If the player says they're opening a chest, and the overlord plays a trap card, does the trap effect take place before or after the chest is opened?
This is particularly important in the case of death or being monkeyed, as neither monkeys nor dead people can open chests (and hence collect the loot).
The trap effect resolves before the contents of the chest are distributed. From the FAQ (page 4)
Q: When a chest contains curses, can the overlord use the threat generated by the curses to play a trap on that chest? Does the trap go off before or after the rest of the chest contents are distributed?
A: Curses are always the first thing distributed from a chest, and threat from curses may be used to play a trap card in response to opening the chest. The rest of the chest contents are only distributed after the trap card (if any) resolves. In the case of a Mimic or similar card, this could be several turns later!
