Munchkin (card game)
 |
 Box cover | |
| Players | 3-6 |
|---|---|
| Setup time | 5 minutes |
| Playing time | 45–60 minutes |
| Chance | High |
| Age range | 12 + |
| Skills | Dice rolling |
Munchkin is a card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, that has a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkins (immature role-players, playing "to win"). The card game is itself a spin-off from The Munchkin's Guide to Powergaming, a gaming humour book that also won an Origins Award in 2000.
In 2002 Munchkin won the Origins Award for Best Traditional Card Game of 2001.
After the success of the original Munchkin game several expansion packs and sequels were published.
Gameplay
A Munchkin game typically runs about an hour, depending on how many people are playing. At the beginning of the game, "Everyone starts as a Level 1 Human with no class (Heh, heh.)" and attempts to get to "Level 10."
Each person's turn begins with the player opening a room (kicking down the door) and looking for danger. If there is a monster in the room, the player fights the monster. If the player's level plus bonuses from the player's equipment (such as Sneaky Bastard Sword or Really Impressive Title) is higher than the monster's level plus any bonuses the monster might have (such as Enraged or Buffed), then the player wins the fight, moves up one level (though some monsters grant more levels), and takes the monster's stuff. If there is no trouble in the room, then the player goes straight to the looting. To achieve the winning level (10, 11, 20, or 22 depending on pre-game selections and card play), players give enhancing cards to whatever monsters are fighting the other players so that the monsters will win and cause "Bad Stuff" to happen to the player, or throw curses on each other (or have them happen randomly), such as New Edition Rules (causing all players to lose a level). Players can also use items against each other such as Itching Powder (making the player throw away any clothing or armor).
Munchkin is not a very serious game; the rules make this clear with phrases like: "Decide who goes first by rolling the dice and arguing about the results and the meaning of this sentence and whether the fact a word seems to be missing any effect." and "Any disputes in the rules should be settled by loud arguments with the owner of the game having the last word."
Expansions and spinoffs
A number of expansions to the original Munchkin game have been made. They're listed here, by spinoff:
- Munchkin
- Unnatural Axe, the first expansion, won the Origins Awards in 2003, for Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement of 2002. The Orc Race is introduced in this expansion.
- Clerical Errors, the second Munchkin expansion, brought the total number of cards for Munchkin up to 392. This expansion introduces the Gnome Race and the Bard Class.
- Clerical Errata, is a misprint of Clerical Errors, containing cards printed with the wrong card back (e.g. dungeon rather than treasure). By popular demand, a limited public release was made. Enough units were sold to make back the printing costs.
- The Need for Steed, the third expansion to Munchkin was released in 2006. This included a new type of card, Steeds, such as a dragon, an eagle and a turtle. Furthermore, many new kinds of Hirelings were added. Rules for these new cards are also included in this expansion.
- De-Ranged, the fourth expansion, adds the Ranger Class as well as some of the monsters from the European version of the game.
- Star Munchkin was released in 2002. It is a standalone version of Munchkin, and is not intended to be mixed with other munchkin decks unless you are "crazy enough to try". It parodies science-fiction in general, with an emphasis on the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises. It won the Origins Awards in 2003, for Best Traditional Card Game of 2002. Sidekicks are introduced in this game.
- Clown Wars is an expansion for Star Munchkin. It introduces Rooms and the Bug Race and the Star Ranger Class. 20th level Epic Munchkin rules provided.
- Munchkin Fu, another standalone version, was released in 2003 and parodies Asian martial arts movies. It introduces a new concept, Styles, which represent different fighting styles you can use.
- Monky Business, an expansion to Munchkin Fu, was released early in 2005.
- Munchkin Bites is the fourth standalone version, released in 2004. It parodies horror role-playing games, such as the games set in the World of Darkness universe, and horror fiction and movies in general.
- Pants Macabre is an expansion for Munchkin Bites, and was released in late 2005. This set added the Mummy Race.
- Super Munchkin is the fifth standalone version, released in the summer of 2005 and is a parody on super hero comics.
- The Narrow S Cape is an expansion for Super Munchkin, released in the summer of 2006. The Brain Class was added.
- Munchkin Impossible, the sixth standalone version, was released in late 2006 and parodies secret agent stories such as those of Mission: Impossible and James Bond. Besides the usual Classes, each character can have one or more Loyalties during the game.
- Munchkin Cthulhu, the seventh standalone version, released in March 2007, lampoons Lovecraft's Mythos and the horror gaming that surrounds it, summoning classic monsters from outside reality.
- Call of Cowthulhu is an expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu released in September 2007.
- The Unspeakable Vault is the second expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu scheduled for release in January 2008.
- The Good, The Bad, And The Munchkin is the eighth standalone version, and is meant to make fun of Western and cowboy-themed movies such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It is currently scheduled for release in late October or early November 2007.
- Munchkin Booty, the ninth standalone game, will focus on pirates and is planned to be released around summer 2008.
- Munchkin Blender is a special set released in response to players combining the different versions of Munchkin. It is an expansion sized set of cards designed to enhance this type of game, in which a player could be an elven/mutant bounty hunter/ninja or a dwarven samurai who uses a lasermaserbobaserbananafanafofaser (that's four different guns). Also provided are rules for playing to the 20th level, also known as Epic Munchkin. The Blender pack of cards is not required in order to mix two or more different standalone versions together.
- Munchkin Dice is a supplement which contains six oversized 10-sided dice. The dice are designed for use as level counters. Also included are 14 cards for the original Munchkin (Race/Class modifiers, most notably) and rules for rolling a Munchkin die for random game benefits.
- Epic Munchkin is a set of rules for playing up to level 20 for all the Munchkin games. Players that reach the higher levels [10-19] gain 'Epic Powers' for each race and class (these powers are lost if the player is reduced to level 9 or lower).
The Munchkin Cthulhu expansions contain 56 cards each, half the number found in previous expansions (112 cards).
There are also two role-playing games, both of which use the d20 System based on the Munchkin and Star Munchkin card games. The Munchkin RPG has several books, much like the Dungeons & Dragons game it parodies, including the Munchkin Player's Handbook, the Munchkin Master's Guide, and the Munchkin Monster Manual. The Star Munchkin Role Playing Game is one book, and includes rules for spaceship design and a new class not seen in the card game, the Farce K'nigit.
Additionally, Munchkin Quest is an upcoming board game/RPG based on the original Munchkin, and will contain several different items, monsters, and references to it. Not much is known about its rules or gameplay, but it will employ HP (unlike the card game, where you are either alive or "dead") and will be released sometime in 2008.
External links
- Steven Jackson Games' Munchkin homepage
- Munchkin Adventurers Guild Yahoo! group
- Munchkin and the many Munchkin game variations at BoardGameGeek
- The Munchkin wiki