Munchkin: A Geekcentric Retro-Review

Photos: Steve Jackson Games

Seriously…What’s the point of playing a game you can’t win?  “Awww…let’s all team up to finish the dungeon and beat the boss for the good of the party, the gm, and the story!”

Shut up

I want loot… I want levels… I want to stab my “friends” in the face and take their magical items and step on their heads as I flee the monster that’s about to devour them whole.  Yeah… that’s my kinda game.  That’s Munchkin’s kinda game as well.

I realize I’m late to the party as Munchkin was released nearly 10 years ago. But hey…as Stan Lee says “Every comic is somebody’s first comic” and this particular box set just happened to be my first expedition into the quite expansive Munchkin universe.

What’s this “Munchkin” you speak of?

Munchkin is a card game, requiring 3-6 players ages 10+ with a very simple goal: Get to level 10.  The problem comes when your “friends” stab you in the back, refuse to help you kill the monster, or -God forbid- use their cards to beef up the monster right while you’re on the edge of victory.  That’s right, in the game of Munchkin, all your fellow party members are bastards.

Sound’s Crazy! What’s it like?

Once you learn the (fairly simple) rules, Munchkin is fast-paced, full of laughs and chuckles as everyone screws each other mercilessly, and very involving.  Munchkin uses a good combination of random luck – via drawing your cards from 2 separate decks – and strategy – as you need to know the precise timing and method that you’ll use to throw your “friends” under the bus.  You collect treasures and magical items that make you bigger and beefier (and more devious) as you traipse through the dungeon and rule ass.

Dungeons? Magical Items? Are you sure this is my kind of game?

While Munchkin is certainly aimed at the nerds and role-players who’ll get the most out of the humor, the rules are simple enough that one doesn’t need to have any experience in complex RPGs or board games.  Case in point: the first game was between me, two other hardcore gaming nerds, and my verily non-geeky wife.  She beat us to death with our own cards.  Oh the agony…I still have nightmares.

Where does the name “Munchkin” come from?

Psshtaw…that’s an easy question!  You can make this a little harder if you really try.  Munchkin is a term that goes all the way back to Dungeons and Dragons First Edition. I mainly heard it in regards to a player who made it a point to invoke the rules that worked to his advantage, and conveniently skirted around the ones that tended to work against him.   This term, however, can mean so much more. Check It Out.

Who makes Munchkin?

Munchkin is made by those crazy kids over at Steve Jackson Games who’re perhaps most famous for GURPS and the Artwork is done by Dork Tower’s John Kovalic.

Can I try before I buy?

You certainly can.

I’m not feeling the “fantasy” setting…what else you got?

TONS!  Munchkin comes in many different flavors and colors, each version with its own expansions and technically all Munchkin cards can be played together if you’re feeling that type of crazy.

Star Munchkin (Sci-Fi)
The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin (Western)
Munchkin: Impossible (Spies)
Munchkin Fu (Kung-Fu/Ninjas)
Munchkin Bites (vampires, werewolves, etc…)
Super Munchkin (superheroes)
Munchkin Cthulu (for you Lovecraft enthusiasts)
Munchkin Booty (Pirates! ARR!)
Munchkin Zombies (uh…Zombies, coming in 2011)

Whoa Whoa Whoa, Expansion packs? Is this one of those TCGs?

Negatory, good buddy.  Each Munchkin game is completely stand-alone and does offer expansions to add more cards to THAT GAME.  There are no boosters or random packages, every box of a particular Munchkin game is the same as the next.

Where can I buy Munchkin?

Here at Geekcentricity, we always recommend you stop at your FLGS first.  I got my copy from Barnes and Noble.  Of course, you can always go straight to the source.

Anything else? You’re starting to bore me.

Munchkin is fun, it’s funny, and it’s a game that doesn’t require a lot of preparation.  I’m looking forward to many more rousing games of Munchkin around my house.  More information can be found at WorldOfMunchkin.com