Punch!
Punch! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
The game has 64 cards in two decks (blue and red) and each player gets an identical deck of the following 32 cards in his or her favorite color (see figure 1):
- 5 Punch cards marked with (1), punching the opponent with power 1
- 5 Punch cards marked with (2), punching the opponent with power 2
- 5 Punch cards marked with (3), punching the opponent with power 3
- 5 Do Nothing cards marked with (0), gaining 1 stamina point if opponent uses a non Punch card
- 5 Block cards marked with (X), blocking a opponent's Punch of any power
- 5 Dodge and Punch Back cards marked with (-/*), avoiding an opponent's Punch and instead inflicting him or her with a Punch of the corresponding power
- 1 Boxer Stamina measuring card
- 1 Blank Boxer card for partially covering the Stamina card
(figure 1: the card set, shown as 5 cards, 5 cards, 5 cards, 5 cards, 5 cards, 5 cards, 1 card, 1 card)
Description and Aim of the Game
Each match consists of three rounds. In each round ten cards are played. In between rounds there are breaks that allow the boxers to rest and regain some stamina. After the three rounds have completed the boxer with the most stamina left wins the match. Of course it is possible for a boxer to knock out his adversary before the entire match gets played. This is part of boxing. Whoever wins three matches in total is the winner of this game.
Game Setup
Players decide which color they are going to play with, red or blue.
Each player gets the corresponding color stamina card and places it face up in front of him or her and positions the blank boxer card on top of the stamina card in such a way as to show the available stamina of 10 at the beginning of the match (see figure 2). Every time there is a loss of stamina, the top card is lowered onto the Stamina card to represent hits suffered. Similarly, when there is a gain of stamina the top card is pushed upwards to reveal the new higher stamina status.
(figure 2: the Stamina card with the Blank Boxer card on top; the top card is lowered to "lower stamina status" and raised to "raise stamina status")
Each player gets the corresponding color deck and thoroughly shuffles the cards.
Game Play - Standard Rules
Both players deal themselves 10 cards face down with which they will box in the 1st round. The players now pick up these ten cards and arrange them in their hand any way they prefer. If a player has 4 or 5 cards of the same value in his hand he may elect to show his opponent of this fact and reshuffle and re-deal himself a fresh hand. This is so for the second round as well.
Both players choose one card, which they put in the middle of the table face down. These two cards are revealed simultaneously and their actions are calculated and resolved.
For every hit the players must lower the Blank Boxer card on top of the Stamina card by the amount of hits received. For example, if Red is hit by "two" he must lower the Blank Boxer card so that the Stamina card now shows a stamina of 8.
The players proceed with their second card choice and so on until they have played all ten cards thereby concluding the first round.
After the first round is over and assuming the match is not over by a Knock Out, there is a break and the boxers regain some of their lost stamina. They both regain 3 stamina points on the first break. The maximum stamina a player can have is 10.
The players deal themselves a second set of 10 cards face down for the 2nd round and play continues according to the rules. On the second break, they both regain 2 stamina points.
The remaining 10 cards are to be played in the 3rd round. When the last cards are played the match is over and the player with the highest stamina is the winner of the match. In case of a tie, just replay the match. If at any point a player's Stamina is exhausted and only the Star is showing, then this player has suffered a Knock Out and the match is prematurely over leaving the opponent with the win.
Card Effects
A Punch card with a value (1-3), punches the opponent with the corresponding power. If the opponent however also has a Punch card then the cards are compared and if they are of different value, the player with the lower card is hit by the difference between them. For example: Blue puts down a 3 Punch; Red has a 1 Punch; Red is hit by the difference, which is two. If both had placed the same Punch value, then nothings happens; they cancel each other.
A Block card (X), blocks off any value punch card; that Punch card is wasted. For example: Blue puts down a 3 Punch; Red has a Block card, which successfully blocks off Blue's Punch; nothing happens. All other cards (other than Punches) have no effect against the player who has played a Block card.
A Dodge and Punch Back card (-/*), is only useful against an opponent's Punch card of any value and what it does is that it avoids the punch of the opponent (Dodge) while at the same time boomerangs against him or her a Punch of an equal value played by him or her (Punch Back). For example: Blue intends to hit Red with a 2 Punch; Red has played a Dodge and Punch Back card and thus avoids being punched but it also reverses the effect of the punch to his adversary; it is Blue who suffers a two point stamina loss. It is dangerous to play large Punch cards if you suspect your adversary has Dodge and Punch Back cards still unplayed.
A Do Nothing card (0), is used to gain stamina if the opponent has not played any value Punch card. For each such case, you try to rest a bit by avoiding to fight and gain one stamina point. However, if the opponent has played any value Punch card, the player who played a Do Nothing cards receives a hit with the full punch value of his opponent. For example: Blue is down to his last stamina point and wants to risk gaining some stamina; he Plays a Do Nothing (0); Red being at two stamina points himself, thought that Blue is going to make an attempt to hit him with a 2 Punch, so he plays a block card; the result is that Red had no punch to block and Blue instead gained a much needed stamina point. The same would have happened if Red had used a Dodge and Punch back; Blue would still gain a stamina point. If Red however would have played a 1 Punch, Blue would get hit and he would suffer a loss due to a Knock Out. If both players play a Do Nothing (0) card, they both benefit and gain a stamina point.
Winning the Match
A player who has forced his opponent to be left with no stamina at all, wins the match with a Knock Out. This can happen on any round. If the full match is played out, the player with the most stamina left wins the match. If there is a tie, this match is replayed.
Winning the Game
Whoever first accumulates three victorious matches wins the game.
Game Play - Advanced Rules
The only thing that changes here is in the setup. Players do not deal themselves hands of 10 cards at random. What they do instead is card drafting. They choose their first 10 cards as they please from the entire deck. After the 1st round, they choose again their second set of 10 cards from all the remaining, and they play with the last 10 cards in the 3rd round. All other rules are the same.
Variants
The following variants can be combined with either standard or advanced rules, as well as with each other.
No mercy for the week. When a boxer's stamina has dropped below three, then any value punch that boxer puts down has a maximum effect up to the limit of his current stamina. For example: Blue has a Stamina of 2 left over. If he puts down a value 3 Punch it only effective as a value 2 Punch. Red has only 1 Stamina point left. No matter what value Punch cards he throws, it only is effective as a I Punch. Boxers get weaker and therefore their punches are not as effective.
(Source note: the printed variant name reads "No mercy for the week" and the final example reads "a I Punch"; both are transcribed as printed. "I" is presumably the numeral 1.)
Exchange cards. Both boxers have the right to exchange up to three cards from their hand before they start the round, that is, while they still have ten cards. They must put these face down below the remaining deck and must draw replacements from the top of the deck. Also, during play, a player can exchange one card in the 1st and 2nd turn and draw a replacement.
Robo-Box: Players can arrange the first five cards in each round as they please, lay them on the table face down, and uncover them one by one simultaneously. In effect, they pre-program their Boxers to fight half a round. The next half round follows with the remaining five cards.