The Digital Tabletop

Written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic (of Dork Tower fame), Munchkin is a card game (of the non-collectible variety) published by Steve Jackson Games that takes a humorous and cockeyed look at the D&D, dungeon crawl setting. The game is appropriate for 3-6 players, and usually runs about an hour. We found, however, that the more players you have the longer the game takes. After it was originally published in 2000, Steve Jackson Games released a series of expansions. In addition, Steve Jackson Games has released a series of additional Munchkin “sets” based on other themes – Star Munchkin, Munchkin Fu, Super Munchkin, etc – all of which use the exact same gameplay mechanic as the original D&D-esq Munchkin. In fact, its easy as pie to mix the sets themselves, thereby creating an even zanier gameplay experience.

As usual, the following questions were asked after having played Munchkin a couple of times:

• What are the main game mechanics?
• What makes this game fun / interesting?
• How would this work as a computer game?

Game Mechanics

The goal of the game is to reach level 10. Levels are attained by killing monsters – every kill is worth one level (though some particularly powerful monsters give you 2 levels). There are two types of cars: dungeon cards and treasure cards. Players begin the game as a level 1 human with no class (one of the running jokes of the game). Each player starts off the game with 4 cards (2 cards from the dungeon stack and 2 cards from the treasure stack). Each player’s turn begins by flipping over the top card in the dungeon deck (referred to as “kicking down the door and looking for trouble.”). If the turned card is a monster, the player has two options: fight or run away. If the player’s level plus bonuses from the player’s equipment (such as Sneaky Bastard Sword or Really Impressive Title) is higher than the monster’s level plus any bonuses the monster might have (such as Enraged or Buffed), then the player wins the fight, moves up one level, and takes the monster’s loot. If the flipped card isn’t a monster, then the player goes straight to the looting – which means pulling a card from the treasure deck. One of the most interesting things about “combat,” is that if a player isn’t powerful enough to defeat a monster and doesn’t want to run away (which requires a roll on a 6 sided die – and results in the “bad stuff” listed on the monster’s card if failed), they can negotiate with another player for help. The negotiation is very free form. The player can offer any combination of “payment” for help. For instance, the player could offer the potential helper first choice of the monster’s treasure. If the other player agrees to help, they add their level (plus all equipment/race/class bonuses) to that of the primary player in order to defeat the monster. Once defeated, the primary player gains a level, and the assisting player takes whatever treasure they were promised. The assisting player does not gain a level when helping another player.

Another very interesting feature of Munchkin is that other players can add modifier cards (to either the monster or the player) during combat. So, if one player is keen on seeing another another player get defeated, they can throw down cards that up the monster’s level (thereby making them harder to defeat). The flow of adding modifiers is very chaotic. At the beginning of combat, any number of players can throw down modifying cards out of their hand – either right off the bat or in reaction to other player’s modifiers. So, combat tends to have a very frenetic quality in which all players (not just the one’s in combat) are throwing down all manner of crazy spells, potions, and items.

What Makes Munchkin Fun/Interesting.

Munchkin’s primary fun is derived from the fact that the game not only doesn’t take itself seriously at all, but it can be downright hilarious at times. All of the items, monsters, spells, etc are quite funny (case in point, the Duck of Doom curse card). The second aspect of the game which is interesting is that those rules that exist (and there aren’t many) aren’t treated very seriously. For instance, phrases like “decide who goes first by rolling the dice and arguing about the results and the meaning of this sentence and whether the fact a word seems to be missing any effect” and “any disputes in the rules should be settled by loud arguments with the owner of the game having the last word” are quite common in the rules. Finally, the fact that players can either help or hinder other players (in a very asynchronous way) makes the game very unpredictable. The humorous nature of the game makes the back and forth, help and hindrance very good natured.

How Would Munchkin Work as a Computer Game (or What Aspects of Munchkin are Important for Digital Games)

There are ample examples of CCG’s being turned into computer games (Pokemon, Magic The Gathering, etc, etc, etc) with varying degrees of success. My opinion of computerized versions of CCGs is that they are doomed to failure because they lack the most attractive aspect of their physical analogs – the card’s themselves aren’t collectible. There is something very tangible and satisfyind with going down to your local comic or game store and buying a pack of cards. Digital CCGs just don’t have the tactile and physical nature of ownership and collection. Having said this, Munchkin really isn’t a CCG. As a result, those concerns aren’t as applicable. However, given the number of expansion packs available for Munchkin (as well as all of the additional core game sets) there is an aspect of collection that can’t really be fully emulated and experienced in a computer game. There are, however, several very important aspects of Munchkin that bear discussion in relation to computer games. First (and foremost), Munchkin is funny. Yes, this is fairly obvious – and its what makes Munchkin so damn enjoyable. However, humor is a device that is lacking in lots of computer games, and it shouldn’t be underestimated. Munchkin’s humor is also somewhat self deprecating and self aware (at least in relation to “serious” sword and sworcery, dungeon crawl, D&D-esq games). This sort of vaguely 4th wall/post-modernist approach to narrative is very much lacking in digital games. Another very important aspect of Munckin is its focus on player rule breaking. Most (if not all) computer games are very very rule based. There are few examples in which the players are allowed (or encouraged) to break, modify, andnegotiate the rules. This kind of strategy makes for gamplay that is seemingly neither confining nor strict, and allows the player to have a sense of subversive freedom (because breaking the rules is encouraged,,,and even humorously built into the game). Munchkin also featured player to player negotiation that gives a sense of connection with the other players. Munchkin’s asynchronous gameplay (in which there is no real order or flow during combat – just players madly throwing down modifier cards to either help or hinder a fellow player) is interesting and unique. Most board games and computer games have a very strict turn flow (regardless whether its uncovered to the player). Muchkin’s asynchronism during combat encourages a feeling of freedom and casual playstyle that is not only enjoyable, but makes Munchkin more approachable to those who have never played it (as opposed to many other games – either digital or non digital – that require the memorization of a very complicated turn flow).