Not long ago I was in a store called Purple Cow Toys and picked up a card game written by Seiji Kanai, a product of Steve Jackson Games and Alderic Entertainment Group called Munchkin: Loot Letter. I was hoping for a game that can be played in a quick ten to fifteen minutes and that’s what I found.
What is the Game Like?
The game is meant for two to four players and I would say it’s family friendly. Having read the rules and played the game I find nothing inappropriate for children, unless you think cheesy jokes about dungeon crawling is offensive. But if you think that, you’re probably reading the wrong online magazine.
Loot Letter is comprised of sixteen cards, of which there are eight different kinds. Each card has a numeric value ranging from 1 to 8. In addition, on the bottom of each card there is a blurb describing the qualities of the card (i.e., what you can do with it), allowing the player to consider how to use it strangely in the game. Being that the game is cheesy—filled with kooky tongue in cheek humor—the aspects written on the bottom of the card are not always helpful. You have been warned. Mwahahaha…
The Goal?
The goal of the game is to not be eliminated. If everyone but you has been eliminated, you win the treasure—represented by cute little gold cubes called tokens—that round. In the end, depending on how many people are playing, the winner is the person with the most loot. For example, in a two player game, whoever wins seven tokens first wins. In a four player game it is four tokens.
Figuring out the rules to play the game is pretty simple. The rules book probably won’t take more than a fifteen to twenty minute read, if that even. If you struggle with envisioning how it all works with game play, there are several videos on YouTube that one can watch to see how the game is played. But with that being said, once you play a few rounds, the game will go very smoothly. Oh yeah, and to make the game even easier, the game comes with four reference cards. They’re helpful for understanding the rules, game sequence, and how many cards there are of each kind.
Rumor?
I hear the game is modeled off the game Love Letter. But since I’ve never played Love Letter I cannot confirm this. But there are so many sources that say it is, I believe it. So if you like or dislike that game, keep that in mind.
Like or Dislike?
I’d have to say for the most part I like the game. It makes for quick fun. A game that is easy to play and fairly easy to explain. I found reading the booklet that came with the game made me chuckle a few times. But, I wish there was a little more variance to it. Not much more, just a little…maybe a few more cards. Also I’ve noticed that many people who bought the game got a cute little Munchkin bag to hold the cards and tokens. I did not find that in my box… Be that as it may, I have a nice box for the game. But as a geek, I find that’s not the same as a cool little bag that looks like it could hold treasure. So keep that in mind when you’re looking for the version you may want to buy.
Adam Lee
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Yeah – this is straight up clone of Love Letter. Still – for Munchkin fans, it’s “Munchkin Love Letter”, LOL!