Munchkin Scooby-Doo!

Munchkin Scooby-Doo! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Contents

168 Cards, 6 Character Cards, 16 Dungeon Cards, 6 Plastic Trackers, 1 Die, and these rules.

Character Creation

Each player starts at Level 1. Look at your starting eight cards. If you have any Class cards (p. 2) you may (if you like) play one by placing it in front of you. If you have any usable Items (p. 3) or Vehicles (p. 2), 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 on, or you could just go ahead and do it.

Conflicts Between Cards and Rules

This rule sheet gives the general rules. Many cards add special rules, so in most cases when the rules disagree 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!

Nothing can reduce a player below Level 1, although card effects might reduce a player's or a monster's combat strength below 1.
You go up a level after combat only if you defeat a monster.
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.
You must defeat a monster to reach Level 10 and win, unless otherwise stated by a card. You cannot force another player to help you reach Level 10.

Any other disputes should be settled by loud arguments, with the owner of the game having the last word.

Set-Up

Three to six can play. Divide the cards into the Door and Treasure decks, as indicated by card backs. Shuffle both decks and deal four cards from each deck to every player. Deal one Character card at random to every player.

The Dungeon cards form their own deck. Start the game with one Dungeon card turned face up. This is the Dungeon that you are in. To choose it, you can either pick one randomly or agree on one you like. Shuffle the rest of the Dungeons and put the deck face down.

Card Management

Door and Treasure decks: Place the Door and Treasure decks face down in the middle of the table. 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 do so!

Cards in play: These are the cards on the table in front of you showing your Class (if any), Vehicles you are riding in, and the Items you are carrying, equipped or not. Persistent Curses and some other cards also stay on the table after you play them. All cards in play must be visible to other players.

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 (see Charity, p. 2).

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

When You May Take Actions

At any time:

Discard a Class.
Play a Go Up a Level.
Play a Curse.

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.
Play a card that you have just received (some cards may be played even during combat; see above).

On your own turn:

Play a new Class (at any time).
Sell Items for levels (except when you are in combat).
Play an Item (most Items cannot be played during combat, but some One-Shots can; see One-Shots, p. 3).
Play a Portal (except when you are in combat).

Starting and Finishing the Game

Decide who goes first by any method of your choosing. We suggest whoever most recently watched an episode of Scooby-Doo, but it's up to you.

Play proceeds in turns, each with several phases (see Turn Phases, p. 2). When the first player finishes their turn, the player to the left takes a turn, and so on.

The first player to reach Level 10 wins . . . but you must reach Level 10 by defeating a monster, unless a card specifically allows you to win another way.

Turn Phases

Kick Down the Door: Draw the top card from the Door deck and turn it face up. If it is a monster, you must fight it (see Combat, p. 3). If it is a Curse, it applies to you immediately and is discarded, unless it has a persistent effect or you keep the card as a reminder of an upcoming effect (see Curses, p. 5). If it is a Portal, follow the directive immediately (see Portals, p. 2). If you draw any other card (Class, monster enhancer, etc.), you may either put it in your hand or play it immediately if you want to and it is legal to do so.

When you draw a Portal face down, you have a choice:
- a. Turn it face up immediately and follow its instructions. After you follow the instructions, draw another face-down Door.
- b. Put it in your hand. You may play it later, but only if (a) it is your turn, (b) you are not in combat, and (c) you haven't already played a Portal or other dungeon-changing card on that turn. When you play it, follow its instructions and immediately draw a face-down Door.
Remember: When you play a Portal, you always draw another Door to replace it. If the original Portal was drawn face-up, the replacement Door is face-up. If the original Portal was face-down, so is the replacement.
Look for Trouble or Loot the Room: If you fought a monster in phase 1, skip this phase and go to phase 3. If you did NOT draw a monster when you Kicked Down The Door, you have two choices: either Look For Trouble or Loot The Room.
- Look For Trouble: You may play a monster card from your hand and fight it, just as if you had found it by kicking down the door. Don't play a monster you can't handle, unless you think you can get some help (see Asking for Help, p. 4)!
- Loot The Room: If you don't have a monster you want to fight, you draw a second card from the Door deck, face down, and place it in your hand. If it is a monster, you can save it for later, either to fight when you Look For Trouble or to join a combat by using a Wandering Monster card. If it is a Curse, save it to play on a player when the time is right! You can play a Class immediately, if you want, or save it in your hand for later.

As soon as you are finished with Charity the next player's turn begins.

Changing Dungeons Without a Portal

At any time during your own turn, you may discard four cards from your hand and "discover an exit." Discard the current dungeon(s) and draw a new Dungeon card to replace it.

Dungeons and Portals

Dungeons

While a Dungeon card is in play, it affects ALL the players unless the Portal that sent you there (see below for Portals) says otherwise. When a Dungeon card is discarded, follow its instructions about reversing effects, discarding extra cards, and so on.

You can be in more than one Dungeon at the same time. All face-up Dungeon cards are in play. Discarded Dungeons are placed face down beside the draw deck.

Special "Edge Case" note: When you leave one Dungeon and enter another, there is never a moment when you are in neither one. This means that if some special effect is legal in both Dungeons, but not in regular Munchkin, you do not lose it when you move from one Dungeon to the other.

Alternate Dungeon Rule: If you really like a particular Dungeon, play with it and leave out all the Portal cards . . . or make a house rule that, regardless of Portal cards, that "base dungeon" can never be removed.

Portals

Portals are Doors (mostly) . . . very special Doors. There are 13 Portal Door cards. As such, they are marked as Portals to remind you of their effects. When you draw a Portal face up, you must immediately follow its instructions. Portals will usually direct you to discard the current dungeon and replace it with a new one. After you follow the Portal's instructions, draw another face-up Door.

Example Portal card text: "Creepy Cemetery Entrance – Discard all Dungeons in play. Roll the die to find out how many new Dungeons to draw. On a 1-3 draw one new Dungeon; on a 4-6 draw two new Dungeons."

Example Dungeon card text: "K-Ghoul Mart – When this Dungeon is revealed, shuffle the Door discards back into the Door deck and all players may draw a face down Door card. While in this Dungeon, all players get a +3 bonus against Ghosts. Ghost Hunters get an additional +3 in combat."

Character Stats

Your character, in addition to the Character card itself, is basically a collection of Vehicles, Armor, and Items, and you have two key stats: Level and Class. For instance, you might describe your character as "Level 6 Ghost Hunter, armed with a Flashlight and Violin Case, wearing a Diving Helmet riding in a Mine Cart."

Level: When the rules or cards refer to your Level (capitalized), they mean this number. You gain a level when you defeat a monster, or when a card says you do. You can also sell Items to buy levels (see Items, p. 3). You lose a level when a card says you do. Your Level can never go below 1.

Class: Characters may be Ghost Hunters, Brave Adventurer, Meddling Kids, or Teen Sleuth. Each Class has special abilities, shown on the card. 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. Unless the card specifies, you may discard any of your cards, in play or in your hand, to power a Class ability. You can discard a Class card at any time, even in combat: "I don't want to be a Brave Adventurer anymore." You may play a new Class card at any time on your own turn, or as soon as you get it if it's not your turn.

Example Class card text (Ghost Hunters): "Like, Weird: You get +2 against each Ghost in combat." and "Beat Feet: If there is at least one Ghost in combat, you get +2 to Run Away."

Super Munchkin: You may not have more than one Class at once unless you play the Super Munchkin card. Like a Class card, a Super Munchkin card may be played whenever it is legal to play a Class, and as long as you have a Class card to attach it to. You cannot have more than one of the same Class in play at once. If you play Super Munchkin with one Class, you get all the advantages of being that Class (the ability to equip Class-only Items, monsters with penalties against that Class suffer those penalties) and none of the disadvantages (monsters do not get bonuses because of your Class). If the Class has an ability that has a cost, however, you must still pay it.

The Super Munchkin card text reads: "You may have two Class cards, and have all of the advantages and disadvantages of each. Or you may have one Class card and have all of its advantages and none of its disadvantages (for example, monsters that hate Ghost Hunters will have no bonus against Super Ghost Hunters). Lose this card if you lose your Class card(s)."

Selling Items for Levels: At any point during your turn, except during combat or Running Away, you may discard Items worth a total of at least 1,000 Gold Pieces and immediately go up one level. If you sell Items worth 1,100 Gold Pieces total, 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.

Treasures

Treasure cards include both permanent and One-Shots, as well as some special cards not considered Items. Any Treasure card may be played as soon as you get it, or at any time on your own turn except during combat (unless the rules below or the card itself says otherwise).

Items: Most Treasures are Items. All Items have a Gold Piece value.

All Items you have in play are considered "carried." Items that are currently giving you a bonus or some other benefit are "equipped." You should indicate Items that are not equipped by turning the cards sideways. You may not alter the status of your Items during a combat or while Running Away, so make sure you are happy with what you have equipped before entering combat.

Anyone can carry any Item, but there are limits to what you have equipped and are actively using. Some Items have icons to identify their types.

A character may equip only:

One Headgear
One Armor
One Footgear
Two 1 Hand Items, OR
One 2 Hand Item

. . . unless you have a card that lets you ignore these limits, such as a Cheat!, or unless a card says otherwise. If you are carrying two Headgear cards, for example, you can equip only one of them at a time.

Cheat!: Play this card with an Item card you have in play, or when you play an Item card from your hand. This Item is legal for you to use even if it otherwise would not be. Discard this card when you lose (sell, etc.) the attached Item.

You cannot discard Item cards "just because." You may sell Items for a level, trade Items with other players, or give an Item to another player who wants it (see below). You may discard Items to activate some special abilities. And a Curse or a monster's Bad Stuff (p. 4) may force you to get rid of something!

Big Items: You may carry any number of small Items, but only one Big one. (Any Item not marked Big is considered small.) You may not discard one Big Item to play another; you must sell the first Item, trade it, lose it to a Curse or Bad Stuff, or discard it to power a Class ability.

If something lets you have more than one Big Item and you lose that Item or 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 (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.

Vehicles: Normally, no player can have more than one Vehicle. Cheat! Cards and special powers allow extra Vehicles. Anything that affects an Item can affect a Vehicle. Vehicles carry themselves. Most Vehicles are "Big", but it doesn't count against the number of Big items you can carry. The "Big" designation on Vehicles is to control what Curses affect them.

Trading: You may trade Items (but no 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 or your trading partner are in combat – in fact, the best time to trade is when it's not your turn. Any Item you receive in a trade must remain in play.

You may also give Items away without a trade, to bribe other players – "I'll give you my Pirate's Chest if you won't help in the fight against Wolfman." You may show your hand to others. Dunno why you'd want to, but whatever.

One-Shots: A Treasure card that says "Usable Once Only" is considered a One-Shot Item. Many of these are used during combat to strengthen the munchkins or the monsters. Some have other effects, however, so read the card carefully! Discard these cards as soon as the combat is over or their effect is resolved. One-Shots may be played directly from your hand. One-Shots that are Items may also be carried and played from the table, or sold for levels just like other Items.

Example One-Shot card text (Scooby Snacks): "Play during any combat. +5 to the munchkin side. If there is a helper in the combat, +10 instead. Usable once only."

Other Treasures: Other Treasure cards (like Go Up a Level cards) are not Items. Most of these cards say when they can be played, and whether they stay in play or are discarded. Go Up a Level cards may be played on yourself or any other player at any time, even during combat. Discard them once they are played. Exception: You cannot play a Go Up a Level card to give a player the winning level, unless specifically noted otherwise!

Combat

A monster enters combat against you if you find it when you Kick Down The Door or play it from your hand to Look For Trouble.

To resolve combat, simply compare the monster's combat strength to yours. Your combat strength is equal to your Level plus any bonuses or penalties you receive from Class abilities, Items, Vehicles, and Curses. You and the other players may play One-Shots or use Class abilities to help or harm you in combat. Your combat strength can be negative, if you get hit by a Curse or suffer some other penalty. A monster's combat strength is its Level, plus or minus any modifiers it has from its powers or cards played on it. Some Door cards may also be played into a combat, such as monster enhancers (see following page).

If the monster's combat strength is equal to yours, or greater, you lose the combat and must Run Away (See Running Away and Bad Stuff, p. 4). If your combat strength is greater than the monster's, you defeat it and go up a level (two levels for some big monsters). You'll also get the number of Treasures shown on the monster card.

Sometimes a card will let you overcome a monster without defeating it. This is still "winning," but you don't get a level. Unless the ability says otherwise, you don't get the Treasures, either. If the last monster is removed from a combat, the fight ends immediately.

If you defeat a monster (or monsters!), discard them and any other cards played, and claim your rewards. Note: someone may play a hostile card on you, or use a special power, just as you think you have won. When you are about to defeat 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 defeated the monster, and you really get the level(s) and Treasures.

Interfering With Combat

You can interfere with others' combats in several ways, including:

Use a One-Shot Item: You could help another player by using a One-Shot to strengthen their side. Of course, you can "accidentally" strengthen the monster with it, instead . . .
Play a Monster Enhancer: 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.
Add a Monster From Your Hand to join the combat, by using a Wandering Monster card or the special rules on some of the cards.
Curse Them: If you have a Curse card.

Monsters

If drawn face up, during the Kick Down The Door phase, monsters immediately attack the person who drew them.

If you get a monster card any other way, it goes into your hand and may be played during your own turn to Look For Trouble, or played with the Wandering Monster card to join another player's fight. (See Fighting Multiple Monsters, below.)

Each monster card is a single monster, even if the name on the card is plural.

Monster Enhancers: Certain cards, called monster enhancers, raise or lower the combat strength of individual monsters. (Penalties to monsters are still considered enhancers.) They also affect the number of Treasures a monster is worth. 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.

Fighting Multiple Monsters: Some cards (notably Wandering Monster) allow other monsters to join a combat. You must defeat their combined combat strengths in one fight to defeat them. Any special abilities, such as forcing you 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 to fight one and Run Away from another. If you eliminate one monster, but then run from the other(s), you don't get any levels or Treasure!

If you must flee from multiple monsters, you roll separately to escape each one, in any order you choose, and suffer Bad Stuff from each as soon as you fail to Run Away from it.

Ghost and Pirate Monsters: Several monsters in this set are tagged as either Ghost, Pirate, or both Ghost and Pirate with these icons: Ghost Icon and Pirate Icon.

You may play any Ghost from your hand into combat to join with any other Ghost, without using a Wandering Monster card. The same is true for Pirates joining a combat with other Pirates. If you have a card that can be used to make a monster a Ghost, you may play it with a non-Ghost Monster to use this rule.

Asking for Help: If you cannot defeat a monster on your own, you may ask any other player to help you. If the first player refuses, you may ask another player, and so on, until they all turn you down or someone helps. Only one player can help you; add that player's combat strength to yours. Anyone can play cards to affect your combat, however!

You'll probably have to bribe someone to help. You may offer your helper any Item(s) you are currently carrying, or any number of the Treasure cards the monster is worth. If you offer your helper part of the monster's Treasure, you must agree which of you gets first pick. You may also offer to play any cards from your hand that you legally could, such as Go Up a Level cards, on your helper. The special abilities or weaknesses of the monster also apply to your helper, and vice versa. For instance, If you are a Ghost Hunter fighting the Funland Robot and a Brave Adventurer helps in the fight, the monster's combat strength is decreased by 3 since at least one of you meets the conditions on the card. The bonus or penalty is not applied twice if the helper is the same Class as the current player.

If someone successfully helps you defeat the monster, discard it, draw Treasures (see Rewards, below), and follow any special instructions on the monster card. You level up for each monster defeated in combat. Your helper does not go up any levels. You draw the Treasure cards, even if it was your helper's special ability that defeated the monster, and distribute them according to the agreement you reached.

A few cards or abilities allow you to compel another player to help you in combat. These abilities do not work if you are fighting for the win – and if you force someone to help you and then the fight becomes one for the win, your helper gets to back out without penalty. However, if you voluntarily help someone, you don't get to back out just because they're about to win the game – so pay attention!

Rewards: When you defeat a monster, you go up one level per monster, unless the monster card says otherwise. You also get all its Treasure! Sweet! Each monster has a Treasure number on the bottom of its card (marked with the Treasure Icon). Draw that many Treasure cards, modified by any monster enhancers played on it, face down if you defeated the monster alone, but 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, even if you are the helper.

If you defeat a monster through use of a card or special power, you do not get the level and might not get the Treasure, so be sure to check the card.

Running Away and Bad Stuff: If nobody will help you . . . or if somebody tries to help, and others interfere so you still cannot win . . . you must Run Away. You don't get any levels or Treasure. And you don't always escape unharmed . . .

To Run Away, you roll the die. You successfully Run Away on a 5 or more. Some Vehicles, Class abilities, or Items make it easier or harder to Run Away from monsters. If you fail to Run Away from a monster, it does Bad Stuff to you, as described by its card. This may vary from losing an Item, to losing one or more levels, to Death (see p. 5).

If two players are cooperating and still can't defeat the monster(s), they must both Run Away. They roll separately, and each player chooses in what order to Run Away. The monster(s) CAN catch them both.

After resolving all Run Away rolls, discard the monster(s).

Death

If you die, you lose all your stuff. Once you have died, you don't have to Run Away from any remaining monsters. You keep your Class and Level (and any persistent Curses on you) – your new character will look just like your old one. If you have a Super Munchkin card, keep that as well. At this point, you may choose to play as a different character by swapping your Character card for another one not in use.

Looting the Body: Lay out your hand beside the cards you had in play (except the cards listed above). If you have an Item attached to a Cheat! card, separate those cards. Starting with the player with the highest Level, everyone else chooses one card. In case of ties in level, roll a die. Looted cards go into players' hands. Once everyone gets one card, discard the rest. If you run out of cards, tough. Dead characters cannot receive cards for any reason, not even Charity, and cannot level up or win the game.

At the beginning of the next player's turn, you are no longer dead, and your new character appears and can help others in combat with your Level and Class . . . but you have no cards, unless you receive Charity or gifts from other players.

At the start of your next turn, draw four face-down cards from each deck and play any legal cards you want to, just as when you started the game. Then take your turn normally.

Curses

If drawn face-up during the Kick Down The Door phase, a Curse card applies to the player who drew it.

If acquired some other way, such as by Looting The Room, Curse cards go into your hand and may be played on any player at any time.

Usually, a Curse affects its victim immediately (if it can) and is then discarded. However, some Curses give a penalty later in the game or have a persistent effect. Keep these cards until you get rid of the Curse or the penalty takes effect. (Persistent Curse cards may not be discarded to power Class abilities. Nice try!)

Note: If someone plays a "your next combat" Curse on you while you are in combat, it counts in that combat! The same is true for a "your next turn" Curse played during your turn.

If a Curse can apply to more than one Item, the victim decides which Item is affected.

If a Curse applies to something you don't have, ignore it. For instance, if you draw Major Fender Bender and you don't have a Vehicle or Footgear, nothing happens; discard the card. (Some Curses have alternate effects, though, so read 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 that player Treasure.

Example Curse card text (Major Fender Bender): "Discard your Vehicle. If you don't have a Vehicle, discard your Footgear. If you don't have either, lose a level."

Example of Combat, With Numbers and Everything

Daphne is a Level 3 Teen Sleuth in the Dungeons Crystal Cove Neighborhood (+3 for Teen Sleuths) and Drive-In Movie Theater (+3 for Vehicles). She is wearing a Chef's Apron (+2), Scuba Fins (+2), holding a Treasure Map (+3) and riding in a Snow Mobile (+3) for a total combat strength of 19.

She Kicks Open the Door and finds the Snow Ghost. It is a Level 8, and since Daphne cannot see ice in the room the Snow Ghost does not get an extra +2 bonus. Daphne is winning 19 to 8.

DAPHNE: Look I defeated the Snow Ghost. It's not so scary anymore.

SHAGGY: Not so fast, Daphne. I'm sending the Level 14 Ghost Clown into the fight since it is also a Ghost.

By adding another monster, Daphne is now fighting two monsters and is losing, 19 to 22.

DAPHNE: Creepers!

Daphne plays her one-shot item Cheeseburger with Extra Pickles (+5). Now she is winning, 24 to 22.

SHAGGY: Mmmm. That Cheeseburger looks delicious. I think you win this one.

Daphne declares victory and claims her two Levels and six Treasures (two for the Snow Ghost and four for the Ghost Clown). She's now Level 5 with a lot of Treasure to work with, which probably means the others are going to work together to bring her down at the first opportunity.

Combining Other Munchkin Sets

Munchkin Scooby-Doo is based on the same game play found in the original Munchkin game, Super Munchkin, and dozens of Munchkin expansions and accessories. When integrating Munchkin Scooby-Doo into any Munchkin set, use the combining rules from Munchkin 7 – Cheat With Both Hands as a guide. You can always download the most up-to-date version of those rules, and all others, at munchkin.game/gameplay/rules/.

Faster Play Rules

For a faster game, you can add a "phase 0" called Listen At The Door. At the start of your turn before doing anything else, draw a face-down Door card, which you may play or not. Then arrange cards and Kick Down The Door normally. If you Loot The Room, draw a face-down Treasure, not a Door.

You can also allow shared victories – if you reach Level 10 in a fight where you had a helper, the helper also wins the game, no matter what Level that player is.

Super-Sized Munchkin

Combining Different Munchkin Sets: You can mix two (or more) base sets and expansions together for a genre-crossing mega-Munchkin adventure!