Want an appropriately themed game to play this Halloween and beyond? Looking to spice up your holiday? Any holiday? Any day? USAopoly and Steve Jackson Games have just what you need.
Combining Munchkin with other properties is not new. This time it is Disney which allowed the Nightmare Before Christmas license to be used, which is a pretty big deal. What we get is a pretty good twist on the traditional Munchkin gameplay mechanics.
I have played a game of Munchkin Nightmare Before Christmas before, at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo. August and Dela got in on it as well then so it was only Ciaran who needed a little bit of tutoring on the game. Especially since he had not seen the film.
Instead of races and classes as one would have in a regular game of Munchkin, players can get citizenship in various holiday themed towns – Easter, Halloween, Christmas and Thanksgiving. Each of course comes with specific bonuses, and there is an option to get dual citizenship with the right card in play.
There are rides in the game as well, which act as mounts. Ride enhancers to give additional bonuses are present in the game. Then there are items which give players additional bonuses during play such as headgear, armor, footgear, etc.
None of the characters from the film are “playable” in the traditional sense. This means even the hero of the film is a monster to battle against. Jack Skellington, however, is of a lower level than Oogie Boogie and should be easier to defeat. That is if players do not throw on the +5 To Monster or other bonuses.
Yes, combat is just as you would expect in a regular Munchkin game. Players kick open the door, battle the monster, go up a level and collect the treasure. There are ways to make the process easier for you and more difficult for the other players as this is Munchkin. The primary formula is the same, only here we are getting a much different flavor to the game.
Because there is a much different flavor, because the races and classes are gone in favor of citizenships, Munchkin Nightmare Before Christmas is definitely not the game to use to introduce new players to the world of Munchkin.
There are two other things that stick out for me regarding Munchkin Nightmare Before Christmas. The first is how well it uses the source material. Fans of the film will really enjoy playing this game. The second is directly related to this. Because it uses the source material from the film so well, it isn’t as funny as one would expect a typical game of Munchkin. Because of this our initial play-through back in August didn’t leave us wanting more. However, after playing it again, and going in knowing it wasn’t going to make any of us laugh out loud, we got a lot more enjoyment out of playing Munchkin Nightmare Before Christmas. Really, this is a great game for fans of the film. And Munchkin.
Included in the box are the requisite door and treasure cards and the coolest die I have seen in any Munchkin game. I would love to have a full set of RPG dice in this vein.
You may have noticed from a couple of the above picture we are not playing only with what came in the box. I have several Munchkin sets, some are deluxe versions which include a board. Some don’t so I have purchased Level Playing Field as well as an extra set of Munchkin pawns. Rather than digging out the Level Playing Field (which is currently stashed with my Munchkin Legends *somewhere* in the basement) I grabbed a few pawns from my (readily available) Munchkin Adventure Time box and created my own board.
Munchkin Nightmare Before Christmas wouldn’t be my first choice for a Munchkin game, but for fans of the game and movie, this makes an excellent option for game night.