Mr. Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Core Components
  • Monster/Item Cards
  • Map Location Cards
  • Character Stat Cards
  • Newbie Gear Cards
  • Class Skill Cards
  • Meat Tokens
• Game Setup
  • Note about your DISPLAY CASE
• Object of the Game
• Gameplay Synopsis
• Non-Combat Phase
  • Note about EQUIPMENT
  • Note about MOJO POINTS
  • Note about THE HEAP
• Combat Phase
  • 1. Activate Combat Abilities
  • 2. Perform a Combat Maneuver
  • Note about COMBAT BONUSES
  • 3. Select a Monster to Kill
  • 4. Loot the Monster
• End of Your Turn
• Rollover
• Updating the Map
• March on the Tower
• Clarifications
• Appendix: Monster/Item Cards
• Appendix: Class Skill Cards

Core Components

• 72 Monster/Item Cards
• 1 Naughty Sorceress Card
• 10 Location Map Cards
• 144 Character Stat Cards
• 12 Newbie Gear Cards
• 1 Certificate of Participation Card
• 60 Class Skill Cards
• 100 Meat tokens
• 30 Card Pile Dividers
• 1 Rules Booklet

Monster/Item Cards

A monster/item card is double-sided card which represents a monster of the kingdom and the specific loot that it drops. You will have the opportunity during the combat phase of your turn to kill a monster on the top of one of the location piles. When you kill a monster, you get to collect its loot, including the item that is displayed on the other side of the card. After you add an item card to your collection, you may use it on subsequent turns or you may sell it to collect meat.

Map Location Cards

A map location card has the same image of one of the locations in the kingdom on its front and back side. At the beginning of the game, you sort the monsters according to the map displayed on the monster side of the monster/item cards and create a pile for each individual location. The map location card is placed on the top of that pile in order to cover up all the monsters underneath the top card so that players can examine the item side of the top monster without revealing the other monsters at that location. Whenever a monster/item card is drafted from a location, at the end of that turn, take the card on the bottom of that pile and place it on the top of the pile so that it covers up the map location card.

Character Stat Cards

A character stat card has a stat type and numerical value on it. At the beginning of the game, each player creates a personal draw pile from four copies of each type of first level character stat card. As you defeat monsters, consume food and booze, gain experience and rollover your character, you will add higher level character stat cards to your character deck and upgrade the character stats that you already have. You discard character stat cards on your turn to activate skills and perform combat maneuvers. Whenever you run out of character stat cards in your deck to draw from, the cards you have previously discarded are recycled to form a new draw pile.

Newbie Gear Cards

Each adventurer starts with the same three newbie gear cards. These cards are items which have been certified by the Council of Loathing to increase your adventuring prowess. Like item cards, each newbie gear card provides an effect and has an AutoSell value which allows you dump it in the Heap in exchange for meat tokens if you no longer want to use it.

Class Skill Cards

A class skill card is a permanent ability your character can learn throughout the game. During the non-combat phase of your turn, you have the opportunity to purchase one or more of the face-up class skill cards in the class trainer area. Once purchased, you will be able to use the ability on the card for the rest of the game. Some class skills are passive, in which case the effect associated with the card is continually active. Other class skills require you to activate them by performing an action during the appropriate phase of your turn. In most cases, you activate a skill by discarding one or more Mysticality cards from your hand during your turn.

Meat Tokens

In order to track your wealth in Mr. Card Game, you have meat tokens. Whenever you kill a monster or sell your loot, you gain meat tokens from the common pool and place them in your display case. Whenever you train a skill or purchase items, you will return meat tokens from your collection to the common pool.

Game Setup

1. Separate all the cards into piles according to the design on the back of the card.
2. For the cards with a monster on one side and an item on the other, sort them into piles according to the map icon on the monster side of the card. (A)
3. Shuffle each pile of monster/items cards with the same map icon separately, add the matching map location card on top of the pile and place it in the middle of the table. All nine location piles should form a 3 x 3 grid. (B)
4. Place the Naughty Sorceress card at the base of the location piles grid with the Sorceress Tower map location on top of it. If this is your first time playing the game, you should place the Naughty Sorceress on the 20 power side. Once you feel familiar enough with the game, try using the 25 power side instead. (C)
5. Leave a space next to the Naughty Sorceress empty to place item cards when they are sent to the Heap.
6. Take the card on the bottom of each location pile and place it on the top of that pile so that it covers up the map location card.
7. Shuffle the class skill cards together, form a face down class skill draw pile to one side of the location piles and draw four cards from the class skill pile and lay them out side by side to create a Trainer Area next to the class skill pile. (D)
8. For each character stat card pile with the same icon and number, form a face-up character stat draft pile on the other side of the location piles. (E)
9. Form a pool of meat tokens in the middle of the table. (F)
10. Give each player a set of three newbie gear cards: the Sweet Ninja Sword, the Kentucky-Style Derby and the Studded Leather Boxer Shorts. Then, place any remaining sets of Newbie Gear cards back in the box. (G)
11. Place your Newbie Gear cards in front of you to form your Display Case area. (H)
12. Give each player four copies of the Strengthliness, Enchantedness and Cheek cards from the character stat piles. (I)
13. Shuffle your character stat cards together, form your personal character stat deck next to your Display Case and draw six cards from your character stat deck. (J)

Note about your DISPLAY CASE

Your display case is an area where you keep all your items, skills and meat. At the start of the game, you begin with a Melee Weapon, a Hat and Pants in your display case along with a number of meat tokens determined by your spot in the turn order. The first player also starts with the Certificate of Participation. Throughout the game, you will collect item cards and meat tokens when you kill monsters and skill cards when you spend meat to train skills. Whenever you acquire an item or skill card or collect a meat token, you place it in front of you in your display case. You can also AutoSell items you no longer want in exchange for meat. So, the objects in your display case will change over the course of the game.

Object of the Game

The first adventurer to defeat the Naughty Sorceress wins.

Gameplay Synopsis

In Mr. Card Game, players take turns in clockwise order adventuring at locations in the kingdom until someone is strong enough to defeat the Naughty Sorceress and wishes to announce a March on the Tower to try to win the game. Each turn is divided into a non-combat and a combat phase.

During the non-combat phase, you have a chance to perform non-combat abilities, activate Buff abilities, AutoSell items in your possession, purchase items from the Heap and acquire skill cards from the trainer. Once you are finished performing all the non-combat actions you want to perform, you may explore one of the locations in the Kingdom and start a combat with the monster on the top of that location.

At the end of each round of play, anyone may announce a March on the Tower to try to win the game. At that point, all Buffs on the table are deactivated and each player has an opportunity to perform non-combat actions and activate combat abilities one last time to create the highest combat score he can. Whoever has the highest total combat score at this point and enough to defeat the power of the Sorceress wins the game.

Non-Combat Phase

During the non-combat phase of your turn, you can perform any number of non-combat actions you wish. Only combat abilities may be performed during combat, so if you want to perform a non-combat action on your turn, you must do so before your combat phase. The type of actions you can perform during your non-combat phase are:

• A. Equip (or Unequip) Items: You may only wield one Weapon, one Hat and one Pants at a time. If you have more than one of the same type of equipment, you may use your non-combat phase to swap your equipment. To represent that an item is not currently equipped, turn it sideways. You may have any number of unequipped items at a time.
• B. AutoSell Items: You may place any item from your Display Case aside (into a temporary escrow pile) and collect a number of meat tokens equal to its AutoSell value from the common pool. At the end of your turn, any cards you put in escrow will be placed into the Heap in the order you sold or activated them.
• C. Activate Non-Combat Items: You may place any item in your Display Case with a Non-Combat ability aside (into a temporary escrow pile) and perform the ability written on it. At the end of your turn, any cards you put in escrow will be placed into the Heap in the order you sold or activated them.
• D. Train Skills: You may spend a number of meat tokens from your collection equal to the numerical value listed in the meat icon on one or more of the skill cards in the trainer area in order to add that skill to your Display Case. If it is a Buff skill, then turn it sideways when you draft it in order to indicate that it has not yet been activated.
• E. Activate Non-Combat Skills: You may expend a number of mojo points equal to the amount of mojo points listed on a Non-Combat skill in your Display Case in order to perform the ability written on it. Each Non-Combat skill may only be activated once per turn.
• F. Activate Buff Skills: You may expend a number of mojo points equal to the amount of mojo points listed on a Buff skill in your Display Case in order to activate the Buff ability. Buff abilities start in a deactivated (sideways) state. If you activate a Buff, turn it upright to indicate that it is activated. While a Buff ability is activated, you benefit from the effect written on it. A Buff ability becomes deactivated again whenever you have to reshuffle your deck or you March on the Tower.
• If the top card of the Heap has a meat icon in the upper right corner, you may return a number of meat tokens equal to the numerical value listed in the meat icon to the common pool to take that item and place it into your Display Case. If a card does not have a meat cost, it may not be drafted.

Note about EQUIPMENT

Equipment is a type of item that is represented by the anvil icon on the item card. Weapons, Hats and Pants are all types of equipment. You may only have one equipment item of each type equipped at a time. During your non-combat phase of your turn, you have the opportunity to equip and unequip the equipment in your display case. If you have more than one equipment item of the same type, turn the item that is unequipped horizontal in order to represent that it is not equipped.

Note about MOJO POINTS

A variety of skills require mojo points to activate them. You generate mojo points (to pay for mojo costs) by placing one or more Mysticality cards from your hand into your discard pile. When you discard a Mysticality card to be used as mojo, you add its value to your mojo pool. Once you have added mojo to your pool, you may use it to pay for the activation cost of skills for the rest of the current phase of your turn. In this way, the value of a single Mysticality card may be subdivided between a variety of activation costs. But, you may only divide costs like this during the same phase of your turn. At the end of each phase of your turn, your mojo pool is reduced to zero.

Note about THE HEAP

The Heap is an area where item cards go when they are removed from play. Whenever you AutoSell an item or activate a consumable, the item card is placed in the Heap at the end of your turn. Some skill cards, like Pulverize, may also place item cards in the Heap. If any location pile ever becomes empty of monster cards, search the Heap for the corresponding monster/item cards for that location, shuffle them together and form a new location pile. You may activate or AutoSell an item you acquire from the Heap on the turn you acquire it, but it is not possible to dumpster dive an item that you used on the same turn that you activated or sold it.

Combat Phase

Once you have performed all the non-combat actions you wish to perform, you may start a combat with the monster on top of one of the location piles. Once you initiate your combat phase, resolve combat by performing the following steps in order:

1. Activate Combat Abilities

You may activate any number of combat items and combat skills in any order you wish:

• a. Combat Items: You may place any item in your Display Case with the Combat effect type aside (into the temporary escrow pile) and perform the ability written on it. At the end of your turn, any cards you put in escrow will be placed into the Heap in the order you sold or activated them.
• b. Combat Skills: You may expend a number of mojo points equal to the amount of mojo points listed on a Combat skill in your Display Case in order to perform the ability written on it. Each Combat skill may only be activated once per turn.

2. Perform a Combat Maneuver

After you have activated combat items and combat skills you may play one or more character stat cards with the same stat type from your hand to perform a single combat maneuver. There are four different types of combat maneuvers:

• a. Melee Attack: Play one or more Muscle cards from your hand. Add up the total value of Muscle on the Muscle cards you played, plus any Melee Damage bonuses you receive from cards in your Display Case and add that to any damage dealt by combat skills and combat items you activated during your combat phase.
• b. Spell Attack: Play one or more Mysticality cards from your hand. Add up the total value of Mysticality on the Mysticality cards you played, plus any Spell Damage bonuses you receive from cards in your Display Case and add that to any damage dealt by combat skills and combat items you activated during your combat phase.
• c. Ranged Attack: Play one or more Moxie cards from your hand. Add up the total value of Moxie on the Moxie cards you played, plus any Ranged Damage bonuses you receive from cards in your Display Case and add that to any damage dealt by combat skills and combat items you activated during your combat phase.
• d. Evasion: Play one or more Moxie cards from your hand. Add up the total value of Moxie on the Moxie cards you played, plus any Defense bonuses you receive from cards in your Display Case.

Note about COMBAT BONUSES

There are four different types of icons which correspond to the four different maneuvers during combat. If a skill or item card provides a bonus to one or more of your combat maneuvers, that combat maneuver icon is displayed on the card with a numerical value. In order to figure out the total bonus you add to the combat maneuver you perform, add together the value of all the appropriate character stat cards you play to the total of all the matching combat bonus icons on cards which are active in your display case.

3. Select a Monster to Kill

Once you have determined your total combat score based upon the combat maneuver you performed, choose a monster on top of one of the location piles whose power is equal or less than your total combat score. If you have an attack which deals different damage depending upon the elemental type of a monster or adds to your defense based upon its elemental type, your total combat score may vary depending upon the monster you select. After taking into account all the different elemental bonuses (or penalties), you may not select a monster whose power would be, after the applicable bonuses (or penalties), greater than your combat score.

4. Loot the Monster

Collect a number of meat tokens from the common pool equal to the numerical value listed in the meat icon on the bottom left of the monster card. If you have a skill that increases your meat drop when you kill a monster, collect extra meat at this point. Then, add a character stat card from the stat pile listed on the bottom middle of the monster card to your discard pile. If that pile is empty, ignore this effect. Finally, flip over the monster card and place the card, item side face up, into your display case.

End of Your Turn

Once you have completed your combat phase (and collected your loot), your turn is over. At this point, you must discard all the character stat cards you played during your turn and place all the item cards you set aside (in escrow) during the turn into the Heap. You may then discard any number of other cards in your hand. If you have fewer than six cards in your hand after you have voluntarily discarded, draw cards from your character stat deck until you have six cards in your hand again. If you have more than six cards in your hand, discard cards until you have only six cards in your hand. Then it is the next player's turn in clockwise order.

Rollover

Whenever you must draw a card and you do not have cards in your character stat deck to draw, you have hit rollover. At rollover, you deactivate any Buffs you had active. Then, you may choose one character stat card in your discard pile and either replace it with a character stat card of the same type that is one value higher or a character stat card of a different type that is the same value in the character stat pile area. If one or more of the stat piles is empty, you may not select that stat as the replacement. Place the replaced character stat card back into its pile in the character stat pile area and the new card into your discard pile. Then shuffle your discard pile, form a new draw pile and continue drawing.

Updating the Map

At the end of each turn, if any skill cards in the trainer area have been purchased, shift the remaining skill cards towards the end of the line and add new skill cards to the trainer area from the skill draw pile to replace the ones that were purchased. If no skills have been trained, discard the oldest card, shift the remaining skill cards towards the end and place a new skill card into the start of the trainer area. If a monster/item was claimed from a location pile, then update that location pile by taking the card on the bottom of the pile and place it on the top of the pile so that it covers up the map location card. If any location pile ever runs out of cards, search the Heap for all monster/item cards which belong to that location, shuffle them together and create a new location pile by placing them underneath the corresponding map location card.

March on the Tower

Whenever the turn order returns to the player with the Certificate of Participation, each player in clockwise order, starting with the player with the Certificate of Participation, is given the option to start a March on the Tower or to pass. If all players pass, continue playing as normal. If anyone chooses to March on the Tower, then all players March on the Tower together.

At the beginning of the march, the Naughty Sorceress automatically deactivates all Buff skills on the table. Then, all players take one last turn together simultaneously. Starting with the player to the left of the player who announced the march, in clockwise order, each player performs a non-combat phase. Once the player who announced the march finishes his non-combat phase, in the same order, each player performs a combat phase and announces his final total combat score.

Whoever has the highest total combat score and a total value equal to or greater than the power of the Naughty Sorceress defeats her... and wins.

You should probably wait until you know you can beat the Naughty Sorceress with the cards in your hand to announce a March on the Tower because if you announce a march and you cannot defeat her, then you are out of the game. If no other player can defeat her either, then players continue taking turns again without you.

Clarifications

• A. An equipment item must be equipped in order to benefit from any of its effects.
• B. If you are forced to perform an effect and there are no valid targets for the effect, ignore it.
• C. Class trainer icons on skills and hand icons on items are listed on cards for the purposes of flavor or optional rules. If you are not playing with those rules, ignore them.
• D. You must be able to play at least one stat card of the appropriate type in order to activate a combat maneuver.
• E. If you do not activate a combat maneuver, your total combat score is equal to the amount of damage dealt by the combat skills and combat items you activated.
• F. You may not upgrade a stat card beyond four.
• G. If you can reduce a monster's power to 0 or less, you can defeat it no matter what your combat score is.
• H. Reducing the power of the Naughty Sorceress does not add to your total combat score, but it does reduce the threshold you (and only you) need to achieve in order to defeat her.
• I. The gamecard dividers are included in the box to help you separate the components to make setup and tear down easier. They have no gameplay functionality.

Appendix: Monster/Item Cards

The monster side of each monster/item card has the following features:

• A. Card Type: The monster/item cards in each location pile begin with the Monster card type side face up.
• B. Elemental Type: The elemental type of a monster impacts the amount of damage you can deal to it with certain items and skills. It also impacts your defense against it when you have items and skills that provide resistance. There are five different elemental types: Sleaze (Purple), Spooky (Gray), Hot (Red), Cold (Blue), Stench (Green). If a monster does not have a color, it has no elemental type.
• C. Power: The power of a monster determines the amount of damage you must deal to it or the defense you must put up in order to avoid getting hit by it. As long as your total combat damage or defense is greater than or equal to its power, you defeat the monster.
• D. Image: The artwork of the monster from the Kingdom of Loathing.
• E. Map Location: Each monster is associated with a specific location in the Kingdom. At the beginning of the game, all the monsters/item cards are sorted by their locations, shuffled together and added to their corresponding map location card in the play area.
• F. Name: The name of the monster from the Kingdom of Loathing.
• G. Flavor Text: An excerpt from the text when you encounter the monster in the Kingdom of Loathing.
• H. Meat Drop: When you defeat a monster, you collect a number of meat tokens from the common pool equal to its meat drop value.
• I. Stat Gain: When you defeat a monster, you draft a stat card from the matching stat pile and add it to your discard pile.

The item side of each monster/item card has the following features:

• A. Card Type: The card type of an item in your Display Case is associated with many of the special effects written on items and skill cards. There are six different item types: Booze, Combat Items, Food, Hat, Pants and Weapons. Weapons are divided into Melee and Ranged weapons, as designated by their attack type. The hand icons next to weapon card type is listed for optional rules for expansion sets.
• B. Meat Cost: The meat cost required to Dumpster Dive an item is listed on each item. If there is no cost, it cannot be bought.
• C. Combat Bonuses: Certain items provide a bonus to your combat maneuver scores. There are four different types of combat maneuvers: Melee Attack (Purple Club), Spell Attack (Blue Saucepan), Ranged Attack (Green Accordion) and Evade (Silver Pants). Whenever you perform a combat maneuver, you add a bonus to it equal to the total value of all the matching icons on items and skills in your Display Case.
• D. Image: The artwork of the item from the Kingdom of Loathing.
• E. Item Power: Certain items have a power value. If an item has a power value, the value is listed inside an image of the anvil from the Malus of Forethought. An item with power must be equipped in order to take advantage of its effects and the power of each piece of equipment determines the amount of damage dealt by certain combat skills and the amount of stat gain you receive from the Pulverize skill. If an item does not have an anvil icon, it does not have a power.
• F. Name: The name of the item from the Kingdom of Loathing.
• G. Effect Type: The effect type of an item determines when you can perform the effect or ability associated with it. There are three different types of effects associated with items: Combat, Non-Combat and Passive. The effects of Passive abilities are always active as long as the card is in your Display Case and you have them equipped. On the other hand, Combat and Non-Combat abilities are instantaneous effects which only occur when you activate them.

Appendix: Class Skill Cards

Each class skill card has the following features:

• A. Card Type: The card type of a skill in your Display Case is associated with many effects on items and skill cards. There are four different skill sub-types: Skill, Spell, Song and Craft.
• B. Meat Cost: The meat cost listed on a skill determines the number of meat tokens you must spend to draft that skill from the trainer area on your turn.
• C. Combat Bonuses: Certain skills provide a bonus to your combat maneuver scores. There are four different types of combat maneuvers: Melee Attack (Purple Club), Spell Attack (Blue Saucepan), Ranged Attack (Green Accordion) and Evade (Silver Pants). Whenever you perform a combat maneuver, you add a bonus to it equal to the total value of all the matching icons on items and skills in your Display Case.
• D. Image: The artwork of the skill from the Kingdom of Loathing.
• E. Class Type: The class type of a skill is represented by the semi-transparent icon behind the main image on each skill card. There are six different class types: Seal Clubber, Turtle Tamer, Pastamancer, Sauceror, Disco Bandit, Accordion Thief.
• F. Name: The name of the skill from the Kingdom of Loathing.
• G. Buff Cost: Only Buff cards display a Buff cost. The number inside the waterdrop icon on a Buff determines the total value of Mojo Points you must spend to activate the Buff. Each Buff cost is listed sideways to act as a reminder that it is inactive unless you pay its cost to activate it.
• H. Special Effect: Each skill has one or more special effects as well as a clarification text in italics to help you remember what it does. Each skill that provides a combat bonus lists the type of bonus in the special effect section in addition to displaying an icon and number on the card. This duplication is redundant to allow players to stack cards if they so desire.