THE STARS ARE RIGHT . . .

CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN
CARDS AND RULES
and the Munchkins are kicking down the doors in places This rulesheet gives the general rules. Cards may add spe-
where Man Was Not Meant To Go. They’re Investigators, cial rules, so in most cases when the rulesheet disagrees
Monster Whackers, Professors, and Cultists . . . and they’re killing with a card, follow the card. However, ignore any card ef-
the Mythos monsters and taking their stuff. After all, when you’re fect that might seem to contradict one of the rules listed
a Munchkin, it doesn’t matter if you go mad. It only matters if below unless the card explicitly says it supersedes that rule!
you WIN!
Munchkin Cthulhu is based on the original Munchkin and
1. Nothing can reduce a player below Level 1, although
can be combined with it, as well as any or all of the other
card effects might reduce a player’s or a monster’s combat
Munchkin card games (see p. 6).
strength (p. 2) below 1.
This game includes 168 cards, one six-sided die, and these
2. You go up a level after combat only if you kill a
rules.
monster.

SETUP
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.
Three to six can play. You will need 10 tokens (coins, poker 4. You must kill a monster to reach Level 10.
chips, whatever – or any gadget that counts to 10) for each player.
Divide the cards into the Door deck and the Treasure deck. Any other disputes should be settled by loud arguments,
Shuffle both decks. Deal four cards from each deck to each player. with the owner of the game having the last word. You
could also read the Munchkin FAQ and errata pages at

CARD MANAGEMENT
www.worldofmunchkin.com, or start a discussion at
forums.sjgames.com . . . unless it’s more fun to argue.

Keep separate face-up discard piles for the two decks. You may
not look through the discards unless you play a card that allows
Your Hand: Cards in your hand are not in play.
you to!
They don’t help you, but they can’t be taken away
Cultist Class cards get their own little discard pile. See except by cards that specifically affect “your
Cultists, p. 4. hand.” At the end of your turn, you may have
When a deck runs out, reshuffle its discards. If a deck runs out no more than five cards in your hand.
and there are no discards, nobody can draw any of that kind of When Cards Can Be Played: Each type of card can be played
card! at a specified time (see p. 5).
In Play: These are the cards on the table in front of you,
showing your Class (if any) and the Items you are carrying.
Cards in play may not be returned to your hand – they must be
Continuing Curses and some other cards also stay on the table
discarded or traded if you want to get rid of them.
after you play them.
 (4) Charity: If you have more than five cards

CHARACTER CREATION 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,
Everyone starts as a Level 1 character with no class. (We never divide the cards as evenly as possible, but it’s up to
get tired of that joke.) you who gets the bigger set(s) of leftovers. If YOU
Look at your initial eight cards. If you have any Class cards, are the lowest or tied for lowest, just discard the
you may (if you like) play one by placing it in front of you. If you excess.
have any usable Items (p. 5), you may play them by placing them
in front of you. If you have any doubt about whether you should It is now the next player’s turn.
play a card, you could read below, or you could just charge ahead
and do it.
COMBAT
STARTING AND To fight a monster, compare its combat strength to yours.

FINISHING THE GAME

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 com-
Decide who goes first in any way you can agree on. (Snicker.) bat and must Run Away – see below. If your combat strength to-
tals more than the monster’s, you kill it and go up a level (two for
Play proceeds in turns, each with several phases (see below).
some big monsters). You’ll also get the number of Treasures
When the first player finishes his turn, the player to his left takes
shown on its card.
a turn, and so on.
Sometimes a card will let you get rid of the monster without
The first player to reach 10th level wins . . . but you must reach
killing it. This is still “winning,” but you don’t get a level. Some-
10th level by killing a monster, unless a card specifically allows
times, depending on the card, you might not get the treasure,
you to win another way.
either.

TURN PHASES
Some monster cards have special powers that affect combat –
a bonus against one Class, for instance. Be sure to check these.
One-shot items, such as Ichors, may be played directly from
At the start of your turn, you may play cards, switch items your hand during combat. You can also use one-shot items that
from “in use” to “carried” or vice versa, trade items with other you already had in play. One-shot items say “Usable once only.”
players, and sell items for levels. When your cards are arranged Discard these cards after the combat, whether you win or lose.
the way you want, go to phase 1. Some Door cards may also be played into a combat, such as
monster enhancers (see p. 5).
(1) Kick Open The Door: Draw one card from While you are in combat, you cannot sell, steal, equip, un-
the Door deck and turn it face up. equip, or trade items, or play items (except for one-shots)
If it’s a monster, you must fight it. See from your hand. Once you expose a monster card, you must
Combat. Resolve the combat completely resolve the fight with your equipment as it stands, plus any
before you go on. If you kill it, go up a one-shot items you choose to play.
level (or two, for some especially nasty Discard the monster card, in-
monsters!) and take the appropriate cluding any enhancers and one-
number of Treasures. shot items played, and draw treasure
If the card is a curse – see Curses, p. 5 (see below). But note: someone may
– it applies to you immediately (if it can) play a hostile card on you, or use a spe-
and is discarded. cial power, just as you think you have
If you draw any other card, you may either won. When you kill a monster, you must
put it in your hand or play it immediately. wait a reasonable time, defined as about 2.6 sec-
onds, for anyone else to speak up. After that, you
(2) Look For Trouble: If you did NOT draw have really killed the monster, and you really get
a monster when you first opened the door, you now have the the level(s) and treasure, though they can still whine and argue.
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
FIGHTING MULTIPLE MONSTERS
sure you can count on getting help! Some cards (notably Wandering Monster) allow your rivals to
send other monsters to join the fight. You must defeat their com-
(3) Loot The Room: If you did not find a monster by kicking bined combat strengths. Any special abilities, such as fighting
open the door and you did not Look For Trouble, you loot the with your Level only, apply to the entire fight. If you have the
room . . . draw a second card from the Door deck, face down, right cards, you can eliminate one monster from the combat and
and place it in your hand. fight the other(s) normally, but you cannot choose to fight one
If you met a monster but ran away, you don’t get to loot the and run from the other(s). If you eliminate one with a card, but
room. then run from the other(s), you don’t get any Treasure!

2
 or harder to run away. And some monsters are fast or slow, and
ASKING FOR HELP give you a penalty or bonus to your roll.
If you escape, discard the monster. You get no treasure. There
If you cannot win a combat on your own, you may ask any
are usually no bad effects . . . but read the card. Some monsters
other player to help you. If he refuses, you may ask another
hurt you even if you get away from them!
player, and so on, until they all turn you down or someone
helps. Only one player can help you, adding his combat strength If the monster catches you, it does Bad Stuff to you, as de-
to yours. Anyone can play cards to affect your combat, scribed on its card. This may vary from losing an item, to losing
however! one or more levels, to Death.
You can bribe someone to help. In fact, you’ll probably have If two players are cooperating and still can’t defeat the mon-
to. You may offer your helper any Item(s) you are currently car- ster(s), they must both flee. They roll separately. The monster(s)
rying, or any number of the Treasure cards the monster has. If CAN catch them both.
you offer him part of the monster’s treasure, you must agree If you are fleeing from multiple monsters, you roll separately
whether he picks first, or you pick first, or whatever. to escape each one, in any order you choose, and suffer Bad Stuff
The special abilities or vulnerabilities of the monster also from each one that catches you as soon as it catches you.
apply to your helper, and vice versa. For instance, if you are not Discard the monster(s).
an Investigator, but an Investigator helps you, the Shoggoth will
be at a -2 against you. But if you are facing the Shallow Ones
and a Professor helps you, the foe’s combat strength is increased
DEATH
by 2 (unless you, too, are a Professor and the foe’s combat If you die, you lose all your stuff. You keep your Class(es) and
strength has already been increased . . . don’t increase it twice). Level (and any Curses that were affecting you when you died) –
your new character will look just like your old one. (Enhancer
If someone successfully helps you, the monster is slain.
cards played on a Cultist are discarded if the Cultist dies.)
Discard it, draw treasure face up (see below), and follow any
special instructions on the monster card. You go up a level for Looting The Body: Lay out your hand beside the cards you
each slain monster. Your helper does not go up. You draw the had in play. Starting with the one with the highest Level, each
Treasure cards, even if it was your helper’s special ability that other player chooses one card . . . in case of ties in level, roll a die.
defeated the monster. 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.
INTERFERING WITH COMBAT When the next player begins his turn, your new character
You can interfere with others’ combats in several ways: appears and can help others in combat . . . but you have no cards.
Use a one-shot item. You could help another player by On your next turn, start by drawing four cards from each deck,
throwing an Ichor against his foe. Of course, you can “acci- face-down, and playing any legal Class or Item cards you want to,
dentally” hit your friend with the Ichor, and it will count just as when you started the game. Then take your turn normally.
against him.
Play a card to modify a monster. These cards (usually)
make a monster stronger . . . and give it more treasure. You
TREASURE
When you defeat a monster, either by killing it or using a card
can play these either during your own combats or during
to eliminate it, you get its Treasure. Each monster has a Treas-
someone else’s combat.
ure number on the bottom of its card. Draw that many treasures.
Play a Wandering Monster along with a monster from Draw face-down if you killed the monster alone. Draw face-up,
your hand to join any combat. so the whole party can see what you got, if someone helped you.
Curse them, if you have a Curse card. 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.

RUNNING AWAY
If nobody will help you . . .
or if somebody tries to help, and
CHARACTER STATS
Each character is basically a collection of weapons,
your fellow party members inter-
armor, and magic items, with two stats: Level and Class.
fere so the two of you still cannot
For instance, you might describe your character as “a 9th-
defeat it . . . you must run away.
level Investigator with a Slime-Proof Poncho, a Fake
If you run away, you don’t get Tentacle, and a Backpack Full of Dynamite.”
any levels or treasure. You don’t
Your character’s sex starts off the same as your own.
even get to Loot the Room.
And you don’t always escape
unharmed . . . Level: This is a measure of how generally buff and
Roll the die. You only escape on a 5 or studly you are. When the rules or cards refer to your
better. Some items or abilities make it easier Level, capitalized, they mean this number.

3
 EXAMPLE OF COMBAT, LEVEL COUNTERS: IT’S NOT CHEATING,
WITH NUMBERS AND EVERYTHING IT’S USING THE RULES!
Margot is a 4th-Level Cultist with the Frothing If you have an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad,
enhancer (which gives her a +3 to her combat strength). or Android phone, you’ll like our Level
There is one other Cultist, Gene, so she has another +2. Counter smartphone app. Just search for
She kicks open the door and finds the Grape Old Ones, “Munchkin level counter” or click the
a Level 12 monster with -2 against females. Margot’s at link at levelcounter.sjgames.com. Even
a 9 and the Grape Old Ones are at a 10, so Margot is better, it gives you personal in-game
losing. advantages to make your friends jealous!
Margot: Mmm, meat . . .
She plays the Canned Meat, giving her +3 for this
fight. Now her combat strength is 12, beating the Grape You can discard a Class card at any time, even in combat:
Old Ones’ 10. “I don’t wanna be a Professor any more.” Exception: you cannot
Margot: Ha! I’m gonna stomp ‘em! discard the Cultist card voluntarily. See Cultists, below. When
you discard a Class card, you become classless until
Chris: Oh, Hastur . . .
you play another class card.
Margot: Because they’re grapes!
You may not belong to more than one class at
Gene: Sorry, you can’t be in my cult with jokes like that. once unless you play the Super Munchkin card.
Gene plays Curse! Amnesia, forcing Margot to dis- You may not have two copies of the same
card her Cultist class and the Frothing enhancer she Class card in play.
played on it. Now Margot is losing, 10 to 4.
Margot: Not so fast, me bucko . . .
Margot has another Cultist card and plays it, regain-
ing the +2 for the other Cultist, Gene. But she lost
Frothing, so she’s still losing, 10 to 6.
Chris: Hey, I’m the only non-Cultist! I get a level! Thanks,
Margot!
Margot: Argh!!! Guess it’s bedtime . . .
Margot plays In A Million-Year Sleep, which is -5 to

CULTISTS
the Grape Old Ones’ combat strength. Now she’s win-
ning, 6 to 5.
Chris: I could mess with you more, but I’m going to enjoy You cannot voluntarily discard this class! You can still lose it
that level you gave me instead. because of cards played by yourself or others, but you can never
Gene: I’m just glad she’s not Frothing anymore. It was just say “I don’t want to be a Cultist any more.” It’s not that easy
getting all over my robes. to quit . . .
Margot: If you boys are done, I’m killing the Grape Old When you discard a Cultist card for any reason, put it in a sep-
Ones unless someone else plans to mess with me. Anyone? arate discard pile, not in the regular Door discards, and do not
No one says anything, so Margot goes up a level and count this pile as “discards” for any other purpose, because:
claims the Grape Old Ones’ treasures – three from the If any card tells you “Become a Cultist,” and there is a dis-
Grape Old Ones card, minus one because they were In carded Cultist card waiting for you, then you must take it. If there
A Million-Year Sleep. And the game goes on . . . is no Cultist card, you escaped . . . this time. If you were already
a Cultist, there is no further effect; you don’t take another card.
There are six Cultist cards in the deck – more than any other
You gain a level when you kill a monster, or when a card says class – and several cards have special effects for Cultists. Don’t be
that you do. You can also sell items to buy levels (see Items). surprised if the game ends with most or all of the players as
You lose a level when a card says that you do. Your Level can Cultists!
never go below 1. However, your combat strength can be nega-
tive if you get cursed or have an Ichor tossed at you.
Class: Characters may be Professors, Investigators, Monster
MORE SCARY CULTIST RULES
Whackers, or Cultists, with the appropriate Class card. If there is only ONE Cultist, then nothing can make him lose
his Class except Divine Intervention . . . which is not in this set.
Each Class has different abilities, shown on the cards. You
(But yes, Divine Intervention will cure everyone of Cultishness
gain the abilities of a Class the moment you play its card in front
if it is played.)
of you, and lose them as soon as you discard that card. Some
Class abilities are powered by discards. You may discard any If all the players become Cultists but one, the non-Cultist
card, in play or in your hand, to power a special ability. player gets a level, and this can be the winning level.
See the Class cards for when abilities can be used. If ALL the players become Cultists, the game ends, and
victory goes to the player(s) with the highest Level.

4
 another player with the Wandering Monster card.

ITEMS Each Monster card is a single monster, even if the name on

the card is plural.

Each Item card has a name, a power, a size, and a value in Undead Monsters
Gold Pieces.
Several monsters in this set are tagged Undead. You may play
An Item card in your hand does not count until you play it; at any Undead monster from your hand into combat to help any
that point, it is “carried.” Anyone can carry any item, but some other Undead, without using a Wandering Monster card. If you
Items have use restrictions: for instance, the Necronomicon can have a card that can be used to make a monster Undead, you
only be wielded by a Professor. Its bonus only counts for some- may play it with a non-Undead monster to use this rule.
one who is, at the moment, a Professor.
Likewise, you may also use only one headgear, one suit of
armor, one pair of footgear, and two “1 Hand” items (or one MONSTER ENHANCERS
“2 Hands” item) . . . unless you have a card that lets you ignore Certain cards, called monster enhancers, raise or lower the
these limits. If you are carrying two Headgear cards, for combat strength of individual monsters. (Yes, you can have a
instance, only one of them can help you. negative enhancement.) Monster enhancers may be played by
You should indicate Items that can’t help you, or extras not any player during any combat.
being worn, by turning the cards sideways. You may NOT All enhancers on a single monster add together. If there are
change your used and carried items during a combat or while multiple monsters in a combat, the person who plays each en-
running away. You cannot discard Item cards “just because.” hancer must choose which monster it applies to.
You may sell Items for a level, or give an item to another player
who wants it. You may discard to power certain Class abilities.
And a Curse may force you to get rid of something!
ITEMS
Trading: You may trade Items (but not other cards) with other Any Item card may be played to the table as soon as you get it,
players. You may only trade Items from the table – not from your or at any time on your own turn other than in combat (unless
hand. You may trade at any time except when you’re in combat the card itself says otherwise).
– in fact, the best time to trade is when it’s not your turn. Any Any one-shot Item can be played during any combat, whether
item you receive in a trade must go into play; you can’t sell it until you have it in your hand or on the table. (Some one-shot Items,
it’s your turn. such as the Wishing Ring, may also be used outside of combat.)
You may also give items away without a trade, to bribe other Other items stay on the table in front of you once they are
players – “I’ll give you the Triple-Barreled Shotgun if you won’t played. You may keep Items in front of you that you cannot
help Bob fight Great Cthulhu!” legally use (because of your Class or because you are already
You may show your hand to others. Like we could stop you. using other Items of that type. Turn these Items sideways. These
Selling Items for Levels: During your turn, you may discard Items are “carried” but not “in use.”
items worth at least 1,000 Gold Pieces and immediately go up You get no benefits from Items turned sideways.
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
OTHER TREASURES
Other Treasure cards are “specials” (like “Go Up a Level”). You
your hand as well as those you are carrying. You may not sell
may play these at any time, unless the card itself says otherwise.
items to go to Level 10.
Follow the card’s instructions, then discard it, unless it has a per-

ITEM ENHANCERS
sistent bonus like an Item.

Some cards are Item Enhancers. These must be played on an Item

you already have in play; they cannot be played by themselves. They
CURSES
If drawn face-up, during the “Kick Open The Door” phase,
add to the combat bonus of the Item or give the Item new abilities.
Curse cards apply to the person who drew them.
You cannot move an Item Enhancer to a new Item once you have
played it. If drawn face-down or acquired some other way, Curse
cards may be played on ANY player at ANY time. Any time,

WHEN TO PLAY CARDS

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
A quick reference guide . . . is discarded. However, some Curses give a penalty later in the
game or have a continuing effect. Keep these cards until

MONSTERS you get rid of the Curse or the penalty takes effect. If
someone plays a “your next combat” Curse on you while you are
If a monster is drawn face-up during the “Kick Open The in combat, it counts in that combat! (Curse cards you keep as a re-
Door” phase, it immediately attacks the person who drew it. minder may not be discarded to power Class abilities. Nice try!)
If a monster is acquired any other way, it goes into your hand If a Curse can apply to more than one item, the victim decides
and may be played during “Looking For Trouble,” or played on which item is lost 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.
CTHULHU RISES!
This set’s Level 20 monster is Great Cthulhu. Yes, we already
There will be times when it will help you to play a Curse or
did Great Cthulhu in Star Munchkin. What can we say? The stars
Monster on yourself, or to “help” another player in a way that
were right for his return. And we warn you right now, he’ll be back
costs him treasure. This is very munchkinly. Do it.
again.

CLASSES SUPER-SIZED MUNCHKIN

These cards may be played to the table as soon as they are
acquired, or at any time during your own turn. Super Munchkin Studies have shown that 8.4 out of 9.7 Munchkin play-
may be played similarly, but you must have a Class to play it. ers just can’t get enough of the game. Here are some ideas
to take your Munchkin games to new heights – or lows:

“GOTH” MONSTERS Combining different Munchkin sets. You can mix two (or
more) base sets and expansions together for a genre-cross-
Monsters ending in “goth” have the power to summon other ing mega-Munchkin adventure! Space plus Old West?
gothy things. When a “goth” monster appears in a combat, the Kung fu vampires? No problem!
player who played or drew it may play one other “goth” monster Expansions. Most of the Munchkin core sets have
from his hand into the combat. If he does not play another “goth,” expansions that add still more monsters to kill, new
go around the table, starting at his left. Each player in turn has Treasure to loot, and sometimes entirely new kinds of cards.
one chance to add a single “goth” to the combat, until one “goth” Ask for all the Munchkin sets and expansions at your
is played. After one “goth” joins the original monster, the combat local game or comic store – find it using our Store Finder,
proceeds. gamerfinder.sjgames.com – but if you don’t have a local
A “goth” that enters the combat this way does not get to bring store, we’ll sell them to you from www.warehouse23.com.
in another “goth.” However, a “goth” that enters the combat by Turn it up to EPIC! Playing to Level 10 just isn’t enough
means of a Wandering Monster card, or any other special card for some people. To satisfy their insane cravings, we’ve cre-
or ability, does get to bring in another “goth,” as described above. ated 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,
e23.sjgames.com – it’s completely, absolutely FREE!
MORE MUNCHKIN
Visit www.worldofmunchkin.com for errata, updates, FASTER PLAY RULES
Q&A, and much more. To discuss Munchkin with our For a faster game, you can add a “phase 0” called Listen
staff and your fellow munchkins, visit our forums At The Door. At the start of your turn, draw a face-down
at forums.sjgames.com. Also you can check out Door card, which you may play or not. Then arrange cards
www.worldofmunchkin.com/resources.html for refer- and Kick Open The Door normally. If you Loot The Room,
ence cards, play mats, and dozens of links. draw a face-down Treasure, not a Door.
Other ways to connect to the Munchkin social network: You can also allow shared victories – if a player reaches
Twitter. Our Twitter feed often has Munchkin news (or Level 10 in a fight where he had a helper, the helper also
bonus rules!): twitter.com/SJGames. wins the game, no matter what Level he is.
Facebook. Connect with other fans on our pages for If you want to fill the ranks of the cult even faster, pull
Munchkin (www.facebook.com/sjgames.munchkin) and one or two Cultist cards out of the Door deck before shuf-
Steve Jackson Games (www.facebook.com/sjgames). fling and use them to start the Cultist discards (see p. 4).

GAME DESIGN BY STEVE JACKSON •

ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN KOVALIC
Development Help: Monica Stephens • Chief Operating Officer/Print Buyer: Philip Reed
Munchkin Czar: Andrew Hackard • Munchkin Hireling: Leonard Balsera
Production Manager: Sam Mitschke • Production Artist: Alex Fernandez
Prepress Checker: Monica Stephens • Director of Sales: Ross Jepson
Playtesters: Fox Barrett, Jimmie Bragdon, Paul Chapman, Andrew Hackard, Jan Hendriks, Richard Kerr, Birger Krämer, Randy Scheunemann,
Will Schoonover, Monica Stephens, Nicholas Vacek, Thomas Weigel, Loren Wiseman, Shadlyn Wolfe, and Erik Zane.
Thanks to Jan Hendriks, Fidel Lainez, and Chris Oakley for insane card suggestions used in this set.
Munchkin, Munchkin Cthulhu, the Munchkin character, Warehouse 23, the all-seeing pyramid, and the names of all other Steve Jackson Games products
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Dork Tower characters are copyright © John Kovalic.
Munchkin Cthulhu is copyright © 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Rules version 1.7 (January 2013).

cthulhu.worldofmunchkin.com
6