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Old 02-24-2013, 08:30 AM   #1
CLiving
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Default Need better understanding

Hi everyone,
A little intro, we are a board game guru family. We love to try new games and most of the time, we have a blast and really enjoy ourselves. After reading and hearing so much about Munchkin, I ran to the store on payday and got the deluxe version.

We were excited to crack this one open however we all hate it - all four of us :( And I'm well aware this can happen - I'm just disappointed!

There are some rules we are still confused with so I'm hoping that once we understand the game a little more, we will be able to tolerate another round and this time have the lightbulb glow and have smiles on our faces. Maybe...

So we understand that we take 4 cards from each deck at the beginning of the game (even though most youtube videos we've watched say 2 each). We also understand that we can only keep a maximum of 5 cards in our hand by the end of our turn (unless you're a dwarf) and that cards on the table that are NOT in use are turned sideways. We are also know we can sell these items.

I've got it so far??

What we don't understand is how to decide what to keep in our hand and what should go on the table. Do you place all of your one-time cards here? We ended up with 10+ cards on their sides each while keeping monsters and curses in our hands, (while none of the videos we watched even had 'carried' items) - by the time we are in the charity phase, we are all frustrated with what to do.

After you've kicked down the door, we have the option to 'loot the room' which means we take another 'door' card. Confusing. We assume these cards stay in our hands and DO NOT go to the table. Once we reach 6 cards in our hands, we have to start giving them away. WHAT'S THE POINT? I'm a level 4, DD is a level 3 so I give her a card which puts her over the limit so she ends up discarding it. Why didn't I just discard it myself??? The exchange of hands here is completely useless in my opinion so I'm obviously missing something.

Help! Please! This cannot be a flop...
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Old 02-24-2013, 08:38 AM   #2
Andrew Hackard
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Default Re: Need better understanding

You have a lot of questions here, but I think the best place to start is with our Munchkin Flash demo, which is designed to be a quick game intro and shows a couple of turns for each player.

It's not 100% like the game -- it only has two players, and it uses the old starting rule of two cards from each deck, instead of the new four-card rule that you've played with. But it certainly shows you the gist of the game.

If the demo doesn't clear up all your questions, please come on back and ask away; that's what this group is for!
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Old 02-24-2013, 08:51 AM   #3
CLiving
 
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Default Re: Need better understanding

Thank you Andrew for the demo however it did not bring up the issue of 'not in use carried' items nor having more than 5 cards in your hands
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Old 02-24-2013, 08:53 AM   #4
tremorlaine
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Default Re: Need better understanding

Quote:
Originally Posted by CLiving View Post
Hi everyone,
After you've kicked down the door, we have the option to 'loot the room' which means we take another 'door' card. Confusing. We assume these cards stay in our hands and DO NOT go to the table. Once we reach 6 cards in our hands, we have to start giving them away. WHAT'S THE POINT? I'm a level 4, DD is a level 3 so I give her a card which puts her over the limit so she ends up discarding it. Why didn't I just discard it myself??? The exchange of hands here is completely useless in my opinion so I'm obviously missing something.
The reason for Looting The Room is to be able to see more cards. If you aren't finding a monster when you Kick Down The Door then Looting The Room allows you one more chance on your turn to draw a Monster so you can fight it during your next turn during your Look For Trouble phase.

Regarding Charity, in your scenario DD would only have to discard the card you gave her at the end of her turn if she didn't use enough cards to get down to 5 (6 if you are a dwarf). Charity is there to "help" a lower level munchkin get into the game. There were times during a game where I started my turn with 10 cards because of Charity. By the end of my turn I did have to discard some of them but during my I got to play some and discard some to power my abilities.

This community here is very friendly and will to try to help with any confusion you have. I don't think anyone has picked up this game and "got it" right out of the box.
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Old 02-24-2013, 09:56 AM   #5
MunchkinMan
 
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Default Re: Need better understanding

Quote:
Originally Posted by CLiving View Post
Thank you Andrew for the demo however it did not bring up the issue of 'not in use carried' items nor having more than 5 cards in your hands
All Items that you have put in play are carried. The rules says that a player can have any number of small Items in play, and one Big one. They also say that you can only use (i.e., get a bonus or some other special effect from) some of those Items you are carrying. This is usually where the Headgear, Footgear, Armor, and Hand tags on the cards matter (obviously some cards can change how many of something you can use). So, if you have an Item in play that you can't use (e.g, you are the wrong Race or Class, or the Item is Headgear and you are already using Headgear), you must turn it sideways so you don't make the mistake of counting its bonus for your combat strength.

As for the number of cards in your hand: As long as it is not the end of your turn, you may have any number of cards in your hand. At the end of your turn, you must get down to 5 cards. So, you may play any cards that you legally can. After playing any number of cards that you can/want to play, if you still have more than 5, you either must give them to the lowest Level player in the game, or discard them if you are lowest or tied for lowest.
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Old 02-24-2013, 08:01 PM   #6
CLiving
 
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Default Re: Need better understanding

We just finished trying this game again and here is our verdict.

After playing games such as Catan and 7 Wonders for example, we are used to 'helping' our opponents however this game is the complete opposite and this is where we had to change our mind set. We played with the objective to backstab each other, it is a lot more interesting.

However there still weren't any charity phases as we simply just 'carried' our items.

I also believe the game will be more fun once we know the cards better
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Old 02-24-2013, 10:03 PM   #7
bonetm
 
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Default Re: Need better understanding

Quote:
Originally Posted by CLiving View Post
We just finished trying this game again and here is our verdict.

After playing games such as Catan and 7 Wonders for example, we are used to 'helping' our opponents however this game is the complete opposite and this is where we had to change our mind set. We played with the objective to backstab each other, it is a lot more interesting.

However there still weren't any charity phases as we simply just 'carried' our items.

I also believe the game will be more fun once we know the cards better
Charity is not very common, indeed.

Munchkin is a "in your face" kind of game, but there is a lot of helping too. It's important to blackmail and threat, but also to help so you get Treasures and misdirect so people won't target all of your combats or play all the Curses on you.

It is more light-spirited than Catan and 7 Wonders. I hope you guys get a better hang of it with a couple more plays.
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Old 02-24-2013, 10:28 PM   #8
Andrew Hackard
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Default Re: Need better understanding

Also, it sounds like you're playing it two-player. That's really not recommended; three players is the minimum supported by the rules.
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Old 02-25-2013, 12:00 AM   #9
bonetm
 
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Default Re: Need better understanding

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard View Post
Also, it sounds like you're playing it two-player. That's really not recommended; three players is the minimum supported by the rules.
In the original post he does mention four players.
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Old 02-25-2013, 12:28 AM   #10
Andrew Hackard
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Default Re: Need better understanding

Quote:
Originally Posted by bonetm View Post
In the original post he does mention four players.
I misunderstood, then.
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If you have a question that isn't getting answered, we have a thread for that.

Let people like what they like. Don't be a gamer hater.

#PlayMunchkin on social media: Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || YouTube
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