Munchkin Cthulhu Reviewed

Munchkin Cthulhu, out from Steve Jackson Games, is a fun and quirky card game suited for Lovecraftians of all ages. Having played it on several occasions now, I'm beginning to see the potential for a range of strategies in the game--ranging from sophisticated sabotage attempts against other players, to a single-minded leveling up race by any means necessary. And wrecking other players or not, the object of the game is to reach the tenth experience level for your character by defeating monsters, helping or hurting other players when opportune, and playing special cards. The game recommends three to six players (and believes 'the more, the better'), but I've had perfectly great games with just two.

Munchkin Cthulhu comes loaded with 168 color cards divided into groups of different functions. For instance, one chooses a class card to establish unique abilities as an Investigator, Professor, Monster Whacker, or Cultist. By drawing cards each turn, players encounter items like weapons and armor, unholy texts, level power ups, or curses. Best of all, more items can be acquired by looting treasure cards following a successful battle with a monster. The creatures are the most creatively designed in the game--crude, yet hilarious parodies of Lovecraftian entities. The clever cast of these beings includes Grape Old Ones, the Fun Guy from Yuggoth, Loggoth, Geek Ones, the King in Pink, Great Cthulhu himself, and many more. In expected fashion, these foes vary in strength and grant different rewards or horrors upon either a win or loss against them.

One of the most interesting features of the game is the ability to ask other players for help, upon meeting an overwhelmingly strong creature. Said players can choose whether or not to temporarily ally with rivals, sometimes introducing an interesting element of diplomacy into the game. That said, rivals can also play special abilities and additional creatures against others in combat--leading to upset defeats by otherwise weak creatures and ill consequences for the loser, from losing levels, to surrendering card hands, to death.

The popularity of the Munchkin Games, and Munchkin Cthulhu in particular, has increased recently. It shouldn't be surprising when the easy to carry and play Munchkin Cthulhu sets appear at tournaments and relevant conventions, along with the traditional Call of Cthulhu RPG, Arkham Horror, and others. Already, its success resulted in two expansion sets, spinning off the eldritch parodies into new themes with extra abilities, horrors, styles. The Call of Cowthulhu is a farm themed take on mythos monstrosities. The Unspeakable Vault set of Munchkin Cthulhu takes art and inspiration from Goomi's "The Unspeakable Vault (of Doom)" comics.

The well balanced combination of thoughtful gaming features with Cutethulhuvian themes makes Munchkin Cthulhu a winner. Luckily, it is also quite affordable, going for around $25 US at most places, and $10 each for the two expansion sets. There is a modest learning curve to the game, but the basic rules are easily enough understood after a round or two of play. All the better, since the player will quickly find themselves planning against scheming rivals for more calculated roads to victory. Readers looking for a relatively simple Lovecraft-themed game or a nice Halloween activity with humor mixed in will not be disappointed with Munchkin Cthulhu.

-Grim Blogger