Numbsters
Numbsters Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
17 Numbster Cards
1 Mouth Card (Number Eight)
Setup
- Setting aside the Mouth Card, shuffle the 17 Numbster Cards together to form a deck.
- Draw 6 Numbsters, and shuffle them with the Mouth to form a stack of 7 cards.
The Stack
Keep all cards in the stack face up at all times.
The stack's top card has an ability that can affect the game. You may look through the cards in the stack at any time, but do not reorder them except as directed by the rules.
You may also place the stack on the table as a row of cards, with the top of the stack at the right.
Gameplay
As Numbsters eat each other over a series of turns, prevent the Mouth from reaching the top of the stack at the end of any turn. Each turn, follow these three steps in order:
1. DRAW
Draw 1 card and place it at the top of the stack. (Skip this step if the deck is empty.)
2. MOVE (optional)
You may perform one of the following:
- Move 1 card to another position in the stack.
- Swap 2 cards in the stack.
All cards in the stack, including the Mouth, can be moved and swapped.
3. EAT
A single Numbster must eat another according to the eating rules. If nothing is eaten, you lose!
Why were the other Numbsters afraid of Seven? Because Seven ate Nine!
Basic Eating
If two sequential Numbsters surround the Mouth, the smaller Numbster eats the bigger Numbster, and the bigger Numbster is discarded. The smaller Numbster may be underneath or on top of the Mouth.
Valid Eating
- Example: the stack reads 5, 8 (Mouth), 4, 7 from bottom to top. The Five will be eaten.
- Example: the stack reads 4, 8 (Mouth), 5, 7 from bottom to top. The Five will be eaten.
The Five will be eaten in both examples.
Invalid Eating
- Example: the stack reads 4, 5, 8 (Mouth), 6 from bottom to top. Four and Five are sequential but the Mouth is not between them.
- Example: the stack reads 4, 8 (Mouth), 7 from bottom to top. Four and Seven are not sequential.
Special Eating
Each Numbster Card has a special eating rule. During the Eat step, you may use the eating rule of the stack's top card instead of the basic eating rule.
If you use a card's special eating rule, move it to the bottom of the stack after discarding the eaten card (do not discard the card whose ability you used).
To use a special eating rule, the Mouth must still be directly between the Numbster that eats and Numbster being eaten. The special eating rule only replaces the basic eating rule by giving new requirements for the two Numbsters.
Example: the stack reads 6, 13, 3, 15, 8 (Mouth), 1, 4 from bottom to top, with the top card being Four ("Odd Numbster eats bigger odd Numbster"). Using Four's special eating rule allows One to eat Fifteen. Then Four is moved to the bottom of the stack.
After the Eat step, if the stack contains just 1 Numbster and the Mouth, or if the Mouth is on top, the game ends.
Sequential Numbsters
Two Numbsters are sequential if their values differ by 1 (for example, Five and Six).
Seven and Nine are considered sequential (since Eight is not a Numbster), so Seven can eat Nine using the basic eating rule.
Ten's special eating rule still requires the Mouth to be between two sequential Numbsters, but the bigger Numbster eats and the smaller Numbster is discarded.
Winning the Game
If the stack contains only the Mouth and 1 Numbster on top of it, you win the game!
You lose the game if either of the following occur:
- The stack has more than 2 cards and nothing can be eaten during the Eat step.
- The Mouth is on top of the stack at the end of the turn.
You win!
Example: the stack contains only the Mouth (8) and a single Numbster (12) on top of it, so you win the game.
You lose!
Example: the stack reads 12, 8 (Mouth), 4 from bottom to top. Nothing can be eaten, so you lose the game.
Example: the stack reads 4, 12, 8 (Mouth) from bottom to top. The Mouth is on top of the stack at the end of the turn, so you lose the game.
Numbster Checklist
When you win a game, mark below the Numbster in your final stack. Can you win with all of them?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
8(the Mouth is not a Numbster and cannot be checked off)- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
18(the unicorn is not a Numbster and cannot be checked off)
Credits
Design: Milan Zivkovic
Art: Luke Flowers
Rules Editing: Michael Lee
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