Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Mnemonic
Ugh, Munchkin. I'm with Owen: I really don't understand the wide appeal of the game to the mass market
|
I do. It's RPG-lite. You know those stories RPGers love to tell about crazy mechanical set-ups, ridiculous builds, or unlikely events happening in RPGs? Munchkin simulates those all very well without requiring the heavy investments of an actual RPG. It's something you can just whip out and play with friends and laugh about as the potted plant becomes a Giant Potted Plant Of Doom With Minions.
I doubt Munchkin sees the kind of deep, invested love that GURPS does (which is probably one of the reasons SJGames still supports GURPS as much as it does, plus I think Steve just really likes GURPS), but you don't have to. The point of mass appeal is that it's broad, but not necessarily deep. There are hundreds of thousands of people who would enjoy a game of Munchkin, but only thousands who would put in the time necessary for a good game of GURPS, even though those thousands love GURPS with far more intensity than the hundreds of thousands love Munchkin. The result is Munchkin is far more profitable.
I think one of the continued successes of Munchkin is that SJGames understands why it appeals, but they tend to be masters of the tight, focused, quick game. My very first SJGame was the original Ogre (played with my dad on a hotel floor), and it was just a little map and a few tokens. I also really enjoyed Zombie Dice, and it has a similar set-up.