Bookmark Collector

I don’t know whether I can fully contain my cross-cultural geek enthusiasm. I have recently come across bookmarks that are used in a fantasy adventure based card game!

One of my many hobbies is gaming. This takes the form of board games, card games, video games, and role playing games. Steve Jackson Games is one of the major vendors in the role playing field, and the company is also known for their many games that have a humorous twist. Munchkin is a card game that fits into the dungeon adventure gaming genre with a serious splash of insider humor. A basic set comes with 168 cards, a six sided die, and a rule set. However, there are a lot of expansion sets and accessories available to broaden the experience, and the game is very popular – at least among the gaming crowd.

Well, I just discovered that SJG has a large set of bookmarks that are part of the game expansions. These aren’t just promotional bookmarks with cute illustrations from the cards, but actual game elements. You can “play” one of these bookmarks in the course of a game! There are at least 23 bookmarks in English and 9 in German.

Below is a sample bookmark from the official website along with its instructions:

You may use this bookmark in any game of Munchkin or its sequels. It may be used at any time except during combat. You may only use one bookmark (of any kind) per game unless you change sex. If you change sex, you may use a second bookmark. You may not use more than two in a game, no matter what.

1. Show everyone the bookmark so they can satisfy themselves as to the exact nature of its vileness.
2. Discard as many cards as you like, from your hand only, and lose as many levels as you like (minimum 1).
3. Your chosen victim now loses as many levels as the total of the cards you discarded and the levels you lost. You must chortle gleefully.
4. Give the bookmark to the victim. It’s his now. He may save it for later, or (if he is eligible) use it during the current game.
5. Note that once someone reaches 10th level, they have won. You can’t use the bookmark on them AFTER they win, because the game is over!

This discovery has my head reeling for two reasons. First, I want to collect all the bookmarks in this series. Second, the idea of using bookmarks as gaming elements has got my creative juices flowing.

Watch out for some new ideas in the near future!