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Slamwich Card Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Slamwich Card Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Slamwich

The objective of Slamwich is to be the last player remaining with cards left in your hand.

Setup for Slamwich

  • If you want an easier/quicker game or are playing with younger children, remove the Muncher cards (cards with a person and number on them) from the deck.
  • Choose a player to be the dealer.
  • The dealer shuffles the cards and deals the same number of cards to each player. If there are extra cards, place them face up on the table to form the discard pile.
  • Each player stacks their cards and holds them face down in a pile in their hand.
  • The player to the left of the dealer starts the game. Play proceeds clockwise/left throughout the game.

Playing Slamwich

On your turn you will take the top card from your hand and flip it face up. You will place the card face up on the top of the pile in the middle of the table. You should flip the card in a way where you can’t see the card before the other players.

Playing A Card in Slamwich
The first player flipped over their top card to reveal a Ketchup and Mustard card.

After you play your card, the player to your left plays the top card from their pile.

Playing Cards
After the first card, the second player played a birthday cake and the third player played a piece of chicken.

Slapping the Cards

While playing cards to the center pile, you will occasionally have the opportunity to slap the pile in the middle of the table. You can slap the cards in three different circumstances.

Slamwich

If two cards of the same card type are separated by exactly one card that is different, the players have formed a Slamwich.

Creating A Slamwich
The last three cards played were tomatoes/lettuce, birthday cake, and tomatoes/lettuce. As two tomato/lettuce cards were played with exactly one card in between, the players created a Slamwich.

Double Decker

When two of the same card are played back to back, the players create a Double Decker.

Creating A Double Decker in Slamwich
The players played two pieces of chicken in a row. They have created a Double Decker.

Thief Cards

The deck also includes three Thief cards that feature either ants, a cat, or a dog.

Thief Cards in Slamwich
Here are the three different Thief cards in the game.

Slapping the Pile

When any of these three situations occur, the players will race to slap the center pile of cards as quickly as possible. The first player to slap the pile gets to take all of the cards. They will add the cards to the bottom of their own stack of cards face down. They will not look at the cards, and will not shuffle them.

If one of the players turn over one of the Thief cards, the players have to say “Stop Thief!” in addition to slapping the cards. The first player to slap the cards and say “Stop Thief” gets to take the cards.

The player that wins the pile takes the next turn by revealing their next card. Play will continue in a clockwise direction.

Should you slap the cards when you weren’t supposed to (there was no Slamwich, Double Decker or Thief card), you have committed a Slip Slap. You will take the top card from your own deck and add it face up to the bottom of the center pile. The player to your left then plays the next card.

Muncher Cards

Muncher cards are optional. If you want a quicker or easier game, you should consider removing them from the deck.

When a player plays a Muncher card, they have the opportunity to steal the pile of cards.

Muncher Card Slamwich
The last player played a Muncher card. The next player will reveal three cards from their pile to hopefully stop the Muncher player from taking the pile of cards.

Each Muncher card has a number in one of the corners. This number tells you how many cards that the next player will reveal from their deck to try and stop the Muncher player. The player to your left will reveal a number of cards equal to the number on the card. They are trying to create a Double Decker, Slamwich, of play a Thief card.

Resolving the Muncher Card

If the next player creates a Double Decker, Slamwich, or plays a Thief card; all of the players will race to slap the pile. The first player to slap the pile gets to take all of the cards from the center pile.

Stopping A Muncher Card in Slamwich
The next player ended up creating a Double Decker with the three cards they revealed. All of the players will race to slap the pile as quickly as possible. The first player to slap the pile gets to take all of the cards from the pile.

You can use Muncher cards to create a Slamwich or a Double Decker.

Creating A Double Decker with Muncher Cards
Two of the same Muncher card were played consecutively. These two cards will act as a Double Decker.

If the player fails to play one of the three things that would stop the Muncher, the Muncher player takes the pile of cards. They will add the cards to the bottom of their own stack.

Failing to Stop a Muncher Card in Slamwich
The next player revealed the top three cards from their stack. They were unable to create a Double Decker, a Slamwich, or play a Thief card. The player that played the Muncher card gets to take all of the cards from the center pile.

Should the next player reveal a different Muncher card, they will become the new Muncher player. The next player after them will then try to stop them.

Reveal New Muncher Card
The second card that the next player revealed for the previous Muncher card, was a different Muncher card. This player now controls the pile. The next player has one card to create a Double Decker, Slamwich, or play a Thief card to prevent this new Muncher from taking the pile.

Whoever ends up taking the pile of cards plays the next card.

End of Game

When a player runs out of cards in their hand, they are eliminated from the game.

The rest of the players continue playing, skipping over the eliminated player(s) turn.

Slamwich continues until all but one of the players have been eliminated. The last player remaining wins the game.

If you would like to play a shorter game, you can decide to use a time limit. When the time limit ends, the game will end. Whichever player has the most cards left in their stack wins the game.

Components for Slamwich

Year: 1994 | Publisher: Gamewright | Designer: Monty Stambler, Ann Stambler | Artist: Annie Campbell, Dave Clegg

Genres: Card, Children’s, Speed

Ages: 6+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 15-20 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate-High

Components: 44 Food cards, 3 Thief cards, 8 Muncher cards, instructions

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