How I Found Myself Addicted to ‘Munchkin’

First of all, apologies to those who came here hoping to fulfill their fetish for dwarfs or midgets. This is not that kind of site (unless it’s about Tyrion Lannister – dude puts the ‘imp’ into ‘pimp’).

This is about how I, after not going near role-playing games for the best part of two decades, found myself scheduling several sessions of gaming per week and seeking out other players for a fresh challenge. Not to mention spilling my bank account onto the countertops of gaming shops. I’m talking about Munchkin.

In gaming the term ‘munchkin’ is applied to a player who plays a non-competitive game (commonly an RPG) in an aggressive and highly competitive manner. It is suspected that the term was meant to imply childishness – not working towards a common goal or completing a quest but looking to gain the most power, riches and trophies. Steve Jackson, creator of ‘Fighting Fantasy’ books and the GURPS system has capatilised on this notion by designing ‘Munchkin’, a game that encourages Munchkinism in players. The goal is simple – be the first player to reach level 10. To get to that level you have to play dirty. Trickery, manipulation, cheating, lying and scheming is all part of the experience.

As a child my table-top and role playing gaming experience was limited. ‘Hero Quest’ and ‘Space Crusade’ was as far as it went. Had I more players and cash I no doubt would’ve found my into table-top gaming as a hobby, but instead wound up playing video games. Many years later, while hanging out with friends, they produced a small box containing Munchkin cards and taught us the rules. This was the original version of the game, based on dungeon RPG tropes. As fighters equipped with swords, spells and a horde of monsters to battle I quickly found myself immersed in the experience. I always found it off-putting how earnest and serious many RPG gamers take their hobby, so finding items like the ‘Kneepads of Affection’ and battling the ‘Gazebo’ (“no-one may assist, you must face the Gazebo alone”) was downright bloody funny.

My friend (sup, Vince) suggested that I may be interested in ‘Super-Munchkin’, a superhero themed edition of the game. I rushed out to pick up a copy, finding that the designers are clearly fans of the genre. Riffing on Spider-Man with the ‘Rope Attached Way Up High’ item and the depiction of female heroes with the ‘Cleavage Stun’ attack (cancelled out if you also use the ‘Flatten’ ability) was just the surface of it. Introducing more people to the game let to weekly get-togethers to battle it out. While highly competitive, the tone of the game meant that even when a massive attack that required every card in your hand is suddenly rendered null and void by someone playing a ‘Continuity Reboot’ card everyone had a good chuckle about it. When we discovered the ‘Munchkin’ score counter app that provides extra cheating options it became even more ludicrous.

With new versions of the game being made available every year players can now choose between playing as classic barbarians and superheroes or spies, cowboys, space marines, zombies, ninjas, vampires and existing franchises Conan, Penny Arcade and Axe Cop. Since becoming hooked we’ve added pirate themed Munchkin Booty and Lovecraftian themed Munchkin Cthulhu.

Many sets also have expansion packs, such as the ‘Narrow S Cape’ for Super Munchkin and ‘Jump the Shark’ for Munchkin Booty. In addition to the themed expansion packs there are kits that can be added to any set such as the ‘Munchkinomicon’, that adds dark spells to those who backstab and ‘Fairy Dust’ that rewards those who help others (while that sounds as though it works against the goal of the game, wait until people start competing to be the most helpful). Having the characters from ‘The Guild’ in the mix has caused much enjoyment in recent games.

Within a matter of weeks I’d gone from a non-gamer (aside from PS3, of course) to a person who has multiple weekly matches against different groups of players, complete with a table to rank wins and losses with money on the line. We collect new decks so every session has a different set of cards involved. Being able to blend together different sets is one of the best selling points for the series. When we’re bored with Superheroes we can throw together a ninja set and a pirate set to see who comes out on top, or pitch space marines against Elder Gods with a Pink Fairy mixing things up. Munchkin is easy to play and a must-have for anyone who wants a gaming experience they don’t have to take seriously. Just be aware – Munchkin may be a gateway game.

Always remember – never pick up a duck in a dungeon.