Munchkin (card game)

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For other uses, see Munchkin (disambiguation).

Munchkin
Players explore a hack-and-slash dungeon, fight monsters and collect treasure. (Also note that in order to hold the items on the cover you'd need 3 hands)
Players	2-6
Age range	12 +
Setup time	5 minutes
Playing time	45–60 minutes
Random chance	High
Skills required	Dice rolling
requires ten tokens per player, not included. The earliest printings of the game did not include a six-sided die that is needed to play.

Munchkin is a popular 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.

[edit] 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. Munchkin is not a very serious game; the rules make this pretty 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." There are also easy-to-miss rules and oddities. For example, some weapons are not labeled as "one-handed" or "two-handed," so a player may wield a two-handed weapon and additionally an unlabeled weapon.

[edit] 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 fourth 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Munchkin Cthulhu, the seventh standalone version, is coming later this year and lampoons Lovecraft's Mythos and the horror gaming that surrounds it, summoning classic monsters from outside reality.
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 and rules for rolling a Munchkin die for random game benefits.

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.