Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Munchkin > Munchkin 101

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-24-2013, 10:49 AM   #1
Munchkin
 
Munchkin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: California
Default How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

I'm a fairly new player but have already gotten my hands on a bunch of expansions and booster packs. I was thinking of purchasing a couple of dealing shoes and just putting all the cards in there. Is this a bad idea for newer players? Is there a general rule about how many boosters and expansions one should use before it begins to hurt the game?

If it helps I'm trying to stay in the Fantasy theme. I have the Deluxe game and bought expansions 2-8 off a friend. It would be cool to go ahead and use them but not if it hinders gameplay for beginner/intermediate players.
Munchkin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 02:57 PM   #2
morleydotes
Moderator Emeritus
 
morleydotes's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Salem, OR.
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

Add a couple at a time. Each expansion adds a bit of different play and flavor to the game. It gives you time to learn the new things.

Pat
__________________
Salem Midnight Crew / MIB 1987 Or the Wrong MIB. Salem Cell leader, for the clueless in Oregon.
Ahhhh... I see the Screw-Up Fairy has visited us again.
Closed Captioned for the Humor Impaired
morleydotes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 03:16 PM   #3
Clipper
 
Clipper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Sydney, Australia
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

I've played a full Fantasy deck with new players and while most seemed to have enjoyed it, it didn't really go nearly as well as initiation games I've played with just base sets or sets with a single expansion. I'd definitely recommend to not use Demented Dungeons until your players have played a few games to get used to the normal rules. I'd also leave out Cheat With Both Hands with beginners as many of the cards rely on advanced features, like the Epic rules. The licensed boosters (Penny Arcade, The Guild, etc.) definitely work well if you have some fans of the various properties at the table and they don't upset the learning curve too much, so I would recommend starting with those.
__________________
My unofficial, but comprehensive Flowcharts: Munchkin: A4 Letter; Munchkin Quest: A4 Letter
Rules Checklist for all Munchkin sets: A4 Letter.
Clipper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 04:12 PM   #4
Munchkin
 
Munchkin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: California
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds reasonable. I'm trying to setup a game 1 night per week so maybe we start with the Fantasy Vanilla deck and then start adding the other expansions later (saving 6 and 7 for last once people are comfortable with the game). It's hard to not want to use these cards though since I do have them in my possession.

I did some research online and some say the biggest problem comes from deck dilution by adding too many other cards.
Munchkin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 05:00 PM   #5
Patsycoconut
 
Patsycoconut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Ontario, Canada
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

I agree with the dilution of the deck. It becomes very difficult to pair race/class specific items when there are soo many different types in a deck. I like to stick to 1-2 expansions to a base set. But the more boosters the better!

Patsycoconut
Patsycoconut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 05:04 PM   #6
Munchkin
 
Munchkin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: California
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Patsycoconut View Post
I agree with the dilution of the deck. It becomes very difficult to pair race/class specific items when there are soo many different types in a deck. I like to stick to 1-2 expansions to a base set. But the more boosters the better!

Patsycoconut
When I purchased my buddies expansion packs I also got another set of the main game. Would it make sense to shuffle that in if we mixed a bunch of these together or would that be a bad idea? 2 main decks mixed together with various expansions?
Munchkin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 05:09 PM   #7
Clipper
 
Clipper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Sydney, Australia
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

Actually, that seems like a perfect thing to leave aside. Have the base deck on its own to teach new players, while having a complete (or complete except for 6&7) deck for experienced players.
__________________
My unofficial, but comprehensive Flowcharts: Munchkin: A4 Letter; Munchkin Quest: A4 Letter
Rules Checklist for all Munchkin sets: A4 Letter.
Clipper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 05:25 PM   #8
Patsycoconut
 
Patsycoconut's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Ontario, Canada
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchkin View Post
When I purchased my buddies expansion packs I also got another set of the main game. Would it make sense to shuffle that in if we mixed a bunch of these together or would that be a bad idea? 2 main decks mixed together with various expansions?
As long as you have a solid amount of players. The only problem that could arise (Like in any large mixture of munchkin) is that you could end up with a poor shuffle and draw similar or uneeded cards which may bog down the game.

For example...turns are being played through and the only cards being drawn are class/race cards or curses. Another. maybe at the beginning of a game you are only drawing high level monster cards that are not defeatable in the particular point of the game.

That being said...The best part of munchkin is that the more ridiculous it gets, the better. At least in my circle. Rable rable rable is all I say

Just keep playing, have fun, and find what you like best.
Patsycoconut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-24-2013, 10:44 PM   #9
Munchkin
 
Munchkin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: California
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

Okay I'm thinking of picking up a couple of multi-deck card dealer shoes. I'll put a large mix of expansions plus the base set in those and I'll have a separate vanilla set aside for beginner play. Which I go with will be based on who's playing.

Hopefully the shoe can handle cards okay with Mayday (purple edition) plastic sleeves on them. Regarding the shuffle, I did see some shufflers on Amazon for a decent price. I might try them out but again curious if the plastic sleeves will mess it up.
Munchkin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-25-2013, 06:28 AM   #10
Mister Ed
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Portland, Oregon
Default Re: How many expansions and boosters are too many to use at once?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Munchkin View Post
When I purchased my buddies expansion packs I also got another set of the main game. Would it make sense to shuffle that in if we mixed a bunch of these together or would that be a bad idea? 2 main decks mixed together with various expansions?
I know there are certain cards that can cause game-breaking problems if anybody were to get a hold of two copies at once, but I can't recall if any of them are in the base set.
Mister Ed is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:02 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.