---
title: "Pummel Party: Complete Guide"
game: "Pummel Party"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/pummel-party"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Achievements", "Mods"]
summary: "How to win (and keep friends while doing it) in Pummel Party: board mode rules, how keys and goblets work, item priorities, board-by-board notes, minigame tips, rulesets, mods, and the tricks regulars use. Researched…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/pummel-party-complete-guide-f91b2648"
published: "2026-09-27T17:17:10.249Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T21:06:56.551Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# Pummel Party: Complete Guide

How to win (and keep friends while doing it) in Pummel Party: board mode rules, how keys and goblets work, item priorities, board-by-board notes, minigame tips, rulesets, mods, and the tricks regulars use.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of patch 1.14.1j (September 25, 2024), the latest update. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **Goblets (trophies) win the game.** Collect keys, reach the goal chest, and spend keys to claim a goblet. The winner is whoever has the most goblets at the end, or reaches the target set by the ruleset.
2. **Keys are the currency.** You get them from key spaces and minigame placements. Taking damage can make you lose keys, so a key-rich player is everyone's favourite target.
3. **You can use one item per turn, before you roll.** Plan your item before hitting the dice.
4. **Minigames happen after every round.** Placement rewards keys (the top finishers also get items), and it sets the next turn order, so minigames often matter more than the board.
5. **Dying isn't the end.** At zero HP you respawn elsewhere on the board (the graveyard space). You lose tempo but not the game.
6. **Follow the golden trail.** A golden particle trail points toward the goal chest. As of 1.14.1j it follows the true shortest path, ignoring non-landable pathing spaces.
7. **Custom rulesets change everything.** The host can set goblets to win, minigame pools, items and dice ranges. Check before you start.
8. **Bots fill any empty slots.** Great for practising minigames.

## Modes and Player Counts

| Mode | What it is |
|---|---|
| Board Mode | The main party-board game with items, keys and goblets |
| Minigame Mode | Straight into minigames with no board |
| Teams | Team variants (score UI supports teams) |
| Mods | Custom boards, spaces and minigames via the in-game mod editor and Steam Workshop |

- **1–8 players**, online or local on the same screen, with bots for empty slots.
- **Split-screen direction** (horizontal or vertical) is a setting under Options > General, added in 1.14.1h.
- **Online chat** has a cooldown and character limit (since 1.14.1e) and closes when you click elsewhere.

## Board Mode Rules in Detail

- **HP:** everyone has an HP pool. Damage from items, hazards and events lowers it; healing spaces and items restore it.
- **Death:** at 0 HP you're sent to a respawn point (the graveyard space furthest from any goal, per the 1.14.1j pathing change).
- **Keys:** you gain them from key spaces and minigames, and can lose them to damage and to some items. Damage drops a share of your keys, and dropped keys can't be picked up by other players.
- **Turn order:** set by a dice roll at the start, then by minigame placement, so winning minigames also means moving earlier.
- **Dice:** the default roll range can be widened or narrowed in the ruleset.
- **Goal chest:** reaching it with enough keys buys a goblet, then the chest moves. On boards with fewer chest locations than chests enabled, a chest can respawn where it was just claimed (1.14.1h).
- **Fake chests:** some rulesets or boards include shuffled fake chests. Track the real one.

### Board spaces

| Space | Effect |
|---|---|
| Goal chest | Trade keys for a goblet |
| Key space | Gain a random number of keys |
| Item space | Get a random item |
| Heal space | Restore health |
| Skull space | Lose HP and keys |
| Reaper space | Claim it; players who land on it later lose health or keys to you |
| Weapon cache | A powerful item that respawns after a cooldown |
| Event space | Board-specific events (for example arrow reversals or a sandworm attack) |
| Graveyard | Where you respawn after reaching 0 HP |

Exact space types vary by board and by Workshop mod, so read the tooltip rather than assuming.

## Items

Item names come from the store page, the achievements, and the community "Overall Guide" on Steam. Exact damage numbers have been rebalanced over the years, so read the in-game description rather than trusting old numbers.

| Item | What it does | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Punching Glove (also called the boxing glove) | Fires a glove in a direction and hits the first player in line | Knock a nearby rival off tempo, or finish a low-HP key holder |
| Shotgun | Aimed shot at another player | Reliable damage on someone in range |
| Health Kit | Restores a large chunk of HP | When you're low and someone armed is nearby |
| Bee Hive | Dropped hive that damages players in an area | Board chokepoints and crowded spaces |
| Magnet | Steals keys or an item from a player in front of you | Take keys from the leader |
| Remote Controlled Eggplant | Drive an explosive eggplant around, then detonate | Hit clusters of players; hitting 3 at once earns "The Trifecta" |
| Swap Portal | Swaps your position with another player's; you can't roll afterwards | Steal a spot next to the goal |
| Wrecking Ball | Single-target hit from off-screen | Punish one player without chasing them |
| Rocket Skewer | Ride a rocket toward the goal, skewering players on the way | Close the gap to the goal; 3 players at once earns "Extra Meat" |
| Tactical Cactus Disguise | Blocks the next damage instance and Swap Portals | Hold it when you're leading |
| Present | Random outcome, including options tied to minigame choice | High-variance catch-up item |
| Dark Summoning Staff | Summons a creature that patrols the board and attacks players | Area control over several rounds |
| Giga Laser | Kills any player anywhere on the map in one shot | Save it for the key leader right before they reach the chest |
| Nuclear Waste Barrel | Poisons a player for a couple of rounds and stops them using items | Shut down a leader holding a strong item |
| Arcade Challenge | Challenge a player to a retro minigame; the winner gains a goblet | Only when you're confident in your reflexes |

Hover each item in your inventory to read the current description before your turn.

**Priority thinking:**
- **Leading?** Keep defensive or healing items and don't bunch up with others.
- **Behind?** Use stealing, swapping and high-variance items to force key swings.
- **Mid-pack?** Area-damage items like the Eggplant and the Rocket Skewer give the best key swings when rivals cluster.

## Boards

The game ships with several official boards, plus unlimited Workshop boards. The community Overall Guide on Steam describes six:

| Board | Notes |
|---|---|
| Winterglow | Winter theme; suits 4-8 players |
| Pummeltown | Large board with zombies and a killer NPC roaming the streets |
| Pirate Paradise | Pirate theme; suits 4-8 players |
| Rusty Ruins | Small post-apocalyptic board; best for 2-4 players |
| The Rift | Medium board with a randomised layout and frequent loops |
| Overgrowth | Ancient temple with a chest shell game (fake chests) |

Newer versions may have added or reworked boards, so check the board list in your lobby. Rather than memorising layouts:

- **Open the map view at the start** to see where the goal chest can spawn, where heal spaces sit, and where paths loop back.
- **Smaller boards suit 2–4 players**; big boards with 8 players leave most of the table idle between turns.
- **Fake chests** can be enabled on some boards/rulesets: several chests are shuffled and only one is real (patch 1.14.1d fixed a softlock with them), so watch the shuffle.
- **Multiple goal chests** can be enabled in the ruleset; on a board with fewer chest spots than chests, a chest can respawn where it was just claimed (1.14.1h).

## Minigames

Pummel Party has a large rotating pool of minigames. Examples from the store page and patch notes include **Snowy Spin**, **Sandy Search**, **Explosive Exchange**, **Searing Spotlights**, **Forklift Fling**, **Sharky Swim**, **Acidic Atoll** and **Mortar Mayhem**. The Steam achievement list names many more, including **Barn Brawl**, **Speedy Sabers**, **Bullet Barrage**, **Rusty Racers**, **Strategic Shockwave**, **Grifting Gifts**, **Tunneling Tanks**, **Breaking Blocks**, **Morphing Maze**, **Bouncing Balls**, **Elemental Escalation**, **Slippery Sprint**, **Sorcerers Sprint**, **Thunderous Trench**, **Temporal Trails**, **Magma & Mages**, **Altitude Attack** and **Gift Grab**.

### Achievement-linked minigame goals

| Achievement | Goal |
|---|---|
| Raider | Find the treasure in Sandy Search |
| Light Foot | Finish Slippery Sprint without falling in the water |
| Road Warrior | Finish Rusty Racers without falling off the track |
| Dodge This | Survive 50 seconds in Bullet Barrage |
| A Daring Devil | Take no damage in Searing Spotlights |
| Rolling Master | Knock off 5 players in one game of Snowy Spin |
| Two Birds | Double kill in Barn Brawl |
| Chopped To Bits | 5-player kill streak in Speedy Sabers |
| You Made a Mistake | Accidentally blow yourself up in Strategic Shockwave |
| Steal From The Poor | Steal the last gift in a player's pile in Grifting Gifts |
| Starman | Get launched off screen in Tunneling Tanks |
| Move Quick | Survive 60 seconds in Breaking Blocks |
| Hoarder | Collect 40 keys in Morphing Maze |
| Quick Reactions | Score over 5 in Bouncing Balls |
| Elementfull | Control over 50% of the area in Elemental Escalation |
| Thread The Needle | Survive at least 50 seconds in Sorcerers Sprint |
| Fatal Slip | Die in Acidic Atoll without throwing a barrel |
| Lightning Rod | As the lightning holder, kill every other player in Thunderous Trench |
| Too Slow | Get hit by the train in Temporal Trails |
| Floor is Lava | Win Magma & Mages without taking damage |
| Altitude Achiever | Score over 10 in Altitude Attack |
| No Diamonds | Complete Gift Grab without collecting coal |
| Seeing Stars | Knock out 10 players in one game of Explosive Exchange |
| Minigame Master / Unlucky | Place first / last in every minigame |

Board achievements: **So Shiny** (get your first goal), **You Are The Winner** (win a game), **The Trifecta** (hit three players with the Eggplant) and **Extra Meat** (skewer three players with the Rocket Skewer). Minigame Master and Unlucky are the rarest, at around 1% of players; use Minigame Mode with a trimmed minigame pool to target the ones you still need, and bots for practice.

General tips by type:

| Type | Tip |
|---|---|
| Brawlers (e.g. Barn Brawl) | Stay near the center; let others fight first |
| Dodgers (e.g. Bullet Barrage, Searing Spotlights) | Move minimally and predictably; since 1.14.1j, survivors of Searing Spotlights are ranked by remaining HP, so avoid chip damage |
| Knockoff (e.g. Snowy Spin) | Stay away from edges; strike when others overcommit |
| Search (e.g. Sandy Search) | Systematic sweeps beat random digging |
| Racers (e.g. Rusty Racers) | Clean laps beat risky shortcuts |
| Hot potato (e.g. Explosive Exchange) | Pass the bomb early; don't get cornered |

## Rulesets and Hosting

- **Goblets to win**, **turn limits** and **dice ranges** can all be adjusted.
- **Minigame pools:** remove minigames your group hates.
- **Item pools:** turn off frustrating items for casual groups.
- **Bots:** fill empty slots and are handy for practising or grinding minigame achievements.
- **Saves and reconnects:** recent patches fixed save-loading lag and reconnection issues (1.14.1e), so long games are safer.

## Mods and Workshop

- The game includes a **mod editor** with Steam Workshop support for custom boards, spaces and minigames.
- 1.14.1j made pathing count only landable spaces, so custom boards with many pathing spaces behave more predictably (chest trail, Rocket Skewer, respawn placement and bot choices).
- 1.14.1c fixed mods failing to open when file paths exceeded the Windows path length limit.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Walking into the leader's range.** Don't finish your turn next to someone with a damage item.
- **Using items after rolling.** You can't. Items come before the dice.
- **Ignoring minigames.** Minigames swing more keys than most board turns.
- **Hoarding keys without a path to the chest.** Held keys are a target; damage and stealing items take them away.
- **Chasing a far-away chest.** If someone's closer, head elsewhere and wait for the chest to move.
- **Neglecting health.** Low HP invites everyone to hit you.

## Advanced Tips

- **Rocket Skewer setup:** it follows the shortest path along the board (non-landable spaces don't count since 1.14.1j), so use it to jump to the goal from an awkward tile.
- **Cluster punishment:** the Eggplant and other area items are best when three or more players share nearby spaces.
- **Last-place minigame angle:** finishing last can put you in a position to strike on the board with others not expecting it (and there's an achievement for finishing last in every minigame).
- **Track the trail:** the golden trail always points to the nearest goal. Plan two turns ahead.
- **Use obstacles:** hide behind pillars in end-game chaos to avoid unnecessary hits in melee minigames.

## FAQ

**How many players does Pummel Party support?**
1–8 players online or locally, with bots filling empty slots.

**Does Pummel Party have split-screen?**
Yes. Local play uses split-screen in minigames. You can choose horizontal or vertical splitting (since 1.14.1h).

**What's the latest update?**
Patch 1.14.1j (September 25, 2024), which reverted the Feathers cape appearance, ranked Searing Spotlights survivors by HP, fixed custom name and controller issues, and improved board-mod pathing.

**Can I play Pummel Party solo?**
Yes, against bots, in Board or Minigame mode.

**How do I win more at Pummel Party?**
Prioritize minigame wins for keys, avoid ending turns near armed players, and use high-variance stealing or swapping items when behind.

**Are there mods?**
Yes. There's an in-game mod editor and Steam Workshop for custom boards and minigames.

## Sources

- [Pummel Party on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/880940/Pummel_Party/)
- [Pummel Party Steam news (patches 1.14.1b–1.14.1j)](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/880940)
- [Steam guide: An Overall Guide for Pummel Party](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2066443349)
- [Pummel Party patch 1.14.1j notes (Sept 25, 2024)](https://steamstore-a.akamaihd.net/news/externalpost/steam_community_announcements/6339469370179066428)
- [Steam guide: 100% Achievement Guide](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2428976841)
- [Pummel Party Steam achievements](https://steamcommunity.com/stats/880940/achievements)