Munchkin Loot Letter is a super simple card game from AEG and Steve Jackson Games. The game is for 2-4 players and takes less than a half hour to play. Best of all, the retail price on this game is only $10.99 It’s nice to see an inexpensive game like this every once in a while, because I am getting sick and tired of paying enormous prices for games.
This game comes with very little components. All you get is a box, rulebook, 16 game cards, 4 reference cards, 13 tokens and a card for the regular Munchkin game. The game cards have a value, some pips to tell you how many of that card are in the deck and a description of the effect that happens when the card is discarded. There are 4 other cards that describe the sequence of play and have a list of all the game cards and their effects. Tokens are used in the game to keep track of who won each round.
The sequence of play is simple. First the deck is shuffled and 1 or 3 cards are removed from the deck depending on the number of players. Next, each player is dealt a card. After that each player takes turns drawing one card and discarding one card from their hand. The effects of the discarded cards then occur. We’ll go over the discard effects of the cards shortly. When all cards have been drawn and discarded, the player with the highest value card in hand wins and gets a loot token.
The discard effects of the cards are the most important element of the game. The loot card causes you to lose the round if it is discarded. The Turbonium Dragon is discarded if you have a Dread Gazebo or Net Troll in your hand, thus telling your opponents what you are holding. You trade hands if you discard a Dread Gazebo. The Net Troll causes a player to discard their whole hand. Wishing Rings protect you from other cards effects until your next turn. Maul Rats allow you to look at another player’s hand. Duck of Dooms cause you to compare your hand to another and the person with the lower card is out of the round. This is a good card to play after you play a Maul Rat or another player discards a dragon. The Potted Plant gives you an opportunity to guess the card in another player’s hand. If you are successful, that player is out of the round. To win the game, you have to win a certain number of rounds depending on the number of players.
Strategy in this game revolves around finding out or deducing what is in your opponents hand and discarding the correct card. Victory revolves around Duck of Dooms, Potted Plants and Net Trolls.
I like this game even though it is so simple. It’s fun to play while you are waiting for everyone to show up for the main game and takes less time than other beer and pretzel games.
Buy your own copy here.
The Dynamite Kid
Not bad for a simple game.