How to Play Slamwich

Starting Gameplay

Identify the food, thief, and muncher cards before you start the game. Take a look at the cards as you remove them from the box. First, take note of the 44 total food cards, which are decorated with different kinds of sandwich toppings, such as peanut butter, jelly, pickles, and eggs. Next, find the 3 thief cards and the 8 muncher cards, which are special action cards in the game. Thief cards have a running child in a striped shirt and bandana on them. Muncher cards depict a child eating a sandwich, and also have numbers 1-3 in the top left corner.

Choose 1 player to shuffle and deal the cards. Pick one of your players to divide the cards between the other players. While this isn’t a super important role, you’ll need a dealer to determine the order of gameplay later on. Don’t worry—the dealer only has to shuffle and distribute the cards at the beginning of the round. Make sure you have at least 3 players before starting. You can play with up to 6 people.

Deal an even number of cards face-down to all players. Distribute all 55 cards as evenly as possible between the players. As they receive their cards, make sure that all players keep their cards in a face-down pile in front of them. Place any extra cards face-up in the center of the table before starting gameplay. If there are no extra cards, then proceed to start the round.

Flip over a single card on your turn and add it to the center stack. The player to the left of the dealer begins the game by flipping the top card on their stack so it's face-up in the center of the table or play area. Make sure that the card is not flipped over until everyone can see it.

Continue gameplay in a clockwise direction. Add a card to the center pile when it’s your turn. Take the topmost card of your personal pile and flip it face-up onto the pile in the center of the table. As you place the card down, make sure that everyone can see the card at the same time.

Winning the Game

Slap the center deck when 2 identical cards are placed consecutively. Keep an eye on the different cards that are placed in the middle pile to see if a “Double Decker,” or 2 identical cards, are placed down. Once any ingredient card is placed 2 times in a row, slap the pile before anyone else does. If you’re the first player to hit the center pile, then you get to keep all of the cards. Place those unshuffled cards face-down at the bottom of your pile. This type of card combination works with any 2 cards in the deck, including thief and muncher cards.

Whack the middle pile when you see a Slamwich. Keep your eyes peeled for the cards in an A-B-A pattern, otherwise known as a Slamwich. Once you see 1 ingredient sandwiched between 2 cards of the same ingredient, be sure to slap the center pile as quickly as possible. For instance, if a peanut butter card, a jelly card, and another peanut butter card are discarded in that order, then any player would be welcome to slap the center pile to claim the pile.

Yell “Stop Thief!” and hit the center pile when a thief card is discarded. Keep your reflexes sharp whenever a thief card is placed in the middle pile. Once you spot this card, be the first player to yell “Stop Thief!” before slapping the center pile. The first player to successfully yell this phrase and slap the center pile gets to keep the entire stack. If a player hits the center pile without yelling the proper catchphrase, then they don’t get to keep the cards. Be careful not to hit any other players by accident when Thief cards are put down.

Overrule the muncher card by placing down a Double Decker or Slamwich. A muncher card entitles the discarding player to the entire center pile. To stop this from happening, have the player left of the muncher put down the number of cards specified on the muncher card. If these new discards create a Double Decker or Slamwich, then a different player (including the initial muncher) can claim the center deck by being the first one to slap the card stack. Thief cards also cancel out the effect of a muncher card. Muncher and thief cards function the same way as regular ingredient cards. If the player left of the muncher happens to set down a #2 muncher card on top of a pre-existing #2 muncher card, then a Double Decker is created, and any player can slap it. If the next player puts down a muncher card with a different value, then the muncher gameplay shifts to the left. Now, the player left of the newest muncher discards the number of cards specified on the most recently placed muncher card.

Add the center pile to your hand if your muncher card is uncontested. If you put down a muncher card and none of the next player’s discards lead to a thief, Double Decker, or Slamwich, then you’re entitled to the entire center card pile. As is the case with regular slapped decks, add the center cards to the bottom of your own pile without shuffling them.

Lose a card if you slap the center stack of cards incorrectly. If your reflexes are too trigger-happy and you end up slapping an invalid card combination, you end up losing a card. In this event, take another card from the top of your pile and place it face-up in the middle pile. Continue the game with the player to the left, and keep going clockwise around the player circle. You only lose a card after your initial error. Once your turn comes around again, you’re free to discard as usual.

Continue gameplay until 1 player has all of the cards. Aim to collect as many cards as possible during a game of Slamwich. As the game goes on, keep your reflexes as sharp as possible. While you can’t see your cards as you discard them into the pile, take advantage of thief and muncher cards whenever possible. If you run out of cards at any point, you’re out of the game.