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

• 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.
• 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.
• You can use one item per turn, before you roll. Plan your item before hitting the dice.
• 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.
• Dying isn't the end. At zero HP you respawn elsewhere on the board (the graveyard space). You lose tempo but not the game.
• 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.
• Custom rulesets change everything. The host can set goblets to win, minigame pools, items and dice ranges. Check before you start.
• 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
• Pummel Party Steam news (patches 1.14.1b–1.14.1j)
• Steam guide: An Overall Guide for Pummel Party
• Pummel Party patch 1.14.1j notes (Sept 25, 2024)
• Steam guide: 100% Achievement Guide
• Pummel Party Steam achievements