Munchkin goes digital

Interesting bit of news today for those board and card gaming folk amongst you. If you don’t fall into either of the two aforementioned camps it’s still very much worth having a read of this because I reckon we could possibly have a little gem on our hands. A very much loved game series from the board and the card-gaming world is making its debut on our PC screens this Autumn. The game to which I’m referring is Munchkin and it’s getting digitized.

We know that we can leave it to the folk over at Dire Wolf Digital to adapt board games into brilliant digital renderings and we can probably expect the same here. This team of rather intelligent souls and, of course, the folk at Steve Jackson Games, have announced that Munchkin, a game that’s been beloved in the card gaming universe for years is going to be coming to our screens via Steam and mobile. Munchkin is a game that’s sold millions of copies worldwide and one that will now be joining games such as Root, Everdell, and Sagrada in Dire Wolf’s digital arsenal.

So in true RPG/tabletop fashion, the goal of Munchkin Digital is simple. You’re being invited to descend into the dungeon, kick the door in, and slaughter anything and everything that moves. Friendship is for losers so backstabbing your allies is also very much the name of the game. All of this is with a view to the ultimate goal of filling your pockets with as much treasure as you can get your hands on and escaping as a fully-fledged level 10 hero.

Don’t expect to come across your usual fantasy fayre in Munchkin Digital. Why would you want to explore with a boring sword and shield when you can be wearing the Boots of Butt-Kicking or wielding awesome weapons such as The Staff of Napalm, or Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment? You’ll find all of these wonderful magical contraptions in the dungeon and more. This being said you won’t be using these weapons against boring Orks and skeletons either. You’ll begin by defeating the Potted Plant and Drooling Slime, these are just starting fodder, though, you’re going to have to have a bit of luck and your wits about you if you’re going to build your way up to the Plutonium Dragon and survive.

The gameplay in Muchkin Digital is deceptively simple. You’ll have to take your treasure-loving Munchkin and combine class and race cards to build a character; then gear up to face the native monsters. You’ll level up by killing lurking nasties and collecting treasure. The first Munchkin to reach level 10 wins so don’t expect your opponents to be as helpful as they might first appear. Only one of you will be wearing the mantle of the victor, after all.

So how are you going to play if you don’t have a bunch of mates that you can just summon on a whim? Fear not! You’ll be able to indulge in cross-platform, online shenanigans, so you’ll never run out of people to try and beat. If a bit of solo dungeoneering is more your pace you’ll be able to sharpen your blade against a bunch of single-player challenges with special rules. There is, of course, also a dungeon-diving tutorial so you aren’t going in completely blind. That being said, all you have to do now is grab yourself a copy and play!