Question and Feedback on Hireling Spyke

[UncleBob]

Dude.

Read those rules again.

You MUST play the cards in your hand or you MUST give them to the lowest level player[s]. That is the only choice you're given via the rules.

You are, of course, welcome to play in your group however you wish.

There's bending the rules, then there's flat out ignoring them. I can play in the first group. I can't in the second group. Again, I'm glad no one in my group does this.

[Andrew Hackard]

Individual groups are welcome to play however they want, as long as everyone is aware of the play style going in. But yes, we consider intentional deception and attempts to get around the rules as written to be cheating, and using that joke clause as a cudgel to be poor sportsmanship.

Everyone, please dial back the heat a few notches.

[ABadMnky]

Sorry Andrew if you perceived any heat here. This has been a civil discussion from my perspective. I also meant no disrespect to anyone nor did I mean to demean anyone's specific interpretation.

Upon review I see several of my word choices could have been taken as such and for that I apologize. I am also aware that is a joke clause [which I've never used as a cudgel, I've GM'd for 25+ years and understand the need for consensus in a gaming group], but that's sort of the point. The game is supposed to be a mechanism for fun. Some of us find the backstabbing that is presented as fun, repeatedly, in Munchkin to extend into the ability to deceive. Some groups enforce rules that levels must be on a scoreboard of sorts while others like the sneaky aspect of keeping it to yourself and making the other players keep track or inquire.

Live and let live is the way I see it. I spoke with a few people I play some games with and they found my perspective to be the same as theirs. I am sure the same could be said for every other perspective.

Again thanks for the original clarification Andrew which is what the point was here. As for everyone else, thanks for the free exchange of ideas.

[Ghornet]

If you have more than five cards in your hand, you must play enough cards to get you to five or below. If you cannot, or do not want to, you must give the excess cards to the player with the lowest Level. If players are tied for lowest, divide the cards as evenly as possible, but it’s up to you who gets the bigger set(s) of leftovers. If YOU are the lowest or tied for lowest, just discard the excess.

No where in there does it say or imply that you can deliberately hide the number of cards you have. It does give you three options to get down to five cards.

[Andrew Hackard]

The official rules have now been explained several times. The subject of whether cards may or may not be hidden is now closed.