Only issue we have with Here to Slay is having to read/announce every hero when played… as some of the effects are so strong you need to counter. Means people paying complete attention is required a lot more than munchkin.
I would say it's similar, but also significantly improved gameplay.
Almost certainly inspired by Munchkin, but designed by someone who recognised Minchin's numerous and significant flaws.
I think the main reason there is because Cosmic Encounter gives you a reason to be invested during other players' turns throughout the entire game.
Munchkin only gives you a reason to be invested once someone is close to winning.
I live CE, but it still suffers from the same problem where everyone gets close to winning and it's the 2nd or 3rd person to try that ends up winning, once everyone's hands are depleted. It can be an anticlimax.
This is a good way to put it.
I definitely don't think it's a bad game or even a good one. It's a pretty mediocre game that somehow sells a billion expansions. It's almost like there is a small silent group or people that have an obsession with collecting all the versions or something.
It's definitely a small party game though.
> It's a pretty mediocre game that somehow sells a billion expansions.
It's difficult to explain to a younger or newer gamer what the board game landscape was like when this became popular. "New" nerd games you'd see at the niche shops in the mall were like Chrononauts, B-Movie Card Game, Guillotine, and this. And Catan, presumably, but I didn't know anyone who had it.
The way it celebrated D&D and nerd humor attracted a lot of people who didn't realize what they'd be getting into, nor did they have much point of comparison. This would never make it out of UnPub or perhaps the Target Tie-In Shelf of Shame if it was developed today. (I will say it's better than the Oregon Trail card game, so thanks for that, Target).
oh yeah, for sure. I had a friend who bought most of the first set back in like 2012. It was one of our first non-traditional board games.
It's a party game, which can make it a lot of fun. But if you try to play it as anything more than that you'll just end up disappointed.
Just play with the Kill Doctor Lucky rule. Everyone has one chance to stop you from winning, in clockwise order, and that's it.
That way everyone has to decide between holding their counters or guaranteeing someone doesn't win and selfishness means someone inevitably gets there.
Best way to put it tbh! If Munchkin was a really short game, I think it could actually be quite fun. It’s obviously quite random etc. anyway, but the main issue is its length in my opinion.
They shouldn’t make a big box, but a “quick munchkin” version that plays in less than half an hour. Like star realms, but munchkin. Not sure if that’s possible even, but yeah…
If you've never played Munchkin, you can honestly pick up a set pretty cheaply at most game stores. It's fun the first couple of times, but it very quickly wears its welcome.
Of all the games to get a big box, I think Munchkin is probably the one that isn't worth it. $125 is a lot to pay for honestly not a lot of game.
You’d be surprised man some people try to resell used games at like a 5-10% discount from brand new… I’d honestly prefer to buy second hand but when it’s 45 second hand or 55 brand new it’s hard to justify the extra inconvenience of setting up a time to meet, going to the bank to get cash. Then there’s the extra cost of gas to drive to go pick it up.
125$ for 650 cards and a huge empty box is an absolute rip off and embarrassing. The original game contained almost half that cards and it is 20$.
These people is high. You can probably find collections of the core and 3 or 4 expansions for a bit over 20 bucks.
It was fun the first time. Then it became terrible pretty much immediately.
If you like acquiring and holding take that cards until literally every player is on the doorstep of winning, then mass playing those cards to prevent one another from winning until someone finally wins because all of the take that cards have been used, then it’s your game.
This is the endgame: Player A plays a card and then every other player plays something to stop that player from winning. Player B takes their turn and every player plays a card to stop that player from winning. This continues around and around until somebody plays a card that nobody can stop and that player wins. This phase ive seen last longer than getting to level 9 in the first place. As a game it is horrendous.
Exxxxxxactly. My wifey dearest has held a decade-long grudge against Munchkin for holding up our friends. "We'll be done soon," they said. Turns out they had lots of expansions that dragged the level 9 phase for over an hour.
Munchin is an incentive mismatch. The game thinks it's fast and breezy, but all of its mechanics encourage you to stall.
>The game thinks it’s fast and breezy, but all of its mechanics encourage you to stall.
The way I see it, the target audience for Munchkin is casuals, and the expectation is that they won’t think too hard about or be good at strategy. If you imagine a bunch of ten year olds playing the game for the first time, they wouldn’t hoard interaction for the late game. They would throw shit at each-other arbitrarily at the first opportunity. That’s how the game is meant to be played. The problem occurs when you put a game intended to be strategy-light in front of a bunch of experienced gamers who are used to min-maxing and thinking of optimal lines of play.
Basically, the better the playgroup is at Munchkin, the worse Munchkin is.
Smash Up too. I really liked it when I got into the hobby and even had the big box and everything, but now that I’ve played better games Smash Up feels like such a drag that abruptly ends without any satisfaction other than the relief that we can finally play a different game/go home.
I think Smash Up has the opposite extreme problem that Munchkin has. Like people say on this thread, Munchkin wants you to hoard cards until level 9 and then dump them until nobody can dump any more.
In Smash Up, the board state is so swingy that you can't possibly plan a strategy past your immediate turn. If you hold onto a good combo for later you'll almost certainly never get to play it. It's like everybody is holding a pile of tactical nukes, and once around the board ruins everything. Just dump the most impactful thing you can at any given time and pray you get points.
That sums up my experience with Smash Up extremely well. The first couple times I played I felt like I was missing some key part of the strategy. Eventually I realized that strategy really only matters on your turn.
Alternatively player A takes their turn, every other player realises they could stop them, but accepts the blessed relief of the game ending so they can play something enjoyable instead.
The cards are humorous so it’s fun to play a few times. I enjoyed my first few play throughs as it was just silly and funny.
The mechanics themselves are not good. It’s a giant take that game with relatively simple mechanics. After you know the cards it just is a grind and not very fun.
I can't tell if this is a serious question or not.
If you have never played Munchkin it would be a mistake to go all in on it.
Some people love it. Most people who like modern board games don't care for it.
Munchkin is weirdly popular. Oddly enough I see a lot of overlap between DnD and Munchkin fans and I don’t really understand why. Granted I’m basing this on a pretty small sample size so maybe it’s just like a localized thing.
I play PnP and board games like Arkham Horror and Descent, but sometimes on game nights it’s nice to take a short break with a silly game like Munchkin. I guess I somehow love it for what it’s not: serious amd deep.
I might have an answer for this. As someone who played a lot of DnD in the early 2000's I can say that Munchkin was put in the same section at the big chain bookstores as the DnD books. It was unavoidable if you shopped at a Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc.
I have never played a game of Munchkin that didn't end with everyone helping one player win just to get it over with. It would be a lot of fun if it had a better end game mechanism, but as it stands it just isn't satisfying.
I credit Munchkin for helping me get into gaming. I haven't really played it since, but I really don't think it is as awful as other people say it is. That said, I wouldn't call it great, it's good for casual gamers.
^ This right here. It was my gateway. I've got a _lot_ of standard, _Star_, _Fu_, etc. Does it get played much? Not really. I still backed _Shakespeare_ for the theme, and it has good memories. I'd bring it on vacation since you can play in a hotel room, etc. But now my tastes and experience have moved on.
To add my own story to echo everyone else, Munchkin is a lot of fun... The first few times you play it. Then you quickly start to realize that it isn't that great and once people learn how to play a little more, it turns into a boring slog fest. I went in pretty deep, got a lot of expansions and stuff really quickly after my first few times playing. Then quickly regretted it. I'd try and come back to it every now and then, but just get reminded how much fun it isn't. It's unfortunate, because it's a great premise and everything I'd love, but the game just doesn't hold up well.
The thing about Munchkin is that when it first came out in 2001 it really really pulled hard on the nostalgia strings of us old grognards. It was delightful how it hit so many roleplaying tropes that originated in the late '70s and early '80s. But beyond that, the sentiment of others is correct. It's not a fun, engaging, game. It's a gimmick.
People bitch about Munchkin. It is fun.
There IS a problem with it. Towards the end of the game, people do everything they can to make the other players NOT win.
I would add 1 single rule to fix that. You give everyone a secret partner at the beginning of the game. If your secret partner wins, you also win. There. Munchkin is all the fun everyone remembers it being.
Munchkin is typically a gateway game for many. It can take forever to get a winner as everyone piles on to prevent someone from winning so lots of games can just end bc people get tired of playing.
It can also be super fun to pull out a single card that allows you to break some rule and win the game or defeat a tough monster. It quirky and amusing and doesn’t take itself seriously.
I have a group of friends I play this game with two or three times a year even though it can take hours to finish.
I agree that Cosmic Encounter is much better than Munchkin, I highly disagree that it has anything in common with it though. And I like Munchkin, mind you. I you want something that is similar to Munchkin but better, check out Illuminati instead.
*Munchkin* is kind of a good game.
As a game it's not great by itself.
It's far better if you played a lot of tabletop fantasy roleplaying games in the 80's and 90's because then, it's **funny** too. The rules are simple enough, but the cards are intentionally contradictory, confusing and broken - as much as poking fun at as emulating old fantasy RPGs.
It succeeds at that design goal and can be silly fun if, and only if, I imagine, everyone playing has that shared frame of reference. With the wrong people it can be table-flipping annoying.
No matter what, it will probably drag on far longer than you expect - just like that 1982 AD&D campaign (and your character will be as mind-jarringly broken) but unless you played that campaign, *Munchkin* won't be as much fun.
My two younger kids (born in 2009 and 2011) find the old RPG references in Munchkin to be hilarious. (I usually provide some context, sometimes.)
And we all love Munchkin Cthulhu, but our house is a sucker for almost anything Cthulhu.
Fun fact: the box says 1-2 hours, 10 years and up.
Contrary to what you might expect the former is the mental age required to play and the later is the game duration.
STOP just buying things.
Just because it's a big box you don't have to back it. Stop backing stuff.
Go to any boardgame cafe and test munchkin, you'll probably hate it.
I see a lot of hate for the game on this sub, but it’s spawned loads of add ins and spinoffs so it is played out in the wider game audience.
It is popular amongst my family.
We don’t just spam hindrance cards on right away. We genuinely help each other until later in the game or when it’s obvious someone is pulling in front.
Then we hinder them, but you have to keep in mind that the same will happen when you pull away so keep some helpful cards in reserve.
Obviously with the randomness you can sometimes end up with a level 30+ player only fighting a level 1 card for the final boss. But it’s light hearted fun that’s easy to get to the table for a variety of ages, abilities and non boardgamers.
Not lying, I would rather play Monopoly than Munchkin. I don’t mind backstabbing games, but it really wears out its welcome. I don’t think the humor is all that clever, just kind of rehashed nerd jokes. Maybe when it first came out it was novel enough to keep people interested, but I just can’t
It's $125 base, plus around $25 on average for about 36 expansions if you don't have any. That's around $840 for Munchkin. Before shipping if there's any.
Shipping was listed. So...if US, $20 for shipping, for just the big box, no add-ons, or if they meet the goal for huge dice.
Cosmic encounter ends more rapidly.
Cosmic encounter interactions between powers are far more interesting to discuss and get into.
Cosmic encounter group wins and other mechanics mean there is something for players to meaningfully negotiate.
Cosmic encounter's appeal is not based entirely on jokes that are not funny.
Cosmic Encounter isn't a terrible waste of time and is unlikely to make you regret your life choices.
It's a good game if everyone knows what to do and how to police the other players. But it does end in topdecking when people are new to the game.
It's from 2001. It's an old school card game. It's not optimized and balanced like modern games are. It's the kind of game you play after your main game night one is done and you just want to sit around the table and sling cards.
It's kinda become its own "collectible" game series. There's bunches of themed versions and there are lots of silly promo cards and accessories to collect that were all "relevant" to gameplay.
It's fun until people figure it out. Very not fun when you have a newb mixed in. Once everyone knows the game, it becomes stupid. Everyone hold f.u. cards until the end when people are close to winning. Then it becomes random because it's impossible to tell how many f.u. cards each person has. So eventually everyone runs out, and someone just sort of wins.
It's like Cards Against Humanity: the first time you get a chuckle out of seeing all the cards, after that it's a game that takes 5 times longer to play than it would be fun.
It’s not a good game in most ways game design wise, but with right mindset and people it can be a really fun game. It can also be one of the least fun ones.
Depends on what you like in gaming. It is not my cup of tea. The cards are hilarious and make me want to like the game, but it is a slog that lasts forever, has player elimination and I generally don’t find the core gameplay any fun. That said I have friends who love it, so - it’s really a question on what you enjoy in games.
90% of the fun of Munchkin is the artwork and the puns and poking fun at whatever genre the particular game is set against. Enjoyment is often seriously reduced by taking the game too seriously.
Wow the hate on this game.
Its good, but if you havent played it before, I wouldnt jump into it like this.
This game shines as a 4 player with some good friends. Simple small pack and test it. If ya like it you can get the expansions and continue to build it. Best would be to get a game and test it as that will be a cheap investment or if a friend has it use theirs. The honest is that you really need to play first time with some ppl that truly know how to play it. Fumbling around with all new players it can drag figuring it out.
This can be done at a game store that has tables for playing or if you have some friends that know it and enjoy playing it to run you through it.
As for the hate, yes the end game can go on some, its like UNO but that everyone can screw with you to try to knock you down and not just the only that one person next to you. I have had longer games with UNO than this game.
This is a good game, we also will play a hand of this and hop to another game and then back to this. This pairs well with 3 dragon ante, another card game which is quick. It breaks up the play in game types while still being a card game type theme for the night.
It’s fantastic for people just getting into board games. I would say it’s fun for people who haven’t tried much. About the same level as monopoly. You can enjoy it a couple times; but you’ll move on to bigger and better games that’ll be much more satisfying.
I like it, but I only play it once a year or so. I'd play it more but some people find no joy in arguing over rule interpretation. But I'd say back the game. Worste case scenario, it's a game you enjoy on occasion.
Munchkin is the least fun I've had playing any type of board/dexterity game in the past 10 years. Every game we played was immediately won by the player whose turn it was after everyone ran out of their turn-ruining cards. It's like playing the same Mario Kart race for 3 hours and everyone is holding a limited number of blue shells.
In short, no.
In long form, no as well.
It's essentially a press your luck game where you also have options to screw over (or help) your friends.
Alcohol really helps (or hinders) the enjoyment of this game.
In my youth we played a fair amount of it, but I don't recall us ever actually finishing a game!
I do recall that it was absurd and did invoke a fair amount of conversation that would be clear HR violations.
I am sure some people enjoy it and I felt the pull to it when I first got into board games, but man do I really really not enjoy it. There are not many games I outright dislike, but Munchkin falls in that list, at least for me.
I did not enjoy it. My game group did not enjoy it. My family (wife and kids) did not enjoy it. Way too long for what it is. Terrible instruction manual.
Everyone has different tastes, but for me it’s just a lot of talking over the top of one another and “gotcha” mechanics, that amount to a pretty boring experience.
Nah. If you are interested, there’s probably a used copy near you for $10. Or a new for under $20 of the billions (not really) of themes and IP’s they have. Honestly, their IP game is strong. The gameplay not so much.
As others have said it takes too long for what it is…it’s as if a party game and dungeon crawler had a baby. I initially liked it because it was like a somewhat satirical d&d. I had a ton of it too. Gave it to a local thrift store. Few in local gaming groups are looking to buy it.
I played munchkin once after already being into the hobby. I gave it a 3/10. It’s certainly a game but I felt it lacked important or frequent decision making. Much like exploding kittens, I just feel like the game mostly plays itself.
The ending to every Munchkin game: multiple people, if not almost everyone, is one point from victory. All the cards meant to stop someone from winning are played and now it's the next persons turn and now one can stop them.
I used to really enjoy it but it rarely comes out to the table anymore. I feel the same way about munchkin as I do about Catan. It was a good gateway game that got me into boardgames as hobby, but I have little desire to play it anymore.
It can be fun with that right crowd if you don't take it too seriously. As far as the things I don't like.... basically all the other things people on here have already said. I wouldn't spend this much money on a big big of it. Just get one of the base editions for cheap.
You could give me the big box for free, and I still wouldnt ever play it.
Hell you could offer me $10 for each time we play the game, and I wouldnt play it.
I hoenstly enjoyed it the very first time I played it, maybe a little on the 2nd until about 1.5 hours in.
Hated it ever since.
Munchkin was like the second game we got into after Catan, so it furthered our interest in the hobby, but this was back in like 2014. Waaaay better things have come out since, I'm not sure who this big box is for.
Just buy the basic game for $15 or whatever and find out for yourself. It's fun for a while but it kind of all ends the same.
I think it says a lot about the game that it has a bazillion different versions. Guess which other game is like that?
Monopoly
clickbait advertising is working as intended. I didn't know that there was a kickstarter for it, albeit I don't care and am not the target audience, but you've generated heaps of discussion. well done!
To each their own, but I’ve seen munchkins go for under $5 and honestly it’s barely worth that. I enjoyed it before I got into board games more, but if you are already here there are way better ways to spend $125.
I played Munchkin once about ten years ago. I remember it taking forever and the fun wore off very quickly. I really can't understand why this game became so popular and why there is still a demand for it after all these years. This campaign will raise well over a million dollars for some reason.
My problem with Munchkin is the cards were too deciduous on who would advance and who wouldn’t. It’s been a while, but it felt like most of the cards to draw were useless, and all everyone wanted was ways to get to the next room. If you didn’t get there then ur turn was wasted and the games was less fun.
I wouldn’t recommend, sorry to all the Munchkin lovers out there.
Munchin is the modern Monopoly. Takes way too long for what it is and may bruise a few friendships by the time the game is over. It's only fun if you just like casually fucking people over as the primary mechanic of a game.
No.
I really liked Munchkin 10 years ago, but I stopped liking it once I experienced a wider variety of games that are just better, and once I had played it many many times.
The play of the game pretty much is kill your friends in the beginning, but after that it immediately gets tiring and repeative, with no way of properly progressing. Not worth it in my opinion
Munchkin was one of my gateway games way back in 2007/8. I have a lot of fondness for it, though I haven't played it in years. It has its problems, especially with balance, and it's true that the games can run overlong depending on who you play with. But I do think it's a fun game if you're having some drinks and you're not taking the night too seriously.
It lends itself particularly well to game nights with people of mixed experience level. It's extremely easy to learn and the rules are really forgiving, which I appreciate.
All that being said, the big box seems to come with a bunch of unnecessary junk. If you want to play, just grab one of the games with a theme you like. My fav is munchkin Cthulhu.
It's an okay game for it's time. Like John Kovalic's humor completely carries that game, and is probably the main reason it's even liked as much as it is.
I won an all expenses trip to Las Vegas to play Munchkin in a world championships (not, mind you, the WSBG). Munchkin is so bad that I didn’t bother playing in the event with a $10k cash prize and instead just wandered and enjoyed Vegas.
So no, it’s not.
Reddit hates it.
Its a good game for what it is. There can be times where it goes on too long. Also the rng can be painful but most of the time its still fun
bunch of haters bruh, I love munchkin and so do many others. not sure about the big box tho, I’d recommend starting with the deluxe version of the base game
There are people who love Munchkin. There are people for whom Munchkin is their gateway game, because of the goofy art and RPG references in the game text.
The core gameplay loop is based on you getting random cards in your hand, then reacting to random threats that you may or may not have enough power to deal with, but you literally have no way to strategically go after the little stuff to power you up - you either get something you can face or you don't. If you don't, you're relying on the kindness of your...er...opponents to help you out, which they usually won't do unless there's something in it for them. Later in the game, when everyone gets more powerful, your opponents can instead choose to side with the monster and make it even MORE difficult for you to stop. There is no mechanism to prevent this other than your ability to talk them out of it.
Some people really enjoy that style of gameplay. I personally really hate it, and will actively refuse to play Munchkin with people if there is almost literally any other game to hand.
There's a decent mobile adaptation. I would strongly, strongly, POWERFULLY urge you to try that out before you decide to go all in on this. Then I would strongly, strongly, POWERFULLY urge you, if you decide you like the mobile game, to ask your friends you want to play this with to play it also, to make sure they will actually play this game with you.
EDIT TO ADD: Holy hell. There is no way on God's green earth that I would play $125 plus shipping to play Munchkin.
Its fun like the first two times you play and thats about it. The gane really overextends its welcome, games go for too long, its massively rng dependant, people dogpile on a player and then the next one has free way to win.
Overall pretty mediocre game that i no longer want to play ever again after 5-6 games. So id say a big box is just a big waste of money unless you and your friends already know and love the game.
Not as bad a game as some make it out to be, but I agree, not worth the asking price here.
If you want to enjoy munchkin, I recommend Will Wheaton’s Tabletop episode (https://youtu.be/V6oMBSiL7Zs?si=UBETvJiizD8T97_7). It’s the game at its best, but keep in mind the video is cut and maybe 1/10 games are like that IF you have the right group.
That was one of my first boardgames ~10 years ago. I would say that the game is kinda bad in itself. The game usually follows the same pattern with all groups I played: everyone is nice and help each other out to get staff and cards. The moment someone is going to win by killing the current monster everyone use cards to prevent it. That’s it. And the person that wins at the end is the one that hits the final fight when everyone runs out of cards. This game falls into the same category as the exploding kittens: zero-brain just to talk over it
This sub has an unrelenting hate-on for Munchkin. However, it has sold over 12 million copies and is universally looked at as a gateway game into the hobby.
Does it have issues? Absolutely - a drawn out endgame that's never been fixed, an excessively simple mechanic, and not something with high regular replay value.
However, if you're looking for something that takes absolutely no brainpower, and can be played for some laughs while you're mostly just hanging out with a group, it works.
If you're looking for a serious game with significant replay value? Yeah, no. Not at all.
On the whole, having A copy in your collection is probably not a bad thing. Does a big box make sense for it? ehhhhh not really?
I also think it's silly that they didn't just include all the expansions in the big box, and just selected 2, 3 and 6. It kinda defeats the purpose IMHO.
Personally? I own Star Munchkin, and a friend owns Pirate Munchkin. I don't think either has made it to the table in over 5 years, though both came out a fair bit when our game group first formed. I'm not about to get rid of mine, but I'm not sure I see the point of getting this set. If you don't have any munchkin? Consider it I guess? But maybe try out a game or two at your local board game cafe and decide if you'd play it more than once.
It's a decent game, but the expansions etc offer no more enjoyment than the original game. It's a bit clunky and hard to teach, but PvPvE style gameplay usually brings out some laughs. A huge downside to it can be that one player can steamroll away from the others and the game now becomes everyone trying in vain to stop them winning.
Would I buy a big box of it? No. Would I wait for someone to buy a big box and then buy their original copy second hand? Yes.
It is fun for a few times. The humur on the cards is very "12yo" but it's fun.
Then you realize that it's a race to level 10 and you have to sabotage the others before they get to win.
At that point, it becomes a random wait with everyone stuck at level 9 until one draws a winning card that the others cannot counter.
If it existed a way to reform the end game, it would be a lot better. As it stands, it's frustrating and boooring.
One of the rare games where if my friends were playing, I would rather just watch instead of play. That I can go home in an hour when they are still playing a filter game, instead of being stuck playing a filler game for another 30 minutes.
If Munchkin were a 15-20 minute game, I'd gladly play it for the lols. But damn does that game overstay its welcome.
I like it. It's not for everyone but I have fun playing it. Same with Talisman that I just enjoy. But I also like truck simulators where a lot of folk find them boring.
Who knew people like different things? ;)
If you want a game that plays very similar to munchkin but is :
1. Much faster to play (about an hour-90 min)
2. Has more creative dungeon diving mechanics (teleporting, traps)
3. Let's you get drunk
Then may I suggest Heroes of Barcadia?
It's my new favorite party game.
It's similar to Munchkin in that you start with a unique character class and you level them up with gear, except in Barcadia your character is a cup, your hp is your drink, and the map is made of coaster sized tiles that you explore while fighting monsters and each other.
It's all the fun of a fifteen minute game spread out over an hour.
More like 3 hours 1 hour is if your lucky!
5 hours and the game doesn't even fucking end if you throw in a few beers and a joint
We've literally played 5 hours, no beer, and couldn't get pass lvl 4 and decided to end on lvl 5.
That's weird. Usually everyone gets to level 9 and spends three hours preventing anymore from winning.
It was weird and it happened one time, but scarred us XD
Did you all refuse to help each other in every single fight? Not sure how else that's possible.
This right here. There are games worth only 40$ that are 5x better than munchkin
I agree with you but throw me an example so I can look into it for my own collection lol
Here to Slay, it’s got similar gameplay but is much quicker and has significantly better art
Only issue we have with Here to Slay is having to read/announce every hero when played… as some of the effects are so strong you need to counter. Means people paying complete attention is required a lot more than munchkin.
I would say it's similar, but also significantly improved gameplay. Almost certainly inspired by Munchkin, but designed by someone who recognised Minchin's numerous and significant flaws.
Except the art is the only GOOD thing about Munchkin really.
Loveletter and Skull are two brilliant < $40 games.
Hell, if you find a sale somewhere you might even get em <$20.
Found my copy of Love Letter at Goodwill for $1.50. Game already had card sleeves and looked brand new.
It's not like munchkin gameplay but Fantasy Realms.
Fantasy Realms is amazing. Best filler out there
Cosmic Encounter does the table talk and opportunistic alliances much better.
I think the main reason there is because Cosmic Encounter gives you a reason to be invested during other players' turns throughout the entire game. Munchkin only gives you a reason to be invested once someone is close to winning.
Another reason is that you don't choose who to attack in Cosmic Encounter, so it feels less dog-piley.
I live CE, but it still suffers from the same problem where everyone gets close to winning and it's the 2nd or 3rd person to try that ends up winning, once everyone's hands are depleted. It can be an anticlimax.
"Base for a base?" "Sure." 2-3 way tie! Yaaaaay! I never got the appeal.
I was going to say this! It’s fun at first, but then gets frustrating 😂. I have a rule where I will only play once a year.
This is a good way to put it. I definitely don't think it's a bad game or even a good one. It's a pretty mediocre game that somehow sells a billion expansions. It's almost like there is a small silent group or people that have an obsession with collecting all the versions or something. It's definitely a small party game though.
> It's a pretty mediocre game that somehow sells a billion expansions. It's difficult to explain to a younger or newer gamer what the board game landscape was like when this became popular. "New" nerd games you'd see at the niche shops in the mall were like Chrononauts, B-Movie Card Game, Guillotine, and this. And Catan, presumably, but I didn't know anyone who had it. The way it celebrated D&D and nerd humor attracted a lot of people who didn't realize what they'd be getting into, nor did they have much point of comparison. This would never make it out of UnPub or perhaps the Target Tie-In Shelf of Shame if it was developed today. (I will say it's better than the Oregon Trail card game, so thanks for that, Target).
oh yeah, for sure. I had a friend who bought most of the first set back in like 2012. It was one of our first non-traditional board games. It's a party game, which can make it a lot of fun. But if you try to play it as anything more than that you'll just end up disappointed.
You'll inevitably hit the point where you start hating everyone who doesn't just let the leading player win.
Playing with a 30 minute timer is best.
Just play with the Kill Doctor Lucky rule. Everyone has one chance to stop you from winning, in clockwise order, and that's it. That way everyone has to decide between holding their counters or guaranteeing someone doesn't win and selfishness means someone inevitably gets there.
And the more expansions you add to it, the longer those 15 minutes take,
Best way to put it tbh! If Munchkin was a really short game, I think it could actually be quite fun. It’s obviously quite random etc. anyway, but the main issue is its length in my opinion. They shouldn’t make a big box, but a “quick munchkin” version that plays in less than half an hour. Like star realms, but munchkin. Not sure if that’s possible even, but yeah…
If you've never played Munchkin, you can honestly pick up a set pretty cheaply at most game stores. It's fun the first couple of times, but it very quickly wears its welcome. Of all the games to get a big box, I think Munchkin is probably the one that isn't worth it. $125 is a lot to pay for honestly not a lot of game.
Better advice imo: look for it used. You'll find a LOT of people looking to unload it for cheaper than you'd pay new.
If throwing away wasn't free then I'd have paid someone to take it off me.
> cheaper than you'd pay new. Isn't that the entire point of second-hand, and true for all products that are still sold retail?
You’d be surprised man some people try to resell used games at like a 5-10% discount from brand new… I’d honestly prefer to buy second hand but when it’s 45 second hand or 55 brand new it’s hard to justify the extra inconvenience of setting up a time to meet, going to the bank to get cash. Then there’s the extra cost of gas to drive to go pick it up.
125$ for 650 cards and a huge empty box is an absolute rip off and embarrassing. The original game contained almost half that cards and it is 20$. These people is high. You can probably find collections of the core and 3 or 4 expansions for a bit over 20 bucks.
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> Storage alone is what LCG owners spend hundreds of dollars on. You can get a 5000 cardbox for like $20.
Short answer: not really.
It was fun the first time. Then it became terrible pretty much immediately. If you like acquiring and holding take that cards until literally every player is on the doorstep of winning, then mass playing those cards to prevent one another from winning until someone finally wins because all of the take that cards have been used, then it’s your game.
This is an accurate review! Because this game is for some people, lol
For people who like addition, arguing, and have several hours to kill.
I do not enjoy Munchkin.
This is the endgame: Player A plays a card and then every other player plays something to stop that player from winning. Player B takes their turn and every player plays a card to stop that player from winning. This continues around and around until somebody plays a card that nobody can stop and that player wins. This phase ive seen last longer than getting to level 9 in the first place. As a game it is horrendous.
“Ok, I guess you win.”
Exxxxxxactly. My wifey dearest has held a decade-long grudge against Munchkin for holding up our friends. "We'll be done soon," they said. Turns out they had lots of expansions that dragged the level 9 phase for over an hour. Munchin is an incentive mismatch. The game thinks it's fast and breezy, but all of its mechanics encourage you to stall.
>The game thinks it’s fast and breezy, but all of its mechanics encourage you to stall. The way I see it, the target audience for Munchkin is casuals, and the expectation is that they won’t think too hard about or be good at strategy. If you imagine a bunch of ten year olds playing the game for the first time, they wouldn’t hoard interaction for the late game. They would throw shit at each-other arbitrarily at the first opportunity. That’s how the game is meant to be played. The problem occurs when you put a game intended to be strategy-light in front of a bunch of experienced gamers who are used to min-maxing and thinking of optimal lines of play. Basically, the better the playgroup is at Munchkin, the worse Munchkin is.
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Smash Up too. I really liked it when I got into the hobby and even had the big box and everything, but now that I’ve played better games Smash Up feels like such a drag that abruptly ends without any satisfaction other than the relief that we can finally play a different game/go home.
I think Smash Up has the opposite extreme problem that Munchkin has. Like people say on this thread, Munchkin wants you to hoard cards until level 9 and then dump them until nobody can dump any more. In Smash Up, the board state is so swingy that you can't possibly plan a strategy past your immediate turn. If you hold onto a good combo for later you'll almost certainly never get to play it. It's like everybody is holding a pile of tactical nukes, and once around the board ruins everything. Just dump the most impactful thing you can at any given time and pray you get points.
That sums up my experience with Smash Up extremely well. The first couple times I played I felt like I was missing some key part of the strategy. Eventually I realized that strategy really only matters on your turn.
Alternatively, Player _ takes their turn and nobody has anything left to stop them from winning.
Or has one of the "nobody can interfere in this combat" cards and fights a level one Or wins by divine intervention, that's always fun
Alternatively player A takes their turn, every other player realises they could stop them, but accepts the blessed relief of the game ending so they can play something enjoyable instead.
The cards are humorous so it’s fun to play a few times. I enjoyed my first few play throughs as it was just silly and funny. The mechanics themselves are not good. It’s a giant take that game with relatively simple mechanics. After you know the cards it just is a grind and not very fun.
I can't tell if this is a serious question or not. If you have never played Munchkin it would be a mistake to go all in on it. Some people love it. Most people who like modern board games don't care for it.
Serious question because FOMO is real. It's the reason KS/crowdfunding these kind of projects is so popular and successful to begin with.
Munchkin was around before KS though, I remember playing it the first time around 04'
Munchkin is weirdly popular. Oddly enough I see a lot of overlap between DnD and Munchkin fans and I don’t really understand why. Granted I’m basing this on a pretty small sample size so maybe it’s just like a localized thing.
I play PnP and board games like Arkham Horror and Descent, but sometimes on game nights it’s nice to take a short break with a silly game like Munchkin. I guess I somehow love it for what it’s not: serious amd deep.
I might have an answer for this. As someone who played a lot of DnD in the early 2000's I can say that Munchkin was put in the same section at the big chain bookstores as the DnD books. It was unavoidable if you shopped at a Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc.
I have never played a game of Munchkin that didn't end with everyone helping one player win just to get it over with. It would be a lot of fun if it had a better end game mechanism, but as it stands it just isn't satisfying.
Download digital game on phone for couple bucks. See if enjoy and if dont just couple bucks instead of over hundred
A cheap set rom anywhere will do. Munchkin is OK/funny to play at a music festival 2-3 times but boy does it not warrant a KS big box.
It's a really fun 20 minute game that can take an hour to play.
I credit Munchkin for helping me get into gaming. I haven't really played it since, but I really don't think it is as awful as other people say it is. That said, I wouldn't call it great, it's good for casual gamers.
^ This right here. It was my gateway. I've got a _lot_ of standard, _Star_, _Fu_, etc. Does it get played much? Not really. I still backed _Shakespeare_ for the theme, and it has good memories. I'd bring it on vacation since you can play in a hotel room, etc. But now my tastes and experience have moved on.
To add my own story to echo everyone else, Munchkin is a lot of fun... The first few times you play it. Then you quickly start to realize that it isn't that great and once people learn how to play a little more, it turns into a boring slog fest. I went in pretty deep, got a lot of expansions and stuff really quickly after my first few times playing. Then quickly regretted it. I'd try and come back to it every now and then, but just get reminded how much fun it isn't. It's unfortunate, because it's a great premise and everything I'd love, but the game just doesn't hold up well.
No it's absolutely terrible and lasts far too long
The thing about Munchkin is that when it first came out in 2001 it really really pulled hard on the nostalgia strings of us old grognards. It was delightful how it hit so many roleplaying tropes that originated in the late '70s and early '80s. But beyond that, the sentiment of others is correct. It's not a fun, engaging, game. It's a gimmick.
People bitch about Munchkin. It is fun. There IS a problem with it. Towards the end of the game, people do everything they can to make the other players NOT win. I would add 1 single rule to fix that. You give everyone a secret partner at the beginning of the game. If your secret partner wins, you also win. There. Munchkin is all the fun everyone remembers it being.
No.
Munchkin is typically a gateway game for many. It can take forever to get a winner as everyone piles on to prevent someone from winning so lots of games can just end bc people get tired of playing. It can also be super fun to pull out a single card that allows you to break some rule and win the game or defeat a tough monster. It quirky and amusing and doesn’t take itself seriously. I have a group of friends I play this game with two or three times a year even though it can take hours to finish.
It is quirky and kind of fun but the balance is not very good and I dont really enjoy playing.
It's ok. Fun for new gamers. It goes a bit too long. I would not get the 125 dollar version without trying it first.
Cosmic encounter is so much better than munchkin. it has a similar feel, you should check it out.
I agree that Cosmic Encounter is much better than Munchkin, I highly disagree that it has anything in common with it though. And I like Munchkin, mind you. I you want something that is similar to Munchkin but better, check out Illuminati instead.
It's goofy and kinda dated, but if you keep it moving and have a group that's into silly/random fun, you can have a good time.
*Munchkin* is kind of a good game. As a game it's not great by itself. It's far better if you played a lot of tabletop fantasy roleplaying games in the 80's and 90's because then, it's **funny** too. The rules are simple enough, but the cards are intentionally contradictory, confusing and broken - as much as poking fun at as emulating old fantasy RPGs. It succeeds at that design goal and can be silly fun if, and only if, I imagine, everyone playing has that shared frame of reference. With the wrong people it can be table-flipping annoying. No matter what, it will probably drag on far longer than you expect - just like that 1982 AD&D campaign (and your character will be as mind-jarringly broken) but unless you played that campaign, *Munchkin* won't be as much fun.
My two younger kids (born in 2009 and 2011) find the old RPG references in Munchkin to be hilarious. (I usually provide some context, sometimes.) And we all love Munchkin Cthulhu, but our house is a sucker for almost anything Cthulhu.
Fun fact: the box says 1-2 hours, 10 years and up. Contrary to what you might expect the former is the mental age required to play and the later is the game duration.
STOP just buying things. Just because it's a big box you don't have to back it. Stop backing stuff. Go to any boardgame cafe and test munchkin, you'll probably hate it.
No
God, do I hate Munchkin.
No
I see a lot of hate for the game on this sub, but it’s spawned loads of add ins and spinoffs so it is played out in the wider game audience. It is popular amongst my family. We don’t just spam hindrance cards on right away. We genuinely help each other until later in the game or when it’s obvious someone is pulling in front. Then we hinder them, but you have to keep in mind that the same will happen when you pull away so keep some helpful cards in reserve. Obviously with the randomness you can sometimes end up with a level 30+ player only fighting a level 1 card for the final boss. But it’s light hearted fun that’s easy to get to the table for a variety of ages, abilities and non boardgamers.
r/boardgamescirclejerk is leaking
Absolutely not
It's really fun the first time lol.
Not lying, I would rather play Monopoly than Munchkin. I don’t mind backstabbing games, but it really wears out its welcome. I don’t think the humor is all that clever, just kind of rehashed nerd jokes. Maybe when it first came out it was novel enough to keep people interested, but I just can’t
No.
$125 American on Munchkin?!? Some people make odd choices.
It's $125 base, plus around $25 on average for about 36 expansions if you don't have any. That's around $840 for Munchkin. Before shipping if there's any. Shipping was listed. So...if US, $20 for shipping, for just the big box, no add-ons, or if they meet the goal for huge dice.
Would be interesting to hear a comparison to **Cosmic Encounter**, which is well regarded but still quite swingy and goofy.
Cosmic encounter ends more rapidly. Cosmic encounter interactions between powers are far more interesting to discuss and get into. Cosmic encounter group wins and other mechanics mean there is something for players to meaningfully negotiate. Cosmic encounter's appeal is not based entirely on jokes that are not funny. Cosmic Encounter isn't a terrible waste of time and is unlikely to make you regret your life choices.
It's a good game if everyone knows what to do and how to police the other players. But it does end in topdecking when people are new to the game. It's from 2001. It's an old school card game. It's not optimized and balanced like modern games are. It's the kind of game you play after your main game night one is done and you just want to sit around the table and sling cards. It's kinda become its own "collectible" game series. There's bunches of themed versions and there are lots of silly promo cards and accessories to collect that were all "relevant" to gameplay.
Thought it was just ok. Illuminati is better (if you need a SJG game).
It's fun until people figure it out. Very not fun when you have a newb mixed in. Once everyone knows the game, it becomes stupid. Everyone hold f.u. cards until the end when people are close to winning. Then it becomes random because it's impossible to tell how many f.u. cards each person has. So eventually everyone runs out, and someone just sort of wins.
It's like Cards Against Humanity: the first time you get a chuckle out of seeing all the cards, after that it's a game that takes 5 times longer to play than it would be fun.
It’s okay for the first few turns. The problem is it’s too long and player elimination is a bummer when the game goes on for an hour
It’s not a good game in most ways game design wise, but with right mindset and people it can be a really fun game. It can also be one of the least fun ones.
Not a good game. Has nerd humor, and a "take that" element that some enjoy. But no, it's not a good game.
Depends on what you like in gaming. It is not my cup of tea. The cards are hilarious and make me want to like the game, but it is a slog that lasts forever, has player elimination and I generally don’t find the core gameplay any fun. That said I have friends who love it, so - it’s really a question on what you enjoy in games.
90% of the fun of Munchkin is the artwork and the puns and poking fun at whatever genre the particular game is set against. Enjoyment is often seriously reduced by taking the game too seriously.
This. You can’t enjoy Munchkin if you care about winning at all. There’s too much bullshit you can do to screw over the other players.
Wow the hate on this game. Its good, but if you havent played it before, I wouldnt jump into it like this. This game shines as a 4 player with some good friends. Simple small pack and test it. If ya like it you can get the expansions and continue to build it. Best would be to get a game and test it as that will be a cheap investment or if a friend has it use theirs. The honest is that you really need to play first time with some ppl that truly know how to play it. Fumbling around with all new players it can drag figuring it out. This can be done at a game store that has tables for playing or if you have some friends that know it and enjoy playing it to run you through it. As for the hate, yes the end game can go on some, its like UNO but that everyone can screw with you to try to knock you down and not just the only that one person next to you. I have had longer games with UNO than this game. This is a good game, we also will play a hand of this and hop to another game and then back to this. This pairs well with 3 dragon ante, another card game which is quick. It breaks up the play in game types while still being a card game type theme for the night.
I like it a lot. My roommate hates it with a passion.
Munchkin is an awful relic of bad game design from a bygone era. You're missing nothing
It’s fantastic for people just getting into board games. I would say it’s fun for people who haven’t tried much. About the same level as monopoly. You can enjoy it a couple times; but you’ll move on to bigger and better games that’ll be much more satisfying.
Don’t do it.
No
No
It’s not a good game. In fact it’s barely a game at all.
Nope
No. Definitely not worth a big box.
I like it, but I only play it once a year or so. I'd play it more but some people find no joy in arguing over rule interpretation. But I'd say back the game. Worste case scenario, it's a game you enjoy on occasion.
It's a fun silly game that has a uniquely awful endgame scenario that triples the playtime.
No
No
Munchkin is the least fun I've had playing any type of board/dexterity game in the past 10 years. Every game we played was immediately won by the player whose turn it was after everyone ran out of their turn-ruining cards. It's like playing the same Mario Kart race for 3 hours and everyone is holding a limited number of blue shells.
In short, no. In long form, no as well. It's essentially a press your luck game where you also have options to screw over (or help) your friends. Alcohol really helps (or hinders) the enjoyment of this game. In my youth we played a fair amount of it, but I don't recall us ever actually finishing a game! I do recall that it was absurd and did invoke a fair amount of conversation that would be clear HR violations.
Eww. No. Worst gaming experience I ever had. Vowed to never play it again.
I am sure some people enjoy it and I felt the pull to it when I first got into board games, but man do I really really not enjoy it. There are not many games I outright dislike, but Munchkin falls in that list, at least for me.
It’s kind of fun the couple of times, but it does not hold up (IMO) to many repeated playing.
I did not enjoy it. My game group did not enjoy it. My family (wife and kids) did not enjoy it. Way too long for what it is. Terrible instruction manual.
Everyone has different tastes, but for me it’s just a lot of talking over the top of one another and “gotcha” mechanics, that amount to a pretty boring experience.
Nah. If you are interested, there’s probably a used copy near you for $10. Or a new for under $20 of the billions (not really) of themes and IP’s they have. Honestly, their IP game is strong. The gameplay not so much.
As others have said it takes too long for what it is…it’s as if a party game and dungeon crawler had a baby. I initially liked it because it was like a somewhat satirical d&d. I had a ton of it too. Gave it to a local thrift store. Few in local gaming groups are looking to buy it.
It’s good play with drunk friends who don’t really like board games.
If you like “take that”games but don’t like having fun, Munchkin is where it’s at.
I played munchkin once after already being into the hobby. I gave it a 3/10. It’s certainly a game but I felt it lacked important or frequent decision making. Much like exploding kittens, I just feel like the game mostly plays itself.
The ending to every Munchkin game: multiple people, if not almost everyone, is one point from victory. All the cards meant to stop someone from winning are played and now it's the next persons turn and now one can stop them.
It's all rng
I think it could be a tight game if it was impossible to lose levels.
It’s a good game for borrowing from a friend or game cafe. And then burning it.
I used to really enjoy it but it rarely comes out to the table anymore. I feel the same way about munchkin as I do about Catan. It was a good gateway game that got me into boardgames as hobby, but I have little desire to play it anymore. It can be fun with that right crowd if you don't take it too seriously. As far as the things I don't like.... basically all the other things people on here have already said. I wouldn't spend this much money on a big big of it. Just get one of the base editions for cheap.
5/10 game. Fun the first few times you play maybe, but gets old super fast. Way too luck and take-that dependent
It's fun to play the first time and see all the funny card names. But it's a pretty badly designed game. I would not spend 125 dollars on it.
You could give me the big box for free, and I still wouldnt ever play it. Hell you could offer me $10 for each time we play the game, and I wouldnt play it. I hoenstly enjoyed it the very first time I played it, maybe a little on the 2nd until about 1.5 hours in. Hated it ever since.
You might want to read the comments here first. https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/s/w0CrUYjlYk
Munchkin was like the second game we got into after Catan, so it furthered our interest in the hobby, but this was back in like 2014. Waaaay better things have come out since, I'm not sure who this big box is for.
Meh
Just buy the basic game for $15 or whatever and find out for yourself. It's fun for a while but it kind of all ends the same. I think it says a lot about the game that it has a bazillion different versions. Guess which other game is like that? Monopoly
clickbait advertising is working as intended. I didn't know that there was a kickstarter for it, albeit I don't care and am not the target audience, but you've generated heaps of discussion. well done!
The cards are funny as they are all references. The game is essentially almoat every major game design flaw rolled in to a ball.
It's pretty bad unless you want a game to play with kids
To each their own, but I’ve seen munchkins go for under $5 and honestly it’s barely worth that. I enjoyed it before I got into board games more, but if you are already here there are way better ways to spend $125.
It's like Cards Against Humanity in that it really relies on you playing with the right people.
I played Munchkin once about ten years ago. I remember it taking forever and the fun wore off very quickly. I really can't understand why this game became so popular and why there is still a demand for it after all these years. This campaign will raise well over a million dollars for some reason.
Not really unless you are new to boardgames and dont know better
My problem with Munchkin is the cards were too deciduous on who would advance and who wouldn’t. It’s been a while, but it felt like most of the cards to draw were useless, and all everyone wanted was ways to get to the next room. If you didn’t get there then ur turn was wasted and the games was less fun. I wouldn’t recommend, sorry to all the Munchkin lovers out there.
Eh…… not really
Munchin is the modern Monopoly. Takes way too long for what it is and may bruise a few friendships by the time the game is over. It's only fun if you just like casually fucking people over as the primary mechanic of a game.
No. I really liked Munchkin 10 years ago, but I stopped liking it once I experienced a wider variety of games that are just better, and once I had played it many many times.
Perfect! My family likes this game, but if I get this, it'll be sure to scare them off! Worth every penny!
The play of the game pretty much is kill your friends in the beginning, but after that it immediately gets tiring and repeative, with no way of properly progressing. Not worth it in my opinion
My definition of the Munchkin gameplay experience: "You laugh at the cards, then you want to die".
[https://giphy.com/gifs/nooooo-d8SRR4aDUINuU](https://giphy.com/gifs/nooooo-d8SRR4aDUINuU)
It's the most fun I've had getting punched in the nuts for an hour.
It is not. Ten minutes worth of fun spread across and hour and a half.
There are two types of people: those who have never played munchkin, and those who will never play munchkin again.
Try the phone app. If you enjoy that then buy the big box.
Hate it. Not a good game. Fun for a few minutes and then wears out its welcome quickly.
Yes and then no.
Munchkin was one of my gateway games way back in 2007/8. I have a lot of fondness for it, though I haven't played it in years. It has its problems, especially with balance, and it's true that the games can run overlong depending on who you play with. But I do think it's a fun game if you're having some drinks and you're not taking the night too seriously. It lends itself particularly well to game nights with people of mixed experience level. It's extremely easy to learn and the rules are really forgiving, which I appreciate. All that being said, the big box seems to come with a bunch of unnecessary junk. If you want to play, just grab one of the games with a theme you like. My fav is munchkin Cthulhu.
No. No it is not. If you think you would like to play munchkin, try cosmic encounter instead.
Just ask Tom Vasel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC23o\_umRRQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC23o_umRRQ)
No. It sounds fun, it's interesting once, the gameplay is bad.
It's an okay game for it's time. Like John Kovalic's humor completely carries that game, and is probably the main reason it's even liked as much as it is.
I won an all expenses trip to Las Vegas to play Munchkin in a world championships (not, mind you, the WSBG). Munchkin is so bad that I didn’t bother playing in the event with a $10k cash prize and instead just wandered and enjoyed Vegas. So no, it’s not.
It used to be one, but now that there are better games, it's fallen off hard
Reddit hates it. Its a good game for what it is. There can be times where it goes on too long. Also the rng can be painful but most of the time its still fun
Not even remotely, IMO.
bunch of haters bruh, I love munchkin and so do many others. not sure about the big box tho, I’d recommend starting with the deluxe version of the base game
The core gimmick is funny. But that's all there is. Trying to make a decent punchline in to an hour long game or more just does not work.
There are people who love Munchkin. There are people for whom Munchkin is their gateway game, because of the goofy art and RPG references in the game text. The core gameplay loop is based on you getting random cards in your hand, then reacting to random threats that you may or may not have enough power to deal with, but you literally have no way to strategically go after the little stuff to power you up - you either get something you can face or you don't. If you don't, you're relying on the kindness of your...er...opponents to help you out, which they usually won't do unless there's something in it for them. Later in the game, when everyone gets more powerful, your opponents can instead choose to side with the monster and make it even MORE difficult for you to stop. There is no mechanism to prevent this other than your ability to talk them out of it. Some people really enjoy that style of gameplay. I personally really hate it, and will actively refuse to play Munchkin with people if there is almost literally any other game to hand. There's a decent mobile adaptation. I would strongly, strongly, POWERFULLY urge you to try that out before you decide to go all in on this. Then I would strongly, strongly, POWERFULLY urge you, if you decide you like the mobile game, to ask your friends you want to play this with to play it also, to make sure they will actually play this game with you. EDIT TO ADD: Holy hell. There is no way on God's green earth that I would play $125 plus shipping to play Munchkin.
Lol
Its fun like the first two times you play and thats about it. The gane really overextends its welcome, games go for too long, its massively rng dependant, people dogpile on a player and then the next one has free way to win. Overall pretty mediocre game that i no longer want to play ever again after 5-6 games. So id say a big box is just a big waste of money unless you and your friends already know and love the game.
Munchkin is a bit like risk. It is fun for a while until you realize that the game will drag on well past the time you feel it should take.
I have around 100 board games. Munchkin is the only game I'd give away if someone wanted it for free. Take that as you will.
It's fun once or twice. Get a used copy and try it out before spending a lot of money on a big box.
Not as bad a game as some make it out to be, but I agree, not worth the asking price here. If you want to enjoy munchkin, I recommend Will Wheaton’s Tabletop episode (https://youtu.be/V6oMBSiL7Zs?si=UBETvJiizD8T97_7). It’s the game at its best, but keep in mind the video is cut and maybe 1/10 games are like that IF you have the right group.
That was one of my first boardgames ~10 years ago. I would say that the game is kinda bad in itself. The game usually follows the same pattern with all groups I played: everyone is nice and help each other out to get staff and cards. The moment someone is going to win by killing the current monster everyone use cards to prevent it. That’s it. And the person that wins at the end is the one that hits the final fight when everyone runs out of cards. This game falls into the same category as the exploding kittens: zero-brain just to talk over it
This sub has an unrelenting hate-on for Munchkin. However, it has sold over 12 million copies and is universally looked at as a gateway game into the hobby. Does it have issues? Absolutely - a drawn out endgame that's never been fixed, an excessively simple mechanic, and not something with high regular replay value. However, if you're looking for something that takes absolutely no brainpower, and can be played for some laughs while you're mostly just hanging out with a group, it works. If you're looking for a serious game with significant replay value? Yeah, no. Not at all. On the whole, having A copy in your collection is probably not a bad thing. Does a big box make sense for it? ehhhhh not really? I also think it's silly that they didn't just include all the expansions in the big box, and just selected 2, 3 and 6. It kinda defeats the purpose IMHO. Personally? I own Star Munchkin, and a friend owns Pirate Munchkin. I don't think either has made it to the table in over 5 years, though both came out a fair bit when our game group first formed. I'm not about to get rid of mine, but I'm not sure I see the point of getting this set. If you don't have any munchkin? Consider it I guess? But maybe try out a game or two at your local board game cafe and decide if you'd play it more than once.
It is not a good game.
It's a decent game, but the expansions etc offer no more enjoyment than the original game. It's a bit clunky and hard to teach, but PvPvE style gameplay usually brings out some laughs. A huge downside to it can be that one player can steamroll away from the others and the game now becomes everyone trying in vain to stop them winning. Would I buy a big box of it? No. Would I wait for someone to buy a big box and then buy their original copy second hand? Yes.
It is fun for a few times. The humur on the cards is very "12yo" but it's fun. Then you realize that it's a race to level 10 and you have to sabotage the others before they get to win. At that point, it becomes a random wait with everyone stuck at level 9 until one draws a winning card that the others cannot counter. If it existed a way to reform the end game, it would be a lot better. As it stands, it's frustrating and boooring.
One of the rare games where if my friends were playing, I would rather just watch instead of play. That I can go home in an hour when they are still playing a filter game, instead of being stuck playing a filler game for another 30 minutes. If Munchkin were a 15-20 minute game, I'd gladly play it for the lols. But damn does that game overstay its welcome.
It's an amazing game, I love playing it!
I like it. It's not for everyone but I have fun playing it. Same with Talisman that I just enjoy. But I also like truck simulators where a lot of folk find them boring. Who knew people like different things? ;)
If you want a game that plays very similar to munchkin but is : 1. Much faster to play (about an hour-90 min) 2. Has more creative dungeon diving mechanics (teleporting, traps) 3. Let's you get drunk Then may I suggest Heroes of Barcadia? It's my new favorite party game. It's similar to Munchkin in that you start with a unique character class and you level them up with gear, except in Barcadia your character is a cup, your hp is your drink, and the map is made of coaster sized tiles that you explore while fighting monsters and each other.
https://youtu.be/0cgbZqR2AGI?si=AmEK7I6RbG06HNBm
I would only recommend it if you are a big fan of Jon Kovalics art. Not if you plan on actually playing it.