Munchkin 2 – Unnatural Axe: Get Geekier

Ever since Munchkin was released in 2001 it has grown into a mini-empire in the gaming world. Now there are all sorts of versions of munchkin: space Munchkin, Munchkin Zombies, Munchkin in the wild west, pirate Munchkin, and many more. But what if you want to stick within the fantasy realm and spirit in which the original Munchkin game provided, but still expand your play?
Well fear not, for a number of expansions for the original Munchkin do in fact exist, the first of which is the aptly named Munchkin 2: Unnatural Axe. In fact, it can be argued that Munchkin is one of those games which relies on expansions for continued variability. It can also be argued that Munchkin is a game which shouldn’t be played in the first place, but I am not one of those people. I come from the pro-Munchkin side, and with that in mind, let’s take a look at the first of Munchkin’s many expansions.

Additions

Unnatural Axe comes in a smaller box full of cards; 112 more cards to be precise. Most of these are new treasure cards with new monsters such as the Hydrant, the Moon Maidens, and even the most diabolical villain of all, Santa. The Orc race is introduced as well, giving a little more variety on what your character could be. The new treasure cards include a flurry of new things you can use, including the titular Unnatural Axe itself, which gives +5 and looks really cool.

Critique

Let’s face it; this expansion is just more of the same. But honestly, that’s a good thing for Munchkin. Munchkin is a game which thrives on its expansions and the more variety in the decks the better. Sure it means that your favourite cards may show up less often, but you can just find new favourite cards!
There’s not much of an overarching theme for this expansion, other than that the unnatural axe shows up in the illustrations of a few of the other cards. That’s disappointing. Still, the deck stays balanced with race and class cards, ad lots of new stuff is available to give your game of Munchkin a little more geeky flavour.

Expansion –
Base Game –
Base Game & Expansion –

My Expansion Ratings
–– The expansion improves upon the original base game.
–– The expansion provides a differing experience than the base game but neither improves or detracts from the base game.
–– The expansion is effective and provides an interesting new aspect, but the base game is still preferred.
–– The expansion detracts from the base game.

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