Star Munchkin - what cards are held, played & charity??

[sarahjones]

My family and I have just purchased our first Munchkin game and love it so far! (Star Munchkin) BUT, we are having a problem completely understanding the rules.
I need to know what exactly can be "played" on the table? I think it's only the cards that create your character, such as, race, class, sidekick and items that you can "carry"..."aser's, headgear and ect. and NOT the other treasure cards, such as, loaded dice, plot device, ball of yarn...ect?

Also, what exactly is "charity"? They way we are playing right now, the games are lasting about 15 minutes because we are allowing ALL of the treasure cards to be placed in play on the table. Therefore, we end up with a lot of extra cards in our hands and are trying to figure out Charity.

I think if we start playing correctly, with the "in play, on the table" cards, we will not have SO many cards in our hands and actually be able to accept charity.


So, if the player at the lowest level already has 5 cards in their hand, where does the charity go???


PLEASE HELP!! We've never played a game like this!! We love it so far and want to play right!!!