ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Munchkin Review: Star Munchkin

Updated on September 18, 2015

Brief Synopsis

Star Munchkin does a lot of what the original Munchkin deck did well and doesn't deviate. It does add Sidekicks (which are essentially Hirelings) and a unique weapon combination system that can quickly become the focus of the game. It of course rebrands the theme with traditional sci-fi space material from sources like Star Wars, Star Trek, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Warhammer 40k, and a lot more. Even if you're not familiar with the parodied source material, the game's sense of humor is funny and you can find yourself smirking regardless.

The Monsters and Traps

The only problem I have with the core Star Munchkin deck is the Big Bad, or Level 20 Monster. It's the Great Cthulu, which isn't bad in itself. What is bad is that it's also the Big Bad (3 times) in the Munchkin Cthulu series understandably, but also the Big Bad in the Munchkin Apocalypse series as well. I don't understand why we couldn't have some Planet Destroying Star Base or something else, but honestly, it doesn't ruin any part of the game.

Otherwise, there's a good variety of Monsters and Traps that's fairly balanced, although not all of them are overly powerful. It's a good set up for a base game.

Character Modifiers

The game introduces new Classes and Races (which occupy the same slots as those in the original Munchkin deck so they cross very well), with things like Feline, Trader, Gadgeteer, Psychic, and others. Each have their own uses and are fairly balanced overall. However, most of them are very situation specific, as the Gadgeteer isn't that useful without Complex items (which take the place of Big items which is a different slot if you combine these decks) and the Trader is only good for scavenging items. There's nothing truly revolutionary, and nothing is overpowered. However, the Bounty Hunter class is very effective at garnering extra cards and monsters to kill, and the Feline is capable of pulling off a strong combo play with the Starfish and Its Clone, grabbing a total of 4 levels from a monster group Level of 6 with some Treasures to boot, just for having those three cards.

Overall, it's a good balance again.

Treasures and Helpers

There's a handful of Sidekicks that are more specific than the Hireling in the basic Munchkin deck but can be useful. Since there isn't a Thief class, the Rouge Sidekick can steal for you, and his drawback ensures that he'll stay in the game. Whiz Kid Sidekick also practically nullifies the Gadgeteer class though.

-aser weapons steal the show. Individually, they do anywhere from +2 to +5 bonuses, making them feel rather vanilla, but the real interesting feature is the ability to combine them. Putting two or more together creates a weapon that requires two hands to use, but the overall bonus quickly laps anything else that you could hold. Some laser weapons combined will create the Bananafanafodazbobzer, which becomes the most powerful weapon you can see in a while, and the expansions only add to it. Of course, you won't get all of the parts yourself, forcing you to try to barter with other players to grow your collection. It's quite fantastic, making this thematic deck a bit more unique.

Personal Thoughts

Star Munchkin is one of those sets that's good for beginners and a good way to return back to the basics. It may not have particular strengths in combining with another deck (aside from Munchkin Booty but only with the proper expansions), but it's good to almost relax with this deck. It's a good starting deck if you're skipping out on the original Munchkin deck, and with all of its expansions flow much better than the aforementioned deck.

Have you already played the deck?

Do you like this deck?

See results

More Munchkin

And that’s about all I have for the central deck of the fantasy themed Munchkin deck. Next time, I’ll cover Star Munchkin 2: The Clown Wars, an expansion that gives a handful of new cards with Races, Classes, and a new type of Door card called Rooms.

I've got plenty more Munchkin Custom Card Ideas! You can see a list of them here.Also, as I've spent far too money on numerous Munchkin decks and expansions, I can tell you which ones are worth it, which aren't, and why. The directory is found here.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)