Marvel Mayhem
Marvel Mayhem Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
Four 28-card decks, game rules, 4 hit point trackers, 4 hit point tokens, 4 reference cards, 16 damage tokens. For 2-4 players, ages 8+.
Object
Protect your hit points and be the last player standing in this free-for-all Super Hero showdown!
The First Time You Play
Pop the tokens out of their cardboard frame. Unwrap the cards and separate them by Super Hero into four different stacks.
Get Ready
- Choose a Super Hero to play as, then take that character's card deck, reference card, and hit point tracker and token, and set them in front of you.
- Place your hit point token on the number 10 on your tracker.
- Shuffle the rest of your deck and place it face down on the table.
Your setup has: the reference card, the card deck, and the hit point tracker and token.
Let's Battle!
Use your cards to deal damage to your opponents and try to avoid taking damage yourself.
Before you take a turn, here's what you need to know:
- Each player starts the game with 10 hit points.
- Whenever you deal damage to another player, they lose hit points unless they have one or more Defense cards.
- If you take damage, move your Super Hero's token on the hit point tracker lower for each point of damage taken. If your hit points drop down to zero, you're knocked out of the game!
To start, everyone draws 3 cards from their deck. The youngest player goes first.
On Your Turn
- Draw the top card from your deck and add it to your hand.
- Play a card from your hand by placing it faceup on the table in front of you. You must play at least one card each turn; sometimes you can play more than one.
- How do I decide which card to play? See The Cards below. The icons in the top left corner of each card tell you what powers that card has. Check your reference card to decide which card you want to play.
- Put all the cards you used this turn into your discard pile faceup unless they have the Defense symbol on them. Those are Defense cards, and they stay on the table until all their hit points are destroyed—then they are discarded as well.
- Your turn ends and play passes to the left.
NOTE: If you run out of cards in your deck, just shuffle your discard pile and start your deck over again.
How to Win
The game ends when there's only one Super Hero left with hit points. The last Super Hero standing wins!
Sometimes cards can take out multiple opponents at once. If no players are left in the game, then it's a tie—get ready to battle again!
The Cards
Attack
Attack cards deal damage to your opponents. Each Marvel Super Hero has their own unique Attacks. When you play an Attack card, choose one player (or Defense card) as the target of that attack. That player loses one hit point for each Attack symbol on the card, unless they have a Defense card in play. Some cards, like Black Panther's King's Fury, can have more than one target. See examples below.
Defense
Defense cards protect you by taking damage for you. The number of Defense symbols on a card is the amount of damage that card can take. Here's what else you need to know:
- When you play a Defense card, place it faceup on the table in front of you. It stays there until it's destroyed.
- Put a damage token on each symbol that takes a hit. When there are no symbols left, that card is destroyed and it goes into your discard pile.
- You can have more than one Defense card protecting you at a time. Attack cards can't damage you until all your Defense cards are destroyed.
- If an Attack card deals more hit points than your Defense card (or cards) protect, all extra damage goes through to you.
- Super Powers that deal damage to opponents are not affected by Defense cards in play, unless otherwise noted.
Example 1
This Attack card deals two damage, which is just enough to destroy the Defense card. The Defense card goes to your discard pile.
Example 2
This Attack card deals three damage, but the Defense card has already taken one damage and only has one symbol left. The Defense card is destroyed, and the target player loses two hit points.
Draw & Play
Draw & Play cards let you draw and play extra cards. When you play a Draw & Play card, draw a new card and add it to your hand for each Draw & Play symbol on the card. Then play one extra card for each symbol on the card as well.
Remember, the extra cards you play for each symbol can also be Draw & Play cards! Resolve Draw & Play cards in the order they are played, then put them in your discard pile.
Healing
Healing cards help you recover from damage. When you play a Healing card, you get one hit point back for each Healing symbol on the card.
Combinations
Some cards have more than one type of symbol on them. When you play one of these, you get to use all the different symbols. The order for completing a card with multiple actions is Healing, Attack, Draw & Play, Defense.
Super Powers
Each Marvel Super Hero has abilities that are unique to them. When you play a card with one of these special abilities, just do what the card says!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I use Healing cards to get more than 10 hit points? A. Nope. Healing cards can only help you recover from damage.
Q. What if 'Psychic Sight' allows me to play an opponent's Draw & Play card? A. You would Draw & Play from your own deck and continue your turn. Remember to return your opponent's cards to their discard pile at the end of your turn!
Q. In a two-player game, can 'Whatever it Takes' deal damage after Captain Marvel's hit point tracker reaches zero? A. No. 'Whatever it Takes' deals damage at the end of the attacking player's turn – if the attacking player has just won the game, the damage does not occur.