Spawnimon: A Parody Card Game

Everyone's favorite pocket-sized monsters meets everyone's favorite universe-threatening monsters in this crossover parody battling card game for 1 to 4 players, Spawnimon!

Inspiration

I've always been a huge fan of mashups, and when different versions of the Pikachu / Cthulhu mashup started popping up around the internet, I had a great laugh. In addition to awesome fan art, there have been stories and an RPG based on the idea (which I didn't even know about until I started researching for this campaign!). What inspired me to make Spawnimon was wanting more mashups, so I started daydreaming a big list of them mashing together bulbasaur and bokrug for BULBOKRUG...

...gaunts and pidgeottos for GAUNTO...

...and gugs and, my favorite, cubones for GUGONE...

...and many more! The art by gaming artist Jacob Blackmon really fits the vibe of bright colors and spooky doom. I decided I wanted to more with it than just the art, so I began tinkering with making it a card game. I've reviewed hundreds of card games, board games, and RPGs, in addition to creating quite a few homebrewed games through the years, and now I have one of my own ready for the world to see.

Contents:
  153 Spawnimon creature cards
  4 Player decks (18 cards each)
  Damage tokens
  Realm tokens
  Instruction booklet

Gameplay

Spawnimon is a game for 1 to 4 players aged 14 and up. Game lengths depend on the number of players, with a two-player duel usually lasting about 20 minutes while a 4-player battle royal can go up to an hour. Each game begins with dealing out a zodiac of Spawnimon from the deck of 153, meaning each game is unique and statistically nearly impossible to have the exact same set more than once. Players choose three starting Spawnimon.

Spawnimon stands out in its use of 17 realms of power, each strong against two and weak against another two. Worms are strong against Mammalian and Stone Spawnimon, but they're more easily defeated by Avian and Insectoid enemies. Players will have to carefully choose the Spawnimon they summon to most effectively pair up against their opponents.

Here's a closer look at the Spawnimon cards with their realms, hit points, and damage in their realm's strength and weaknesses:

After setup, players then take turns battling it out with three phases:

Awaken - reviving exhausted Spawnimon from the previous round and summoning new Spawnimon from the zodiac at the cost of cultist points,
Attack - fighting opponents' Spawnimon (or attacking directly if they have no Spawnimon to defend them),
Draw - drawing up from the player deck for special cards that can heal, give attack bonuses, capture, or cancel opponent actions. With this at the end of your turn, it gives you time to replenish defenses and plan before your next action.

The key to the game is having Spawnimon with realms that are strong against the realms of your opponents. Here's a list of the 17 realms:

As the game goes on, the available Spawnimon are used up and players' cult points run out, leaving one player left alive to conquer the world.

Plenty of Ways to Play

We've worked to make the base game straightforward in its rules so that Spawnimon can be learned in a few minutes. With the variability in the zodiac each game and a wide range of player cards coming up each turn, it's also a game players can have fun mastering for hours and hours.

The final rulebook also includes numerous ways to fine-tune Spawnimon for your table's favorite way to play:
   -Use special one-time powers to shock opponents with the unexpected.
   -Be extra cutthroat with discarding player cards as cultist point damage.
   -Add more Spawnimon to the zodiac for a marathon game.

You can also play solitaire or in teams against an oncoming horde of celestial beasts to see how long you'll survive!

Playtester Reviews

• "It's faster and easier to learn than Magic [the Gathering]."
• "Feels like a CCG all in one box!"
• "Love the art!"
• "I don't usually like fighting card games, but this was so fun."
• "I can't believe you made 153 of these things."  ...oh, believe it.

Add ons

In our playtesting and consulting, we've had several great requests for add-ons:

Stickers

Get stickers of your favorite Spawnimon!

Art Book

Explore the world of Spawnimon through Jacob Blackmon's art and quotes from Spawnimon explorer Dr. Ramiel Coaker.

Coloring Book

Enjoy your own variant takes with our 36-page coloring book!

Player Mat

Make things easier with this neoprene player mat showing where to line up your player cards and Spawnimon with counters for health instead of tokens.

You want to be the very best
Ph'nglui mglwas
To summon is your real test
To conquer is your cause
Gonna smite us all, SPAWNIMON!