Chomp! - Board game Gamewright - Free user manual and instructions

Type	Card Game
Number of Players	2-5
Recommended Age	6 & up
Game Duration	Approximately 15-20 minutes
Box Dimensions	Approx. 4.5 x 3.5 x 1 inches (11.4 x 8.9 x 2.5 cm)
Weight	Approx. 0.3 lbs (136 g)
Components	52 cards: 4 Shark, 8 Shrimp, 5 Seal, 5 Plankton, 3 Electric Eel, 10 Big Fish, 2 Chomp sequence, 4 Octopus, 11 Little Fish
Objective	Be the first player to collect all the cards by chomping lower creatures on the food chain
Food Chain Order	Shark (top) > Seal > Big Fish > Little Fish > Shrimp > Plankton (bottom). Octopus and Electric Eel are special cards.
Action Cards	Electric Eel triggers a Feeding Frenzy (any card can be chomped). Octopus triggers an Ink Out (no chomp that round).
Bad Chomp	Occurs if you slap a card higher, equal, or your own card, or during an Ink Out. Penalty: lose top card to winner.
Tie-Breaker	Simultaneous chomps: set aside cards, each plays another card; first to slap lowest wins all tied round cards.
2-Player Variants	Underwater War, Quick Chomp!, Double Chomp! – all aimed at collecting all cards
Maintenance	None required. Store cards in box away from moisture.
Cleaning	Wipe cards with a dry cloth if needed. Avoid liquids.
Safety	Small parts (cards). Not suitable for children under 3 years. Recommended for ages 6+.
Warranty	Standard manufacturer warranty; check package for details.
Spare Parts	Individual cards are not sold separately. Contact Gamewright for replacement.
Manufacturer	Gamewright, Watertown, MA, USA

Frequently Asked Questions - Chomp! Gamewright

How do I set up the game?

Remove the two Chomp sequence cards. Shuffle the remaining 50 cards and deal them face down equally to all players. Place any extra cards back in the box. Each player stacks their cards face down in front of them.

What happens if all players turn over the same card?

Since creatures cannot chomp their own kind, all cards are set aside. Each player plays another card. The first to slap the lowest card and shout 'Chomp!' wins any chompable cards from the current round plus the set-aside cards.

What is a Bad Chomp?

A Bad Chomp occurs if you slap a card that is higher on the food chain than your own, or the same as yours, or your own card, or during an Octopus Ink Out. The penalty is losing your top card to the round winner (or to the next winner).

How does the Electric Eel card work?

When an Electric Eel is turned over, a Feeding Frenzy occurs. Any player can chomp any other player's card (except their own). The first to slap another's card and shout 'Feeding Frenzy!' takes all cards in the round.

What is an Octopus Ink Out?

When an Octopus card appears, players cannot chomp. All played cards are set aside. Each player plays another card, and the first to slap the lowest card wins both the current round's chompable cards and the set-aside cards.

What if an Octopus and Electric Eel appear together?

The Electric Eel prevails: a Feeding Frenzy starts immediately, and the Octopus effect is ignored.

How do I break a tie when two players chomp at the same time?

Set aside the cards just played. Each player plays another card. The first to slap the lowest card wins all the cards from the tie round plus any chompable cards from the previous round.

How does the game end?

If a player loses all their cards, they are out. Play continues until only 2 players have cards. They can either count cards (most wins) or switch to a 2‑player variant to continue.

Can a Shark be chomped?

No. The Shark is at the top of the food chain. Nothing can chomp a Shark, except during a Feeding Frenzy (Electric Eel) where any card can be chomped.

What are the 2‑player variants?

Three variants: Underwater War (higher card wins), Quick Chomp! (race to slap the lower card), and Double Chomp! (each plays two cards, first to slap the lowest takes all four).

USER MANUAL Chomp! Gamewright

Object:

Rules of Play

Chomp your way to the top of the food chain by collecting all of the cards. The first player to collect all of the cards wins the game.

Contents:

52 cards:

4 Shark cards
8 Shrimp cards
Action Cards:
5 Seal cards
5 Plankton cards
3 Electric Eel cards
10 Big Fish cards
2 Chomp sequence cards
4 Octopus cards
11 Little Fish cards

Before You Dive In...

Each player will want to familiarize themselves with the game's sea creatures and know who chomps what. Take the time to look over the cards and learn each critter's place in the food chain.

Chomp! Food Chain Explained

The higher a creature is on the food chain, the more it can chomp. Creatures cannot chomp their own kind (this is a civilized game, after all) or anything higher up the food chain. Nobody can chomp an Octopus or an Electric Eel, which are special cards explained below.

This is CHOMP!'s food chain chomping order:

(see Chomp! sequence card)

SHARK is at the top of the food chain. Nothing can chomp a Shark, and a Shark can chomp anything except another Shark, an Octopus or Electric Eel.

SEAL can chomp a Big Fish, Little Fish, Shrimp, or Plankton.

BIG FISH can chomp a Little Fish, Shrimp, or Plankton.

LITTLE FISH can chomp Shrimp or Plankton.

SHRIMP can only chomp Plankton.

PLANKTON can't chomp anything (sorry, guys).

Set-up

Once you are familiar with the chomping order, remove the two Chomp! sequence cards, then shuffle and deal the remaining cards face down, equally to each player. Place any extra cards back in the box, out of play. Stack your cards face down in a pile in front of you. Don't look!

Black-and-white illustration collage of underwater scenes including a shark, fish, and marine organisms (no text or symbols)

Game Play (for three or more players)

In unison, all players turn over the top card of their pile into the center of the playing area. The first player to slap the card with the lowest creature on the food chain and shout “Chomp!” wins the round. He collects all the cards his card can chomp and places them face down in a separate discard pile. If your card couldn’t be chomped, place it in your discard pile.

Important Note: If the lowest card is yours, you are not allowed to chomp.

Example:

Four players turn over a Seal card, a Shark card, a Big Fish card, and another Big Fish card. Since the Big Fish is the lowest creature on this particular food chain, only the players who turned over the Seal and Shark cards can chomp this round. The player that slaps either of the Big Fish cards and and shouts “Chomp!” first, wins the round.

Possible Outcomes:

If the player with the Shark card chomps first, he would take all the cards because the Shark is at the top of the food chain.

If the Seal card player chomps first, she would take both Big Fish cards and her own card. She can't chomp the Shark card because it's higher than the Seal on the food chain, so the Shark card player puts his card in his discard pile.

Play continues with all players turning over their top card at the same time.

When your pile runs out, shuffle your discard pile, place it face down in front of you and continue playing.

Beware the Bad Chomp!

Be quick — but not so quick that you chomp when you shouldn't.

You've made a Bad Chomp if you:

• slap another player's card that's higher on the food chain than yours, or
• slap another player's card that's the same as yours, or
• slap your own card, or
• slap a card in an Octopus Ink Out (see below).

If you make a Bad Chomp, put the top card of your pile face down in the playing area. The winner of the round takes both of your cards along with the other cards she can chomp. If there is no winner that round, your cards stay in the center. The winner of the next round then takes your cards.

Action Cards

Electric Eel: Feeding Frenzy!

If an Electric Eel card is turned over, a feeding frenzy occurs. Any player can chomp any card, except her own. The first to slap another player's card and shout "Feeding Frenzy!" takes all the cards, even those that are higher on the food chain.

Octopus: Ink Out!

When an octopus senses danger, it will squirt ink to darken the water surrounding it. Since no one can see, no one can chomp and all cards played

are set aside. Each player plays another card. The first to slap the lowest card and shout “Chomp!” gets any cards from the current round she is allowed to chomp as well as all the cards from the Octopus Ink Out round. Any cards from the current round she can’t chomp, are reclaimed by the players who turned them over.

If you chomp when an Octopus card

is turned over, you've made a Bad Chomp (see “Beware the Bad Chomp”).

Octopus vs. Electric Eel

If an Octopus and an Electric Eel turn up at the same time, the Eel prevails and starts a Feeding Frenzy!

Cartoon illustration of a smiling fish head (no text or symbols)

Breaking a Tie

If two or more players chomp at the same time, set aside the cards just played. Each player plays another card. The first to slap the lowest card and shout “Chomp!” wins all the cards from the tie round. She also gets any cards from the previous round that she is allowed to chomp. Any cards she can’t chomp are reclaimed by the players who turned them over.

Ending the Game

If all your cards get chomped up by other players, you're washed up and out of the game. Keep playing until there are only 2 players who have cards. The last 2 players can either count their cards and declare the one with the most cards the winner, OR they can switch to one of the 2-player games below and continue playing.

2-Player Games

The object of these three games is to collect all of the cards. The rules are slightly different from regular game play, but Bad Chomps are still Bad Chomps.

Underwater War

Each player turns over the top card in his pile at the same time. The card higher on the food chain wins, and that player takes the cards. In a tie, each player places 2 cards face down and 1 card face up in the center. The face-up card that's higher on the food chain takes all of the cards. If an Electric Eel is turned up, the first player to slap the Eel card and shout "Feeding Frenzy!" takes the cards. If an Octopus card is turned up, each player turns over the next card in her school; the player with card that's higher on the food chain takes all the cards.

Quick CHOMP!

Each player turns over the top card in his pile at the same time. Both players race to slap the card lower on the food chain regardless of who turned it over. Winner takes both cards. Tie-breakers, Electric Eel cards, and Octopus cards are the same as in “Underwater War.”

Double CHOMP!

Each player divides their pile in two and turns over the two top cards at the same time. The first player to slap the card lowest on the food chain and shout “Chomp!” takes all 4 cards. Tie-breakers, Electric Eel cards, and Octopus cards are the same as in regular game play.

FAQs

Q. What happens when all players turn over the same card?

A. Since creatures cannot chomp their own kind, all cards are set aside and each player plays another card. The first to slap the lowest card and shout “Chomp!” gets any cards from the current round she is allowed to chomp as well as the cards from the previous round.

Q. What happens when more than one player turns over a card with the lowest creature on the food chain?

A. Those players are not allowed to chomp. If all but one player turns over a card with the lowest creature on the food chain, the player with the high card automatically wins the round and collects all the cards.

A Word from Gamewright

Have you ever eaten a tuna sandwich? A tuna is a very big fish that eats smaller fish that eat even smaller fish that eat crustaceans (such as shrimp) that eat plants and animals called plankton that are so small you can only see them with a microscope. That's a food chain: bigger animals eat smaller animals, smaller animals eat plants, and so on... Some big animals skip the middle and go straight to plants: cows eat grass and some whales eat plankton. Whatever you eat, you're part of a food chain!

Playing CHOMP! gives children a taste of what a food chain is about. It also sharpens their reflexes and teaches them quick thinking and analysis while playing a fast-moving game.

— The Gamewright Gang

Note: In all our rules, we use either "be" or "she" to include everyone!

Game by Scott Kimball Illustrations by Dave Clegg

Games for the Infinitely Imaginative®

124 Watertown Street

Watertown, MA 02472

tel: [phone] fax: [phone]

email: [e-mail]

http://www.gamewright.com

©2000 Gamewright, A Division of Ceaco, Inc.

All worldwide rights reserved. Made in USA.

Cartoon illustration of a smiling shark with sharp teeth and wide eyes (no text or symbols)

Illustration of four fish with black stripes, no text or symbols present