Munchkin review

Steve Jackson Games | Card game | 3-6 players | 60 minutes | www.sjgames.com 

Sometimes it’s important not to take yourself too seriously and Munchkin is the perfect game for role-players who are happy to have a laugh now and again. That’s because although Munchkin is based on games like Dungeons & Dragons and will see you exploring a dungeon packed full of monsters, it has its tongue placed firmly in its cheek, so you’ll be encountering items like the Sneaky Bastard Sword or Yuppie Water… the latter perhaps indicating the game’s age. It was first released in 2001 when yuppie was still a word that everyone used.

Anyway, that aside, each turn your character must venture further into a dungeon by drawing a door card and then looking what’s inside the room beyond. Sometimes you’ll get a special ability that allows your character to change class or you’ll find some kind of magic artefact that improves your character. Of course there are negative discoveries too like curses or monsters. Invariably you’ll find the latter but rather than being a long, drawn out slog, fighting a monster is just a case of quickly comparing stats. If the monster is too powerful you can leg it, which is sometimes the best option because if you kick the bucket then other players get to steal your stuff.

In line with the humorous nature of the game, monsters are pretty ridiculous, like the Bigfoot, which is literally a big foot and Pukachu, which can vomit on your character. If you don’t fancy taking on these monsters alone, you can agree to team up with other players but you’ll have to bribe them with loot. Unfortunately, everyone else is more likely to stab you in the back because they can give special powers to the monsters so you get killed and they can nab all your hard-earned treasure.

Although it’s been around for an age, Munchkin is still great fun with plenty of in-jokes, particularly for Dungeons & Dragons players.

Buy a copy here

Sometimes we may include links to online retailers, from which we might receive a commission if you make a purchase. Affiliate links do not influence editorial coverage and will only be used when covering relevant products.