Munchkin - Shiny Box Edition

My eight year old learnt how to play this game very quickly from friends explaining to him. I read the rules which required a lot of cross referencing with other rules, re reading and evetually I drew a flow chart! So it loses a star on 'educational' for the complexity and length of the official rules if they are intended for a novice ten year old. However kids just seem to get it, it was just the grown ups that had difficulty. The game takes about an hour to play, especially when you are all learning so set time aside and a few games to get to grips with it. Once you understand what you are doing it is fiendicshly good. In fact spend an evening reading all the cards so you can get the measure of it and see what kind of stuff can happen, who can do it and when they can do it. There are simply two decks of cards, treasure and door. You are human and yourself to begin with, but may get class e.g.cleric, wizard, thief...and a race e.g. dwarf, elf, halfling.....by picking up a card that will give you the advatages and disadvatages of being that race/class. There are items which may be articles of armor, one shot potions, and cards that give you a fighting advatage. There are monsters and curses that can work for or against you depending on when they are played. You have to battle monsters to go up a level, you can buy your way up a level, and sometimes you get a lucky card. You can't buy a victory though. On a turn you Kick Down the Door, deal with what you find. You can then Go Looking for Trouble if you have a monster in your hand you think you can battle, or Loot the Room and take another card, but it might be a really big monster. You can negotiate, sell or trade items but not while you're battling a monster. The real fun starts when you can't battle a monster with your current fightin points and have to ask for help or try and run away. The negotiations on how much of a share in the treasure you get if you 'help' a fellow is very telling, and just when you think its all roses some else can lay a curse or more power on the monster and Bad Stuff happens....The winner is the one who gets up to level 10. unlike most games where adults tend to have an advatage, so either patronise the kids and let them win or take delight in beating eight year olds..., this game is level playing field. So adults beware, life experience and a PhD in rocket science will get you nowhere! Your little Halfling Thief can back stab you, curse you and steal your level! They can also help you when you need it. A brilliant game that I would recommend for a fun or possibly explosive evening or rainy day. Hell we've played it on sunny days its so good. And it doesn't matter if ltiile ones try joining in at the start then walk off after five minutes, those cards just get put back in the pile and everyone else carries on.