Steve Jackson Games - Munchkin: Warhammer 40000 - Board Game, for players aged 14+

Munchkin is a great Dungeons and Dragons parody game, full of quirky humour and adorable graphics on the cards. This is a must game for any would-be geek/nerd.(Please note that the base game can be bought without the deluxe version, it just depends if you want the extras or not.)This version of Munchkin provides the base game card deck with character cards, 6 coloured plastic character tokens and a very simple 1-10 board to illustrate game progression. As mentioned you can buy it without the board or extras but play is a little more straight forward with them. There is space in the box to add in expansions but it could get messy. Thankfully each expansion to Munchkin is identifiable on the cards (you might have to scan through the deck to check).The game is both simple to dive into and great fun with great replayabilty. If you are a stickler for rules they come with the game and are dowloadable from the official Munchkin website. You play as a "Munchkin", who for all purposes is a generic treasure hunting Human character. Equip him/her with armour and weapons, change them into a thief or a cleric or wizard etc and even change their race from Dwarf to Elf and so on, using cards you have from your hand. Then "knock" on a door to find out what is in the next dungeon. The aim of the game is to get your character to level 10, simply by battling and defeating monsters. Of course it isn't as simpe as have more power than said monster. Find a monster who is too powerful to defeat and you can use potions/spells or abilities or even call on a friend (who may or may not help). Or maybe you can easily defeat the monster, in which case your friend could chose to help the monster defeat you. Things get ugly as you get closer to winning and it's never as straight forward as have the most powerful character. What I love is that even if someone is miles ahead they can come crashing down very easily.Game times can vary from 10mins to 1 hour. The more people you have the more competitive and longer the games can last. My experience has been that the various add ons are well worth a look and don't forget to checkout forums and other online stuff for variant rules etc.Buy this if:1) You like quirky role playing games that make fun of the genre2) You have more than 2 friends as above3) Even if you don't like the above but want something different from Monopoly or Trivial pursuit4) You may be willing to lose hours playing and replayingDon't buy this if:1) You have no sense of humour2) You really don't have more than 1 other friend3) Monopoly is you favourtie game ever and there's nothing to beat it...

There is an old board game, that is back out for buying, called Dungeon, made originally by TSR and now sold by Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast. It is a simple game of players going around a dungeon, kicking in doors, facing monsters and if victorious winning their treasure. The first to reach a certain amount of treasure, dictated by their class, and return to the great hall at the centre where all the players start, wins the game. The game is not co-operative, but neither can the players do anything to impede or harm the other players. Its a race to the finish. The game is designed for younger players but for the whole family to get a taste of dungeoneering.Why do I bring this game up? because in many ways Munchkin is a parody of Dungeon. In essence the goal is the same. Explore a dungeon, kick in doors, defeat monsters and get their treasure. First to tenth level wins the game. But whereas Dungeon is a fun light game of players racing to be first, Munchkin has players actively aiding other characters when its in their best interests and also aiding the monsters when it suits their purposes as well. Where Dungeon allows for no player on player interference, Munchkin not only allows for it it actively encourages it.The game is at its heart a card game with cards depicting monsters to be faced, along with various traps, items, and special effects. Races and classes are also included in the game for players to become as the game progresses if they choose to. The cards in themselves are all incredibly humorous and its clear that the creators know the sorts of games they are parodying and leave no stone unturned for a bad pun. The artwork is of a high quality and evocative, in other words, the pics are damned funny.If you want a light, easy, very tongue in cheek game of dungeon crawling and backstabbing, then this is the game for you. Egos need not apply and should be safely left at the door while the rest of you just accepts the madness within. Go forth, quest and may you find the chainsaw of bloody dismemberment.