I Don’t Think We’re In Conjurations Anymore: Combining Munchkin Spell Skool and Munchkin Oz Guest Artist Edition
by Andrew Hackard
If you have already tried Munchkin Spell Skool, you know how much fun it is to go back to your grade-school days and stir in a little extra magic. (If you haven’t already played Munchkin Spell Skool, go to your local Walgreens and pick it up! Go right now; we’ll still be here when you get back.)
Spell Skool is a great game for three or four players. But what if you have more players, or you just want more cards in your game? You have lots of options — one of the great things about Munchkin is how the games all work together — but we’d like to suggest shuffling Spell Skool together with the Munchkin Oz Guest Artist Edition.
Probably the most obvious reason is that both games were illustrated by Katie Cook. Her Oz art works perfectly with the inspired illustrations she contributed to Spell Skool, immersing you in what it means to be a child again. Both games were also written to be more friendly to younger players than some other Munchkin sets; the interactions between cards are simpler and the jokes a bit less edgy than in some other games. (Having said that, we always encourage parents to preview and curate any games they buy before playing them with their children.)
Both games use the “classic” Munchkin card backs. The fronts of the Oz cards are different, but that’s cosmetic and shouldn’t affect gameplay. Of course, many of you sleeve your sets anyway, so this won’t matter. [Shameless Plug] And if you’re looking for more sleeves, may we suggest the Munchkin Door and Treasure Sleeves, available from many fine retailers including Warehouse 23? [End Plug]
But the most important reason to combine these games is simple: it adds to the fun! Mixing the classic characters from the Oz stories with the wizards in training in Spell Skool makes for a delightfully wacky adventure!
(One other note: everything we say about the gameplay of Munchkin Oz Guest Artist Edition applies equally well to standard Munchkin Oz. We’re focusing on the Guest Artist Edition here because Katie drew both sets.)
A Full Class Load
Both Munchkin Spell Skool and Munchkin Oz Guest Artist Edition have four classes. The Oz classes are drawn from the stories and are more “grown-up”: Professor, Royalty, Soldier, and Wizard. The Spell Skool classes are actually clubs that the students can join: Athletics, Forbidden Magic, Potions, and Sports.
Although Munchkin isn’t really a roleplaying game, groups often get some emergent storytelling out of the situations in the game, and mixing the Oz and Spell Skool classes could lead to some amusing interactions. Imagine if one character is a Professor and the rest are in student clubs — or if only one character is a student and the rest are Wizards and Professors and even Royalty.
Another possibility is to create a house rule that the Oz classes are actually *classes* in the Spell Skool, and let players have both an Oz class and a Spell Skool club. This will definitely lead to some fun interactions — and some fairly weird study sessions, as well!
What Next?
You say Spell Skool plus Oz still isn’t weird enough? You are our kind of gamer! Here are a couple more ways you can jazz up your Spell Skool/Oz mashup game:
* Add Munchkin Oz 2 — Yellow Brick Raid. This is the most obvious choice, since the cards in this expansion already work with Munchkin Oz. You run a slight risk of having the Oz content overwhelm the Spell Skool cards if you do this, but you should give it a try anyway.
* Add a booster . . . or two . . . or more! We have dozens of Munchkin boosters that will mix very nicely with both of these sets. Of particular interest may be Munchkin Kittens (currently out of print but still available at many stores), Munchkin Puppies, and Munchkin Love Shark Baby. All three of these were illustrated by Katie Cook and so the art style will mix seamlessly with a Spell Skool/Oz Guest Artist Edition mashup game. Plus — kittens! puppies! LOVE!
Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoy Munchkin Spell Skool and Munchkin Oz Guest Artist Edition!
