Comments on: A New Door to Kick Open?

Question: A New Door to Kick Open?

dragonplayer — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:17:20 -0800

We started off with Munchkin, then picked up Munchkin Zombies. Which Munchkin expansion should we try next?

By: rachaelfaith

rachaelfaith — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:56:49 -0800

Star Munchkin is great, though it works best as a standalone game (not mixed decks.)

I like the Munchkinomicon expansion.

Munchkin Cthulu is good, too.

By: natabat

natabat — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:58:38 -0800

Have you guys picked up the other regular Munchkin add-on decks (Unnatural Axe, Clerical Errors, etc)? The later ones give you some new game mechanics (steeds, dungeons) to play with. That would be a good place to start. Fair warning -- the deck size gets unwieldy very quickly!

As far as the other genres, my friends probably enjoyed Super Munchkin the most, but that's a good genre for them. Having played most of them as of several years ago (up through Booty), I'd say go with the genre you're most familiar with. From what I recall, the they all play pretty similarly, so pick the one you'll enjoy the most. Munchkin Cthulu was the most different, because of the Cultist class. (I think -- it's been years since I played anything but the classic Munchkin.)

I always wanted to do Western + Space (and maybe Pirates and/or Zombies) to make a Firefly game, but I never got buy in from my group.

By: heyforfour

heyforfour — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:13:13 -0800

Axe Cop Munchkin is a hell of a lot of fun if you like the comic, though not for any good game-play reasons. But there is no victory like getting Wexter as your ally, or potentially even becoming Axe Man/Cop/Baby/Warrior.

By: Shoggoth

Shoggoth — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:28:19 -0800

I would say go with whatever genre you like the most -- you'll pick up on more of the jokes. FWIW, I've got Star Munchkin, Munchkin Cthulhu, Super Munchkin, and Munchkin Fu, and like all of them. I've found that Super Munchkin is a nice gateway to Munchkinism for nongamers -- most people have had some exposure to superheroes. But as you might guess from my screen name, Munchkin Cthulhu is my all-time favorite. It's just not as enjoyable for folks who aren't into Lovecraft.

By: momus_window

momus_window — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:09:55 -0800

Another vote for Munchkin Cthulhu. The cultists game mechanism is fun and not present in the other munchkins I've played.

By: cjelli

cjelli — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:00:02 -0800

Munchkin Cthulhu is definitely the most mechanically distinct, because of the Cultist mechanic -- Cultist is a Class card that enables several win conditions (everyone ELSE joining a cult makes the last non-cultist gain a level, which lets them win, and everyone joining the cult makes the highest-level cultist win, iirc); there's also a lot of cards that tie into whether you're for or against the cult, and into how many cultists there are (the Class itself gives a bonus for each other Cultist in the game). How it plays out is hugely dependent on how many players are in a given game, so if you routinely have only three our four people it may be less interesting than if you have five or six. Or it might be more! It's just that Cthulhu has more of a difference in play between a group of three players and a group of six players than the other sets.

That said: it also doesn't mix as well with other sets, because of the Cultist distinction, although it's still fun.

If you're planning on mixing it up with the base set, then I'd add another vote for Unnatural Axe, Clerical Errors, etc -- they add a lot of options without drastically changing the game. Added bonus: they're cheaper, since they're not stand-alones.

By: FatherDagon

FatherDagon — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:57:42 -0800

Star Munchkin is great, as is Cthulhu Munchkin. Eventually, however, you'll reach a point where the game arc feels pretty same-y every time... everyone is buddy-buddy up through level four, then things get a bit standoffish, then the guy who accidentally hits 9th level first gets dumped on mercilessly to prevent him from winning, while someone else lurks in second place at 7th level just to sell gear or play a level up card and then make the dash for level 10 before everyone else can refill their hands with 'screw you' cards.

At this point, I'd recommend Munchkin Apocalypse. It's similar, but actually has an entirely new mechanic - Seals. There is a separate deck of Seals, which are sporadically revealed one after another. Each seal has a persistent global effect which can be positive or negative, and new seals effects take precedence over old ones. When there are a total of seven open seals, the game ends, but the winner isn't the highest level... it's the highest bonus in gear and other cards.

There are also classes that get additional effects and interactions with the seal deck, either opening or closing them at times. It's very interesting, in that it gives the players a new dynamic to work with aside from just 'murder the guy who gets closest to 10th level'. Players actually have incentives to work together, even at higher levels, if their gear isn't what's going to push them into a winning position. "Yeah, if you help me I'll get ninth level from the fight, but if you don't, I'll lose and a seal will pop and Miguel will win instead of either of us. And that cannot happen."

All in all, definitely a set to check out - I've found it most engaging so far.. and I think I've played every single other set/expansion out there.

By: eloeth-starr

eloeth-starr — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:57:42 -0800

You need the fairy dust expansion! And maybe the dungeons too :)

By: dragonplayer

dragonplayer — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:53:27 -0800

Sounds like my wish list is getting longer. Cthulhu seems great and Apocalypse now intrigues us. Thanks.