It took a couple times playing this game before we became familiar enough with the rules to breeze through a hand, but once someone knows the game well enough to officiate, this card game is great fun.

If you've ever played a pen-and-paper RPG (like DnD, Warhammer, Gurps, etc) as a kid (or still) then you must check out Munchkin!  If you haven't played those geeky games, you'd probably still have fun playing Munchkin, even though a lot of the jokes might just seem wacky, rather than reminiscent.

Munchkin is a 3 or more player card game (although I've played 2 player quite comfortably) with "Door" cards and "Treasure" cards.  Each turn, you pick up a door card and see what you face.  Often it's a monster to fight (like a level 1 Maul Rat) but sometimes it's a curse (like Chicken on your Head).  Combat is resolved simply by taking your level plus any bonuses and comparing that to the level of the monster.  If you beat it, you go up a level and earn some treasure.  First one to level 10 wins.

Simple enough, but where the game gets fun is when the other players try to screw you over.  Beating a level 1 Maul Rat might be easy enough, but what if someone slaps down an "Ancient" modifier?  Now it's a level 11 Maul Rat.  Okay, maybe with your bonuses you can still beat it, barely.  Then someone else throws down "Wandering Monster" and "Level 2 Lame Orc".  Now you have to beat an Ancient Maul Rat and its friend, the Lame Orc, totalling level 13 now.  Luck is with you though, as you can discard a couple cards from your hand to earn you enough bonus points to beat the duo...  that is till some jerk thief backstabs you.  You would have to flee now but you saved a precious card which allows you to steal any single item from another player in order to win a fight.  So you steal that flaming armour you've been eying, and collect your treasure.

Munchkin may allow for friends to help each other, but in the end, it's everyone for themselves, and the biggest joy comes from crushing some hapless player's chances to win.

Here's a humourous comic I found on the web that illustrates a single turn in Munchkin.