Fight the monsters! Steal the treasures! Stab your buddy!

What is a Munchkin? Well, almost every role-player has encountered one; they have different names in every game. In general, it’s a person who likes his character to be as good as possible in combat. A Munchkin will lie, steal, and cheat to reach this goal. Thus, it is a fitting name for the game.

Munchkin is, at first glance, a very silly game. It’s a tasteless parody of most fantasy role-playing games. This is, unlike most RPGs, not a game of cooperation; it is an individualistic game, no doubt about it. What is the goal of it, then? Well, to win, of course. This is accomplished by being the first to reach level 10! How? Well, it is quite simple, really. By killing Monsters, stealing their treasure, and making sure that the other players won’t succeed.

Designed by Steve Jackson (Steve Jackson Games, anyone?) and illustrated by John Kovalic (the creator of Dork Tower), Munchkin is easy to understand, easy (and fun) to play, and it’s even rather amusing just to look at the cards themselves (the Tongue Demon is … nasty). In total there are 168 cards, split into two decks.

The game itself consists of two decks of cards, a treasure deck, and a room deck. The game starts with the dealing of four cards, two from the treasure deck, two from the room deck. The player who starts is the one who wins a die roll. During your turn, you kick down a door (by turning over the topmost card), and check to see if there are any monsters in the room. This is a Munchkin game, so it is set in a dungeon. If the room card happens to be a monster, you might want to either kill it, or else run away from it, depending on your level and equipment.

Monsters

There are many monsters in the game Munchkin. Some are quite easily recognizable from other role-playing games, like the Plutonium Dragon and Lame Goblin, while others are more … unusual. Creatures like the Potted Plant and Floating Nose. But beware; there are others as well! Who would like to run into a Large Angry Chicken while on a scavenger hunt in the dungeon? The monsters are too plentiful to mention here, but rest assured, there are plenty of them (at least 3,872 Orcs in there).

If you somehow managed to kill the monster, with or without help, you obviously go up a level, and of course you loot the body as well. Looting the body is a good idea, because everyone knows that even a Potted Plant might have a Horny Helmet somewhere! This brings us on to the second deck, the Treasure Deck.

Treasures

Treasures. That single word can make the blood pressure of a power-gamer to rise like a rocket. A killed monster has, obviously, equipment to steal. Equipment cards are quite useful, as you might get a Singing And Dancing Sword (not usable by thieves, obviously. Sneaking would be a lot harder with it), a Chainsaw of Bloody Disembowelment, or maybe even a pair of Pantyhose of Giant Strength. Each equipment card represents something, either a weapon, a potion (like a Nasty-tasting sports drink), armour, or something else like that, and it also gives you a bonus, which you use together with your level to see if you can kick the monster’s behind or not.

Class and Race

What would a fantasy game be if there weren’t any fantasy races in it? All the usual ones are found in this game; the sturdy dwarf, the helpful elf, the short halfling, and the measly human. Each race has a negative and positive side. Halflings are usually sneaky persons, and may sell off equipment at double the price (oh, did I mention that 1,000 gold coins can be exchanged for a level?), wizards have spells, thieves can backstab the monsters, or maybe the players. There are many classes, and you can even be half-breed. Just imagine playing a half-elf half-halfling, thief-cleric (I have done that! Wouldn’t you want to?).

Special Cards

There are many cards that aren’t monsters or treasures, classes or races. There are the Curses as well. Personally, “A Truly Obnoxious Curse” has been targeted at me, and of course the Duck On Head curse. Believe me, these curses are horrible!

The game itself is easily learned, with a three-page-long rule sheet. You don’t need much to play; a copy of Munchkin, ten tokens for each player, and a six-sided die. And some friends, of course. There are two expansions to the game, one that can be played as a stand-alone game. It is named Space Munchkin. The other expansion is called Unnatural Axe, and contains more monsters, more magical items, more classes, and metal figures of the player characters! (Space Munchkin, Munchkin and Unnatural Axe are fully compatible with each other as well.)

Conclusion

With the easy to understand rules, the wonderful pictures on the cards, the frightening monsters, the magical gear, the classes and races, and the wonderful humour in the game itself, I would almost give this game a full five faeries. There is one drawback in this game, and that is purely based on the persons you play it with. If your friends can’t stand being backstabbed and screwed over sideways in a game, don’t play it with them. I remember one time four of us were playing. Three of us managed to win, and the fourth player… Let’s just say that he didn’t win. No details needed, right?

Rating: Due to the backstabbing, this game gets 4 Faeries from me
Official Website: www.sjgames.com/munchkin/game