In the Library: Munchkin!
The Stats
How long in the library: 10+ years
Number of times played: Lost count
Number of times denied victory: *counting all my fingers and toes*
Number of times denied victory: *counting all my fingers and toes*
The What
What can I say about Munchkin that hasn't been said umpteen million times before in the 14 years since it has been released. Probably not that much. What I can say that it has had the best staying power in my realms of fellow gamers of all the games I currently own.
Really, what is Munchkin. Munchkin is a card game parody on Dungeons & Dragons designed by Steve Jackson and published by Steve Jackson Games. It was originally released in 2001 and a slew of Munchkin flavors ranging from sci-fi and spies to Adventure Time has followed. The game is played with 2 or more players (best to be played with 3 or more) with the goal, in any version, to get to level ten by any means necessary.
The basic mechanics are as follows:
The basic mechanics are as follows:
- "Kick down the door" - draw a door card face up for all to see (and maybe mock) and do whatever it says on the card. This may include fighting a monster, picking up a duck in a dungeon (by the way, don't ever do that), or getting some helpful card to use in the future
- If there was no monster to fight, there is the option to either:
- Loot the room - simply pull another door card, hidden from the other player view
- Look for trouble - if you have a monster in your hand, you can attempt to fight it.
Over the years, the attaining of one levels have felt like trying to climb a very high peak. It starts our innocently enough. You might get the level 1 monster the Potted Plant. You are maybe level 10 with all your combined bonuses. Should be an easy level and treasure. Right? WRONG! First, your friend you have known from high school drops a card that boosts it's level up to level 11 (via a +10 to level of monster card). Well, now you are losing. No worries. You saved some one shot cards for such an occasion. You find one that adds +3 to your level. Great, back to winning.
Now your son, the spawn you have raised from birth, smirks. He pulls out two cards from his hand: one is a wandering monster card, the other is a level 10 monster. Hope is now lost. From 60 to a fine pulverized dust. This type of scenario plays out more often than not and it's what brings me back and back again.
The above scenario is fictional however my son does enjoy to play. If you ever get the chance, he will be happy to tell you of the time where he won the game because he was an elf, a race type with the ability to gain a level when assisting to defeat a monster. It's his favorite story of ultimate defeat over me. A sly move which he won't ever let me live down.
The Appeal
Munchkin has lots of appeal. The primary draw of this game was the parody of Dungeons & Dragons. I immediately took to all the in jokes and artwork which cast a familiar hue onto those days where I played hours and hours into the whee morning eating tacos and Doritos with friends. When the first level monsters appeared such as the Level 1 Potted Plant and the Level 8 Gazebo (you can't have any help. You must fight it alone), laughter erupted at how ridiculous they were. The Gazebo actually has history stemming from an encounter between a slow(to-catch-on) player and a frustrated game master from the mid 1980's. True story or I like to think so.
The art on the cards is fitting for the feel of the game. Each card was drawn by John Kovalic, of the Dork Tower web comic, itself a parody comic series on the general life of nerds and geeks. Whatever twist of fate that brought Steve Jackson and John together was indeed for the best. Cards such as the "Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment" and the "Knee pads of Allure" are brought to hilarious life by Kovalic's style. I can't help but like having a "Chicken on my head" (a curse card that gives you -1 one on die rolls) or finding a "Duck of Doom" (another curse card where you lose two levels) because drawings of fowl are great. Seriously.
After the parody and the artwork, the game itself has replayability. The game is very much chance though as one continue to play and get acquainted with the cards, strategy can be and should be used. Knowing when to play curse cards as to not waste them, remembering you can buy levels for 1000 gold pieces (best to do this when you are level 8 and you have the level 1 Potted Plant in your hand), and how to smooze with the other players so when it comes to stabbing them in the back, it will hurt the most! Each time you play, you have new but familiar cards.
I feel like I'm a decent player and have had many wins over the years. The winning is nice (I can't lie, it's the BEST!) but it is really the improbably events that stem from trying to make sure that your buddy doesn't take that last level. Single encounters can take 10 minutes as everyone involved tries their best to wreck havoc on the active player. These are the events that are memorable. These are the times I wish wouldn't end. These are the players that I hope have hot pokers stuck in their eye for making my winning Level 1 Maul Rat into a wandering monster squad and their mates, mommies, and Pretty Balloons, an unbeatable mess. (This is a fictional tale but I will have my hot pokers at the ready if that ever happens.)
When my son feels the need to play (I'm usually twisting his arm), we usually can settle on playing Munchkin. The history we have playing is long. It did not start with his epic "I'm an elf. I win!" story and I imagine that it won't end with our epic beat down by a newbie this past MAG. This is one of the few games we can play together and get to beat each other up where we both have a chance. This makes Munchkin the most appealing of all.
The art on the cards is fitting for the feel of the game. Each card was drawn by John Kovalic, of the Dork Tower web comic, itself a parody comic series on the general life of nerds and geeks. Whatever twist of fate that brought Steve Jackson and John together was indeed for the best. Cards such as the "Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment" and the "Knee pads of Allure" are brought to hilarious life by Kovalic's style. I can't help but like having a "Chicken on my head" (a curse card that gives you -1 one on die rolls) or finding a "Duck of Doom" (another curse card where you lose two levels) because drawings of fowl are great. Seriously.
After the parody and the artwork, the game itself has replayability. The game is very much chance though as one continue to play and get acquainted with the cards, strategy can be and should be used. Knowing when to play curse cards as to not waste them, remembering you can buy levels for 1000 gold pieces (best to do this when you are level 8 and you have the level 1 Potted Plant in your hand), and how to smooze with the other players so when it comes to stabbing them in the back, it will hurt the most! Each time you play, you have new but familiar cards.
I feel like I'm a decent player and have had many wins over the years. The winning is nice (I can't lie, it's the BEST!) but it is really the improbably events that stem from trying to make sure that your buddy doesn't take that last level. Single encounters can take 10 minutes as everyone involved tries their best to wreck havoc on the active player. These are the events that are memorable. These are the times I wish wouldn't end. These are the players that I hope have hot pokers stuck in their eye for making my winning Level 1 Maul Rat into a wandering monster squad and their mates, mommies, and Pretty Balloons, an unbeatable mess. (This is a fictional tale but I will have my hot pokers at the ready if that ever happens.)
When my son feels the need to play (I'm usually twisting his arm), we usually can settle on playing Munchkin. The history we have playing is long. It did not start with his epic "I'm an elf. I win!" story and I imagine that it won't end with our epic beat down by a newbie this past MAG. This is one of the few games we can play together and get to beat each other up where we both have a chance. This makes Munchkin the most appealing of all.
The Conclusion
Munchkin has had great staying power. It had started as a single card game and has branched out immensely. There are now several board games based on Munchkin and tchotchkes galore. I had to pick up a "Duck of Doom" plushie. It's alright though, I'm not in a dungeon. In my own library, I have played the original Munchkin the most of all my games. The setup is mostly simple (until you add expansion packs, then the shuffling of the cards can get unwieldy), the overall rules are not complex, and the game is quite portable. This is the game where I try to get players into the harder drugs....I mean vastly more strategic games. A gateway, as it were.
There are some nagging problems with some original cards that made them much too powerful in the wrong hands. Steve Jackson Games took those issues to heart and have made official corrections over the years. The original set was colored oddly and made it difficult to tell the difference between a dungeon card and a treasure card. They corrected with with newer versions. I eventually went and purchased Munchkin Deluxe to get those color fixes, and, well, colored cards, too.
There's not much that goes wrong with the game other than the beating I receive from new players. You know, that comes with the territory where the game tagline is:
Kill the monsters. Steal the treasure. Stab your buddy.
I know I'll be playing this one more times in the future.
The Expansions and Variations
Various Munchkin expansions (I forgot which ones!)
Munchkin Deluxe
Star Munchkin
Munchkin Bites
Loot Letter, Variant of Love Letter
Duck of Doom, a plushie
Find out more
Official Munchkin Website
- http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/
Wil Wheaton and friends plays Munchkin on TableTop
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6oMBSiL7Zs
- http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/
Wil Wheaton and friends plays Munchkin on TableTop
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6oMBSiL7Zs
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