SJ Games Week and Munchkin 10 Year Anniversary Contest
Posted on July 25, 2011 by Flames
FlamesRising.com is excited to announce that all this week we are featuring exclusive previews, essays, reviews and more from Steve Jackson Games.
SJ Games Week begins today and ends on Friday, July 29th, 2011.
In addition to its selection of GURPS hobby games, Steve Jackson Games publishes dice, card and board games, too. Titles like Munchkin are heavily inspired by geek culture and often have a comedic tone. In the past, we have offered some coverage by offering a Munchkin Zombies preview, The Stars Are Right review, Munchkin Cthulhu review, Cthulhu Dice review and a Munchkin Bites 2: Pants Macabre review.
One of the other items Steve Jackson Games produces is toys, like their series of Chibithulhu plushies, which are guaranteed to induce a scream or two. Most recently, Steve Jackson Games won an 2011 Origins Award for their Cthulhu Dice Bag, offered in green and the limited edition purple.
This week also marks a special date in the history of the company, for Steve Jackson Games is gearing up to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Munchkin CCG. The Munchkin Czar himself, Andrew Hackard, will judge this contest and prizes will be awarded by Steve Jackson Games.
Munchkin 10 Year Anniversary Contest!
In conjunction with Steve Jackson Games week at Flames Rising, Steve Jackson is providing our readers with the chance to win a signed Munchkin game, supplement or booster pack.
Help Steve Jackson Games celebrate the ten-year anniversary of this popular card game! For a chance to win, tell the Munchkin Czar in the comments below about your favorite memory playing Munchkin.
The Munchkin 10 Year Anniversary Contest runs through midnight on Friday, July 29th, 2011 so be sure to enter today!
Contest Details
Steve Jackson Games will give away three prizes to the first, second and third place winners. Each winner will pick a Munchkin game, expansion or booster pack of their choice and will also receive a +10 Bag of Munchkin d6.
Please read the fine print below to find out how you can win!
2. Entries That Will/Won’t Be Considered – By keeping these simple guidelines in mind, you will increase your chance of winning.
What Won’t Be Considered – Entries that are full of harsh or foul language, overly graphic/sexual depictions or discriminatory/slang comments will not be posted. Employees of Steve Jackson Games nor are FlamesRising.com owners eligible to win.
3. Valid E-Mail Address Required – When you post your comment, there’s a field to enter your email address. In order for the winners to be notified, we ask that you please include a valid email address. This email address will not be posted publicly and FlamesRising.com will provide it to Steve Jackson Games on your behalf. FlamesRising.com will not use your email address for any other reason.
4. Valid Mailing Address Required – If you’ve won the Munchkin 10 Year Anniversary Contest, you will need to provide Steve Jackson Games with a valid mailing address so you can receive your prize. Steve Jackson Games may negotiate a prize substitute if you live outside of the U.S. This may (or may not) happen at their discretion.
5. Prizes and Notification – Steve Jackson Games will provide:
2nd Place – Winner’s choice of Munchkin Expansion supplement and a +10 Bag of Munchkin d6
3rd Place – Winner’s choice of Munchkin Booster and a +10 Bag of Munchkin d6
The +10 Bag of Munchkin d6 is an exclusive pack of all the different custom Munchkin dies that now go into each core set.
Contest winners will be judged and notified via email approximately one-to-two weeks after the contest ends. There may be a slight time delay due to both parties attendance of GenCon: Indy 2011.
Good luck!
Tags | card-games, Contest, sjgames
My favorite memory of munchking is playing munchkin booty with a couple of people dressed as pirates, and then all of us loosing to someones 10 year old kid…it was fun.
No…I can’t lose to the Gazebo! NOOOOOO!
my favorite munchkin memory, and there are many, but i picked up the basic set…read through them and laughed my butt off. i absolutely loved that there were blank cards. i used the blanks to represent a dm and a player, mocking their negative traits. we all gathered together and when that fateful mockery card popped up, the whole table lost it!
My favourite memory is of playing with the localized game (in Italian( and an original supplement (in English) with a friend of mine that speaks fluent English and other friends who do not… we definitely invented lots of new rules while translating that evening! 😀
Playing Munchkin with my dad, my son, and my brother. The table talk was humorous, but gave us uncontrollable giggles once my dad got the Curse! Change Sex card and he kept forgetting he was now a woman. Oh how I wish we’d recorded it or something – it was hilarious!
My most memorable game of munchkin was a 20 player epic game using every set available at the time. (about 5 years ago). We had set a few house rules for the game (ex. When you died for the 2nd time you got up and left the table. This game was going to take king enough as it was.). And there was one particular guy in our group that nobody really liked, but he had never played Munchkin before. He had already died once on his 1st or 2nd turn, so a few turns later when he kicked open the portal and wound up in the cantina we all let loose. 17 monsters must have hit the table, but we weren’t done yet. In a fit to get him out of the game wandering monsters and modifiers like Ancient and Last of it’s Race were quick to follow. Unable to find anyone foolish enough to help him battle these impossible odds he asked ‘well what if I play this?’ and dropped a card that made all the monsters leave combat and drop their treasure. 10 minutes and about 45 treasures later he’s now played 5 or 6 Go Up a Level cards and sold off all his redundant items so be sitting pretty at level 18 with an effective combat level of Jeebus. A couple turns later he managed to win his first game of munchkin and we reshuffled for the next.
My favorite munchkin memory is an 8 player game at my FLGS using muchikin bites, blender, and munchkin booty. The game came down to 5 people at level 9 fighting to win the game when out of nowhere my friend’s 6 year old son stole the win.
A long time ago, when there was only one Munchkin game available, we had a friendly 6-player game going at a house warming party. On his turn, Eric declined help from Greg, because Greg was an elf at the time. Greg proceeded to play every card available on the combat, ensuring that Eric lost.
On his next turn, Eric was in the position to need help again. Greg again offered to help, and this time, Eric accepted. After all cards had been played, Eric smiled and said “We can’t beat it.” They both died.
My favorite Munchkin memory is of the first time I played when a friend of a friend hosted a game night. Despite being unfamiliar with the mechanics of Munchkin, I proceeded to obliterate all comers by a combination of master cunning and honed gamer instinct. Choosing to retire undefeated, I have not played Munchkin since that day. (Also, because I don’t have my own copy of the game; and chronic illness has been preventing opportunities to attend game parties.) *NOTE: Favorite Munchkin Memory may differ from actual events in regard to level of cunning, keenness of instinct, and the definitions of “obliterate” and “undefeated.”*
I have many favorite moments, but one of the best was one I actually lost. It was my best game ever, my combat strength was in the 50’s and I was way ahead. For three turns they stopped me from winning and one of the other guys got to level 9 also. I finally had them, in combat and winning by so much they couldn’t do anything…and then my brother-in-law played Divine Intervention and the third player, a Cleric at level 9, won the game. We all died laughing and still talk about it to this day.
My favorite Munchkin memory is that I and my co-workers played it non-stop for over a year on our lunch breaks. We became frequent visitors to the FAQ as we would discover new ways to stab our buddies in the back. Unfortunately, we have had a change in staff and need to get back into the swing of things.
My favorite memory is of playing Munchkin at Necronomicon in Tampa for the first time. My son was also playing, and it was his first time participating in a game at the convention. We had a lot of fun, and he did way better than I did, but it was a blast.
My husband got me the Super Munchkin Momentous Unmasking Shirt for my birthday & our friends were finally having a Munchkin night. I decided to wear the it under another shirt for the dramatic reveal when I encountered a trap. (Keep in mind I’m usually the only woman playing these game nights.) The game went on & on & *finally* someone played a trap on me. I dramatically removed my glasses, stood up and pulled my outer shirt over my head to reveal the Momentous Unmasking Shirt. As I sat back down, I looked over the table to see 5 gaping guys staring back at me (including my husband, who had forgotten what the shirt was used for).
Now every time we play Munchkin, the ones who were there say, “I’ll never forget the time Margaret took off her shirt!” And the ones who weren’t there say, “I can’t believe we missed it!”
I had a weekly Munchkin meetup, and the best game I ever played was when four of us all got to level 9, and the fifth player was moments away from winning. We had exhausted all cards to fight back, and just when we thought we were going to lose another player threw out the Divine Intervention card. We were all clerics except for that fifth player. There was much mocking that commenced afterwards.
Swapping gaming stories inspired by the cards while playing Munchkin, it is such a great game for gaming nostalgia.
To the next 10 years.
My favorite memory was playing it at my sister’s wedding. Being a groomsman, I played it with the groom and the other two wedding party guys before/during/after pictures. There were a couple guys who never played before, but one “got the hang of it” after drawing 3 level up cards in the starting hand. Had tons of fun and made a couple converts
My favorite Munchkin memory occurred just recently! My kids and I were playing Munchkin with the N4S and DeRanged decks. I was having a horrible game! No race, no class, no monsters in my hand and no monsters behind any doors. I was sitting at level two for a LONG time, and my son and daughter were at levels 6&7 respectively. You won’t believe the amount of trash talking that came from an 8 and 10 year old! Well, finally the deck turned in my favor! I had pulled a couple of level up cards, and then became a halfling! So all of the worthless treasures I had started to be sold for levels, and I was able to get to level 9! Both had leveled to 9 by now, but were getting pretty quiet. So what was my final monster? The Potted Plant! When I pushed the button to go to level 10 on my iPhone Munchkin Level Counter, it played that sweet “Victory!” music. My 8year old son looked at me and said, “That’s stupid.” I laughed so hard! My 10 year old apologized for trash talking, and we were able to discuss how old age and treachery beats out youth and enthusiasm every time!
My favorite Munchkin memory happened a few weeks ago playing Munckin Zombies with my wife and sons (13 and 16) for the first time. My oldest son was having a bad game, hanging about 4 or 5 levels behind the rest of us. As my wife went into the final combat with none of us able to throw enough enhancers to stop her from winning, my oldest asked if he could help her.
“I don’t need help,” my wife said.
“So what’s the harm?” he asked.
My youngest and I implored her not to let him help, as he surely had something up his sleeve. My wife went ahead and let him help; and he played “Steal Tasty Brains,” which lets you steal the two levels my wife would have gotten. He ended up going on to win, the rotten little munchkin.
Not Eligible to win
My best Munchkin memory is teaching 4 RPGA members to play. By the end of the game, they were very upset. When I asked what was wrong; they replied,”How can they make fun of D&D? D&D is a very serious game.” I told them it made fun of a type of D&D player and not the game itself. Internally, I was laughing my butt off.
My favorite Munchkin memory happened at a con I was run demo’s at (yes, as a SJGames MIB, if this disqualifies me that’s fine, I still want to share the memory). The con was Chattacon ’09. It was late one night around 1 a.m. and I was getting ready to leave the SJGames demo area to turn in for the night, since I had more demo’s to run the next morning and wanted to get an early start.
A couple, husband and wife, came up to me and asked me to run a game of Munchkin Cthulhu. Both were avid fans of Munchkin and Cthulhu but had not yet played Munchkin Cthulhu. I agreed, thinking I would be able to throw the game and it would be over in less than half an hour. Oh, how I was wrong. This couple were ruthless to each other, going as far as to completely ignore me the entire game. So much backstabbing went on between the two that I easily got to level 10, but since I was the MIB, I restarted my levels at 1 and continued to let them play.
Two hours later, the wife ended up winning, but only because the husband finally let her. He showed me his hand and he did have enough +5/10 to level of monster cards to have kept her from winning, and said “I couldn’t let her have an easy win, now could I!” I just laughed and handed her her prize. Finally getting a chance to go to bed.
The last day of the con, the couple came up to me and asked if I would be returning the next year, they had enjoyed the game we played so much. I haven’t had a chance to get back to Chattacon, but I want to. Good people, totally worth the long night! 🙂
Seeing the “Munchkin Corset” – an actual, wearable, made-from-Munchkin-cards corset. Then seeing it worn by Scott “The Man Who Really Is Igor” (yes, there are pics, so it did happen!) Well, perhaps not really “worn”…. more like “draped over his bad self for comic effect.” That was priceless.
My husband arranged a Munchkin game night for my 30th birthday. About a dozen players gathered around the table and we combined several decks and expansions- Cthulhu, Star, Impossible, Original, and of course, Blender. Things were going great and before long everyone had achieved level 9… where we stayed for an hour while the combat interference reached epic proportions. My turn came around and I kicked down the door of Cthulhu! No problem, I had plenty of bonuses to beat him… until everyone piled bonuses on him… and added a wandering monster… ANOTHER CTHULHU… and added bonuses to IT! I successfully ran away from one Elder god with the help of a Loaded Die card, but failed to run away from the second. I died. EVERYBODY ELSE went up a level (because it was 2 AM and we were beat) to 10 and WON. BEST MUNCHKIN BIRTHDAY EVER.
Tl:dr- On my birthday, I died, everybody else won. Awesome.
A couple years ago I got together with some old college friends at a rented house on the beach. Munchkin games occupied many of our waiting-for-dinner-to-cook and not-quite-ready-to-sleep hours. The phrase, “with press-on wings!” was tossed around through the whole week. With another trip to the beach with the same group of people coming up later this summer, I’m sure our Munchkin memories will continue- with press-on wings!
My dearest memory is when we are playing Munchkin and pulled the Humungus Fungus for the first time. After read the “Do not truffle with the Humongous Fungus” phrase in the card, we started to laugh loud and everytime anyone threated to attack the other, we used this.
This happens five years ago and even today, everytime I encounter one of my friends and he mocks me saying he will gonna defeat me in any game, i say to him “Do not truffle with the Humongous Fungus”
One of my favorite munchkin memory’s was when me and 3 of my friends 2 of whom never played before, were playing munchkin cthulu. 3 of us were cultists around lvl 5 or so and the non cultist was lvl 7. His turn comes up and its cthulu himself and me and the rest of cultist start laughing as we’re about to see mr.noncultist get crushed when I realize, if he gets crushed we will all be cultists and since he will be the highest lvl cultist he will win. So I whisper this to the other cultists and I play cult meeting and we pool our cards together to help the non cultist beat cthulu himself. It was a very odd and very funny situation to be in to say the least.
I have to say that I’ve never played a game of Munchkin my life (kill the blasphemer! Kill him with fire!!), but several of my family and friends have told me it would be a game right up my alley. I’ve loved several of Kovalic’s other games he has done artwork for, including Chez Geek, Apples to Apples and My Dwarves Fly. Just read about it on DorkTower.com and thought it would be worth it to enter the contest anyway.
My favourite (and recent) memory of Munchkin is learning to play with my 7 year old son and my wife. We try to play at least once a week and cajole all visitors into playing at least one game. We love games and find it a great addition to our game nights.
My son won a recent game by helping my wife in a battle then hijacking the 2 final levels she needed to win. He informed us that he was planning on that for a while.
I look forward to gaming with him as often as we can.
The moment that stands out most in my mind is a game where a friend was trying to prevent me from killing a monster and come close to winning the game. After I killed one of the monsters I was fighting, she tried making it “Undead” to bring it back to life. This led to an hour-long argument over the definition of “undead” in the game, when a monster modifier could be validly played, and who owned the current copy of the game (it was my game, so I eventually got to be right, but it took a while). The good news is that we are still friends and joke about it occasionally.
When I bought my first Munchkinset (classic, thanks to a friend), I immediatly wanted to play. In one of my first games, my brother won with Divine Intervention! And we were laughing even more than him.
I think my favourite Munchkin memory was my nephew’s “lightbulb” moment, when I was teaching the game to him and some of his friends. He (and they) had been playing pretty straight: not buffing monsters, helping each other fight tough monsters…you know, boring. Then I saw in my nephew’s eyes when a switch flipped, and he realized that all of these jerky things he was avoiding were actually the point of the game! The screams of outrage as he proceeded to backstab his buddies (and me, I was *so* proud) was second in awesomeness. The most awesome part was after that, as he and his friends began to play with a “hyenas fighting over a wildebeest” intensity. In one afternoon I cinched the next generation of Munchkin players and became Best Uncle. Thanks, Munchkin!
Last December, I was at a cabin with a handful of friends, 2 of which had never played Munchkin before, but were experienced CCGers. After a sample game to get them warmed up, we broke into a real round. Keep in mind, at this point, I only had the first 2 expansions as well as the base set, and Reloaded. We figured that after we were done with the game, we’d watch a movie before bed.
The game lasted until after midnight. This meant we were all too wasted to watch a movie.
The game had started at 8. We’d spent about FOUR HOURS playing. And yes, someone had played the Rocks Fall, Everybody Dies card more than once.
The best part of this best game? Having to consult the errata so many times to clarify the rules, then having to logic it out when the situations we encountered just did not exist.
Munchkin games get played a lot in my home, and we’ve had a lot of truly epic games, but my favourite memory of Munchkin is undoubtedly the first time that I played Munchkin Cthulhu.
When a birthday of mine was rolling around some time ago, my girlfriend (the person I play Munchkin with the most) spent the whole month leading up to it hinting that she had gotten me something really special, and despite my best efforts, I failed to deduce what it might be. On my birthday, she finally revealed it to me: a shiny new box of Munchkin Cthulhu cards. I was thrilled; I’d mentioned to her in passing, months earlier, that I really wanted a copy, but I’d been putting off buying it on account of some financial pressures. She had remembered and, although money is tight for her too, she had picked it up for me. We sat down to play. Actually, first we snuggled up to read all the cards together, and it’s rare that I laugh as hard as I did when I read “Deep Juan” and the other horrible, horrible puns the game contained. She had one more surprise for me, though; as we set up the game to play our first round, she took out a second bag and revealed a fluffy Chibithulhu to go with the game! Need it be said that the Disturbing Plush Toy had been our favourite card from Chez Cthulhu?
Naturally, Chibithulhu was the third player in our first game. Also quite appropriately, Chibithulhu wiped the floor with us, reaching level 10 while the human players’ investigators were reduced time and again to squishy messes on the bottoms of squamous feet.
That was the most hilarious game of Munchkin I ever played. Also the one spent in the best company.
I had only been on a few dates with a new girlfriend. While visiting some of my friends, we decided to play/teach her Munchin. To my amazment she not only “got” several of the geekier puns; but also won the game.
Yup, we’re married now.
I was first introduced to Munchkin at a games night with a bunch of people whom I’d worked with at various times. Suddenly I realized you could immediately tell which players had been RPG fanatics because they got all the subtle jokes hidden in the cards. The few who hadn’t still enjoyed the game, which is a big credit to Munchkin’s success.
My first thought was to list one of my (very few) unlikely victory scenarios. Going up four levels in one turn to win from behind, or selling everything I owned to get the highest level then winning by becoming a Cultist, are definitely cool moments.
But really, my favorite Munchkin moment came when I discovered that my oldest son was now old enough to play (and VERY interested in playing) Munchkin with my wife and I. Suddenly (after YEARS of horribly infrequent opportunities) we had the requisite three players on hand right at home.
Our Munchkin playing (and purchasing) has really taken off since that moment, and I’ve taken my son to numerous MIB demos (we both have the goal of at least TRYING every version) since then. But that first family game (which I believe he won) holds a special place in memory.
My best munchkin memory was from a tournament a few years back. The epic rules had just been released and so the Tournament Director had said that the game would go up to 20th level. During the game someone played “Mine goes up to 11”, and the TF had decided that that card meant that you now had to get to level 22 to win. Needless to say, the game went on for a VERY long time. Eventually, we were sitting with a few people on 21st level, and another few on level 20 and one guy was on level 19. It was at that point in the game when someone played the “Annihilation” card on the “Mine goes up to 11” card… which meant that EVERYONE won… Except for one guy who was still stuck on level 19. To this day, he is always remembered as “The Guy Who Lost The Munchkin Tournament”.
My Munchkin Memory was not to long ago. I was playing Munchkin Zombies fighting the Janitor (Well actually it was a body-building Janitor with a steamroller) I was actually beating it too! Then another player played a fireman. I got out my Kill-O-Meter and strangely the Kill-O-Meter had the same exact monsters that I was fighting. Meanwhile I played every single shot item I had and it turned out to be all a brainteaser! What a waste of my cards!
I was playing Munchkin with some friends, and the game was getting really close. We stopped my wife from winning a fight at 9th level only to have the next card turned over be Divine Intervention. She happened to be a cleric. The groans at the table were epic, and I’m pretty sure she’s still celebrating that win..
My favorite munchkin game involves my wife. My three friends and I decide to play Munchkin one evening. My wife isn’t in to gaming as much as we are, but we invite her to play with us and tell her it will be fun. She agrees to play.
The whole evening me and the guys are playing cards left and right to keep each other from getting level ten, the whole time, kind of taking it easy on my wife who doesn’t get in to playing the “screw you” cards as much as we do.
At the end of my friend’s turn he levels up to nine and one of my friends hits him with a level drain immediately. The friend who was drained of a level then plays the divine intervention card sending his cleric character back to 9. My wife then says “Thanks”.
We look over at her and had neglected to notice that she was level nine and indeed a Cleric. She smiled at us and left the table savoring her win. I always thought no one would ever get to win by playing that card; I was wrong.
So many good memories. But the best was an ill fated alliance between two level nine elves. The guy whose turn it was asked the helper elf and he willingly agreed in order to share the victory.
The usual monster modifiers and wanderers were played. But then it happend. Somebody cursed the helper elf and he became a dwarf.
Since he wasn’t going to win, helper elf (now dwarf) started using everything he had to help the monsters – just so the other guy wouldn’t win. It was hilarious to watch.
I’ve always remembered that from the monsters’ perspective. Two elves come for you, but at the moment of triumph, the bickering begins and they actually start giving you, the monster, their weapons and potions. Such good spite!
While on vacation 3 summers in a row, at my cousin’s house we would begin playing Munchkin with 6 or 7 people at a time. We started a game in the morning and kept play games non-stop until late late at night! Loads of laughter and epic wins abounded. We are terribly horribly mean to each other, all in good-natured Munchkin-ish fun. Grew to loath those Kneepads of Allure and believe you me, whoever got them used them to their fullest.
We love Munchkin!
I remember sitting alone at a small game convention in Spokane many years ago. I didn’t know anybody and all the good game spots were full. Some guys nearby were laughing and having a lot of fun and noticed I was not. They brought me over and invited another wallflower to join in a pick up game of the original Munchkin. The game was fun and we ended up hanging out for the rest of the convention and beyond. Munchkin was a bridge that allowed us to become friends. 😀
My first ever game of Munchkin, I get Freudian Slippers + Revealing Clothing. “Um. Guys? Are infinite combos supposed to work in this game? Oh, they are? Excellent…”
I’ve had a lot of wins and a number of losses, but I think my favorite memory of playing Munchkin comes from around eight years ago or so. I hosted game days at our home back then, but they were not always solidly attended. One day I was teaching Munchkin to a couple of new players, with a few more in attendance – a six player game. A little while into it one of the people remarked on how lucky I had to be as the only male at the table.
I hadn’t been that shy and speechless in a long time. Or that surrounded by pulchritude.
My favorite Munchkin memory came this weekend. We had 6 people playing, one of whom had just learned about five minutes ago. One of the house rules that we use is that Wandering Monsters aren’t necessary, and you can play a monster at any fight. The game proceeded as normally as a Munchkin game can, until there were three of us at level 9, two at 8, and the last at 5 (she had gotten slammed with four monsters when she was at 9 on her turn).
The first level 9 guy was cursed and lost his armor, and the table breathed a sigh of relief. The second guy drew a monster, and was immediately set upon by four other monsters and a handful of potions, as well as a curse. He managed to run away from all of the bad stuff except for losing his footgear and his helmet. It was my turn, and I was the last level 9. I drew a level 2 monster, and was ecstatic… Right up until everyone let loose with their *second* pile of monsters and potions. I was losing by well over 60 or 70 and was still laughing.
When the other players asked why I was laughing and if I was dead yet, I said “yeah, sure. Just let me play one more card. If I go down, I’m taking you all down with me.” And threw down “Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies”. Every face turned from a grin to wide-eyed disbelief as they read the card. By the end of me dying, everybody had died, lost four levels, and lost their race.
I ended up losing (the first timer won), but we keep talking about trying to find another copy or three of Rocks Fall, just for the lulz.
Munchkin games are one of the few activities I can get both my daughters (ages 10 and 14) to agree on; the oldest prefers Munchkin Fu while her sister likes Super Munchkin best. Me, I like any version that gets them both sitting down, talking, laughing, and having fun together.
I have never, ever played Munchkin in my life. I have heard the legends though. It seems that everyone I talk to has played this game, though it always was someone else’s copy. They tell me stories about it. The shining moments of victory, the depths of agony and defeat, and mostly the hilarious humor and interaction. I want to share in this experience. I want to be the guy who invites others to have this experience.
I want to play!
I’d have to say that my favorite memory so far is my epic loss at my own hand.
I’m pretty new to Munchkin and have trouble finding other players. I took my Boxes of Holding with me when I flew from California to Minnesota to attend CONvergence last month, figuring I’d surely be able to find some interested people there. Saturday night of the con, my sister and I were at loose ends and running out of time (we flew home Sunday), so we snagged a table in the bar; I texted friends and put out the call on the con’s Twitter hashtag: “Munchkin in the bar! Look for me!”
A couple guys I’d been talking about Munchkin with via Twitter showed up, and we had a very good 4-player game (up to then, my first game with more than 3 players). But the real fun started when my friend Mikey got off his volunteer shift. He found me in the bar (my sister had gone to bed), and then some of his friends wandered by and stopped to talk. When I returned to the table after a few moments away, I discovered he’d talked three of them into playing Star Munchkin (with Clown Wars), and at least one of his friends was an experienced Munchkin.
Said experienced player became obsessed with building the ultimate laser weapon and would make insane deals with people, such as, “Help me with these monsters and I’ll give you all the treasure…EXCEPT any laser parts.”
When that player reached level 7 or 8, he kicked down a door to discover a Janibot. Easy win, right? Not after we four were done with it. I can’t remember all the modifiers and wandering monsters that flew into play (I think Evil Twin and “I am your father” were in there), but I do know that Mikey pulled a blank card out of his hand and asked, “Since this is blank, I can just make stuff up, right?”, then proceeded to turn it into some ridiculous high-level monster when we agreed.
The player facing down this mess asked me for help, offering me all the treasure from the win. I agreed, not realizing that the mess we’d created was worth four or six levels to him, winning him the game. Had I refused to help, he’d have had to run or died. I aided my own loss, and had the BEST TIME EVER doing it!
After that (around 2 or 3am), we broke the party up and I went to bed, reluctantly (despite having to leave for the airport in nine to ten hours!).
I know you can only use one memory from each entrant, but I want to share this, too: My favorite non-playing memory happened at the end of April, as I prepared to move from Minnesota back to California. I had just played my first games ever a few days before, with Mikey and my then-housemate, who was mildly curious about the game, but mostly joined us so we’d have three players. A few days later, Housemate had just found me the PERFECT coat for my CON hall costume, and said I could pay her back when I could. Then she got a glint in her eye and said, “Or…we could go to the game store and you can pay me back by buying me a Munchkin game.” I still don’t know if she’s ever played that Super Munchkin game, but I’m proud to have converted a new Munchkin during my own first two games.
My favorite memory comes in the form of a 4 player game I had with my girlfriend and cousins. My girlfriend has this nasty habit of picking on me in games so on her winning battle I threw down the monster mash and the subsequent 5 monsters I had in my hand, all level 10 or above. It made the battle even sweeter when my cousins threw in their own mini-monster armies when it was all said and done, she had to run away from each one individually and couldn’t. She still won, as no one was close to her in level and on her next turn she pulled a level one monster and we had just used all our monsters and enhancers on her.
Mine is the first time I played, at MFM. Played for hours, only took me 1 game to pick up on the game. Won 1 out of like 35 games, though that was mostly because I couldn’t get cards for backstabbing, but I was the best equipped person out there…till someone hit me with the sex change card and all that male equipment went poof lol, it was awesome