Munchkin is a card game by Steve Jackson Games

Steve Jackson Games

Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...

, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic

John Kovalic

John Kovalic is a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer.Kovalic is best known for his Dork Tower comic book, comic strip and webcomic, and other humorous work set in and about the fantasy role-playing game genre, such as The Unspeakable Oaf...

, that has a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkin

Munchkin (role-playing games)

In gaming, a Munchkin is a player who plays what is intended to be a non-competitive game in an aggressively competitive manner...

s (immature role-players, playing "to win").
Munchkin won the 2001 Origins Award

Origins Award

The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...

 for Best Traditional Card Game, and is itself a spin-off from The Munchkin's Guide to Powergaming, a gaming humor book that also won an Origins Award in 2000.

After the success of the original Munchkin game several expansion packs and sequels were published.
Now available in 12 different languages, Munchkin accounted for more than 70% of the 2007 sales for Steve Jackson Games.

Goal

The goal of Munchkin is to reach level 10 (or level 20 in an "Epic" Level game). Every player starts as a "level 1 human with no class (Heh, heh)" and has to earn levels by killing monsters or other means. A typical game runs for around an hour.

Gameplay

Each person's turn begins with the player "going into a room" by Opening a Door (often referred to as kicking down the door) by drawing a Door card face-up. If there is a monster in the room, the player fights the monster. If the player's level plus bonuses from the player's equipment (such as Really Impressive Title) is higher than the monster's level plus any bonuses the monster might have (such as Enraged, Humongous, or Buffed), then the player wins the fight and moves up one level (though some monsters grant two levels), and takes the monster's stuff. If the drawn card is a curse card, it takes effect immediately. If the player did not find a monster in the room, then the player can choose to either draw another Door card face down (looting the room) or fight a monster from his hand (looking for trouble). To prevent opponents from achieving the winning level (9, 10, 11, 20, or 22 depending on pre-game selections and card play), players can give enhancing cards (such as the Big Honkin' Sword of Character Whupping) to whatever monsters are fighting the other player so that the monsters will win and cause the player to have to try to Run Away from the monsters and maybe have to suffer "Bad Stuff" from the monsters, or throw curses on each other (or have them happen randomly), such as New Edition Rules (causing all players to lose a level). Players can also use items against each other such as Itching Powder (making the player throw away any clothing or armor). Every card played resolves instantly, with few exceptions (which include the use of the card Wishing Ring to cancel curses).

Players can help each other defeat monsters, adding together their level and bonuses to beat the monsters. The player who helps the other player can negotiate a deal to receive some of the Treasure cards earned by defeating the monster, or some other advantageous trade, but the helper never gets a Level for helping without playing a card or using an ability that allows it (e.g., the Elf Race, mentioned below). Players can gain extra abilities or advantages by getting "Class" or "Race" cards; as an example, players using the Warrior class win a battle in the event of a tie between their and the monster's level and pluses, while a player using the Elf race gains a Level per monster whenever they assist another player in killing a monster. Certain monsters, such as Squidzilla, gain an advantage against certain races or classes. In keeping with the overall theme of the game (a 'munchkin' being a badly-played rule-bending character), players may have any number of race cards in play, allowing for otherwise-impossible combinations (such as half-elf/half-dwarf/half-dragon).

Players can Sell one or more of their items to gain a level. Each item card has a value saying how much gold the item is worth. If the combined value is greater than or equal to 1000 gold pieces, then the items can be sold to gain a level. Since the game has no other way to represent money, players cannot get "change." However, a player can buy more than one level, at a cost of 1000 gold pieces per level. Players cannot achieve the winning level by selling items, however, nor can they sell Items and not take a level if the next level is one that has to be earned by killing a monster (usually the winning level).

Winning the game requires getting to Level 10. Players can get levels by killing Monsters, selling Items (as described above) or playing cards that let a player go up a level (such as Bribe the DM or Switch Character Sheets). With few exceptions, the only way to get the winning level is to kill a Monster. Exceptions to that rule usually come in the form of cards which specifically state they break the rule (e.g., Divine Intervention).

Munchkin is not a very serious game; the rules make this clear with 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 that 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." There are many cards which interact with or are affected by a single other card, despite the rarity of the two cards entering play together (such as the interaction between Fowl Fiend and Chicken on Your Head or Sword of Slaying Everything Except Squid and Squidzilla).

Card types

Munchkin has 2 basic card types, doors and treasures:

• Door: These are the basic cards turned over every turn and include:
  • Monster: Monsters in Munchkin range in level from 1 (e.g. Potted Plant, Lame Goblin or Goldfish) to 20 (e.g. Plutonium Dragon, Kali or Great Cthulhu) and when a player defeats them they go up one or more levels and draw a certain amount of treasures, both depending on the particular monster and bonus effects. A player can fight a monster either by encountering it when they Open a Door, or by Looking for Trouble by fighting a monster card in their hand if they did not encounter one when kicking down a door this turn. In combat, first bonus cards may be used on both sides to affect the levels of the combatants and/or affect the combat itself (e.g. by adding monsters with Dogpile or playing Monsters are Busy to end the combat). Players can also ask for help, allowing one player to help them in combat. Helping players do not automatically gain anything from helping unless they are Elves, but usually players will ask for something for the help. Then, if a player's level plus bonuses (plus those of his helper if there is one) are:
    • Less than the monster's, they are forced to run away from combat. Running away succeeds if the player rolls a "5" or a "6" on a six-sided die
      Dice
      A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
      
      , and fails with any other number (however, cards like Boots of Running Really Fast and Foot-Mounted Mace may affect running away). If the player fails to escape, then the "Bad Stuff" specified on the monster card occurs. The "Bad Stuff" ranges from nothing (Potted Plant 's "Nothing. Escape is automatic.") to annoying (Tiny But Advanced Creatures 's "They irradiate your pedal extremities. Lose your Footgear.") to death (Plasmoid 's "It burns you to a tiny, flaky, ashen, dead crisp. Then it steps on you. Then it laughs.") or even worse (Kali's "Die, die, die, and miss your next go, too."). One must roll to run away from each monster one is facing and both parties must run away separately if there's a helper.
    • Equal to the monster's, the player(s) will count as losing unless one or more of them has the Warrior class.
    • More than the monster's, they defeat it and they will collect any levels and/or treasures specified by the monster and bonus cards.
  • Curse/Trap: Curse cards take effect immediately if drawn when a player kicks down the Door, and can be used to curse other players if drawn at other times. Their effects range from Squidgilator 's "Lose one level." to Dwarven Ale 's "-4 to your next combat due to uncontrollable drunken singing. If you're a Dwarf, instead immediately go up one level." Traps can be defused in multiple ways, the easiest being to use the Wishing Ring which nullifies any curse. However, Orcs can instead lose one level and there are items of equipment which also affect traps, such as the infamous Magnificent Hat or the Sandals of Protection.
  • Monster Enhancer: These are cards which affect combat by either enhancing or subtracting from the combat skills of a monster. There are normal enhancers such as Undead ("+5 to target monster. If that monster is defeated, draw one extra treasure") and Sleeping ("-5 to target monster. If that monster is defeated, draw one less treasure card") and enhancer enhancers (from Munchkin Blender) like Amazingly ("Target monster enhancer now gives an additional +10 to the monster. If the monster is defeated, draw two extra treasures.")
  • Class: Each player may have one class card in play at a time, unless using the Super Munchkin card, where he may have two, the Ultra Munchkin from Munchkin Blender that allows three or the Super Duper Munchkin which allows an unlimited number of classes. Each class gives the player special abilities. If a player draws a class card face up, he/she may become that class. If they already have one in play, he/she may choose to replace their current class and discard it, or choose to place the new class in their hand for later. Class cards include Thief and Cleric. The player can at any time stop being the class unless the player's class is Cultist.
  • Race: Each player may also have one race card in play at a time, again increased to two with Half-Breed and three with 1/3-Breed from Blender, or unlimited with Chimera. Each race gives the player special abilities. Races work like classes, except that if a player has a race card in play they are no longer a human. Race cards include Gnome, Elf, and Dwarf.
  • Helpers: There are various types of helpers like the Hirelings in base Munchkin, Sidekicks found in Star Munchkin and Munchkin Cthulhu, Minions in Munhkin Bites and Mooks in Munchkin Fu. These Helpers allow players who have them to sacrifice them to escape from any combat and Steeds found in Need for Steed. Additionally, they can have other abilities, like Red Shirt 's "Whenever you win a combat, roll a die. If you roll a "6", Red Shirt gets overexcited and sacrifices itself anyway." Each player may only have one of each type of helper at a time, unless they are a Trader or have an MBA in Management.
  • Portals: Portals are cards that allow you to go in and out of dungeons for better or for worse. Some portals will help you as you go into the dungeons, others will harm others (which in a Munchkin sense, is helping you). Sometimes you can choose the dungeon in portals such as The Gods Reward Lameness, but most of the time you have to hope you get lucky.
  • Other: There are also a multitude of other cards, some of which affect combat (e.g. Deus Ex Machinegun and It's Dead Jim, Take Its Stuff), some of which give players in-game bonuses (e.g. Super Munchkin and Cheat with Both Hands), and a bunch which just have weird effects (e.g. Annihilation and Divine Intervention).
• Treasure: These are drawn when a player defeats a monster or by certain door and treasure cards (like Arms Locker) and include:
  • Item: Item cards typically give permanent benefits to the player who equips them. They can give abilities (e.g. Freudian Slippers) or level bonuses (e.g. Singing & Dancing Sword and Two-Handed Sword - which has two hands of its own!). Many items go to a specific "slot" (Hand, Armor, Footgear and Headgear) indicated on the card, while some do not (e.g. Spiked Codpiece and Cute Shoulder Dragon). Items also come in two sizes Big and Small, but only Big items are marked, so Small items are those that are not marked Big, unless you are a Dwarf. Each player can carry (i.e., have in play) any number of Small items, even if they cannot use them, but only one Big Item. A player may use (i.e., get benefits from) two Hands worth of items, one item of Armor, one of Footgear, one of Headgear (unless they have the Mutant race), and any number of "unslotted" Items. "One shot" items also exist; these can be played from a player's hand or from the table, and have various effects, including giving a combat bonus to the player or the monsters in a combat, canceling or removing a curse, removing a monster from combat, or modifying a die roll. Some items are gender-, Race- or Class-specific, and can normally only be used by a character of that gender, Race or Class (e.g.Mechwalker and Blessed Mallet of St. Eeeeeeuuuuuuuuw).
  • GUAL: GUAL (or Go Up A Level) cards allow the player to place them in the Treasure discard pile in order to gain a level (they cannot be used to go up to level 10 in Normal Munchkin or to go up to level 19 or 20 in Epic Munchkin). Most of these cards can be used at any time (such as Bribe the GM or Shiny Dice... Spinning... Spinning...) but some have special requirements and/or effects, like Contemplate Your Navel ("Discard your whole hand in order to use this card (minimum three cards)"), Rewrite Your Character Sheet (which lets the player choose a Race or Class card from the discard pile instead of gaining a level), or the nasty Steal a Level ("Choose a player. You gain a level. They lose one.")
  • Other: There are many Treasure cards which have a huge range of effects that do not fit into any other category. They can retrieve things from the discard pile (Pink Stamps or Valuable Coupon), buff the player's weapons by adding extra level bonuses (...Of Doom), allow you to use an Item you could not because of your Race, Class or gender (Cheat!), or do any of a huge number of wacky things, like T Ceremony, which gets rid of cards with 'T' in their name, or Monsters are Busy, which removes all the Monsters from the combat and gives the fighting munchkins only a little bit of Treasure..
• Dungeon: Dungeon cards are double sized cards introduced in the sixth Munchkin deck, Demented Dungeons. These cards affect game play both positively and negatively. Certain dungeons can increase treasure, make you an epic munchkin, make it harder to run away, or add death to the bad stuff of monsters. You can be in more than one dungeon at a time, in fact, a lot of the time you will be. Sometimes, you will not be in a dungeon of any significance.
• Spell: Introduced and only found in the Munchkinomicon mini-expansion, Spell cards function and have effects similar to most regular curse or door cards. By equipping the Munchkinomicon as an item, you are allowed to draw one card, face down, from a separate card deck labelled "spells," but since this is in fact Munchkin you do not need to possess the Munchkinomicon to use spells.

Expansions

A number of expansions and sequels to the original Munchkin game have been made. They're listed here, by theme:

• Munchkin, (containing 94 door cards and 74 treasure cards).
  • Unnatural Axe, the first expansion (containing 64 door cards, 44 treasure cards, 2 blank door cards & 2 blank treasure cards), won the 2002 Origins Award for Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement. The Orc Race is introduced in this expansion.
  • Clerical Errors, the second Munchkin expansion (containing 66 door cards and 46 treasure cards), brought the total number of cards for Munchkin up to 392. This expansion introduces the Gnome Race and the Bard Class.
    • Clerical Errata is a misprint of Clerical Errors, containing cards printed with the wrong card back (e.g. dungeon rather than treasure). By popular demand, a limited public release was made, with rules for using the misprints in a regular game. Enough units were sold to make back the printing costs.
  • The Need for Steed, the third expansion to Munchkin (containing 78 door cards and 34 treasure cards) was released in 2006. This included a new type of card, Steeds, such as a dragon, an eagle and a turtle. Furthermore, many new kinds of Hirelings were added. Rules for these new cards are also included in this expansion.
  • De-Ranged, the fourth expansion (containing 60 door cards and 52 treasure cards), adds the Ranger Class as well as some of the monsters from the European version of the game.
  • Demented Dungeons, the fifth expansion, added 20 double-sized Dungeon cards and 16 Portal cards for movement between them.
  • More Good Cards, the sixth expansion (containing 30 door cards and 26 treasure cards), consists of reprints from Munchkin Blender with new art and a number of extra cards chosen by polling Munchkin fans. The set contains no new monsters, races, classes or rules.
  • Cheat With Both Hands, a new sixth expansion (containing 112 cards) that replaces "More Good Cards" and "Munchkin Blender". This is meant to be used between two or more games, because of the variety of cards (Ultra Munchkin, 1/3-Breed, Cheat With Both Hands, etc.).
  • Munchkin Fairy Dust, the first in a series of mini-expansions, featuring 15 cards that benefit players who help each other. The cards are full color (unlike the other base Munchkin cards) with pink & silver glitter ("Fairy Dust") worked into the printing. Munchkin Fairy Dust was recalled because of an issue with the pink foil on the back causing the cards to bend. The publisher released a new version in 2010.
  • Munchkin Waiting For Santa, the second 15-card mini-expansion, with a Christmas theme. Cards are in full color, like Fairy Dust above, but with red & green "shiny ornament" enhancements. Features Santa Claus and various "Santa" monsters (a new monster type for the game), as well as new Christmas-themed treasures (such as Missile Toe, Fruitcake, and a Santa Hat that gives the player an extra hand). Munchkin Santa was recalled because of an issue with the green foil on the back causing the cards to bend. The publisher released a new version in 2010.
  • Munchkin Marked For Death, a 19-card mini-expansion with 17 all-new and 2 corrected cards. Released in June 2010.
  • Santa's Revenge is a 15-card mini expansion it adds Santa monsters like Harold Angel (as in, HARK!) and the Anti-Clause. It goes especially well with Waiting for Santa, but you do not need WFS to enjoy Santa's Revenge. Released in late 2010.
  • Munchkinomicon is a 15-card mini expansion. It's the ultimate book of spells . . . the Munchkinomicon. But beware! If you are not munchkinly enough, the Munchkinomicon will slip away and find a more suitable host. This set includes the Munchkinomicon and 14 of its deviously cheesy spells, like United I Stand, Eldritch Cleaver, and Unnatural Compulsion. The Munchkinomicon will trade owners to someone who dies, discards three cards, successfully curses someone or sacrifices a level.
  • Munchkin Reloaded! All your favorite cards have returned: the Race modifiers Dark and High, the class modifier Master, and of course the Reloaded Die (and we threw in an extra one, too!). This set also features the classic card Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies, from the virtual pages of Randy Milholland's hit webcomic Something*Positive.
  • Munchkin Monster Enhancers. This expansion gives you 15 new monster enhancer cards. With 13 favorites from More Good Cards, now in full color, plus two brand new cards, Hollywood and Ultimate, this set is a monster's dream and a player's nightmare.
  • Munchkin: Reindeer Games. This is a new Christmas themed expansion being released in November 2011.
  • Munchkin Boxes of Holding. Cardboard boxes to store cards in, but came with one unique Door and one unique Treasure card.
  • Munchkin Conan the Barbarian is a 15-card mini expansion (containing 6 door cards and 9 treasure cards) based on the new Conan the Barbarian (2011 film) movie. Released in September 2011.
• Star Munchkin was released in 2002. It is a standalone version of Munchkin, and is not intended to be mixed with other Munchkin decks unless the player is "crazy enough to try". It parodies science-fiction in general, with an emphasis on the Star Trek
  Star Trek
  Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
  
  and Star Wars
  Star Wars
  Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
  
  franchises. It won the 2002 Origins Award for Best Traditional Card Game. Sidekicks are introduced in this game.
  • The Clown Wars is an expansion for Star Munchkin. It introduces Rooms and the Bug Race and the Space Ranger Class. 20th level Epic Munchkin rules are also provided.
  • Space Ships is a mini-expansion for Star Munchkin. It introduced Ships (similar to Steeds) to the world of Star Munchkin. Contains 15 cards.
• Munchkin Fu, another standalone version, was released in 2003 and parodies Asian martial arts movies. It introduces a new concept, Styles, which represent different fighting styles the player can use. Munchkin Fu won the 2003 Gamers' Choice Card Game Award. Munchkin Fu was illustrated by Greg Hyland, (creator of Lethargic Lad
  Lethargic Lad
  Lethargic Lad is a protagonist in the comic strip of the same name, created by Greg Hyland sometime in the late 1980s. The character is notable for being very slow and inactive. Lethargic Lad does not speak, though he sometimes mutters "Umm...".-Comics:...
  
  ) in a style inspired by John Kovalic, not by John Kovalic himself.
  • Monky Business, an expansion to Munchkin Fu, was released early in 2005. It was also illustrated by Greg Hyland in the same Kovalic-inspred style.
• Munchkin Bites is the fourth standalone version, released in 2004. It parodies horror role-playing games, such as the games set in the World of Darkness
  World of Darkness
  "World of Darkness" is the name given to three related but distinct fictional universes created as settings for supernatural horror themed role-playing games. It is also the name of roleplaying games in the second and third settings...
  
  universe, and horror fiction
  Horror fiction
  Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
  
   and movies in general.
  • Pants Macabre is an expansion for Munchkin Bites, and was released in late 2005. This set added the Mummy
    Mummy
    A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
    
     Race.
• Super Munchkin is the fifth standalone version, released in the summer of 2005 and is a parody on Superhero comics
  Superhero comics
  Superhero comics is a form of American comic books. The form rose to prominence in the 1930s and 1940s and has remained the dominant form of comic book in North America since the 1960s...
  
  .
  • The Narrow S Cape is an expansion for Super Munchkin, released in the summer of 2006. The Brain Class was added.
• Munchkin Impossible, the sixth standalone version, was released in late 2006 and parodies secret agent
  Secret Agent
  Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
  
   stories such as those of Mission: Impossible
  Mission: Impossible
  Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
  
  and James Bond
  James Bond
  James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
  
  . Besides the usual Classes, each character can have one or more Loyalties during the game.
• Munchkin Cthulhu, the seventh standalone version, released in March 2007, lampoons Lovecraft
  H. P. Lovecraft
  Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
  
  's Mythos
  Cthulhu Mythos
  The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
  
   and the horror gaming that surrounds it, summoning classic monsters from outside reality.
  • Call of Cowthulhu is an expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu. Released in September 2007, this 56-card set introduces Madness cards (a variation on Curses).
  • The Unspeakable Vault is the second 56 card expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu, released in January 2008.
  • Crazed Caverns is the third expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu, bringing 20 double-sized dungeon cards that act the same as in Demented Dungeons and 16 standard-sized portal cards.
• The Good, The Bad, And The Munchkin is the eighth standalone version, was released in November 2007, and is meant to make fun of Western and cowboy-themed movies such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...
  
  .
  • Beating a Dead Horse is an expansion for The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin, and is currently in design.
• Munchkin Booty, the ninth standalone game, focuses on pirates
  Piracy
  Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
  
   and was released in September 2008.
  • Jump the Shark is an expansion for Munchkin Booty and was released in March 2009.
  • Fish & Ships is a mini expansion for Munchkin Booty and was released in Sept 2010 it contains 15 cards.
• Munchkin Zombies is the tenth standalone set, and is played as the munchkin being a zombie, the monsters as regular people, and a few rogue zombies thrown in. In place of Races or Classes, Munchkin Zombies have Mojos (Atomic, Plague or Voodoo Zombie) and Powers (Smart, Strong, Fast, etc.). Powers are similar to those used in "Super Munchkin".
  • Armed & Dangerous is an expansion for Munchkin Zombies and was released in mid-2011. It adds a new Patchwork Zombie Mojo to the game.
• Munchkin Axe Cop has been announced as eleventh standalone set, and will be released in October 2011. Unlike the other genre expansions, it is a licenced spin-off of the Axe Cop
  Axe Cop
  Axe Cop is a webcomic by brothers Malachai Nicolle and Ethan Nicolle . Malachai is responsible for the ideas and stories, while Ethan turns them into comics...
  
  webcomic.
• Munchkin Blender was a special set released in response to players combining the different versions of Munchkin. It was an expansion sized set of cards designed to enhance this type of game, in which a player could be an elven/mutant bounty hunter/ninja or a dwarven samurai. Also provided are rules for playing to the 20th level, also known as Epic Munchkin. The Blender pack of cards was not required in order to mix two or more different standalone versions together. It has since been replaced by "Cheat With Both Hands".
• Munchkin Go Up A Level Includes updated cards for almost all sets, after rules were clarified to make play easier, and to go along with the 19th printing rules.
• Munchkin Dice is a supplement which contains six oversized 10-sided dice. The dice are designed for use as level counters. Also included are 14 cards for the original Munchkin (Race/Class modifiers, most notably) and rules for rolling a Munchkin die for random game benefits. The cards have been remade for "Reloaded!"
• Epic Munchkin is a set of rules for playing up to level 20 for all the Munchkin games. Players that reach the higher levels [10-19] gain 'Epic Powers' for each race and class (these powers are lost if the player is reduced to level 9 or lower). It is free, and can be downloaded from the Munchkin website.
• Exclusive Warehouse 23 Munchkin Booster is, as it's name proclaims, an exclusive set of 10 cards (9 new and a color reprint of the promo 'Pegasus Steed') covering most of the Munchkin versions; available only from SJGames' "Warehouse 23" online store.

Spinoffs

Munchkin has also spawned a couple of games outside the card game

Card game

A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...

 universe.

• There are two role-playing games, both of which use the d20 System
  D20 System
  The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
  
  based on the Munchkin and Star Munchkin card games.
  • The Munchkin RPG is an extended parody of Dungeons & Dragons
    Dungeons & Dragons
    Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
    
    : the latter has "cantrip" spells, the former has, among others, "can trip" (foils pursuers with preserved foodstuffs), "can't rip" (reinforces fabrics) and "Kant trip" (induces hallucinatory deontology). It consists of the Munchkin Player's Handbook, the Munchkin Master's Guide, the Munchkin Monster Manual, and the Munchkin Monster Manual 2.5 (a joke on Dungeons & Dragons
    Dungeons & Dragons
    Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
    
    3.5).
  • The Star Munchkin Role Playing Game is one book, and includes rules for spaceship design and a new class not seen in the card game, the Farce K'nigit.
• Munchkin Quest is a board game
  Board game
  A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
  
  /RPG based on the original Munchkin card game which contains several different items, monsters, and references to it. It was released in November 2008.

In Popular Culture

The game Munchkin is referenced and seen in the 2008 movie The Gamers: Dorkness Rising.
It was also referenced in the recent "The Guild" episode. Zaboo expresses his delight over the potential for "midnight Munchkin madness".

External links

• The World of Munchkin (official website)
• Steve Jackson Games
• 2010 Audio Interview with Andrew Hackard of Steve Jackson Games (interview starts at the 38:45 mark)

Free PDF Downloads

• Epic Munchkin
• Munchkin Mask
• Munchkin Rigged Demo
• Munchkin Tournament Rules

Video Instructions and Demo

• Video Playlist of Rules and Rigged Demo