Munchkin Quest: First Impressions (Positive)

I convinced a very tired Emily to play a few rounds of Munchkin Quest last night (after having received it in the mail on Friday). It's quite straightforward for seasoned gamers, although we discovered it's a little trickier for those who are newer to dungeon delving. To be fair the rules are very clear and simple enough to digest quickly - although I'm glad I read through them a few times before setting things up.

I was a little unsure about the movement rate and how this could reveal three rooms per player per turn (if they move through open doors, don't stop to search and if they overcome each monster revealed) although after a few rounds it starts to make sense as it allows the players to either steamroll ahead if they are feeling confident or settle into a pattern of searching, moving and searching to minimise the number of monsters they face while gathering loads of gold and the occasional item.

We stumbled a little as we flicked through the rules to decide if we wanted to use our colour base or our opponent's colour base on new monsters who roll a colour that isn't being played but we worked out fairly quickly that the answer was yes as it has the potential to provide more DxM (event) cards.

Emily started as an Elf with a Health Club and I was a Human with a Dirk of Dauntlessness and a Stabbity Spear (held in one hand but benefiting from the two-hand bonus thanks to the Cheat card!). We had the Big Brother of a Frost Giant we worked together to kill on turn one show up on turn two and pace across the middle of the dungeon while we explored elsewhere. Sadly Emily was too tired to continue and we packed everything up (but not before I could become a Wizard).

It's just the sort of game I've been looking for; casual dungeon-tiling that doesn't require a GM and is simple and fun enough that non-roleplayers can enjoy it (while old grognards can giggle at the in-jokes). It is quite humourous and the cartoon illustrations really help maintain the silly tone so nobody feels like things are serious - even when they are adding up their bonuses and concentrating on which potion to use and what their odds are... it's clever game design to trick non-gamers down into the dungeon!