What's in the Box?
The cards are the good quality I've come to expect from Munchkin and I expect them to last a while. The tokens are little plastic cubes, cheap but they get the job done.
The only problem I have with the packaging is that the box is about twice as wide and tall as it needs to be, making the box four times the size necessary. Loot Letter's not a large box by any means, but this will be a common complaint about some games.
The Game
Loot Letter is played in simple rounds. At the start of the game, one card is taken out of the deck and left facedown and each player is dealt one card. Play follows a simple "draw a card, play a card, do what it says" format. The object of the game is to be either the last man standing by eliminating the opponents, or to have the most valuable card in hand on the last turn.Cards range from the Potted Plant which lets you guess what card a player is holding to try and get them out to the massive pile of Loot! that causes a player to lose if they ever discard it.
Theme
Munchkin Loot Letter is simply Love Letter with a Munchkin theme and Steve Jackson Games really fill what little materials there are with that classic Munchkin charm, especially the manual. It does break Munchkin Law, though, by not including the "Level 1 ____s with no class" joke. Theme-wise, Love Letter is easily reskinned because of the fact its only a 16 card deck with 8 different card types, but I feel the Munchkin theme does well. The various cards are classic Munchkin monsters, from the lowly potted plant, to the Mighty Turbonium (Plutonium) Dragon. And, of course, a great big pile of loot.Accessibility
With very few materials and easy rules, Loot Letter is incredibly easy to learn and play. Like many small card games, it's basic rules are "draw a card, play a card, do what it says, pass the turn", with each player ending their turn with only one card in hand. Each player is also supplied a rules card that tells the basic rules of the game and lists every card in the deck, how many there are, and what they do. This is important because you have to deduce what card your opponents are holding by seeing what's been played and guessing what random card was taken out of the deck.Fun
Loot Letter plays quickly, each round is very fast and the whole game is usually over in less than ten minutes. As with many card games, randomness and luck are large factors but players are encouraged to deduce who has what in order to minimize this. Try as you might, occasionally you will get unwinnable situations, especially in the slightly modified 2-player variant.Replayablility
Loot Letter plays fast and is a pretty social experience meaning is has pretty good replayability. It plays differently nearly every time as well. It definitely has that "just one more game" feeling as someone wins.Recommendation
Buy it, or something like itWith so many different versions of Love Letter, there is almost certainly a theme you will enjoy. Personally, I picked the Munchkin version simply because I enjoy Munchkin (don't be surprised when more Munchkin games end up on the blog). In fact, I'm sure you could create your own set if you can't find one you like, but I'd still recommend buying at least the original before you do so the creator gets a cut.
Gameplay-wise it's quick and easy, perhaps not the game you gathered around to play but a solid fall-back during a lull. I could very easily play this at lunch with friends or at Game Night. Best of all? It's cheap. It's MSRP is $14.99, but I commonly see it for around $5.
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