In Banemaster one of the players draws from the green deck and plays the evil Banemaster the other players draw from the red deck and are sworn to fight the evil in the Banemasters Castle. During play each player draws 8 cards from their respective decks.

The Banemaster sets the location for his round and describes the setting. The other players go questing to defeat the Banemaster and his horde of monsters while also trying to evade traps collect treasure and score points. At the end of the round the Banemaster role rotates to the next player and the game continues.