Munchkin South Park was sent to us for review by The Op. As fans of both the card game and the television show, this game did not disappoint. There are a lot of Munchkin games out there, but this one definitely has a lot to offer South Park fans specifically.
In two sentences, what do you do in the game: Regular Munchkin rules apply with a South Park twist. Your character is a new kid, working towards level 20, knocking on doors to reveal monsters or curses, collecting treasure from Cartman’s Toy Box deck while increasing your allies/armor/weapons along the way.
Have we played any other titles by this publisher?: Yes, we have many games by The Op that we enjoy. Not only that, we’ve played a good number of the Munchkin games. To be honest, there’s some Munchkin titles we like better than others, and the South Park one is a solid title that we’ve enjoyed a lot.
What was surprising about this title: The game did an excellent job of applying the South Park theme not only on the surface level but into gameplay mechanics. Particularly, the monster levels seemed on par with how much of a threat the character would be in the show. The evil Woodland Creatures make sense as a level 18 threat, whereas Bat Dad is a level 4 monster. The curses like Internet Shortage represent real problems in the show, and their repercussions make sense within the game. This game is full of well-done references that represent a great chunk of the series best moments.
How likely is this to return to the game table?: We’ll definitely keep this game in our Munchkin rotation but are most likely to play it with fellow South Park fans. You don’t have to know the show to play or enjoy the game, but it is really fun to discuss the references, so knowledge of the show just makes it more entertaining.
Game length: Munchkin can be pretty long. The game advertises 1 to 2 hours and it is usually absolutely over an hour of playtime. However, as a house rule with Munchkin, we’ll sometimes cut the level you have to reach to 5 or 10 to enjoy a shorter game and to allow for a game night where we can enjoy a multitude of titles without running out of time.
Language Barrier Playability: This game is not feasible to play without language. There are so many cards you have to read and re-read to keep track of your abilities and what monsters or curses pop up that this game would be very difficult/near impossible to play and translate the entire time for everyone.
Artwork: Great. The artwork pretty much consists of existing South Park imagery, except the New Kids cards, which are in the same style as the other South Park characters. They didn’t need to reinvent the wheel on this one as the cartoon already has great imagery to use.
Quality: Great. The cardstock is sturdy and seems like it’ll hold up well. The only thing that stands out is a basic die it comes with but it isn’t bad quality, just not themed like everything else.
Strategy: Munchkin always has a good amount of strategy involved. This relies heavily on keeping track of your own cards and their abilities as you play. Another element of strategy is what cards you utilize, how you help others, or how you make the game harder for other players by making their battles more challenging, etc.
Instruction Manual: The rulebook explained the rules well, Munchkin rulebooks typically cover everything. A quick guide on what is different in the South Park version would’ve made for a quicker gameplay start potentially.
Organization: Munchkin games tend to have very basic organization and slots that aren’t exact size, but at the end of the day all the cards fit in the box and aren’t overloaded so it isn’t a big deal.
Final thoughts: Munchkin South Park definitely seems like it was made by fans of the show and that makes a big difference to the gameplay, which we think makes it worth adding this title to your Munchkin collection. This isn’t just a surface level South Park skin, however anyone familiar with Munchkin will find it easy to dive into. If you aren’t familiar with Munchkin, this game is a fun one to start with or to continue exploring the series!
Sushiball Games 