Bugsnax: The Card Game
Bugsnax: The Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Component List
- 28 Trap cards
- 22 Standard Snax cards
- 18 Advanced Snax cards
- 32 Standard Grumpus cards
- 32 Advanced Grumpus cards
- 44 Expert Grumpus cards
- 4 Rules Reminder cards
Card Anatomy
Trap Card
- Name
- Power
- Ability
Snax Card
- Difficulty
- Point Value
- Name
- Ability
- Advanced
Grumpus Card
- Name
- Ability
How to Play
The Goal
You and your fellow players are competing to see who is the fastest at catching and eating Bugsnax!
The first player to reach 6 points is the winner!
Setting Up Play
- Separate the standard and advanced Bugsnax, then shuffle all of the standard Bugsnak cards together and set them at the center of the table. This is the Snax Deck!
- Draw 4 Bugsnak cards and place them face up at the center of the table. This forms The Field where you'll be hunting Bugsnax.
- Shuffle all of the Trap cards together and set them next to the Field. This is the Trap Deck!
- Each player draws 3 Trap cards to form their hand. You're free to look at your hand, but keep it secret from the other players!
- Each player should choose a Grumpus Deck to play! For first-time players, we recommend starting with one of the standard Grumpuses: Chandlo, Snorpy, Filbo, or Shelda.
- Set your chosen Grumpus next to you. Feel free to look through the cards before the game begins.
- Each player shuffles their Grumpus Deck then draws 1 card from it.
- Whoever most recently ate takes the first turn! (or feel free to decide by rock paper scissors)
Now you're ready to start playing!
Example Play Set Up
Other Players: Each other player has a Grumpus Deck (shown here as Chandlo, The Beefcake), a Trap Deck and a Trap Discard.
The Field: The Snax Deck, the Trap Deck and the Trap Discard (the Bug Net) are next to the four face-up Bugsnax: Strabby (1 / 3), Cheepoof (2 / 4), Kwookie (2 / 4) and Bunger (3 / 6).
Your Hand: Bug Net (1), Sauce Slinger (1), Snak Trap (2) and I Need Your Help! (Draw a card from another player's Grumpus deck. You may play it immediately for free, or keep it in your hand.)
NOTE: The Sauce Slinger's ability text is partly hidden by the overlapping cards in the printed illustration, so it is not transcribed here.
Your Cards:
- Snax Eaten: Fryder (1 / 3)
- Grumpus Deck: Filbo, The Mayor
- Grumpus Discard: Throw a Party!
Taking Your Turn
On your turn, you can take 3 actions.
You can spend 1 of your actions to do any of the following things:
- Play a Trap or Grumpus card from your hand.
- Draw a card from the Trap Deck.
- Eat a Bugsnak in your hand.
- Use any ability on a card marked 'ACTION'
You may choose the same thing more than once!
Once you've used all of your actions, your turn is over! Discard any traps left on the field or non-attachment Grumpus cards you've played, then the player to your left starts their turn.
Playing Traps
As an action, place a trap in your hand in front of one of the Bugsnax on the field.
Bugsnax have a DIFFICULTY (top right of card), which represents how hard they are to catch.
Traps have a POWER (bottom of card), which represents how good they are at catching! You can place more than one trap in front of the same Bugsnak in order to combine their Powers together.
Catching Bugsnax
If the total Power of your traps is equal to or greater than the Bugsnak's Difficulty, you catch the Bugsnak! Put that Snak in your hand and discard all traps that were played on it.
Then draw a new card from the Snax deck and place it face-up on the field to replace the Bugsnak that was just caught.
Drawing Traps
As an action, take the top card of the Trap Deck and put it in your hand! There is no limit to how many cards you can have in hand.
If the Trap Deck is ever empty, shuffle the traps in the discard pile together and refill the deck.
Eating Bugsnax
As an action, place a Bugsnak in your hand next to your Grumpus Deck face-up. You gain points equal to that Snak's Point Value! (shown in the top left)
REMEMBER: you don't get any points for having Bugsnax in your hand! You must eat them!
Immediately after eating, draw a card from your Grumpus Deck. Their delicious taste motivates you to use your unique skills to the fullest!
NOTE: Instead of eating Bugsnax, Gramble donates them to his ranch. This works exactly like eating, but he feels much better about it.
Advanced Mode
After getting used to the standard game, if you'd like to play a longer and more strategic game of Bugsnax, do the following:
- Shuffle all of the Bugsnak cards marked ADVANCED (star icon) into the Snax deck.
- When choosing Grumpuses, choose any you like, including STANDARD, ADVANCED, or EXPERT.
- Instead of 6 points, victory goes to the first player to reach 10 POINTS!
Advanced Mode usually takes 60 minutes.
If you draw The Snaksquatch when first creating the field: ignore its effects, shuffle it back into the Snax Deck, and draw another Snak to replace it.
Playing with More Players
Bugsnax: The Card Game is best played with 2-4 players. However you can play with up to 5 or 6 if you do the following:
- Place 6 Bugsnax on the field instead of 4.
- The player who goes first starts with only 2 Trap cards instead of 3.
- Whenever a player gets enough points to win, instead of ending the game instantly, keep going until the end of the round. Then after the round, compare everybody's points to see who won!
Keyword Reference
The contents page lists the Glossary on the back cover; the back cover of this manual is printed as the Keyword Reference below.
| Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| FLYING | Ignores traps with capture power less than 3. |
| SPICY | When you play a trap on this Snak, you become INJURED. |
| BURROWING | Ignores traps with capture power greater than 1. |
| FROSTY | Treats all traps as if they have capture power 1. |
| SPEEDY | If you play a trap on any other Snak on the field, this FLEES. |
| EVASIVE | If this would be STUNNED, instead it FLEES. |
| SAUCE WASHER | Sauce Slingers and Special Sauce have +1 Power against this Bugsnak. |
| STUNNED | Lose all abilities and reduce Difficulty by 1 until the end of this turn. NOTE: If already stunned, additional stuns do nothing. |
| INJURED | At the start of your turn, lose 1 action and heal your INJURY. NOTE: If already injured, additional injuries do nothing. |
| FLEE |