Once A Month Gamer

Munchkin /// Once A Month Gamer

The OAMG poll ended in a tie! Munchkin was one of the winners and next month will be the other one! Thanks, again, to all who voted!

A dungeon crawling card game where you kill everything you meet, backstab other players and grab all the treasure for yourself, all the while laughing your ass off. Munchkin (affiliate link) is a game to be played with no sore losers.

 

Munchkin
THEME: Dungeon, Fantasy, Humor
PUBLISHER: Steve Jackson Games
DESIGNER(S): Steve Jackson
COST: $24.99
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Munchkin 

This card game is HUGE. Every board game enthusiast should have a copy of this game on their shelves. It is such a big hit with players across the globe that it has almost forty expansions/variants/sequels (and sequels to variants)!

 
Here is what you get in the box: one die, two decks (the door deck and the treasure deck), and the rules/setup instructions.

Here is what you get in the box: one die, two decks (the door deck and the treasure deck), and the rules/setup instructions.

The setup is simple, there is a Door deck and Treasure deck. You shuffle each deck, individually, then deal each player four from both decks. Set the remaining cards in each deck with reach of all the players.

The game mechanics are also simple Roll to see who goes first. Then, the turns go as follows: 1. kick open the door (draw a card from the Door deck and place it face up on the table) – if you draw a monster you must fight it, if you draw a curse then it applies to you immediately, if you draw any other card you place it in your hand (or you can play it immediately, like a class or race); 2. look for trouble/loot the room (this step is for the players who did NOT fight a monster when they kicked open the door) – looking for trouble is when you play a monster from your own hand and fight it, as where looting the room is when you draw a second card from the Door deck but no one else sees what it is; 3. charity – if you have more than five cards in your hand, you must play enough cards to get it to five or below…otherwise you must give your excess cards to the player with the lowest level.

Here is an example of a game setup. each player starts out with 8 cards, but by the end of your turn, you can only have 5 in your hand. i am showing you "my" hand here, so you can see the types of cards that will be in your hand.

Here is an example of a game setup. each player starts out with 8 cards, but by the end of your turn, you can only have 5 in your hand. i am showing you "my" hand here, so you can see the types of cards that will be in your hand.

The first player to reach level ten wins! Sounds easy enough, right? Well, I may have neglected to mention that the other players will be throwing down curses, monsters and monster enhancers on your turn to prevent you from advancing. Maybe. If you have a really good friend (or greedy friend) in the game, they may help you with your combat, should you need it. Usually at a cost (they want to split or take ALL the rewards).

a close up of some of the cards. they are hilarious, so the first few play throughs may take some extra time, as you will want to stop and read all the cards!

a close up of some of the cards. they are hilarious, so the first few play throughs may take some extra time, as you will want to stop and read all the cards!

​Munchkin is a fast and fun game. I love the funny cards, illustrated by John Kovalic, that have names like the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment. It is for three to six players, and I would personally recommend playing it with four or more. Three players make it harder/easier to gang up on your fellow players, depending on who is playing. Just remember what I said in the beginning, do not play this game with sore losers.


Have a suggestion for a board game you’d like to see on this Once A Month Gamer post? Have any questions about this month’s game? Leave a comment down below.

Once A Month Gamer Needs You!

I have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to my board game collection. Now that they are all unpacked, I can't decide which one to review! So, instead of a review this month, I'm asking you, the reader, to help me pick the one to review for July!

GAME-POLL.jpg

Voting is now closed. There was a tie, so for July the game will be Munchkin (click here to see that post!) and for August the game will be Mice and Mystics (coming soon!). Thank you, to all who voted.

Krosmaster Arena /// Once A Month Gamer

Krosmaster-LazyLady
Amazing art, funny characters and a battle to death are the hallmarks of this battle game. Do you have what it takes to survive Krosmaster Arena? (affiliate link)

THEME: Dungeon, Fantasy, Magic
PUBLISHER: Kickstarter!
DESIGNER(S): Murat Célébi, Nicolas Degouy
COST: $80
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Krosmaster: Arena

Krosmaster-Rating

our goal, in this game, is spend each turn using actions, abilities and/or spells in an attempt to take your opponent’s Gallons of Glory (GG). The first player to lose all his/her team or GG loses. May the best master win.

rulebook, box with everything in it, and the board.

rulebook, box with everything in it, and the board.

The first time you set-up Krosmaster Arena, (affiliate link) there is a bit of assembly required. The trees, bushes and crates need to be built (and save yourself some frustration down the road by glueing the crates together). After you put these together, the setup is quicker for later play throughs. Also, there are two sides to the board that offer a bit of variety to your environment.

the characters you get to choose from are super detailed and fun. each one has different strengths, weaknesses and abilities.

the characters you get to choose from are super detailed and fun. each one has different strengths, weaknesses and abilities.

You assemble your team of Krosmasters by whatever means you choose: one at a time, randomly or by draft. You set them up on your side of the board in order of highest initiative score to lowest (it’s the number in the top left of the card on a lightening bolt). This will establish your “Timeline” for your turn.

queen of the tofus and king of the gobballs are only available in the arena box,.

queen of the tofus and king of the gobballs are only available in the arena box,.

Each turn consists of three phases: Tension rises; Character turn; End phase. Before you start your turn, you’ll role the dice to see if Demons of Hours and Minutes is going to penalize you and your Krosmasters. If your roll produces two of the same symbols, then each player loses a GG. However, if you roll two different symbols you are rewarded with “Inspiration” for your characters. Each symbol means something different (i.e. the Shield gives you Armor Power).

In phase two the action picks up. You can move, take actions, cast spells and try to beat the pulp (or GG) out of your opponent’s team. What you can do depends on the character in play’s card, which dictates its action points, movement points and special abilities. You do this with each member of the team you’ve assembled, one at a time, in order of their Timeline.

You can also buy upgrades with little gold Kama coins (which I totally forgot to take a picture of!).

all the bits and pieces of the game (except the kama coins, which i forgot to include)

all the bits and pieces of the game (except the kama coins, which i forgot to include)

The last phase is really just passing the turn to the next player and bracing yourself for their attack against you.

One thing about this game that really stands out is the quality of it. The figures, their cards, the board and it’s 3D elements and all the little bits and pieces – all of it is just beautiful. This is one good looking game.

I also love the rulebook. That sounds weird, right? It’s a 32 page book, but really on 5 pages are the rules. Inside the book is a series of tutorials, with mini boards set up for you and an opponent to play on while you each learn the game, step by step. It was super helpful and I wish more games did this approach. The only thing we still have trouble with is figuring out the line of sight.

training tutorials are a huge help in learning all the rules and moves in this game.

training tutorials are a huge help in learning all the rules and moves in this game.

I love this game and would highly recommend it to anyone. You can only play it with two or four players, which doesn’t make it the most playable game, but it’s worth the investment. Also, you can buy more characters in little packs!


Have a suggestion for a board game you’d like to see as a Once A Month Gamer post? Have any questions about this month’s game? Leave a comment down below.