Munchkin Axe Cop Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Card Management
• Character Creation
• Contradictions Between Cards and Rules
• Starting and Finishing the Game
• Turn Phases
• Combat
  • Fighting Lots Of Bad Guys At Once!
  • Asking For Help
  • Interfering With Combat
  • Running Away
• Death
• Treasure
• Character Stats
• Level Counters
• Items
• Allies
• Example of Play, With Numbers and Everything
• When to Play Cards
  • Monsters
  • Undead Monsters
  • Santa Monsters
  • Alien and Robot Monsters
  • Monster Enhancers
  • Items (when to play)
  • Allies (when to play)
  • Other Treasures
  • Curses
  • Classes and Powers
• Super-Sized Munchkin
• Faster Play 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 Powers (if any) and the Items you are carrying. Some other cards, such as continuing Curses, 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 (see When to Play Cards).

Cards in play may not be returned to your hand - they must be discarded or traded if you want to get rid of them.

Character Creation

Everyone starts at Level 1.

Look at your initial eight cards. If you have any Class cards, you may (if you like) play one by placing it in front of you. If you have any usable Items, 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.

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 (see Combat) 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. Do not chop anyone's head off. But you could read the Munchkin FAQ and errata pages at www.worldofmunchkin.com, or start a discussion at forums.sjgames.com . . . unless it's more fun to argue.

Starting and Finishing the Game

Decide who goes first in any agreeable manner. We suggest axes at dawn, unless you don't want to wait that long to play. Play proceeds in turns, each with several phases (see below). 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 really tough monsters!) and take the indicated number of Treasures.

If the card is a Curse - see Curses - 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 - see below. If your combat strength totals more than the monster's, you kill it and go up a level (two levels, 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 Power, for instance. Be sure to check these.

One-shot cards (the ones that say "Usable once only") may be played directly from your hand during combat. You can also use one-shot Items that you already had in play. 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 (see 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 cards played, and draw treasure (see 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 Lots Of Bad Guys At Once!

Some cards (notably Wandering Monsters) allow your rivals to send other monsters to join the fight. And Undead and Santa monsters can enter a fight to help others of their kind (see Undead Monsters and Santa Monsters).

When you fight multiple monsters, you must defeat their combined combat strengths. Any special powers any of the monsters have, such as immunity to fire/flame attacks, 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!

The good news: if you kill multiple monsters, you go up a level for each one, and you draw Treasure for each one!

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 on 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 Cop yourself, and a Cop helps you against the King Of All Bad Guys, the monster is -5 against you. But if you are facing Chainsaw Cop and a Cop helps you, Chainsaw Cop's combat strength is increased by 4.

If someone successfully helps you, the monster is slain. Discard it, draw treasure face up (see 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. 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 card. You could help another player by throwing a one-shot at his foe. Of course, you can "accidentally" hit your friend with the card, 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), your Power(s), and your Level (and any Curses that were affecting you when you died). If you have Super Munchkin, keep that as well. 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 legal Class, Power, 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.

Character Stats

Each character is basically a collection of weapons, armor, and magic items, with three stats: Level, Class, and Powers. For instance, you might describe your character as "a 9th-level Avocado Moon Cop with Sun Picking Up Gloves and a Dino Head On a Stick With Bombs In It."

Level: This is a measure of how awesome 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 (see Items). 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 hit with a Curse or have some other kind of penalty.

Class: Your "Class" gives you special abilities. Characters may be Cops, Warriors, Soldiers, or Men (as in "Bat Warthog Man," for instance). If you have no Class card in front of you, you have no Class.

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 Warrior any more." When you discard a Class card, you become just a plain old hero 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.

What Makes a Man a "Man"? Munchkin Axe Cop has a Class called Man. To be clear: in Munchkin Axe Cop, any capitalized reference to "Man" refers to the Class, not the gender. There are no gender-specific effects in Munchkin Axe Cop, and if a supplement adds them, those effects will refer to "Males" and "Females," not "Man" or "Men."

Powers: There are seven amazing crimefighting powers (and 14 cards, because each one appears twice). You gain the advantages of a Power the moment you play its card in front of you, and lose them as soon as you lose or discard that card.

Each Power in Munchkin Axe Cop has a Rank of either 2 or 3. You may have any number of Powers as long as their total Rank does not exceed your Level. There are no Rank 1 Powers in this game, so starting characters can have no Powers unless they happen to get Go Up a Level cards to start out.

Powers are treated like Classes. You can't trade them to other players, but you may play a Power from your hand at any time you can legally use it. You may not play Powers that you cannot legally use. But you may discard Powers at any time and replace them with Powers from your hand.

If your Level goes down to less than the total Rank of your Powers, you must discard some Powers so that their total Rank is once again less than or equal to your Level.

You may not have multiple copies of the same Power in play.

When you die, you keep all the Powers you have in play, just as you keep your Class.

Some Powers may require discards to use. You may discard any card, in play or in your hand, to power a Power.

Level Counters

If you have an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Android phone, you'll like our Level Counter smartphone app. Just search for "Munchkin level counter" or click the link at levelcounter.sjgames.com. Even better, it gives you personal in-game advantages to make your friends jealous!

Items

Each Item card has a name, a size, and a value in Gold Pieces. Each Item is also good for something. It may give you a combat bonus, or a special ability, or both. 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.)

If something lets you have more than one Big item (for instance, the Dinosaur Power) and you lose that ability, you must either correct the problem immediately or get rid of all but one Big item. If it's your turn and you're not in combat, you can sell the excess Big items to level up (as long as you have at least 1,000 Gold Pieces of Items to sell). Otherwise, you must give them to the lowest-Level player(s) who can carry them! If any Big items are still left over, discard them.

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 or Power 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 Avocado Bombs if you won't help Bob fight the Sea Ghost!"

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.

Allies

You can't kill all the bad guys by yourself, and you don't want to depend on the other players to help you. You need to build a whole team of superheroes. That's what the Ally cards are for.

You can play an Ally at any time, even in combat, as long as you have only one Ally in play at a time (some Classes give you a higher limit, and some Allies don't count against this limit, so you can build a bigger team). If you draw a face-up Ally, you may put it in your hand if you cannot (or don't want to) put it in play. You may discard an Ally at any time.

An Ally is not an Item unless there is a price on the card (and none of the ones in this set have prices).

An Ally can sacrifice himself for you. If you lose a fight, then instead of rolling to run away, you may discard one Ally and anything he is carrying. You automatically escape from all monsters in the fight, even if a monster card says that escape is impossible. If someone was helping you in the fight, YOU decide whether that person automatically escapes as well, or must roll to escape.

Some Allies give you extra hands, or let you carry an extra Big item. In this case, the Ally does not have any items . . . he just increases your own abilities. If something happens to the Ally, your items are not affected.

Some items can specifically be given to Allies. These items still count for you and are affected by Traps and Bad Stuff as though you were carrying them yourself. If your Ally has an item:

• If your Ally sacrifices himself for you, items he is carrying are lost.
• If your Ally is killed, you keep the item(s).
• If your Ally is taken away by a Trap, by Bad Stuff, or by a change in loyalty, the items go with him!

Example of Play, With Numbers and Everything

Elan is a 6th-level Warrior with the Moon and Bat Warthog powers, making him Bat Warthog Moon Warrior. He is wearing Surprise-Proof Armor (+3 to his combat strength) and has Uni-Baby as an ally (giving him another +4). He kicks open the door and finds . . . the Babyhead Squid! The Squid is a Level 18 monster. Elan's total combat strength is 6 plus 3 plus 4, which is only 13. He's losing by 5. He looks at his mighty powers and realizes Bat Warthog could help him now . . . but he rolls a 1, so his Power is useless.

Elan: It's an ambush! I need a bigger team! Who will help?

Angie: Why should we help you? You'll get two levels if you win, not to mention the treasure.

Elan: Because heroes help each other. Also because I'll let you choose two treasures.

Angie: Make it three.

Jay: I'll do it for two, if I get to pick!

Nobody makes a better offer, so Elan accepts. Jay is a Cop with the Avocado power . . . he is Avocado Cop! He is Level 4, but because he's a Cop, he can have three Allies, and he has Wexter (+4), Gray Diamond (+3), and Super Lion Pig (+2). His total combat strength is 13. Now the heroes are beating the monster by 8!

Angie: Ohh, I think not! You see, the Babyhead Squid has . . . a truck full of ninjas!

Angie plays With A Truck Full of Ninjas, adding +10 to the monster. The squid and the ninjas are now winning the battle by 2. Angie laughs maniacally.

Elan: Anybody else? (Nobody offers any more cards.) Then I use my mighty Warrior power!

Elan discards two cards. The Warrior power gives him a +1 for each, so now the sides are tied. And Warriors win ties!

Elan: You should have seen that coming. I say again: anybody else?

There is grumbling, but no more cards come out.

Elan and Jay have defeated the Babyhead Squid and his ninjas, and chopped off their heads! Ethan goes up two levels. The Squid was worth 4 Treasures, and the Truck Full of Ninjas adds two more! Six treasures are turned face-up, and, according to their deal, Jay picks two. Elan gets the rest. Elan is now Level 8, getting close to winning. But now it's the next player's turn . . .

When to Play Cards

A quick reference guide . . .

Monsters

If a monster is drawn face-up, during the "Kick Open The Door" phase, it immediately attacks the person who drew it.

If a monster is acquired any other way, it goes 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.

Undead Monsters

Several monsters in this set are tagged Undead. You may play any Undead monster from your hand into combat to help any other Undead, without using a Wandering Monster card. If you have a card that can be used to make a monster Undead, you may play it with a non-Undead monster to use this rule.

Santa Monsters

Bad Santa and two other monsters are tagged Santa. Any Santa monster can join any other Santa monster in a fight, without using a Wandering Monster card. If you want to add a lot more monsters with the Power of Christmas, check out the Waiting for Santa, Santa's Revenge, and Reindeer Games booster packs.

Alien and Robot Monsters

Some monsters are tagged Alien or Robot. Various Items are especially good or bad against aliens or robots.

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.

Items (when to play)

Any Item card may be played to the table as soon as you get it, or at any time on your own turn other than in combat (unless the card itself says otherwise).

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 Unicorn Horn, may also be used outside of combat.)

Other items stay on the table in front of you once they are played. You may keep Items in front of you that you cannot legally use (because of your Class or Powers, or because you're already using other Items of that type). Turn these Items sideways. These Items are "carried" but not "in use." Exception: You may have only one Big item in play at a time unless you have a card that will let you use more.

You get no benefits from Items turned sideways.

Allies (when to play)

Any Ally card may be played to the table as soon as you get it, or at any time after that, even in combat. You may not play an Ally card that puts you over your Ally limit.

Other Treasures

Other Treasure cards (like Go Up a Level cards) are "specials." 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 The 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 that you keep as a reminder may not be discarded to use Class abilities or Powers. 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, Stepped In Super-Fast-Drying Boot Glue makes you lose the Footgear you are wearing. If you have no Footgear, 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 Powers

These cards may be played to the table as soon as you get them, or at any time during your own turn. The same is true for Super Munchkin, but you must already have a Class to play it.

Super-Sized Munchkin

There are lots and lots of monsters out there just waiting for you to chop their heads off and take their stuff. There are two ways to go after them:

• Combining different Munchkin sets. You can mix two (or more) base sets and expansions together for a genre-crossing mega-Munchkin adventure! Kung fu cowboy vampires? Axe Cop versus Cthulhu in space? No problem!
• Expansions. These add still more monsters to behead, new Treasure to loot, and sometimes entirely new kinds of cards.

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, e23.sjgames.com - it's completely, absolutely FREE!

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.