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Note: All information and pictures in this article are property of Playroom Entertainment, used with explicit permission.
Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot is a card game created by Jeffrey Neil Bellinger, which is currently (as of 2005) released and marketed by Playroom Entertainment. It is a humorous game, with the very name "Killer Bunnies" probably inspired by the blood-thirsty rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
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The object of the game is to collect carrot cards, whether by stealing them, buying them, or acquiring them through other means entirely. However, most game actions -- including getting carrots -- can only be taken if a player has one or more bunny cards on the table, so much of the game play consists of trying to kill or otherwise dispose of your opponents' bunnies.
Each player maintains a hand of five cards and an action stack of two cards. Each turn, the player turns over their topmost card in their action stack, and deals with that card; this may put a Bunny into play, or allow to attack another bunny, choose a Carrot, or otherwise alter the game. They then draw a card and put a card from their hand at the bottom of their action stack. If "Cash" or "Immediate Action" cards are drawn, they are dealt with immediately. Only "Run" and "Special" cards may be put into the stack; if the card turned over is a "Special" card, they may turn over the next card in their stack. Otherwise, their turn is over. Play continues until all Carrot cards have been drawn. At the end of the game, a stack of smaller carrot cards, each of which corresponds to a larger carrot in play, is turned over one card at a time. The last player to have a carrot drawn corresponding to one they chose during the game, who still has a bunny in play, is the winner.
The base Killer Bunnies game consists of an 110-card Blue starter deck of slightly-oversize cards; small decks of tiny Carrot Cards, Cabbage Cards, and Water Cards; and several dice. Expansion packs of 55 additional cards are regularly released.
Some criticisms about the game have been heard. The most common is that the game is ultimately a lottery, with the winner being determined by the random choice of the Magic Carrot. Because of this, a player consistently outclassed through the game can still win as long as he manages to hold on to one carrot card. Fans of Killer Bunnies counter that this random element keeps the game exciting even when one player's early card draws leave him in a poor position. It also allows less skilled or serious card players to enjoy a game against a more experienced friend. Others have complained about Killer Bunnies' complexity.
Several booster decks have been released. Each booster deck generally has a particular element it either changes or adds in the Killer Bunnies: Quest for the Magic Carrot game. In addition to the 55 playing cards added by each booster deck, expansions may also add new dice, additional small cards, or other items. Because each booster deck builds on elements added by its predecessors, they should be purchased and added to the game in the preferred order.
The first, the Yellow booster deck, is (since the Epsilon edition) included in the base game package with the Blue Starter deck. The order of the sets is:
The Red booster deck adds Red Bunnies. Red bunnies each have a unique ability. The Violet booster deck adds Specialty bunnies, which come in single, double, and triple, which make it much easier for players to make bunny triplets (allowing 2 cards to be played per turn). The Orange booster deck adds Weil's pawn Shop, where players can purchase pawns and discarded bunnies. Pawns allow re-roll of their respective die, and also allow you to reroll P-Cards of their color. The Green booster deck adds Zodiac cards. At the end of the game, before the magic carrot is revealed, the winning Zodiac card is revealed. The player that has it will get a bonus. The White booster added The White Stuff, a card allowing players exclusive use of the white die. On a card involving dice roll, the white die is rolled as well, and the white roll may be substituted for any other die roll for that card. The Stainless Steel deck will add Super Bunnies. These bunnies allow players to roll the 20-sided die for Weapons where the black die would normally be rolled. The Pink deck will add Pink bunnies, who have a new feature (similar to Red Bunnies) that we do not yet know. The Pink and Khaki decks will both add Rank, which will add a military-style ranking to a certain bunny. Finally, the last booster (Onyx) will add the much-anticipated Mysterious places - but we don't know much about them, because they're mysterious!
The creators of Killer Bunnies have shown interests in expanding the Killer Bunnies product lineup. Already, shirts are sold with pictures of the comic bunnies on them. The creators have also said that Killer Bunnies will be a trilogy of games. Along with the already released Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot, there will be Killer Bunnies and the Journey to Jupiter, which will be played using a combination of cards and a board, and then Killer Bunnies and the New Orleans Odyssey, which is still very secretive. Recently, a version of Killer Bunnies for younger audiences called "KinderBunnies" has been released, featuring non-lethal game play (as opposed to the normal version of Killer Bunnies, where bunnies die regularly). KinderBunnies is made up of two 55-card decks sold in a single package, the Sky Blue starter deck and the Yellow Sunshine booster deck; these decks are compatible with the normal Killer Bunnies game. Also, a Killer Bunnies calendar has been released.