Munchkin (card game)

Munchkin

Box cover
Players	3-6
Setup time	5 minutes
Playing time	>1 hour
Chance	High
Age range	12+
Skills	Strategy

Munchkin is a 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"). Munchkin won the 2001 Origins Award for Best Traditional Card Game, and is itself a spin-off from The Munchkin's Guide to Powergaming, a gaming humor book that also won an Origins Award in 2000.

After the success of the original Munchkin game several expansion packs and sequels were published. Now available in 12 different languages, Munchkin accounted for more than 70% of the 2007 sales for Steve Jackson Games.

Goal

The goal of Munchkin is to reach level 10. Every player start at level 1 and has to earn levels by killing monsters. A typical game runs for more than 1 hour.

Gameplay

Each person's turn begins with the player "going into a room" by Opening a Door (often referred to as kicking down the door) by drawing a Door card face-up. 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 Really Impressive Title) is higher than the monster's level plus any bonuses the monster might have (such as Enraged, Humongous, or Buffed), then the player wins the fight and moves up one level (though some monsters grant two levels), and takes the monster's stuff. If the drawn card is a curse card, it takes effect immediately. If the player did not find a monster in the room, then the player can choose to either draw another Door card face down (looting the room) or fight a monster from his hand (looking for trouble). To prevent opponents from achieving the winning level (9, 10, 11, 20, or 22 depending on pre-game selections and card play), players can give enhancing cards (such as the Big Honkin' Sword of Character Whupping) to whatever monsters are fighting the other player so that the monsters will win and cause the player to have to try to Run Away from the monsters and maybe have to suffer "Bad Stuff" from the monsters, or throw curses on each other (or have them happen randomly), such as New Edition Rules (causing all players to lose a level). Players can also use items against each other such as Itching Powder (making the player throw away any clothing or armor). Every card played resolves instantly, with few exceptions (which include the use of the card Wishing Ring to cancel curses).

Players can help each other defeat monsters, adding together their level and bonuses to beat the monsters. The player who helps the other player can negotiate a deal to receive some of the Treasure cards earned by defeating the monster, or some other advantageous trade, but the helper never gets a Level for helping without playing a card or using an ability that allows it (e.g., the Elf Race, mentioned below). Players can gain extra abilities or advantages by getting "Class" or "Race" cards; as an example, players using the Warrior class win a battle in the event of a tie between their and the monster's level and pluses, while a player using the Elf race gains a Level per monster whenever they assist another player in killing a monster. Certain monsters, such as Squidzilla, gain an advantage against certain races or classes.

Players can Sell one or more of their items to gain a level. Each item card has a value saying how much gold the item is worth. If the combined value is greater than or equal to 1000 gold pieces, then the items can be sold to gain a level. Since the game has no other way to represent money, players cannot get "change." However, a player can buy more than one level, at a cost of 1000 gold pieces per level. Players cannot achieve the winning level by selling items, however, nor can they sell Items and not take a level if the next level is one that has to be earned by killing a monster (usually the winning level).

Winning the game requires getting to Level 10. Players can get levels by killing Monsters, selling Items (as described above) or playing cards that let a player go up a level. With few exceptions, the only way to get the winning level is to kill a Monster. Exceptions to that rule usually come in the form of cards which specifically state they break the rule (e.g., Divine Intervention).

Munchkin is not a very serious game; the rules make this 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 that a word seems to be missing any effect." and "Any disputes in the rules should be settled by loud arguments with the owner of the game having the last word." There are many cards which interact with or are affected by a single other card, despite the rarity of the two cards entering play together (such as the interaction between Fowl Fiend and Chicken on Your Head or Sword of Slaying Everything Except Squid and Squidzilla).

Card types

Munchkin has 2 basic card types, doors and treasures:

• Door: These are the basic cards turned over every turn and include:
  • Monster: Monsters in Munchkin range in level from 1 (e.g. Potted Plant, Lame Goblin or Goldfish) to 20 (e.g. Plutonium Dragon, Kali or Great Cthulhu) and when a player defeats them they go up one or more levels and draw a certain amount of treasures, both depending on the particular monster and bonus effects. A player can fight a monster either by encountering it when they Open a Door, or by Looking for Trouble by fighting a monster card in their hand if they did not encounter one when kicking down a door this turn. In combat, first bonus cards may be used on both sides to affect the levels of the combatants and/or affect the combat itself (e.g. by adding monsters with Dogpile or playing Monsters are Busy to end the combat). Players can also ask for help, allowing one player to help them in combat. Helping players do not automatically gain anything from helping unless they're Elves, but usually players will ask for something for the help. Then, if a player's level plus bonuses (plus those of his helper if there is one) are:
    • Less than the monster's, they are forced to run away from combat. Running away succeeds if the player rolls a "5" or a "6" on a six-sided die, and fails with any other number (however, cards like Boots of Running Really Fast and Foot-Mounted Mace may affect running away). If the player fails to escape, then the "Bad Stuff" specified on the monster card occurs. The "Bad Stuff" ranges from nothing (Potted Plant 's "Nothing. Escape is automatic.") to annoying (Tiny But Advanced Creatures 's "They irradiate your pedal extremities. Lose your Footgear.") to death (Plasmoid 's "It burns you to a tiny, flaky, ashen, dead crisp. Then it steps on you. Then it laughs.") or even worse (Kali's "Die, die, die, and miss your next go, too."). One must roll to run away from each monster one is facing and both parties must run away separately if there's a helper.
    • Equal to the monster's, the player(s) will count as losing unless one or more of them has the Warrior class.
    • More than the monster's, they defeat it and they will collect any levels and/or treasures specified by the monster and bonus cards.
  • Curse/Trap: Curse cards take effect immediately if drawn when drawn when a player Opens a Door, and can be used to curse other players if drawn at other times. Their effects range from Squidgilator 's "Lose one level." to Dwarven Ale 's "-4 to your next combat due to uncontrollable drunken singing. If you're a Dwarf, instead immediately go up one level." Traps can be defused in multiple ways, the easiest being to use the Wishing Ring which nullifies any curse. However, Orcs can instead lose one level and there are items of equipment which also affect traps, such as the infamous Magnificent Hat or the Sandals of Protection.
  • Monster Enhancer: These are cards which affect combat by either enhancing or subtracting from the combat skills of a monster. There are normal enhancers such as Undead ("+5 to target monster. If that monster is defeated, draw one extra treasure") and Sleeping ("-5 to target monster. If that monster is defeated, draw one less treasure card") and enhancer enhancers (from Munchkin Blender) like Amazingly ("Target monster enhancer now gives an additional +10 to the monster. If the monster is defeated, draw two extra treasures.")
  • Class: Each player may have one class card in play at a time, unless using the Super Munchkin card, where he may have two, the Ultra Munchkin from Munchkin Blender that allows three or the Super Duper Munchkin which allows an unlimited number of classes. Each class gives the player special abilities. If a player draws a class card face up, he/she may become that class. If they already have one in play, he/she may choose to replace their current class and discard it, or choose to place the new class in their hand for later. Class cards include Thief and Cleric. The player can at any time stop being the class unless the player's class is Cultist
  • Race: Each player may also have one race card in play at a time, again increased to two with Half-Breed and three with 1/3-Breed from Blender, or unlimited with Chimera. Each race gives the player special abilities. Races work like classes, except that if a player has a race card in play they are no longer a human. Race cards include Gnome, Elf, and Dwarf.
  • Helpers: There are various types of helpers like the SideKicks found in Star Munchkin and Munchkin Cthulu which allow players who have them to sacrifice them to escape from any combat and Steeds found in Need for Steed. Additionally, they can have other abilities, like Red Shirt 's "Whenever you win a combat, roll a die. If you roll a "6", Red Shirt gets overexcited and sacrifices itself anyway." Each player may only have one of each type of helper at a time, unless they're a Trader.
  • Portals: Portals are cards that allow you to go in and out of dungeons for better or for worse. Some portals will help you as you go into the dungeons, others will harm others (which in a Munchkin sense, is helping you). Sometimes you can choose the dungeon in portals such as The Gods Reward Lameness, but most of the time you have to hope you get lucky.
  • Other: There are also a multitude of other cards, some of which affect combat (e.g. Deus Ex Machinegun and It's Dead Jim, Take Its Stuff), some of which give players in-game bonuses (e.g. Super Munchkin and Cheat with Both Hands), and a bunch which just have weird effects (e.g. Annihilation and Divine Intervention).
• Treasure: These are drawn when a player defeats a monster or by certain door and treasure cards (like Arms Locker) and include:
  • Item: Item cards typically give permanent benefits to the player who equips them. They can give abilities (e.g. Freudian Slippers) or level bonuses (e.g. Singing & Dancing Sword and Two-Handed Sword - which has two hands of its own!). Many items go to a specific "slot" (Hand, Armor, Footgear and Headgear) indicated on the card, while some do not (e.g. Spiked Codpiece and Cute Shoulder Dragon). Items also come in two sizes Big and Small, but only Big items are marked, so Small items are those that aren't marked Big, unless you are a Dwarf. Each player can carry (i.e., have in play) any number of Small items, even if they can't use them, but only one Big Item. A player may use (i.e., get benefits from) two Hands worth of items, one item of Armor, one of Footgear, one of Headgear (unless they have the Mutant race), and any number of "unslotted" Items. "One shot" items also exist; these can be played from a player's hand or from the table, and have various effects, including giving a combat bonus to the player or the monsters in a combat, canceling or removing a curse, removing a monster from combat, or modifying a die roll. Some items are gender-, Race- or Class-specific, and can normally only be used by a character of that gender, Race or Class (e.g.Mechwalker and Blessed Mallet of St. Eeeeeeuuuuuuuuw).
  • GUAL: GUAL (or Go Up A Level) cards allow the player to place them in the Treasure discard pile in order to gain a level (they cannot be used to go up to level 10 in Normal Munchkin or to go up to level 19 or 20 in Epic Munchkin). Most of these cards can be used at any time (such as Bribe the GM or Shiny Dice... Spinning... Spinning...) but some have special requirements and/or effects, like Contemplate Your Navel ("Discard your whole hand in order to use this card (minimum three cards)"), Rewrite Your Character Sheet (which lets the player choose a Race or Class card from the discard pile instead of gaining a level), or the nasty Steal a Level ("Choose a player. You gain a level. They lose one.")
  • Other: There are many Treasure cards which have a huge range of effects that don't fit into any other category. They can retrieve things from the discard pile (Pink Stamps or Valuable Coupon), buff the player's weapons by adding extra level bonuses (...Of Doom), allow you to use an Item you couldn't because of your Race, Class or gender (Cheat!), or do any of a huge number of wacky things, like T Ceremony, which gets rid of cards with 'T' in their name, or Monsters are Busy, which removes all the Monsters from the combat and gives the fighting munchkins only a little bit of Treasure..
• Dungeon: Dungeon cards are double sized cards introduced in the sixth Munchkin deck, Demented Dungeons. These cards affect game play both positively and negatively. Certain dungeons can increase treasure, make you an epic munchkin, make it harder to run away, or add death to the bad stuff of monsters. You can be in more than one dungeon at a time, in fact, a lot of the time you will be. Sometimes, you won't be in a dungeon of any significance.

Races

The following races are found in the original Munchkin game (including the expansions):

Dwarf: You can carry any number of big item, and you may have up to six cards in your hand.

Elf: You have +1 to run away and whenever you help someone else kill a monster, you gain a level.

Halfling: You have -1 to run away but each turn you can sell one item for the double value.

Orc: You can choose to lose a level when you are hit by a curse and you gain an extra level if you defeat a monster alone and with more than 10 points difference. This race was introduced in the first expansion, 'Unnatural Axe'.

Gnome: You have -1 to run away but whenever you are in combat alone you may play a monster from your hand as an illusion. The level of this monsters is added to your level. Also, monsters cannot see the difference between a halfling and a gnome (they are to dumb to see the difference), and every penalty or bonus a halfling has against a monster also counts for a gnome. This race was introduced in the second expansion, 'Clerrical Errors'.

Classes

The following classes are found in the original Munchkin game (including the expansions):

Wizzard: You may discard up to three cards when you need to run away from a monster. Each card gives you +1 to run away. And you may discard your whole hand to charm one monster in a combat. This monster is discarded and you may take its treasure(s).

Cleric: Whenever you are fighting against a undead monster, you may discard up to three cards. Each card gives you +3 bonus. And whenever you need to draw a face-up door -or treasurecard, you may choose to discard one card and take the upper most card from the corresponding discard pile.

Warrior: You win a combat when you are tied with the monster. And you may discard up to three cards in combat. Each card gives you +1 bonus.

Thief: You can steal small items that other players have in play. Discard a card and roll a die. If you roll 4-6, you have stolen the item and may use it for your self. If you roll 1-3, you got caught and have to lose a level. Also, when another player is in combat, you can give him/her a -2 bonus by discarding a card.

Bard: Whenever you are in combat and losing, you may force another player to help you. Discard three cards and both you and your potential helper roll a die. If your roll is equal or higher than the roll of your potential helper, he/she has to help you without gaining any reward (e.g. gaining treasures from the monsters). And when you have defeated a monster in your own turn, you may draw an extra treasure, choose the treasures you want and discard the remaining treasure. This class is introduced in the second expansion, 'Clerrical Errors'.

Ranger: Whenever you are in combat you may tame one monster and make it your steed. Discard cards equal to the number of treasures granted by the monster, and the monster is your new steed with a bonus equal to the number of treasures granted by that monster. Also, you get a +2 bonus when you help someone else in combat. This class is introduced in the fourth expansion, 'De-ranged'.

Expansions

A number of expansions and sequels to the original Munchkin game have been made. They're listed here, by theme:

• Munchkin, (containing 94 door cards and 74 treasure cards).
  • Unnatural Axe, the first expansion (containing 63 door cards, 44 treasure cards and 5 blanks), won the 2002 Origins Award for Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement. The Orc Race is introduced in this expansion.
  • Clerical Errors, the second Munchkin expansion (containing 66 door cards and 46 treasure cards), 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 third expansion to Munchkin (containing 78 door cards and 34 treasure cards) 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.
  • De-Ranged, the fourth expansion (containing 60 door cards and 52 treasure cards), adds the Ranger Class as well as some of the monsters from the European version of the game.
  • Demented Dungeons, the fifth expansion, added 20 double-sized Dungeon cards and 16 Portal cards for movement between them.
  • More Good Cards, the sixth expansion (containing 30 door cards and 26 treasure cards), consists of reprints from Munchkin Blender with new art and a number of extra cards chosen by polling Munchkin fans. The set contains no new monsters, races, classes or rules.
  • Munchkin Fairy Dust, the first in a proposed series of 15-card mini-expansions, featuring cards that benefit players who help each other. The cards are full color (unlike the other base Munchkin cards) with pink & silver glitter ("Fairy Dust") worked into the printing. Munchkin Fairy Dust was recalled because of an issue with the pink foil on the back causing the cards to bend. The publisher released a new version in 2010.
  • Munchkin Waiting For Santa, the second 15-card mini-expansion, with a Christmas theme. Cards are in full color, like Fairy Dust above, but with red & green "shiny ornament" enhancements. Features Santa Claus and various "Santa" monsters (a new monster type for the game), as well as new Christmas-themed treasures (such as Missile Toe, Fruitcake, and a Santa Hat that gives the player an extra hand). Munchkin Santa was recalled because of an issue with the green foil on the back causing the cards to bend. The publisher released a new version in 2010.
  • Munchkin Marked For Death, a 19-card mini-expansion with 17 all-new and 2 corrected cards. Released in June 2010.
  • Santa's Revenge Is a 15-card mini expansion it adds Santa monsters like Harold Angel (as in, HARK!) and the Anti-Clause.It goes especially well with Waiting for Santa,but you don't need WFS to enjoy Santa's Revenge.Released in late 2010.
• 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 the player is "crazy enough to try". It parodies science-fiction in general, with an emphasis on the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises. It won the 2002 Origins Award for Best Traditional Card Game. Sidekicks are introduced in this game.
  • The Clown Wars is an expansion for Star Munchkin. It introduces Rooms and the Bug Race and the Space Ranger Class. 20th level Epic Munchkin rules provided.
  • Space Ships is a mini expansion for Star Munchkin. It introduced Ships to the world of Star Munchkin, contains 15 cards.
• 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 the player can use. Munchkin Fu won the 2003 Gamers' Choice Card Game Award. Munchkin Fu was illustrated by Greg Hyland, (creator of Lethargic Lad) in a style inspired by John Kovalic, not by John Kovalic himself.
  • Monky Business, an expansion to Munchkin Fu, was released early in 2005. It was also illustrated by Greg Hyland.
• 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. This set added the Mummy Race.
• Super Munchkin is the fifth standalone version, released in the summer of 2005 and is a parody on Superhero comics.
  • The Narrow S Cape is an expansion for Super Munchkin, released in the summer of 2006. The Brain Class was added.
• 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. Besides the usual Classes, each character can have one or more Loyalties during the game.
• Munchkin Cthulhu, the seventh standalone version, released in March 2007, lampoons Lovecraft's Mythos and the horror gaming that surrounds it, summoning classic monsters from outside reality.
  • Call of Cowthulhu is an expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu. Released in September 2007, this 56-card set introduces Madness cards (a variation on Curses).
  • The Unspeakable Vault is the second 56 card expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu, released in January 2008.
  • Crazed Caverns is the third expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu, bringing 20 double-sized cards and 16 standard-sized cards.
• The Good, The Bad, And The Munchkin is the eighth standalone version, was released in November 2007, and is meant to make fun of Western and cowboy-themed movies such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
• Munchkin Booty, the ninth standalone game, focuses on pirates and was released in September 2008.
  • Jump the Shark is an expansion for Munchkin Booty and was released in March 2009.
  • Fish & Ships is a mini expansion for Munchkin Booty and was released in Sept 2010 it contains 15 cards.
• 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. 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 Go Up A Level will be released in late 2010, and will include updated cards for almost all sets, after rules were clarified to make play easier, and to go along with the 19th printing rules.
• 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 (Race/Class modifiers, most notably) and rules for rolling a Munchkin die for random game benefits.
• Epic Munchkin is a set of rules for playing up to level 20 for all the Munchkin games. Players that reach the higher levels [10-19] gain 'Epic Powers' for each race and class (these powers are lost if the player is reduced to level 9 or lower). It is free, and can be downloaded from the munchkin website.
• Munchkin Zombies is the tenth standalone set and will be released in spring of 2011 and focuses on various types of zombies.

Spinoffs

Munchkin has also spawned a couple of games outside the card game universe.

• There are two role-playing games, both of which use the d20 System based on the Munchkin and Star Munchkin card games.
  • The Munchkin RPG is an extended parody of Dungeons & Dragons: the latter has "cantrip" spells, the former has - among others - "can trip" (foils pursuers with preserved foodstuffs), "can't rip" (reinforces fabrics) and "Kant trip" (induces hallucinatory deontology). It consists of the Munchkin Player's Handbook, the Munchkin Master's Guide, the Munchkin Monster Manual, and the Munchkin Monster Manual 2.5 (a joke on Dungeons & Dragons 3.5).
  • 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.
• Munchkin Quest is a board game/RPG based on the original Munchkin card game which contains several different items, monsters, and references to it. It was released in November 2008.

. *Munchkin the Videogame is a video game based on the original Munchkin card game which contains several different items, monsters, and references to it. It is to be released.

External links

• The World of Munchkin (official website)
• Steve Jackson Games
• Munchkin Adventurers Guild Yahoo! group
• Munchkin and the many Munchkin game variations at BoardGameGeek
• 2010 Audio Interview with Andrew Hackard of Steve Jackson Games (interview starts at the 38:45 mark)

Free PDF Downloads (Needs registration)

• Epic Munchkin
• Munchkin Mask
• Munchkin Rigged Demo
• Munchkin Tournament Rules

Video Instructions and Demo

• Video Playlist of Rules and Rigged Demo