Munchkin

Contents
Box Contents
How to Play
Scores
My review
Expansions

Box Contents
Instructions
Door Card deck
Treasure Card deck
Die
Unless you play one of the Deluxe versions you will need either d10s or counters or some means of keeping track of what level each player is at.

How to play
The object of the game is to win.
Winning is achieved by being the first player to get to level 10 or above.
The game consists of two decks of cards and a d6.
One deck consists of doors, the other deck holds treasure.
Door cards provide the player with the chance to change race, class or gender, monsters to fight, get cursed, and a myriad of other crazy things to do.
Treasure cards provide the player with a variety of equipment which can be used to increase the chance of dispatching monsters by increasing a player’s strength.
A player is considered to have:
1 hand – the cards a player is holding, limited to 7 cards at the end of the turn (discarded cards go to the player at the lowest level, or discarded if that happens to be you).
2 Hands – capable of holding 2 weapons or 1 2-handed weapon
1 Pair of Feet – capable of wearing 1 set of footgear
1 Body – capable of wearing 1 suit of armour
1 Head – capable of wearing 1 item of headgear
1 Backpack – capable of storing 2 items from above currently not in use
1 Belt – capable of holding any number of items that are worth gold but do not specify a body part (usually potions and grenades)
A Class – players start with no class
A Gender – players should know what they are
A Race – normally players are considered to be human at the beginning of the game
There are other slots introduced of various expansions for Steeds, Sidekicks, Vehicles and so forth – usually a limit of 1.
Some items are considered to be Heavy (or Complex… etc. according to expansion) and are limited to 1 Heavy item per player.
Other items are race, gender, class specific and can only be used by those players (but can be kept in the backpack or sold).
The d6 is used when a player is not able to defeat a monster and gives them a chance to run away (normally a roll of 5 or 6).
Starting with two cards from each deck, players take turns to turn over the top door card, if it is a monster card, the player has to fight it. If it is a trap or a curse, the player suffers, usually by losing stuff (if a player hasn’t got said ‘stuff’ nothing happens). If it’s anything else, it goes into the player’s hand. If the first card was not a monster, the player may play a monster card from their hand to fight or takes another door card into their hand and the turn ends.
Each monster will have a level from 1 to 20. Players start at level 1 and gain levels by killing monsters, playing level-up cards or selling treasure.
A player can kill a monster if their level, plus the total bonuses of their in-use equipment plus buffs, minus debuffs played by other players. If this is not enough, a player can asker other players for assistance, usually for a portion of the treasure winnable by killing the monster. That player(s) total strength is now added to yours against this monster. Success means the main player increases by 1-2 levels and gains a number of treasure cards. Failure means the player has to try to run away. If that fails, Bad Stuff happens (anything for losing stuff to DEATH!)
Killed players return next turn with a fresh hand and a fresh start.
Cheating is only allowed if the Cheat card is played (or no one notices).
The winner is the first to level 10 by killing a monster while at level 9 (alternate means of reaching level 10 are not allowed).
Scores

Number of players	2-6
End game conditions	A player reaches Level 10 by killing a monster
Victory condition	1st to reach Level 10 by killing a monster
Replayability	Oh, yes please!	With wacky artwork and a plethora of baddies to kill with a wide range of baddie-killing stuff, not to mention a host of things to grief your opponents with, this game can stay fresh for a while, particularly with expansions.
Reading Requirements	Reading-furiously-while-players-waiting	This actually ranges for simple things like Go Up A Level to a card full of text.
Rules Comprehension	I only read through the rules three times	Pretty straightforward, though it is easy to forgot a few.
Game-Breakability	Someone please roll a double!	Doesn’t matter how much stuff you have, if you never find a monster behind a door, you can’t win.
Durability	Use as directed	Cards, keep ‘em dry.
Box Size	Bag	Big enough for some expansions, small enough to store and carry easily.
Play Area	Dining Room Table	With six players amassing hordes of goodies, this game can really sprawl.
Component Stability	Indoors or no wind	Cards, they blow.
Storage Layout	An Empty Box	Uncomplicated, get some rubber bands or something.
Aesthetics	Photogenic	Very cartoony, some would say zaney. Very much and love it/hate it thing.
Turn Time/Involvement	Zzzzzzzz – Continuous	This one varies hugely. One minute you’re throwing cards in to thwart other players, killing monsters providing assistance and the next, you’ve nothing usable in your hand, and someone’s fighting a wandering monster with other players piling on the hurt.
Game Length	We’ll get a couple of games in before bedtime	I’d add “…if you’re lucky”. Sometimes this game can be over real quick other times, getting that final level can be a real Odyssey.
Setup Time	Seconds	Shuffle decks, deal cards, done.

My Review
A very silly but entertaining game where everyone plays nicely until a level 9 player fights a monster, then things get very interesting. Most of the cards that can be played, can be played at any time, regardless of whose turn it actually it making it great for keeping all players involved. That being said, as already mentioned, the scenario where a player is fighting a couple of monsters, all the other players are causing them grief and you’ve nothing to add it can be a looong time until your next turn.
This is also not a friendly game, what with all the back-stabbing that can go on, so be careful what you do to whom, particularly if you don’t fancy sleeping on the sofa that night.
Final Verdict:
Add this to your collection!

Expansions
There is an inordinate amount of ‘expansions’ to this game, some directly adding to the base set, others following a particular theme. Themed Munchkins are stand alone, but can be shuffled in with the base set or each other.
We currently have nothing of the original Munchkin, save for the 4th expansion which introduces Steeds. In time, the original will be acquired.
Instead we have:

Star Munchkin (with 1 expansion, Starships).
Notable cards are the Side-Kicks, who may, or may not, provide extra support; laser weapons, which may be combined into bigger and more crazily named superweapons (Daserlaserbobaser…etc. Many sci-fi pop culture references feature here.
The mini-expansion Starships introduces Starships and related buffs and traps. Dare to fly the Bow-tie Fighter, USS Secondprize or the censored out XXX-wing?

Munchkin Cthulhu (with 3 expansions Call Of Cowthulhu, The Unspeakable Vault, Crazed Caverns)
This theme is tentacle heavy and lovingly includes many parodies from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Cultists introduce a new mechanic where players class becomes Cultist under many conditions and cannot leave the cult unless very specific conditions are met. If all but one players become Cultists, the non-cultist is the winner. If all become Cultists, Cthulhu Wins!