Munchkin Spotlight - Mechanic: Equipped vs. Carried

Munchkin Spotlight - Mechanic: Equipped vs. Carried

Munchkins do it all for the loot, right? Well, what do they do with the loot once they’ve got it?

First, what kinds of loot can you find in the Treasure cards? Lots and lots, depending on which set(s) you’re playing and what expansions happen to be mixed in. Generally, however, you’ll find Items or cards that must be kept in your hand but that can be played to help you in some manner, usually only once.

How do you tell the difference?

Items will have either a Gold Piece value (in some earlier games we used other currencies, but for game play purposes, they’re all the same) or the actual words ‘No Value’ in the bottom right corner. If a card does not have these things, and the rules text on them does not declare that the card is or can be used as an Item in some way, it is not an Item. If it is not an Item, it stays in your hand or tells you exactly how to use it.

If it is an Item, you can choose to equip it or carry it.

A munchkin can equip themselves with one piece of Headgear, one piece of Armor, one piece of Footgear (each piece comes as a pair; you can’t rules-lawyer your way into wearing a different shoe on each foot), and two Hands’ worth of weapons. There are cards that do not require a slot to equip them, like Really Impressive Title, but in general, that is the limit on what Items a munchkin can equip.

Any Item that you have can be put into play, even if you can’t equip it because you’ve already got something better in that slot or the card has restrictions that you don’t meet (i.e. Usable by Orc Only and you aren’t an Orc). This is called carrying an Item. You can put those Items on the table and turn them sideways. This is to indicate that they aren’t actively giving you a bonus the way equipped Items do. Potion or other One-Shot Items can be put into play sideways as well.

This is helpful because it gets them out of your hand so you don’t have to discard or give Charity, but also lets you keep them for later use. It does let your opponents know what you have and makes these cards more susceptible to theft or loss to curses, but that’s a tradeoff most munchkins will happily make.

There is no limit to the number of small Items you can carry. Other specific types of Items – Big, Complex, Vehicle, Steed, Ship, etc. – have their own rules generally limiting the number you can equip and carry.

As a quick final recap: Items that are in play and actively giving you a bonus are equipped, and Items that are in play but not actively giving you a bonus are carried. As always, the rules text on the cards can supersede the general rules of the game!