Overview:
Avast ye scurvy dogs! This be a review of th' upcoming Munchkin Booty from those scallywags at Steve Jackson Games. Th' basics be still present; killin' 'o monsters, stealin' 'o treasure, and stabbin' 'o buckos. If ye've played any flavor 'o Munchkin, then ye be knowin' th' basics. If ye haven't, ye'll have to find someone else to explain it to ye. Now, on to th' review!

The Components:
Like other Munchkin base sets, you get 168 cards, one six sided die, and the rules all packaged in the standard Munchkin box size. The quality of the cards is on par with previous sets of Munchkin, which is good thing.

John Kovalic comes through again with some fantastic new artwork. The visuals to go along with puns are on par with what we've come to expect. Some of my favorites include the Prince of Whales (a large whale with a tiny crown) and a Wandering Monster card depicting a shark in a row boat.

As an added bonus, the crew at SJG has gone through the trouble of converting the cards to Pirate speak. For expect to see "ye" in place of "you" on most (if not all) cards. It's a subtle touch that adds to the already strong theme.

If you've purchased other Munchkin sets, then you know what to expect as far as quality goes. If you've been pleased thus far, you'll continue to be pleased.
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Gameplay:
As I said at the start, if you've ever played Munchkin before, then you already know the basics. For brevity's sake, I won't bother going into the basics here. Instead, lets talk about the new card types.

In lieu of Races, Booty adds a new group of cards called Accents. You can have a British, Dutch, French, or Spanish Accent. If you're lucky, you may even get to be Bilingual and have two Accents. Each Accent adds a new power to the world of Munchkin. Accents are also distinct from Loyalties in Munchkin Impossible, so you'll be able to have a British-loyal, British-accented Tourist/Pirate/whatever.

In addition to the new Accents, we also have a two new groups of cards called Ships and Ship Enhancers. What good is a swashbuckling game without ships, right? The Ships are very similar to Steeds from The Good Badnd the Munchkin and Munchkin 4: The Need for Steed except...well...they're Ships. You've got Ships like the Cutter and the Ship of the Line. In addition, you can enhance them by adding things like a Crows Nest, a Poop Deck, or a Figurehead.

Finally, there is a new type of monster called Sharks. Sharks either have the word Shark in their name, or the word Shark under their level much like Undead monsters say "Undead" under their level. When a Shark appears in combat players have the option of adding more Shark monsters without needing a Wandering Monster card. Sharks range from the Lousy Pink Shark to the Perfectly Fine Blue Shark to the Great White Shark (see what they did there?).

Overall, the new additions are great. My biggest concern is that the French Accent seems a bit overpowered under the right circumstances. Basically, it allows for players to force opposite sex players to help in combat at the cost of first choice of treasures. This is very similar to the Kneepads of Allure from the original Munchkin. I've never had a big issue with the Kneepads of Allure. There's only one, and once you add expansions it becomes less likely to be drawn. Now there are three cards in a smaller set of cards with a similar ability. You can't gain the winning levels by utilizing that power, but it does make it awfully hard to make the French lose if there's an opposite sex player at the table.
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Overall:
A Pirate themed Munchkin was bound to happen. I've heard some say that Steve Jackson missed the boat on the pirate phenomenon (pun intended). I say who cares? It's a great genre and deserved to be lampooned. As an added bonus, if you've got Munchkin Fu, you can finally decide who is better Pirates or Ninjas. Give it a shot or walk the plank! Argh!!

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