<p>According to the very old rules from the beginning of munchkin you could cheat if the other players didn't catch you.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Likewise, you may also use only one headgear, one suit of armor, one pair of footgear, and two “hand” items (or one “two hands” item), unless you have a card that lets you cheat <em>or the other players don’t catch you</em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That was in an earlier version of the rules and <strong>doesn't appear in the newer rules</strong>, so probably a no. On <a href="https://munchkin.game/gameplay/faq/#general" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the Munchkin FAQ</a> the fifth question under General Questions is</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Q. But don't the rules say it's OK to cheat if you don't get caught?</p>
<p>A. Not anymore, and even when they did, it was a joke. If you want a game where cheating is in the spirit and the letter of the rules, try Illuminati.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So again no.</p>
<p>Anyways, cheating is breaking the rules and makes the game not very fun, so I'd say no to cheating.</p>
<p>If you want to read those rules, I accessed them from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/3069/rulespdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/3069/rulespdf</a>. You need a boardgamegeek account to download them. To find that specific passage, hit <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>F</kbd> then write &quot;cheat&quot; in the box that appears.</p>
<p>Also see this old cheat card:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/J0cdd.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/J0cdd.png" alt="Cheat!: &quot;Player may do one thing that would otherwise be against the rules.&quot;" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T03:37:38.263Z
Also, scroll down to the bottom [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Munchkin/comments/591lfy/what_was_the_original_cheating_rule/) to see the official stance of Steve Jackson Games on cheating - the line in the manual was meant to be a joke, and they do not endorse it. Unfortunately players took the line at face value and hence thought that cheating was encouraged.
ConMan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T03:44:07.570Z
@ConMan yeah I saw that that's mostly how I got my links
Yout Ried
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T13:10:31.180Z
Point of fact: you can cheat in any game so long as no one catches you.
L. Scott Johnson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T14:15:28.090Z
@L.ScottJohnson Point of fact: if people do catch you cheating, you will stop getting invited to play board games.  Risk/benefit analysis is an important life skill
Zags
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T14:48:09.973Z
@Zags Indeed. Just pointing out the obviousness of the "or the other players don't catch you" being a joke / not endorsed.
L. Scott Johnson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T15:30:00.123Z
Your geekdo link is broken, Access denied, expired
Andrew
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T15:37:12.680Z
@Andrew oh you might need a boardgamegeek.com account it still works for me
Yout Ried
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T15:38:23.063Z
@YoutRied The XML returned by the request said the link expired at 2:30 am GMT, that was actually slightly over 13 hours ago. Looks like it may be a one time use link?
Andrew
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T15:40:14.200Z
@Andrew I'll try and find a permanent link then but it still works for me
Yout Ried
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T15:47:12.747Z
The expiry time is right there in the link... though it doesn't match with the data returned when I click the link it still is in the past. 1551666634 is 3:43 pm GMT today
Andrew
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T16:05:43.570Z
@Andrew That's the best I can do for now... (please see edited question)
Yout Ried
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T16:52:02.413Z
If you added the italics to the quote, you should note that fact.
Acccumulation
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T02:35:55.153Z
2023-08-12T17:40:37.057Z
2023-08-12T17:40:37.057Z
Yout Ried
<p>I have been disputing with my friends lately about the fact that the creators of Munchkin intended for people to cheat or not. By cheating I mean doing anything the rules say you can't do or that is obviously not allowed, e.g.: using more hands then you're supposed to, stealing cards from the deck when nobody's looking. I believe the game is all about being a jerk and a backstabber in every way. Who agrees that you should be allowed to steal and cheat in Munchkin but have it be punishable however the GM sees fit?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T01:38:40.640Z
What do you mean by cheating? Can you give some examples.
Joe W
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T01:48:13.663Z
@JoeW just going by the definition of the cheating tag on this site. cheating is "breaking the rules" so anything that the rules say you cant do, like using three hands without the permitting card. Or anything that is just blatantly not allowed, like stealing extra cards while nobody is looking and stuff like that.
Elias Rowan Albatross
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T01:50:51.477Z
You should edit that into the question but my thoughts are that the answer is no because that makes the game not very fun to play
Joe W
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T14:10:28.733Z
Munchkin the board game has no GM to police/punish cheating.  As a result, the players must follow and enforce the rules as a group
Zags
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-06T00:43:45.193Z
If cheating *is* allowed then wouldn't it kinda by definition *not* be cheating? My head hurts.
goldPseudo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-06T01:08:15.500Z
@goldPseudo Yes i know. I don't mean is it literally allowed, but what i'm really getting at is the intent of the game creators. I heard someone that they encouraged cheating. not exactly allowing it.
Elias Rowan Albatross
<munchkin><cheating>
Is cheating allowed in Munchkin?
Elias Rowan Albatross
# Is cheating allowed in Munchkin?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-03-04)

I have been disputing with my friends lately about the fact that the creators of Munchkin intended for people to cheat or not. By cheating I mean doing anything the rules say you can't do or that is obviously not allowed, e.g.: using more hands then you're supposed to, stealing cards from the deck when nobody's looking. I believe the game is all about being a jerk and a backstabber in every way. Who agrees that you should be allowed to steal and cheat in Munchkin but have it be punishable however the GM sees fit?

**Tags:** munchkin, cheating

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What do you mean by cheating? Can you give some examples.  
> **username_0**: @JoeW just going by the definition of the cheating tag on this site. cheating is "breaking the rules" so anything that the rules say you cant do, like using three hands without the permitting card. Or anything that is just blatantly not allowed, like stealing extra cards while nobody is looking and stuff like that.  
> **username_1**: You should edit that into the question but my thoughts are that the answer is no because that makes the game not very fun to play  
> **username_2**: Munchkin the board game has no GM to police/punish cheating.  As a result, the players must follow and enforce the rules as a group  
> **username_3**: If cheating *is* allowed then wouldn't it kinda by definition *not* be cheating? My head hurts.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 Yes i know. I don't mean is it literally allowed, but what i'm really getting at is the intent of the game creators. I heard someone that they encouraged cheating. not exactly allowing it.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-03-04. Score: 32 | Accepted answer

According to the very old rules from the beginning of munchkin you could cheat if the other players didn't catch you.

> Likewise, you may also use only one headgear, one suit of armor, one pair of footgear, and two “hand” items (or one “two hands” item), unless you have a card that lets you cheat *or the other players don’t catch you*.

That was in an earlier version of the rules and **doesn't appear in the newer rules**, so probably a no. On [the Munchkin FAQ](https://munchkin.game/gameplay/faq/#general) the fifth question under General Questions is

> Q. But don't the rules say it's OK to cheat if you don't get caught?
>
> A. Not anymore, and even when they did, it was a joke. If you want a game where cheating is in the spirit and the letter of the rules, try Illuminati.

So again no.

Anyways, cheating is breaking the rules and makes the game not very fun, so I'd say no to cheating.

If you want to read those rules, I accessed them from <https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/3069/rulespdf>. You need a boardgamegeek account to download them. To find that specific passage, hit `Ctrl`+`F` then write "cheat" in the box that appears.

Also see this old cheat card:

[![Cheat!: ](https://i.sstatic.net/J0cdd.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/J0cdd.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Also, scroll down to the bottom [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Munchkin/comments/591lfy/what_was_the_original_cheating_rule/) to see the official stance of Steve Jackson Games on cheating - the line in the manual was meant to be a joke, and they do not endorse it. Unfortunately players took the line at face value and hence thought that cheating was encouraged.  
> **username_4**: @username_5 yeah I saw that that's mostly how I got my links  
> **username_6**: Point of fact: you can cheat in any game so long as no one catches you.  
> **username_2**: @L.ScottJohnson Point of fact: if people do catch you cheating, you will stop getting invited to play board games.  Risk/benefit analysis is an important life skill  
> **username_6**: @username_2 Indeed. Just pointing out the obviousness of the "or the other players don't catch you" being a joke / not endorsed.  
> **username_7**: Your geekdo link is broken, Access denied, expired  
> **username_4**: @username_7 oh you might need a boardgamegeek.com account it still works for me  
> **username_7**: @YoutRied The XML returned by the request said the link expired at 2:30 am GMT, that was actually slightly over 13 hours ago. Looks like it may be a one time use link?  
> **username_4**: @username_7 I'll try and find a permanent link then but it still works for me  
> **username_7**: The expiry time is right there in the link... though it doesn't match with the data returned when I click the link it still is in the past. 1551666634 is 3:43 pm GMT today  
> **username_4**: @username_7 That's the best I can do for now... (please see edited question)  
> **username_8**: If you added the italics to the quote, you should note that fact.  

---

