excess Big items (as number of Treasures shown on its card.
long as you have at least 1,000 Gold Pieces of Items to sell).
Sometimes a card will let you get rid
Otherwise, you must give them to the lowest-Level player(s) who
of the monster without killing it. This
can carry them! If any Big items are still left over, discard them.
is still “winning,” but you don’t get a
Vehicles: Some cards are labeled “Vehicle.” You may only level. Unless the card says otherwise,
have one Vehicle at a time unless you Cheat! or have some other you don’t get the Treasures, either. If
card that lets you have more than one. Most Vehicles are Big, the last monster is removed from a
but they do not count against your Big items since you do not combat, it ends instantly.
have to carry them.
Some monster cards have special
If a Vehicle has a Run Away bonus or penalty, that bonus or powers that affect combat – a
penalty replaces any others you might have. You may discard a bonus against a particular Army, for
Vehicle with a Run Away penalty before rolling if you decide to instance. Be sure to check these!
abandon it and flee on foot.
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combat strengths. Any special abilities, such as forcing you
interfering with CoMBat to fight 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
You can interfere with others’ combats in several ways,
to fight one and Run Away from the other(s). If you eliminate
including:
one monster, but then run from the other(s), you don’t get any
Use a One-Shot card to strengthen the monsters or levels or Treasure!
possibly even end the combat.
Play a monster enhancer. These cards (usually) make
a monster stronger . . . and give it more Treasure. You
Undead and Chaos Monsters
can play these either during your own combats or during Several monsters in this set are tagged Undead or Chaos.
someone else’s combat. You may play any tagged monster from your hand into combat
to help any other monster with the same tag, without using
Add a monster from your hand to join the combat, either
a Wandering Monster card. If you have an enhancer or
with a Wandering Monster card or by using the special
other card that can be used to make a monster Undead
Undead or Chaos rules.
or Chaos, you may play it with a monster to use this rule.
Curse them, if you have a Curse card.
Asking For Help
If you cannot win a combat on your own, you may ask
You and the other players may play any other player to help you. If he refuses, you may ask
One-Shots or use Army abilities to another player, and so on, until they all turn you down or
help or harm you in your combat. someone helps. Only one player can help you, adding their
Some Door cards may also be played combat strength to yours. Anyone can play cards to affect
into a combat, such as monster your combat, however!
enhancers (see below).
If you kill a monster (or monsters!),
discard the monster(s) and any other
cards played, and claim your rewards. exaMple of CoMBat,
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
with nuMBers anD everything
Michael is a Level 4 Aeldari with the Beastmaster’s
a monster, you must wait a reasonable
Scourge (which gives him a +2 to his combat strength).
time, defined as about 2.6 seconds, for anyone else to speak up.
He kicks open the door and finds the Pink Horror of
After that, you have really killed the monster, and you really
Tzeentch, a Level 8 Chaos monster with +4 against
get the level(s) and Treasures, though they can still whine and
Aeldari. Even with his +3 bonus against Chaos
argue.
monsters, Michael is losing, 12 to 9.
Michael: The forces of Chaos must be defeated!
Monsters He plays the Sanctified Grenade, which usually gives
If drawn face-up, during the Kick Down The Door phase, +3 to either side, but has +5 against Chaos monsters.
monsters immediately attack the person who drew them. Now he’s winning, 14 to 12.
If you get a monster card any other way, it goes into your hand Michael: Back to the Great Rift with you, foul
and may be played during your own turn to Look For Trouble, warpspawn!
or played with the Wandering Monster card to join another Christian: You think it’s that easy? This is the grim
player’s fight. (See Fighting Multiple Monsters, below.) darkness of the far future, Mike!
Each monster card is a single monster, even if the name on Christian plays Grimdark, adding 10 to the Pink
the card is plural. Horror’s combat strength. Now Michael is losing, 22
to 14.
Monster Enhancers Michael: Heresy!
Certain cards, called monster enhancers, raise or lower the Christian: Perhaps we should work together to fight
combat strength of individual monsters. (Penalties to monsters off these foul mockeries! (Christian is playing a Level 5
are still considered enhancers.) They also affect the number of Ultramarine with Power Armor, so his combat strength
Treasures the monsters are worth, as noted at the bottom of is 12. Combined with Michael’s 14, they would have 26,
their cards. Monster enhancers may be played by any player enough to defeat the Pink Horror’s 22.)
during any combat. Michael: Fortunately for me, I don’t actually have a Pink
All enhancers on a single monster add together. If there Horror model, so I’ve proxied it . . .
are multiple monsters in a combat, the person who plays each Michael plays Proxied, which subtracts 10 from the
Enhancer must choose which monster it applies to. monster’s combat strength. Now he’s back to winning,
Exception: Anything that enhances a monster also enhances 14 to 12.
its Twin . . . if Modded, Undead, and Twin are played on a Christian: Get some real figures before you play at my
single monster, in any order, you are facing a Modded Undead table.
monster and its Modded Undead Twin. Good luck . . . Michael: I’m killing the Pink Horror unless someone
else plans to mess with me. Anyone?
Fighting Multiple Monsters No one says anything, so Michael goes up a level and
Some cards (such as Wandering Monster) claims the Pink Horror of Tzeentch’s two Treasures
allow your rivals to send other monsters to – Grimdark added two more, but Proxied took them
join the fight. You must defeat their combined away. And the game goes on . . .
4
You’ll probably have to bribe someone to help. You may If you fail to Run Away from a monster, it does Bad Stuff
offer your helper any Item(s) you are currently carrying, or any to you, as described on its card. This may vary from losing an
number of the Treasure cards the monster has. If you offer part Item, to losing one or more levels, to Death (see below).
of the monster’s Treasure, you must agree whether they pick If you are fleeing from multiple monsters, you roll separately
first, or you pick first, or whatever. You may to escape each one, in any order you choose, and suffer Bad
also offer to play any cards from your hand Stuff from each one that catches you as soon as it catches you.
that you legally could, such as Go Up a Level If two players are cooperating and still can’t defeat the
cards, on your helper. monster(s), they must both Run Away. They roll separately
The special abilities or vulnerabilities of for each monster, in whatever order they like. (If they
the monster also apply to your helper, and can’t decide, roll the die; the high roller decides who
vice versa. For instance, if an Aeldari Runs Away first.) The monster(s) CAN catch them both.
helps you, you will get +3 against a Once you have resolved all Run Away rolls, discard the
Chaos monster (unless you are also monster(s).
an Aeldari). But if you are facing
the Nurgling and an Aeldari helps
you, the monster’s combat strength is
increased by 4 (unless you, too, are an
Death
If you die, you lose all your stuff. You keep your Army(-ies)
Aeldari and the monster’s combat strength
and Level (and any Curses that were affecting you when you
has already been increased).
died) – your new character will look just like your old one. If
If someone successfully helps you kill the you have Alliance, keep that as well.
monster, discard it, draw Treasures (see Rewards,
Once you have died, you don’t have to Run Away from
below), and follow any special instructions on
any remaining monsters. Small comfort . . .
the monster card. You level up for each slain
monster. Your helper does not go up any levels Looting The Body: Lay out your hand beside the
. . . unless the helper is an Ork and you won by cards you had in play (making sure not to include the
10 points or more, in which case they gain one level. You draw cards mentioned above). If you have an Item attached to
the Treasure cards, even if it was your helper’s special ability a Cheat! card, separate those cards. Starting with
that defeated the monster, and distribute them according to the the player with the highest Level, everyone else
agreement you reached. chooses one card . . . in case of ties in Level, roll
a die. Once everyone gets one card, discard
A few cards or abilities allow you to compel another player
the rest. If your corpse runs out of cards,
to help you in combat. These abilities do not work if you are
tough. Looted cards go into players’ hands.
fighting for the win – and if you force someone to help and then
the fight becomes one for the win, your helper gets to back out Dead characters cannot receive cards
without penalty. However, if you voluntarily help someone, you for any reason, not even Charity, and
don’t get to back out just because they’re about to win the game cannot level up or win the game.
– so pay attention! When the next player begins their
turn, your newly revived character
Rewards appears and can help others in combat
with your Level and Army abilities . . .
When you kill a monster, you get one level per monster, but you have no cards, unless you receive
unless the monster card says something else . . . and you get its Charity or gifts from other players.
Treasure! Each monster has a Treasure number on the bottom On your next turn, start by drawing four face-down cards
of its card. Draw that many Treasures, modified by the Treasure from each deck and playing any legal cards you want to, just
bonuses or penalties shown on any monster enhancers played as when you started the game. Then take your turn normally.
on it. 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, even if they aren’t taking any Treasures. (Sucker.)
If you defeat a monster by nonlethal means, you do not get
Curses
If drawn face-up during the Kick Down The Door phase,
a level and you may or may not get the Treasure, depending on
Curse cards apply to the person who drew them.
the method.
If acquired some other way, such as by Looting The Room,
Treasure cards can be played as soon as you get them, even if
Curse cards go into your hand and may be played on any player
you are the helper.
at any time. Reducing someone’s abilities just as he
thinks he has killed a monster is a lot of fun.
Running Away Usually, a Curse affects its victim
If nobody will help you . . . or if immediately (if it can) and is then discarded.
somebody tries to help, and your fellow However, some Curses give a penalty later in
party members interfere so the two the game or have a continuing effect. Keep
of you still cannot win . . . you must these cards until you get rid of the Curse or
Run Away. You don’t get any levels or the penalty takes effect.
Treasure. You don’t even get to Loot Note: If someone plays a “your next
the Room. And you don’t always escape combat” Curse on you while you are in
unharmed . . . combat, it counts in that combat! The
Roll the die. You escape on a 5 or same is true for a “your next turn” Curse
more. Some Treasures make it easier or played during your turn.
harder to Run Away from all monsters. If a Curse can apply to more than one
And some monsters give you a bonus or Item, the victim decides which Item is lost
penalty to your roll for that monster only. or Cursed.
5
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. (Some Curses have
alternate effects, though, so read the card!)
super-sizeD MunChkin
Studies have shown that 8.4 out of 9.7 Munchkin players
There will be times when it will help you to play a Curse or just can’t get enough of the game. Here are some ideas to
monster on yourself, or to “help” another player in a way that take your Munchkin games to new heights – or lows:
costs them Treasure. This is very munchkinly. Do it. Combining different Munchkin sets. You can mix two
(or more) base sets and expansions together for a genre-
crossing mega-Munchkin adventure! Space plus Old
West? Kung fu vampires? No problem!
Expansions. These add still more monsters to kill, new
Treasure to loot, and sometimes entirely new kinds of
cards. Ask for all the Munchkin sets and expansions at
your local game or comic store – find it using our Store
Finder, storefinder.sjgames.com – but if you don’t have
a local store, we’ll be happy to sell them directly to you at
warehouse23.com.
All of the above!!!
More MunChkin !
Visit munchkin.game for news, errata, updates, Q&A,
and much more. To discuss Munchkin with our staff
and your fellow munchkins, visit our forums at forums.
sjgames.com/munchkin. Check out munchkin.game/
gameplay/resources/ for reference cards, playmats, and
dozens of links.
Use the #PlayMunchkin hashtag on social media to get
faster play rules
our attention! For a faster game, you can add a “phase 0” called
Twitter. Our Twitter feed often has Munchkin news (or Listen At The Door. At the start of your turn before doing
bonus rules!): twitter.com/SJGames. anything else, draw a face-down Door card, which you
Facebook. Connect with other fans on our pages may play or not. Then arrange cards and Kick Down The
for Munchkin (facebook.com/sjgames.munchkin) and Door normally. If you Loot The Room, draw a face-down
Steve Jackson Games (facebook.com/sjgames). Treasure, not a Door. (Tyranids may draw a Door instead
in order to use their Army ability.)
Instagram. We post lots of pictures of new Munchkin
stuff to instagram.com/stevejacksongames. You can also allow shared victories – if a player reaches
Level 10 in a fight where you are the helper, you also win
This set’s page is munchkin.game/products/games/
the game, no matter what Level you are.
munchkin-warhammer-40000/.
munchkin.game
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