Munchkin
Steve Jackson Games
Card game for 3 or more players
Illustrated by John Kovalic
Munchkin is a Must Have for anyone who enjoys roleplaying games (I'm speaking of the tabletop variety) for their fun value and doesn't take them too seriously. Munchkin's a card game that pokes fun of RPGs like D&D - the hack 'n slask dungeon crawl variety. Hell, the tagline says it all:


In Munchkin, you kill monsters and gain levels to get to level 10 and win. As you play and kill, you gain treasure that you can use for bonuses, trade with other players, or sell to buy more levels. You can change your race (human to start, also elf, dwarf or halfling) and class (wizard, theif, warrior or cleric) all throughout play, and cause general chaos and mayhem. The other players can play cards to screw you over left and right, which is where the big fun in this game is.

The rules are even munchkiny. There are lines in the rules like "start the game by rolling dice and arguing over this sentence and if a word in missing any meaning". They even say you can cheat, as long as you're not caught! And the cards are just hilariously drawn and worded. You'll have so much fun stabbing your friends!

Some of the inspiration for the game came from the book also by Steve Jackson Games titled The Munchkin's Guide to Power Gaming. There's a lot of gags in this game, such as the monster "Gazebo" (you must face the gazebo alone!). I feel it is worth the somewhat steep SRP of $25.

The only problems I have with it is that it has quite of bit of errata and confusion (which apparently is corrected in the second printing, but you can still see what's up on there errata page) and the packaging for the game leaves much to be desired. It comes in quite a large box for just 168 cards and a rules sheet (which isn't folded much, which is why the box is so big). They could have put in dice or counters or something else, or make the box smaller and fold the rules sheet so that it's easier to transport. But that's not a beef with the game itself, so I'll leave it at that.

An expansion for Munchkin, titled Unnatural Axe, is in production at the time of this article. Maybe they'll do with Munchkin what they did with Chez Geek and just keep supporting it with expansions.

Great party game. Loads of laughs. You'll end up making new in-jokes and referrences in your group when you play this game. Speaking of which, Jason's is nothing more than a horny, fruity elf without his Panty Hose of Giant Strength! :)