Card games
Munchkin
Steve Jackson2001
- players
- 3–6
- minutes
- 60
- years
- 10+
In the box
Munchkin game
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Steve Jackson
- Artwork
- John Kovalic
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementTake ThatVariable Player PowersRace
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Explore the dungeon, killing monsters and grabbing treasure while sabotaging everyone else, to be the first to reach level 10. On your turn, kick open the door: a monster is fought by comparing your strength, level and items included, with its own; beating it takes you up a level with treasure to draw, while losing means running away with the die. The first player to reach level 10 wins, and that final level can only be gained by killing a monster.
Checked against the official rules · September 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
Doors and Treasures, Human, level 1
- The cards are split into two shuffled decks: Doors and Treasures.
- Each player starts at level 1, with no race or class: they are human.
- Everyone is dealt cards from both decks to start; how many depends on the edition.
- You track your level on a counter: that is Marquoir's job.
How to play
Kick open the door, Fight or loot, Charity at end of turn
- Kick open the door: turn over the top Door card. A monster, and you must fight it; a curse, and it applies at once; anything else, and you keep it in hand or play it.
- Combat: compare your strength (level plus bonuses from equipped items) with the monster's. You must be strictly stronger to win.
- The other players can boost the monster with their cards. You may ask one player for help, negotiating their share of the loot.
- Winning a combat: go up a level (sometimes more) and draw the treasures shown.
- Losing: try to run away with the die. If you fail, the monster deals its Bad Stuff, which can go as far as death: you lose your equipment, but keep your level, race and class.
- If there is no monster behind the door, you may fight one from your hand (look for trouble), or loot the room by drawing a Door card face down.
- Charity: at the end of your turn, if you have too many cards in hand, give the excess to the lowest-level player.
Scoring
Only level counts, Monster kill: +1 or more
- Your level is the only score: it goes up by one per monster killed, or more depending on the monster.
- You can also buy a level for 1,000 gold pieces' worth of items or coins.
- Some cards make you gain or lose levels, but you never go below level 1.
End of the game
First to level 10, By killing a monster
- The first player to reach level 10 wins.
- The final level can only be gained by killing a monster, unless a card says otherwise: no buying, no level cards.
- If an ally helps kill the winning monster, the win is shared.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
Can you buy level 10?
No. Gold pieces and "go up a level" cards take you to level 9 at most; level 10 is won in combat.
What do you lose when you die?
Everything you are carrying and everything in your hand, which the others share out. Your level, race and class stay.