I picked this game up, being a big fan of munchkin and wanting something a little more involved that I could occasionally play with two players... that's what I got, but not really how I expected.
If anyone has played the original Munchkin, you'll know it's a relatively simple game (the standard version just being a pack of cards and a dice). It's very easy to pickup, with only a couple of pages of rules that are quick to learn. Game play concepts are simple and a game probably takes 30 minutes to an hour. Munchkin Quest on the other hand comes with 16 pages (as I recall) of rules, and took around 3-4 hours the first time we played it.
Munchkin is a relatively simple game, with few rules or stages to a players turn. It's relatively simple and a lot of the fun comes from playing against the other players - doing each other over and "being a munchkin". Munchkin Quest on the other hand the players are also playing against monsters as they explore a dungeon, that they generate tile by tile each turn, building a labyrinth of rooms (this takes up quite a bit of table space). What that means in practise is that the turn of each player is broken up into multiple stages which can end up taking quite a while. If you then combine this with multiple players, you can end up sitting waiting for quite some time (sometimes 15 minutes or so) before you get another turn, which really breaks up the momentum of the game.
I mentioned the notion of 'being a munchkin' in the previous paragraph, which won't really mean much to people who are unfamiliar with this game, or munchkin, but essentially both games rely on the idea that you will expend cards either in support or against fellow players. In Munchkin this plays quite naturally and always felt in quite good spirit. In Munchkin Quest, it might just be my social group, but as you have so much else going on (fighting the dungeon / monsters) the 'munchkinness' always game off as quite awkward and a little harsh.
I've given Munchkin Quest 3 stars out of 5 - but it's really a four star game,
Munchkin Quest has a lot going for it, and in my opinion is a really a little flawed in terms of how many stages each players turn is composed of, and as a result, how long each turn lasts. Once you get to the know the game a bit better this improves, but it makes the experience a little inaccessible to casual gamers - as such, incorporating new friends into a game can feel a little painful.
I've rated it 3 stars, saying it's a 4 star game, as if you've got a group you game regularly with then it's really good fun and feels like a four star game. However, if you're like me and occasionally have new players in the mix, then the whole thing feels kind of clunky and really loses some of the charm of the munchkin series.
One suggestion I would make to ease the pain is to look for the rules flow charts online. These summaries the Munchkin Quest rules into several flow charts on two sides of A4 paper. It makes a nice reference guide that speeds up all of the stages of a players turn, and is especially useful for new players.
| Product Dimensions | 13.97 x 9.21 x 1.91 cm; 181.44 Grams |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer recommended age | 12 years and up |
| Item model number | 1461 |
| Language: | English |
| Number of Game Players | 6 |
| Number of pieces | 1 |
| Assembly Required | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Batteries included? | No |
| Remote Control Included? | No |
| Mfg Recommended age | 12 - 111 years |
| ASIN | B003S9W4GI |
