Munchkin: Critical Role gives a D&D twist to a classic board game

A new twist Munchkin is on its way, and this time the frenzied card game takes on a critical role. The game will be released on April 7 and is more than just a variety pack. Instead, it’s easy to pick for people who’ve never played the original party card game, with tons of gorgeous art and references from The Mighty Nein’s adventures.

Munchkin is a card-based board game where players must reach level 10 by collecting loot and killing monsters. It is so stripped down and light that it is easy to combine it with Critical Role, the popular Dungeons and dragons real game series. The group, led by Matt Mercer, started together in 2015. Their second campaign, featuring an eclectic group of adventurers known as The Mighty Nein, serves as source material for Munchkin: critical role.

While i was playing Munchkin, players “break down the door” to start an encounter and take turns playing powerful cards to defeat bosses. It is also a comedy game. Sometimes players find simple but useful equipment like a sturdy pair of boots or a sharp sword. Other times, they’re given wacky spells and wild artifacts that they can drop during combat to help themselves – or lock up a rival in lost combat.

Image: Critical Role / Steve Jackson Games

Play classic Munchkin is relatively free-form compared to most competitive board games. Players can make alliances with each other, trade loot, and drop cards to hinder each other on a regular basis. Players can also mix and match expansion packs, so dungeon exploration goes from a fantasy setting to a melting pot of pirate antics, sci-fi spaceships, or superheroes.

Munchkin: critical role retains the general structure of the base game, with plenty of room for card swaps and battles, but otherwise it’s a critical role adaptation that makes up its own game.

Players take on the role of characters from The Mighty Nein, using a character card for Fjord Stone, Yasha Nydoorin, Caduceus Clay, Caleb Widogast, Beauregard Lionett, Jester Lavorre, and Nott the Brave. The game also adds a few dice, a few tokens, and a deck that makes everything look a little less like a board game and a little more like a D&D session.

Munchkin: critical role is currently available for purchase from The Op Games. Critical Role fans can also enjoy a free adventure for Dungeons & Dragons written by DM Matt Mercer, or check out a recent book written by Mercer on the behind-the-scenes work of running Critical Role. The company also branched out into game publishing with the launch of Darrington Press.

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