Munchkin OZ

     Ever watch The Wizard of Oz? Are you a fan? Then Munchkin Oz is the game for you.

     However, be forewarned, these are NOT the Munchkins you are looking for! These Munchkins Kick Down Doors, Loot the Treasure and Stab their Buddies on the way to Emerald City. Gather all the items, Heart and Courage you can muster; But use your Brains to come up with a plan to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West and become the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

     Munchkin OZ is game made by Steve Jackson Games. This particular game is based on the L. Frank Baum's creation Wizard of the Oz.

     Gameplay: The concept is simple: Kick in the Door. Fight the Monster. Take the Treasure and be the first to get to Level 10.
   

     Everyone starts out with eight cards (4 Door Cards and 4 Treasure Cards) on Level 1 as a human and their character starts out as whatever gender they are. So, myself being a Male, I fight monsters as one. I am able to collect a number of items that I can carry which can aide me in combat. Some items require a one hand to play. So, I can only play two such items as I only have two hands. I couldn't for example play three items that require one hand each because I don't have three hands. I am a Human, not an Alien.(However, there are CHEAT cards that could make an exception) Each item typically has a bonus. So, there is a card the "Oil Can" which gives me +1 bonus but requires one hand to play. I have another card: "Revolver," which is a bonus of +3 but also requires one hand to play. So, I can play these and combined with my Level 1, gives me a +5 in combat. So, you see how this works? You combat level equals your bonus items, plus your level.

     How do you Level up? Glad you asked. You can level up basically three ways: Fight a Monster and win, buy a level or get a Treasure card which declares Go Up a Level. So, I mentioned earlier you need to Kick in the Door. This happens once you have played the cards you can in your hand in front of you. You then Kick in the Door. You play this card face up and read it aloud. It could be a Trap or a Curse which as the name implies is some type of challenge or obstacle in your path. Sometimes it could be a Class (such as a soldier from Emerald City) or an Ally which have abilities to help you battle monsters and sometimes, its a Monster like the Wicked Witch of the West. In order to Level Up you need to defeat a Monster. The Wicked Witch is a High Level at 19. You right now are a Level Five. Things look bleak, If you cannot defeat her or run away, the "Bad Stuff" on the card reads: "You are Dead... and your little dog too!" However, if you beat her, you get to go up 2 Levels and get 5 Treasures. So, how can you possibly defeat the witch as a Level 5? Some of the Treasure cards possibly in your hand are "Use once Only" cards and have the powers of -5 towards a Monster, this brings her down to a level 14. Your Still Are 10 Levels away before Victory or impending DOOM!. However, another player is a Level 3 and has a total of +7 bonus items laid down in front of them. You ask for their help. They know your in a bind and offer to help for all of your treasures that you will win if you defeat her. That's a steep price but you do get two levels. Or you could run away in fear like the Cowardly Lion. If you do this, you have to roll a Dice and roll a 5 or 6. If you roll a 4 or less, you Die, which means discard all the cards you own. What to do?
     Now, what if you don't draw a Monster card on the initial Kick Down the Door phase? Well, No Monster, No Problem. \Item cards, in addition to their bonus value have a price in Gold pieces written on the bottom right of the card. Do you have a total of a 1,000 Gold pieces with a combination of your treasure/item cards? If so, you could still Level up. It requires 1,000 gold pieces to pay for passage to the next level. Can't level up? Can't lay anymore cards down. Your turn is over. One caveat, if you have more than 5 cards at the end of your turn, you MUST discard the number to get you to five cards. However, if you are not at the lowest level, you must give those cards you would discard to the lowest level player.
     Munchkin gets more intense the closer to Level 10 you get. Everyone wants to be the one to win. So, the higher you get the more chance when those Monsters come out, and you need help, the more likely your friends that helped you in the beginning will thwart your success with a Wandering Monster Card which allows them to say, take a Level 11 Monster from their hand, attached with their Wandering Monster card have that Monster join your combat to add to the level you have to beat to force you to run for your life or suffer the consequences.
     Can you survive the Wicked Witch of the West, The Fly Monkeys and your fellow players on your way to Emerald City? When you get scared and fear the worst, just close your eyes and keep saying, "There's No Place Like Home. There's No Place Like Home." Everything will be okay and you'll have a great story to tell.

    I give this game 4 out of 5 Stars.

    You can check out all the Munchkin games at World of Munchkin