Who knew that the horror of H.P. Lovecraft and the silliness of farms could result in wonderful humor? Anyone who's played Munchkin Cthulhu, of course! Call of Cowthulhu, the first expansion for Munchkin Cthulhu, brings a barnyard basis that scores big for playability and humor.(For those unfamiliar with Munchkin, it's a card game from Steve Jackson Games lampooning gaming Munchkins, those power players who exploit every loophole, argue about everything that doesn't go their way, and cheerfully betray their teammates in order to get ahead. In each Munchkin game -- different ones cover different genres, from medieval fantasy to sci-fi to superheroes -- the players try to kill monsters, collect stuff, and play cards to advance from level 1 to the winning level 10 (or, if you're playing with the Epic rules, level 20). The players can (and usually do) interfere in other players' combats, necessatiting requesting help from someone to win a combat (through bribery, most often) and still facing interference from the other players. And players will switch races, classes, skills, and other attribtes they hope will let them win. It's very cutthroat, silly, and fun!)
Call of Cowthulhu adds 56 cards to the mix. While there are no new classes (my one complaint about this expansion), there is a new type of card: Madness! These can be played on oneself or others and are both a help and hinderance at the same time. For example, Gammaphobia gives a bonus to monsters for every G in their name (+1 for lower-case Gs, +5 for capital Gs) but gives an extra level to the player if they kill a monster with a capital G.
This expansion adds new monsters, items, and other cards, almost all of which match the farm setting of the title. Players can battle K'horn-Roze, ride the Green Reaper, or end a combat with Bovine Intervention. And of course, Cowthulhu is lurking in the cards, ready to strike.
If you have Munchkin Cthulhu, I highly recommend adding the Call of Cowthulhu to your deck for some more playing fun. If you don't have either, get 'em both!
Overall Grade: A
Reviewed by James Lynch
1 comment:
Glad you liked Cowthulhu, James.
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