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A card battle game by Will Gunther and Shawn Shadrix

Introduction: Don’t let the name fool you. This is the ultimate battle card game you can play with regular playing cards. For a while, we have tried to create a game similar to popular TCGs such as Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh!, but with regular playing cards. The time has come, allow us to present Marshmallow War. (Alternate title: MugenMugenjigoku, Romanized Japanese meaning: "infinite hell" or "imaginary hell")

Be Advised:

- All terms in this game (such as summon, marshmallow, etc.) and the powers of each card are optional. These terms may be changed to your liking, as this game is customizable. This manual contains only guidelines.

- It is highly recommended (it is usually a rule when I play) that YOU NAME CARDS AS YOU PLAY THEM. This greatly increases the level of fun. Example: The 3 of has been called the "One-Eyed Imp with A Rusty Spoon".

- PLEASE NOTE: All sentences in both bold and italics (example) beyond this point are victory conditions. By fulfilling these, you win the game.

Materials

• Two decks of playing cards (Jokers included if you wish)
• Two players
• Your imagination

The Play Field

• Fighter/Wall Area (unlimited)
• Trap/Event card area (limit of 3 in play per person)
• Deck
• Dead Pile
• Life Deck

(These areas are designated by the players)

Explanation Of Terms

Demons - Masters of arbitrary passion and fire.
        Represented by:

Ninja - Masters of meditation and martial arts.
        Represented by:

Samurai - Masters of swordsmanship and unity.
        Represented by:

Marshmallows - Masters of evil gooeyness.
        Represented by:

(These Fighter’s special powers are explained below in the Fighter’s Powers section)

Fighters - Those who fight for you (Demons, Samurai, Ninja, NOT Marshmallows)

Wall - Consists of 2 non-Marshmallow cards played from your hand sideways. These cards may never attack.

Summon - The action of playing a Fighter or Wall

Limitless Summon - The term describing an extra Summon.

Traps - These are any non-Marshmallow cards that are placed face-down and separate from your Fighters. These can only be flipped over when your opponent attacks. For specific powers based on type, see the Traps section.

Event Cards - These are epic events that happen during the game that relate to a certain kind of Fighter. They are represented by the Aces of each suit (plus the Joker, if you play with it). See the Events section for info on each of them.

Life Deck - This is a stack of cards indicating how healthy a player is. It is usually 3 or 4 cards, but the number is decided by the players. You can see where this comes into play in the Attack Phase section.

Dead Pile - Anything that is killed or destroyed goes here.

Setup

• -Players decide upon what happens when an Event is discarded (see Event Cards section).
• -Players decide how big each person’s Life Deck is.
• -Players shuffle their decks
• -Players lay down the decided amount of cards to form their Life Deck.
• -Players decide who goes first.
• -Players draw 5 cards to form their starting hand.

Turn Structure

Playing phase 1:

• You may Summon 1 Fighter or Wall (only once per turn)
• You may play as many Marshmallows as you want
• You may play as many Trap/Event cards as you want (limit 3 in play)
• You may discard an Event card from your hand
  (see the Event Cards section)
• You may switch out in-play Trap cards with cards in your hand (1 trap card : 1 card in hand)
• You may use the Ninja’s Deception ability

Attack phase:

• You may attack with your Summoned Fighters
• You may play as many Marshmallows as you want

(See Attack phase section for details on battle)

Playing phase 2:

• Same as Playing phase 1 (You may not Summon again if you already Summoned during Playing phase 1)

Replenish phase:

• Draw until you have 5 cards. This ends your turn.
  (If a player cannot draw, they lose the game)

Fighter’s Powers

Demon - Violent Burn (Instead of attacking a Fighter or Wall, your Demon may attack one of your opponent’s Trap cards. The Trap is instantly destroyed and cannot be flipped over.)

Ninja - Ninja Strike (If one of your Ninja battles with a Fighter that is equally as strong, the Ninja wins)
         - Deception (Your Ninja can flip face-down and/or switch places with other friendly face-down Ninja during Playing phases)

Samurai - Unity (Any number of your Samurai may combine their power and attack 1 of your opponent’s Fighters. This counts as all of the participating Samurai’s attacks)

Marshmallows - These cards are unique from all the others. You play them directly from your hand while picking an opponent’s card (If it is face down, flip it over). Then, the power of the Marshmallow is compared to that of the opponent’s card (2=weakest, K=strongest). If the Marshmallow is stronger than the selected card, then it is killed/destroyed. If the Marshmallow is weaker, the selected card is not killed/destroyed and is returned to its original position. The Marshmallow is destroyed no matter what the result was (almost like a kamikaze).

Attack Phase

• Fighters you control can each attack once during your Attack Phase.
• Choose your opponent’s Fighter or Wall you wish to attack. Then, compare their power with yours.
• Fighters with a power of 2 are the weakest and those with a power of K are the strongest.
• If the power of your Fighter is greater than the power of your opponent’s Fighter, then your opponent’s Fighter is killed. (Same applies with Walls)
• If their powers are equal, then both Fighters are killed (Ninja being the exception)
• If your opponent does not have any in play Fighters or Walls, your Fighters may attack your opponent. Your opponent draws one card from their Life Deck per attack they receive. When your opponent has depleted their Life Deck and you attack them once more, you win the game!

Traps

If you flip over a:

- Trap and its power is greater than or equal to your opponent’s attacking Fighter, then the attacking Fighter is killed (Trap is sent to Dead Pile).

- Trap and its power is less than or equal to your opponent’s attacking Fighter, then the attacking Fighter is killed (Trap is sent to Dead Pile).

- Trap and its power is equal to the power of your opponent’s attacking Fighter, then the attacking Fighter is added to your Life Deck (Trap is sent to Dead Pile)

Event Cards

You may voluntarily discard an Event card from your hand to apply the power described by the players at the beginning of the game. While in play, these cards’ powers come into effect. The power of these cards overrides any rules mentioned above. All of these stay in-play and count towards your 3 Trap/Event card limit (except the Joker).

Golden Armaments-True Potential Release: (Ace of Hearts) 1 Marshmallow can be limitless Summoned as a monster once during one of your play phases. Marshmallows as Fighters have no power. You may combine the power of 2 or more Marshmallows into one while playing them from your hand.

Lucifer’s Will-Infernal Passion: (Ace of Spades) +1 to the power of all of your Demons. If one of your Demons attacks your opponent, all of their non-Fighter cards are destroyed (Trap and Event cards).

Ninja Strike Back-The Warlord’s Stash: (Ace of Clubs) If your opponent only has Walls in play, your Ninja may attack the other player. Your Ninja instantly destroy Walls upon attack. Your Ninja are unaffected by Traps. Bushido Spirit Flame- Ultimate Tactics: (Ace of Diamonds) You may Summon two Samurai during one of your playing phases (this is your one Summon for the turn). Each Samurai you control gets +1 power for each additional Samurai you control. Your Samurai are unaffected by Marshmallows (in their regular form).

King of All Cosmos: (Joker) Take one card from your Dead Pile and play it as if you were playing it from your hand. If it is a Fighter, this is treated as a Limitless Summon.