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Feb 11th, 2015 at 09:36:38 - Munchkin (Other) |
Munchkin is a card game that was made to make fun of table-top games like Dungeons in Dragons. The goal is simple, get to level ten before the rest of the players. This is done by fighting monsters or by the use of certain Treasure cards found. The only rule for winning is that the final level must be gained from killing a monster and not with the use of cards that can manipulate your level.
The most basic game of Munchkin starts out with each player being dealt four Door cards and four Treasure cards. The door cards range from Monsters, Curses, Monster Enhancers, Classes, and Races. A monster's level can range from one to twenty and upon defeat the player can go up one or more levels and draw a certain amount of Treasure cards, which depends on the monster they are fighting. Curse cards have varying effects ranging from losing a level or giving negative bonuses to your next combat. Monster Enhancers can give Monsters you or other players or fighting extra bonuses while also increasing the treasure that s given upon defeating them. Class cards give the player special abilities depending on what class they have. For example, a thief class can sacrifice one of their cards to attempt to steal another players card of the thief's choice depending on a dice roll. Race cards are very similar to class cards where they give the player special abilities, but they can also bring disadvantages from certain monsters fought. Treasure cards range from Items or Go Up a Level. Item cards usually give permanent buffs to the player who equips them, whether through abilities or bonuses. Go Up a Level cards simply allow the player to go up a level.
After each players draws their starting hands, on their turn they can immediately play any car that is usable at that time. Upon completion of this, on each players turn, they must kick down the door, or draw a Door card face-up. If the player draws a monster, they must fight it by themselves or with another player(s) helping. If the total player's level plus bonuses from their equipment is higher than the monster's level and its bonuses, the player wins the fight. If the player did not find a monster in the room by kicking down the door, the player can either draw another Door card face down, called looting the room, or fight a monster from their hand, called looking for trouble. Unlike kicking down the door, if a player loots the room, they keep the card in their hand.
I believe this game exceeds in many gameplay mechanics just from its design. Diplomacy is used throughout the game by allowing other players to discuss what they can do to mess up another players work they are trying to do. Strategy is used to decide when would the best time be to play a card. For example, you do not want to play every card you have to buff up a monster against another player, because the next turn, someone may also be in a winning position and then you have nothing to play to stop them from winning. Luck also plays a big part through dice rolls and card draws. For example, if you are having trouble killing a monster, you can attempt to run by rolling a dice, but if you roll too low, you can possibly die and have to go back to level 1. Resource management also ties in with strategy in this game with the fact of not wasting your cards too early. The only gameplay mechanic that we have discussed in detail that does not occur in this game is territory control.
On my first play through this game, I experienced the worst luck possible, which was a result of card draws. At the beginning, not only did I not draw monsters that I could use later down the line to gain levels, I also did not encounter a monster anytime a kicked down the door or looted the room. This started causing a problem because at that point I am not gaining enough treasures to compensate for my level being so low. After about forty five minutes of playing, the other three players are level 9 and I was still stuck at level 2, which in turn caused them to not accept my help on particularly harder monster since I would bring nothing to the fight. Although, because of my inability to draw monsters, I was able to draw a lot of monster enhancing cards, which allowed me to extend the game considerably. In the end, although I lost, I was able to have fun with the game by using my resources correctly and screw up my friends game.
On my second play through of this game, I had much better luck at the beginning of the game, however, my strategy was terrible. Because of my initial hand, within the first five turns I was already level 9 and had a monster in my hand to play to get me to level 10 and win. However, I sold a lot of items to get from level 7 to 9 and because of that had no way to beat a monster that was buffed from level 4 to level 24. My strategy failed and because of my bad resource management, the rest of my game suffered. Unlike the first game where no one wanted to allow me to help kill monsters for a portion of their treasure because of my low level, my friends did not want me to help because I was so far ahead so early. Therefore, diplomacy was also a downfall for me in the second game.
In the end, I would play Munchkin again at any time. It allows you and your friends to have fun while everyone is consistently trying to ruin the others persons game. My only complaint about the game came from my non-understanding of the game mechanics of each card and how they could be used in the weirdest ways. For example, the guy that won both games we played was also the one that had the most experience with the game.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 11th, 2015 at 09:37:40.
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