Jamie Noble Frier, designer of
Hero Master: An Epic Game of Epic Fails, has specifically asked me to
avoid referencing Munchkin in my review of his game. And who can blame
him? Munchkin is a stodgy mess that takes far too long and is far too
chaotic, its no surprise that our resident fan of all things bad, Mr Jon
Cage, rather likes it. But its difficult to talk about Hero Master
without mentioning Munchkin, as on the surface the games are so very
much alike.
Both games involve a party of bumbling heroes going
on adventures, both games put their humour front and centre-with
humorous card names and silly flavour text-and both games teach us that
victory is best achieved by playing the most erect of dick-moves. I
could go on, but while Hero Master may cover the same broad strokes of
theme and style, it is a vastly superior game as it provides a tight and
strategic experience that still manages to be chaotic and downright
silly.
