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Varmints!
2023
Rules assistance for Varmints!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 15–30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.0/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Varmints!
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Varmints! is a board game released in 2023 for 2 players, 15–30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by David Rose and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Area Majority / Influence.
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About the game
Varmints is a head-to-head contest between two crowds of critters as they race to devour all the trash in the neighborhood. Populate three alleys with fluffy, adorable pests and use them to raid the bins on the other side of the block. Defend your own bins with precise critter placement and tricky abilities. Call for backup and boost your plucky pests to outmaneuver the competition. Swoop, sneak, and scurry your way to dumpster-diving dominance, and may the fullest belly win! A game of Varmints is organized into a series of shared turns, each consisting of a Day Phase and a Night Phase. During the Day Phase, players trade actions back-and-forth, playing one Varmint card from hand at a time. Varmint cards are placed in lanes (called "alleys") in order to defend their own Trash Bins while attempting to swipe Scraps from the opponent. During the Night Phase, the strategically positioned Varmint cards face off in individual alleys, and the quicker critter wins, removing one Scrap from the defending Trash Bin. The game continues through cycles of Day and Night as alleys swarm with critters and scraps start to disappear from Trash Bins throughout the neighborhood. Empty all of your opponent's Trash Bins before they empty yours, and you win the game!
Designers
Publishers
- Grubfellow Games
Questions and answers
Varmints! supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Varmints! is 15–30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Varmints! for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Varmints! has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Varmints! belongs to these categories: Card Game and Animals. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Area Majority / Influence. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Varmints! are: David Rose. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Varmints! as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.