Munchkin is a dedicated deck card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, that has a humorous take on role-playing games.
In this first episode, the hosts explain the game, and play the base game for your enjoyment.
[podcast]http://traffic.libsyn.com/majorspoilers/munchkin-land-001.mp3[/podcast]Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com
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19 Comments
Great new feature. I literally played Munchkin myself for the first time last week, with someone who’s played D&D only a few times and someone else who’s never played a RPG. I have to reiterate how easy it was to pick up, and how fun it was for all involved. We played a game immediately after we’d finished the first. Good stuff.
My sister turns her nose up at all my gaming stuff. She and my mother recently picked up some new Munchkin expansions for the road trip we’re supposed to be taking in a week or two.
Will this go out on the Major Spoilers feed or will it have its own feed?
Depends on if people like it or not ;)
Like Stephen, I was incredibly enthused by Munchkin when I first encountered it (at a con via one of Steve Jackson Games’ MIB) a few years back, and got the first five sets. Gradually, the problems with the game began to become apparent. Firstly, it is not very well balanced, and suffers from power-creep issues – something you might not expect to be a problem in a game entitled Munchkin, but the monsters simply haven’t risen in power as quickly as players.
The second problem I have with the game is that the repercussions for losing to a monster are fairly trivial a lot of the time, and are rarely even applicable, be it because the player managed to get away (which only got progressively easier with expansions – I’m looking at you, Chicken Mount), or because the bad stuff just doesn’t affect the player (Oh noes! I must discard the footwear I don’t have!).
For a game ostensibly about backstabbing your friends, the fact that doing so meaningfully is so incredibly difficult eventually soured me on the game. I’m looking forward to the next episode, as I’ve never played with the non-fantasy themed decks, but I don’t see Munchkin having the same longevity as Critical Hit and D&D.
My fiance loves munchkin. I have played a couple variants, they are basically all the same, with one or two extra rules. Variants can be combined but diluting the variants usually works poorly, as the internal interactions are mostly lost. As for balance, I think the addition of all the expansions often ‘fixes’ the balance problems, though it can’t help with the obvious mechanical problems, such as the possibility of going 4-6 turns without fighting a monster.
I enjoyed it a lot. I would love to listen in on the expansions. I already have Munchkin Deluxe and am curious about other content.
This was so unexpected, I loved it. I love these episodes where you explore something other then DND. Not that Critical Hit isnt needed for the game nights.
I know it has to be coming someday, cause Rodrigo expresses how much he likes Exalted, he is going to turn the MSP crew one day, and then we will all rejoice when the Exalted episode is released.
I’ll chime in as a non-player but avid fan of Critical Hit: I think this will be a good addition to the podcasts, especially if it evolves to include other games. I enjoy the stories and gameplay, and this exposes me to games I don’t know exist or that go beyond DnD. For me the fun is in listening to these guys play regardless of what they are playing. And who knows, they may hit on something that may encourage me to start playing (and fall to the powers of the dark side …).
My vote is for this to continue!
Great Job! Really really enjoyed it. When Renee (iceflow) told me this had came out I was standing outside from a gas filled building. I decided life must continue on and I would listen ;-). I’m excited to hear about all the other expansion as I’m getting more and more into the game and haven’t picked up everything yet. If anything this could be a series till you cover them all. I hope to see ore of these shows. Thanks guys!
JJ aka Caoboi
Just wanted to say that I really liked the first episode. It was interesting to hear Rob and Rodrigo outside of Critical Hit. You’ve inspired me to try Munchkin with my gaming group. Can’t wait to hear the next episode.
I’m a huge fan of Munchkin going back almost a decade when I was playing it in the Physics lodge with the grad students. Munchkin and other Steve Jackson games ate up many an afternoon.
While personally a fan of classic Munchkin I can see what other people enjoy about the over favors of the brand.
I shall make sure to tell my other friends about your Munchkin podcast
I think the show is great. If you continue it would be cool if you played other games after you have exhausted Munchkin. Maybe a board game Tourney with the MSP crew. I would recomend Formula D. It is an awesome game about racing. Simple to learn, difficult to master. You roll different sided dice depending on the gear you are in, your car takes damage for all kinds of reasons and if you wreck your car your out of the race. I’m not a fan of real racing but i thoughly enjoy Formula D. Also Twiglight Imperium from Fantasy Flight. It is a game about taking over the galaxy, but it is very time consuming.
I liked the podcast in and of itself, you guys are great at overcoming the ‘non visual’ obstacle that is inherent in podcasting about a game which in which the fantastic Kovalic art is such a factor; obviously helped by the fact you just all mesh so well as a collective.
But I don’t see it having legs as an ongoing episodic if you just stick to Munchkin; Everyone has their own favourite version of it (mine being classic, limited to the 1st 2 expansions, any more than that and it gets clunky), but in the end its not something that lends itself to an ongoing, in my humble and very often ignored opinion :)
Branching out to include other games, in a similar vein to the way you played the Drizzzzzzit board game, I think would be something that many of us would look forward to and appreciate.
I hate Munchkin so much. I liked listening to some of my favoured podcasters playing it, except for all the parts where they played Munchkin. Also the talking about Munchkin. And all the discussion about the rules of Munchkin. Other than that, great podcast guys!
Just found the Munchkinland podcast after listening to the Battlepug episode of MS. I’m about halfway through it so far and liking what I’m hearing. As a point of reference for Stephen, I think John Kovalic has said before that his last name is pronounced like “covalent” (like the atomic bond) but with an “-ick” on the end.
I havn’t played munchkin for about 5 years, but used to play very regularly. My personal fav is space munchkin. There was a large fan group on yahoo back then that had people “in the know”. The best thing I found on there was the story of the gazebo… a must read for the background story on that card. Email me if you would like it and can’t find it. Love the show!
My husband and I are hugh Munchkin fans. We often get friends over for board game night and this is a favorite! We become downright ruthless to win or just screw each other over! I have to agree that the podcast should eventually cover other games. I suggest FLUX (monte python) for the podcast and Cards against Humanity for fun (its a bit too dirty for the podcast). Keep up the great work guys!
How come this is not listed under ‘podcasts’ on the site?
Anyways, I didn’t know Munchkin until I listen to this podcast.. and now I need to know where the heck it is sold here in Chile. It would be a great addition to the gaming sessions with my college friends.
Major Spoilers, Top Five, Munchkin Land, Critical Hit! MS podcasts all through the week!