Video games then vs now

The best video games are coming out today.

That seems to be the attitude of the voices on the internet. No matter how much individuals attempt to wax nostalgic about the games of yesterday, they rag on history and say that the medium has reached an all-time high for some reason or another. I base this off of comments heard on The Indoor Kids podcast (even the most recent one, which I am indeed picking out because it mentions Mega Man) and 1Up’s Retronauts podcast, where Bob Mackey has literally said that old games have looked like garbage because they were 8-bits. (I’m also picking on these podcasts because they are, quite honestly, my favorite video game podcasts.)

Munchkin is chaotic good

I discovered Steve Jackson’s Munchkin a few years ago. A friend of mine challenged a group of us to a game of Star Munchkin, the science fiction variant. Immediately striking about these series of games is that they are parodies of their respective genres. Star Munchkin chides the penchant that future tales have for laser blasters by providing several in the game that can connect to one another. Their names include laser, dazer, bobaser, and the dreaded bananafanafofaser. The name of the Star Munchkin expansion? Star Munchkin 2: The Clown Wars.

I moved away shortly after that, and no one I knew played or even mentioned Munchkin. A few months ago, I decided it was time to experience the game again. I picked up the original Munchkin set, which parodies fantasy. A few weeks later I picked up one its six (soon to be seven) expansions, Clerical Errors. Then another (Unnatural Axe). Then another (Demented Dungeons). Soon I found myself picking up another deck – Munchkin Bites, the White Wolf/vampire/werewolf/monster film parody set. Then its sole expansion, Pants Macabre.

I admit that I am a bit hooked on the game, but it wouldn’t have happened without a good gaming group. People convene weekly in my apartment to play a game of Munchkin. One game. Because it’s very unlikely you’ll get through two games in an evening. The game takes at least two hours to play. Not only that, but someone will be frustrated by the end of it. Yeah, it’s that kind of game.