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Monday 8 October 2012

Munchkin!

Another different kind of review this week- a board game!

Munchkin is really, really awesome. I mean, really awesome- I just can't stress how awesome it is. It has fairly simple rules and brilliant mechanics so that, even when you lose, you just want to play again and again!




Level 10!

To win the game, you have to get to level ten (usually, if you play multiple expansions it tends to be more, but I'll get onto that in a minute). Seems pretty simple right? Well, I guess it is... unless you remember that the main aim other players will have is to stop you from winning.

The game starts off with each player being dealt 4 cards from each of the two decks. Then, you roll for who goes first. Once the game starts, the first player can place down any cards they want- these include races, classes, weapons, armour and "gain a level" cards. Then, the player must kick down the door- which they do by flipping over a door card (it has a door on it). If the card is a curse or a monster, the player faces that card but if it isn't then they can take it into their hand. They can then either loot the room by taking another door card into their hand or go looking for trouble by playing a monster from their hand.



Monster encounters.

Now, I mentioned earlier that the main aim people will probably have is to prevent other players getting to level ten. They can do this in a multitide of ways, one of which is by giving monsters buffs.

For example, if a player at level 1 had a bonus of 8- taking their total strength to 9- and was facing a level 7 monster, the other players could give the monster +2 to make it equal- which would usually mean the player has to try and run away unless they are a warrior, because warriors win ties in combat.

After a monster encounter, a player gains levels (usually 1, unless stated on the card) and the treasure stated on the monster cards- some monster buffs/debuffs can increase or decrease treasure and levels!



Getting to level 10.

Now, you can level up in four main ways- by beating monsters, by playing "gain a level" cards, by selling 1000gp worth of items or, if you are an elf, by helping someone else in combat. However, once you are at level 9 you must defeat a monster in order to get to level 10- exceptions to this rule include the "divine intervention" card, which makes clerics go up a level, as well as the elf's ability to gain a level if they aid another player in their combat.

Expansion packs.




Munchkin has a whole bunch of expansion packs- some of which you can play alongside regular Munchkin, others which can be played as standalone games. These tend to have their own rules and sometimes even add classes and races to the game. So if you do pick up Munchkin, I advise you to try and ensure it isn't an expansion pack, unless you particularly like the idea of trying to, for example, defeat Cthulu.

That's all for this week.

MmRed.

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