Do I REALLY understand Portals?

[Really Impressive Title]

I’m pretty new to Munchkin but I have dived (diven? doved?) head first into understanding all the ins and outs of its deceptively simple rules — and loving every minute of it. And while I’ve meticulously read through the FAQ’s, researched erratas and studied each instruction manual, there is still one aspect of the game’s expanded ruleset that I can’t quite locked down: EXACTLY, under what specific circumstances, can you LEGALLY “draw” Portal cards, play them, and then draw a replacement Door card?


The instructions read:

“When you draw a Portal FACE UP, you must immediately follow
its instructions…

Obviously referring to ‘Kick Open the Door’… but there are other situations where cards are face up… let’s keep reading.

”After you follow the Portal’s instructions, draw another FACE UP Door.

So redo the Door Kick. Got it. — But here’s where things get kinda hazy…

“When you draw a Portal FACE DOWN, you have a choice: (1) Turn it face up *immediately* and follow its instructions. After you follow the instructions, draw another FACE-DOWN Door. (2) Put it in your *hand*. You may play it later, but only if (a) it is your turn, (b) you are not in combat, and (c) you haven’t already played a Portal on that turn. When you play it, follow its instructions and *immediately* draw a FACE-DOWN Door.

Hmm, this is starting to get complicated…

“Remember: When you play a Portal, you *always* draw another Door to replace it. If the original Portal was drawn FACE-UP, the replacement Door is FACE-UP. If the original Portal was FACE-DOWN, so is the replacement.”

Okay, so you could potentially ‘Kick Open’ 3, 5, or even 10 Doors in a single turn if each subsequent draw is a Portal. Interesting.

But what counts as “draw”, specifically? When is a card considered to be in my hand? — I guess what I’m really asking here is: What full range of definitions count as “draw” and “immediately” in relation to how Portals function. When is playing a Portal illegal (relating to general game rules or when one has already been played that turn), when does immediacy override that rule, and when, as a result, does it allow me to draw a replacement Door card?


Let me give some example situations to illustrate my confusion:

• A player dies and we loot his Hand (laid out on the table FACE UP). — Can I take a Portal card from the dead munchkin’s stash, immediately play it and draw a new Door card FACE-UP from the Door deck?

• If a player is Cursed! and I, sitting to their left, pick a random card from their hand (FACE DOWN) that happens to be a Portal and I immediately play it (if I can?), can I draw a new FACE-DOWN Door from the deck?

• If I use the “Wand of Dowsing” to search the discard pile for a Portal (FACE-UP), can I immediately play it and draw a new FACE-UP Door card?

• I’m a Cleric and I use my class technique to draw a discarded Portal. Can I immediately play it, draw a new Door card FACE UP, and have that count as my “Resurrection”? - Heck, the next card is a Portal, too! ...Can I do it again?? (Discarding two cards from my hand, of course)


Are any of these scenarios, as I’ve described them, illegal? Do any of them count as being played from the hand? (Therefore breaking the one-Portal-per-turn rule) Or does my immediacy in playing them mean that I can change/add dungeons and draw a new Door as much as I want, so long as the card doesn’t touch my fan of cards?

Or… am I just overthinking all this?? Any clarification at all would be awesome. 👍 (and thanks for reading!).