Munchkin Deluxe Board Game (Base Game), Family Board & Card Game, Adults, Kids, & Fantasy Roleplaying Game, Ages 10+, 3-6 Players, Avg Play Time 120 Min, From Steve Jackson Games

I just finished playing this game for the first time with my mom and my nephew, and I can't wait to get some friends together to play it again!Munchkin is a rather simple game to learn. While the rules seem a bit long, that's part of the joke. My 10-year-old nephew hadn't read the rules, but after a few turns he was figuring things out for himself and even reminding me of things. (My mom... not so much. But she'll be the first to tell you that she has no imagination, and fantasy isn't really her favorite genre anyway.) However, there's actually quite a bit of strategy to it. Between the humor and the gameplay, I can already tell it has LOTS of replay value. The first thing my nephew asked when we finished the game was "That was awesome! When can we play this again?"I do feel the need to point out a few things. First of all, while this Deluxe version does come with a board, Munchkin is a card game, not a board game. The board is just a (very) convenient way to keep track of each player's progress and to help keep the stacks of cards a bit orderly. (One of my mom's complaints was that we didn't seem to be moving the pieces around the board fast enough. My nephew's response was "Well, it's really a card game.") It's entirely possible to play the game with a few counters (such as 10-sided dice) or a few sheets of scratch paper, and the only real difference between the regular and Deluxe versions of the game is the addition of a board and tokens.Also, if you're going to be playing the game regularly, you'll probably want to buy one (or more) of the several available expansions. With three players, we went through half of the cards in a single game. Since part of the fun of the game is wondering what cards are going to show up next, more is definitely better. Fortunately, there are currently about 7 major expansions (of about 100 cards each) and about a dozen minor expansions (of about 15 cards each), in addition to the different variants. So it will be easy to spice things up a bit if the game starts feeling a bit repetitive.Finally, Munchkin is a parody of fantasy roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons. If you've played those kinds of games before or you just like the fantasy genre, you'll probably have a lot of fun playing this game. If not, you might want to look into one of the several other versions of the game, such as Star Munchkin (sci-fi), Munchkin Fu (martial arts movies), Super Munchkin (superheros), Munchkin Bites! (vampires, werewolves, and etc.), Munchkin Zombie (self-explanatory), Munchkin Booty (pirates), The Good The Bad And The Munchkin (westerns), etc. There's a Munchkin for just about everyone. And it's fairly easy to combine different versions of the game if you want.I play a lot of card games and board games with my friends. In the past year (and that I can remember), we've played Apples To Apples, The Game of Things, Trivial Pursuit, Clue, Say Anything, and good old-fashioned poker. But I think Munchkin is going to be a new favorite, and frequent part of game night.

As a long time Gamer I found this game to be quite enjoyable. The term ‘Munchkin’ harkens back to the days of old when meeting younger new players at gaming club meetings. They always over-read the rules and found any loophole to take advantage of. Hence, they were dubbed “Munchkins”. That spirit of crazy do-anything-no-matter-how-illogical-to-win spirit is captured herein.I originally bought this game to play with my daughter. She won't play serious dungeon/adventure board or card games, but after reading a few cards of this game she eagerly agreed to a simple two player learning game, and now we are hooked! This game is written with good humor, which we both enjoyed. As an old school player myself, I found the humor of the Steve Jackson Games Team welcoming like an old friend. My daughter just thinks the cards are fun; Boots of Butt-Kicking, the Duck of Doom, etc. These are great fun! They are loaded with imaginative humorous puns!Some might find a card or two inappropriate for younger players. I feel you either have to be easily offended or think children should be raised in a bell jar until they are twenty one to find this game objectionable. If you are the kind of person who is offended by the terms “Sneaky Bastard Sword” (a play on words), “Horny Helmet” (A helmet with huge Horns), or “Kneepads of Allure” (Not explained), then don’t complain, simply DON’T BUY THIS GAME FOR YOUR KIDS! Yes older, adult players may get the subtext of the artwork on the “Leather Armor” card, but a ten year old probably won’t see it. Take a chill pill and let your kids mature a little.Now, the game play is simple, very simple. This is no huge strategy game. Gameplay is literally as easy as; Kick the Door in, Kill the Monster, Grab the Treasure, and Go up a level. Get to level 10 first, and you win. There is some strategy added with helping and hurting the other player. There are times when it is advantageous to both hurt and help an opponent in the same turn. (See my definition of Munchkin above). The final stages of the game almost always end very cutthroat, and pulling out all the dirty tricks you can to stop your opponent. If your kids or you can’t handle this; don’t buy!Playing time 30-60 minutes, 3 Players recommended, but 2 player games are possible just less fun. It will take several playing sessions before you experience all the cards, and should you find they get boring or predictable, there are eight expansions with new cards, new concepts and new variations on the game. I’ve already bought a few.

This is a great game that my family really enjoys playing often. The components are high quality, the cards are easy to shuffle, which is always the mark of high quality cards to me, and the board is excellent. The rules were fairly hard to know if you digested all of the or not, but the game has a ton of flexibility in the rules such as trading cards between players and bargaining for help or other cards, so I had to put my OCD aside and just play. The rules flush themselves out as you go. The basic rules are super simple, so my advice is unless the rules say you can’t, you have a lot of options on how to approach the challenges you are presented to win the game. It is a very interactive game. There will be a lot of deal making and negotiating, so I really like that this game fosters teamwork among my kids in killing monsters. I would highly recommend this game. I have not even got any of the expansions, but this version of the game offers a ton of value for hours of fun on game nights. Also, I am glad I purchased the deluxe version of the game, as it is very clear where the cards belong and what level everyone in the game is currently at. It is not necessary, and my frugal self argued about spending the extra money on the Deluxe version, but I am glad I got it over the standard edition. Bottom line, it is a really fun game with pretty basic rules that remains exciting even after many repeated plays. It is a very social game with a lot of interaction, whether you like fighting monsters or not. And it is humorous.

Lot of rules but one of the funnest RPG style tabletop games I have every played! I ton of expansions as well that add new mechanics change how you play.