My first ever purchase with my own money at Games and Stuff was Munchkin Zombies. I must have been 13 years old, and Munchkin was my recent obsession after getting the core game for my 13th birthday. Munchkin was the game I would always see in the store since I was young, that left me wondering and yearning to play. I had no idea how it played or what type of game it even was, I just wanted to play games like Dungeons and Dragons, and the guy with the chainsaw on the front cover looked awesome. I also noticed they had lots of different versions, so I would never run out of ways to play!
Later that year, I met my soon-to-be best friend of over 14 years and going, Andrew. One of the first games we played together was Munchkin in a hotel room for a marching band trip. He had way more versions than I did, and we played with them all mixed up for maximum chaos. While everyone was playing in the pool, we were both locked in, trying to make sure the other did not reach level 10 first! We played A LOT of two player Munchkin over the course of middle school and high school and were always getting friends to join us for a quick game. Even though our fierce passion for Munchkin has simmered since high school, Munchkin will always have a special place on the table for me.
Munchkin is a game that uses mostly cards to replicate the idea of building a character, slaying monsters, leveling up, and stabbing your friends in the back. Be the first to get to level 10 and you win!
The name Munchkin derives from the concept of “munchkins” from Tabletop Roleplaying games of “old.” They are the immature role-players, playing only to "win" by having the most powerful character possible. Not only is trying to “win” at a roleplaying game a ridiculous and trivial goal, but who honestly wants to play as a character where the only threat to you is being socially outcast from your play group? The game Munchkin, designed by Steve Jackson, with art by John Kovalic flips the term Munchkin into a positive and actively encourages its players to “Embrace the dark side.”
Not only does this make for a great simulation for venting all your munchkin desires, it's a subtly genius solution for quick character creation. Rolling dice for stats? No. Allotting points for stats? Also no. Munchkin works with only one number you the player should care about, making character building straight forward and tight. You are dealt cards at random at the start of the game, these will be the bulk of what makes your level 1 character. Is it fair that you got “Slimy Armor for a +1 Bonus, while your neighbor got some sweet “Flaming Armor” for a +2 bonus? No, but now you have an excuse to mess with them next time they go looking for trouble!
Munchkin at its core is a negotiation game. Convincing players to help you, at the cost of loot, or taking bad stuff rather than having an elf help you for free levels. The cards in your hand can represent threats and promises of horrible things, or maybe you're just bluffing? The quiet (or sometimes not so quiet) tension as players get higher and higher in level, or the collective effort of the table to stop the one player that is doing way better than everyone else. Munchkin is a very social game, with the only player you care about is yourself. It's unabashedly selfish and it knows exactly what it aims to do, and nails it.
There is a reason Munchkin has been on shelves since 2001. There are so many different ways to play, new cards to mix in, or games based on your favorite License, and even spin off games! One of my favorite ways to play is to have themed games of players drawing from certain expansions, and other players drawing from separate ones allowing for Cowboys vs Aliens, Pirates vs Ninjas or Past vs Future! 13 year old me would have no idea that years later I would be working for that same store, and writing a post about that very game I loved and played so much. Seeing our immense stock and section for Munchkin makes me so happy. Munchkin, you are my first board game crush, and secret love. I will always defend your name.
