Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot

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Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot
An eponymous killer bunny playing the eponymous game, taken from the Killer Bunnies instruction manual.
Designer	Jeffrey Neil Bellinger
Publisher	Playroom Entertainment
Players	2–8
Age range	12+
Setup time	15 minutes
Playing time	60-90 minutes
Random chance	High
Skills required	Hand Management

Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot is a noncollectible card game created by Jeffrey Neil Bellinger and published by Playroom Entertainment. The name is in no way a reference to the bloodthirsty rabbit found in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.^{[citation needed]} It is considered to be the first game in a trilogy^{[citation needed]}, with the two remaining games, Killer Bunnies and the Journey to Jupiter and Killer Bunnies and the New Orleans Odyssey, to be published as of 2006.

1 Gameplay
2 Expansions
3 Spinoffs
4 Kids Game
5 Criticisms
6 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The primary object of Killer Bunnies to acquire carrot cards, one of which is revealed to be the winning "magic carrot" at the end of the game. This is done primarily through the use of bunnies, which allow the use of many in-game actions. Thus, the game revolves around playing bunnies and eliminating opposing bunnies through many (often comically violent) means.

Each player maintains a hand of five cards and a run cycle of two cards. In each turn, the player turns over the first card in their run cycle, and performs the instruction on the card. Then the player's hand is replenished. Players are required to maintain a hand of five cards throughout the game, and the game penalizes players for having fewer than five or more than five cards in their hand.

Cards may be one of different varieties: "Run" cards are the basic type of cards, while "Special" cards are those that may be either played normally or directly from the hand (in which case the run cycle remains untouched), or may be saved for later use when put through the run cycle. "Very Special" cards are similar, except that the player may choose to play the card out of turn. There are also the "Play Immediately" cards, which are played whenever they are drawn. Finally, "Kaballa Dolla" cards represent the monetary currency in the game, which may be used to purchase various items at the start of the player's turn.

The game continues until every Carrot card has been acquired by the players. At the end of the game, a stack of smaller carrot cards, each of which corresponds to a large Carrot card, is turned over one card at a time. The last carrot card drawn is the Magic Carrot, and its owner is named the winner. A player, however, requires a bunny in play in order to win the game - if a player is without bunnies at this phase, their Carrot cards are given to other players.

[edit] Expansions

Killer Bunnies consists of a 110-card starter deck, as well as Cabbage and Water cards, and dice. Booster sets containing 55 additional cards and other equipment have been released, adding to the complexity of the game. As of the Epsilon revision of the game, Killer Bunnies includes the first booster set. Due to its nature as a noncollectible card game, each expansion relies on gameplay elements found in previous expansions, prompting players to own every previous booster set before acquiring the next one. Some have criticized the piecemeal release, although it is not atypical of collectible card games, in which Killer Bunnies retains a passing resemblance. However, it should be noted that Killer Bunnies and its booster decks were originally designed together, with certain components referencing or referring to mechanics found in later booster decks. There are a total of 13 booster decks:

The Blue set is the starter deck, and contains eight Carrots.
The Yellow booster deck adds four additional Carrots to the game, and, as of the Epsilon edition, is included with the Blue starter deck.
The Red booster deck (2003) adds Red Bunnies, which are bunnies that have built-in abilities that additionally benefit the player. This booster also adds four additional Carrots to the game.
The Violet booster deck (2003) adds Specialty Bunnies, which are uncolored bunnies which may only be matched with each other to form Bunny Triplets. This booster adds the last four Carrots to the game.
The Orange booster deck (2004) adds Pawns to the game, which allow certain dice to be re-rolled when a player has them in its possession, as well as allowing certain cards to be played twice before discarding.
The Green booster deck (2004) adds Zodiac cards to the game. Players collect Zodiac cards similarly to Carrots, and at the end of the game, but before the Magic Carrot is revealed, one Zodiac card is revealed to be the winning Zodiac symbol, which grants the holder of the respective Zodiac card greater chances of obtaining the Magic Carrot. Half-color bunnies have also been added, where these bunnies may be treated as either of two different colors.
The Twilight White booster deck (2005) adds The White Stuff, whose holder is granted the exclusive use of a white die which may be substituted for any unfavorable die roll.
The Stainless Steel booster deck (2005) adds Super Bunnies, which are more powerful but incur additional consequences if they are removed from play.
The Perfectly Pink booster deck (2006) adds Pink Bunnies, which are similar to Red Bunnies, but are more powerful. It also adds Ranks which may be assigned to bunnies, allowing the player owning the highest-ranked Bunny a special privilege.
The Wacky Khaki booster deck (2006) adds additional Ranks into the game.
The Ominous Onyx booster deck (2007) adds Mysterious Places to the game, the mechanics of which are as yet unknown.

In addition, "Bunny Blanks" are also available, which allow players to create their own cards. Limited edition "Omega series" cards have also been released, providing a collectible aspect to the game. The "Psi series" cards, included with the Bunny Blanks, are also a second series of collectible Killer Bunnies cards.

The Cool Blue booster deck (2008) has only blue bunnies. This deck is made for the Kids Game. It was created for KinderBunnies, the children's game, but can be mixed with the original as well.

[edit] Spinoffs

Because of the cartoony graphics, various Killer Bunnies merchandise have been released. In addition, a children's version of the game, titled KinderBunnies: Their First Great Adventure, was released in 2004, having simplified gameplay (and a largely nonviolent motif). KinderBunnies may be combined with Killer Bunnies, and certain cards in Killer Bunnies cards receive additional benefits when the two games are combined.

[edit] Kids Game

The Kids version of this game is very easy, made for the smaller hands and brains of the children. In addition, it is super easy, has less bunnies and cards to make the game faster and more interesting. The Kids Game version has only one Booster Deck: The Cool Blue deck, this deck consists of only blue bunnies and no carrot cards.

[edit] Criticisms

Some criticisms about Killer Bunnies have been heard, the most common of which is that the game is ultimately a lottery, with the winner being determined by the random choice of the Magic Carrot, which is set at the start of the game. Because of this, a player consistently outclassed through the game can still win as long as a single bunny and a single carrot card is retained. Fans of Killer Bunnies contend 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 players to enjoy a game against more experienced players. Others have complained about the complexity of Killer Bunnies, especially with booster packs added to the game.