The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen by James Wallis

The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen Reviews

• 
  Griffin Fickes

  I like the concept of this game: Improvise crazy stories while your friends interrupt you with more insane details that you have to work into your story. I enjoyed all the variations. But I'm struggling to figure out how and when I would actually play this game. I need to find a group of friends who are all ready and willing to improv a complicated story, we all need to be in the same place (for coin exchange), and we have to all be willing to try out this VERY different kind of role-play. That... just isn't going to happen any time soon. I'm going to hang on to this book for a while, just in case. I would like to try it out. But the odds of actually finding a situation where this game is our top choice activity seem vanishingly small.
• 
  Petr

  It is truly a fun read and immersive with all the madness of Baron Munchausen. You meander through unbelievable stories that beautifully illustrate the style and mood of the game/stories.
  
  I am not sure and not judging the RPG itself, as I have not played it and Goodreads are more about books. I would review the game on specific sites for RPGs.
  I like that the rules are (sadly only sometimes) summarized at the end of the verbose chapter and therefore allow quite easily to find the game-specific content.
• 
  Matthew Cox

  For what is essentially just a rulebook for a storytelling game, this was a surprisingly amusing read.
  
  The game itself involves players taking on the roles of 18th century Aristocrats who are regaling each other with fantastical tales of their exploits - such as that time they had to wrestle a yeti while trying to set the record for fastest ascent of Everest; or that time they took their dog for a walk and almost brought about to the collapse of the British Empire. During the course of telling your (completely true) story, other players can interject (using tokens handed out at the start of the game) to try and add objections or challenges to trip up the story teller. After everyone has had a chance to tell their story, everyone votes on the best one.
  
  The book includes some variations on the main rules - such as everyone talking about the same amazing event (at which they were all present), but each from their own (biased) point of view; or games where the storyteller must tell a story for 5 minutes WITHOUT actually reaching a conclusion, while the other players use their interruptions and objections to keep the teller on track and try and force them to reach some sort of ending.
  
  I can't speak too the actual quality of the game (as I have not played it) but I imagine it's success will depend entirely upon the people you play with - which is the case for almost all storytelling games. What I CAN say though, is that the book itself is entertaining to read, and is unlike any rulebook I have read before. The whole thing has a very conversational tone, as it is ostensibly written by Baron Munchausen himself, and is filled with tall tales, wit, and humor.
• 
  Tom

  Fantastically written rules for a game concerning the telling of incredible stories over drinks in the style of an old-timey pamphlet crafted by the titular Baron Munchausen. The adventures referenced are indeed extraordinary and the game laid out herein is a wonderful exercise in creativity and a test of one's penchant for braggadocio. I can't wait for the chance to regale my fellows with stories of my own daring exploits and in turn marvel at the stunningly fictional adventures of my cohorts and comrades.
• 
  Adam Smith

  I felt that this book had two different authors. The first half had a distinctly different feel to it than the second half. The first half was a myriad of different small adventures that always had some fantastical element to it. Very Munchausian. The second half was one very long meandering adventure that was separated into chapters that occasionally had something interesting to say. Overall, I liked this book. However, I think if it were just the first half I would have given it five stars.
• 
  juniper

  We pulled together a group of friends from the SCA and had a blast playing until 2 am with friends. The stories were memorable and it was honestly one of the most fun we've had at a game night. Before the night was done, two friends had purchased the game online -- if that isn't a rousing success, I don't know what is. Maybe the time I escaped the phantasm that happened across me -- setting me on fire in the process, but that was easily remedied -- while I was performing for the Jarl of Livonia, but that is entirely not the point.
• 
  Billy the Kid

  A tabletop roleplaying system where everyone tries to one-up each other with increasingly ridiculous stories about their adventures and exploits in their roles as Georgian/Victorian era noble people.
  
  Makes for a great one-shot with the right group.
• 
  Liz Stoneking

  How can you review a book for a game of such wit and merriment? Why, we can all try to outdo the baron and his great propensity for fine drink and heroic acts that can cause a delicate lady such as myself to swoon, but we would be hard pressed to do so!
  Upon reading this book, I myself became so much more inclined to adventure that on the way home from the bookshop I saved a baby from a small tornado full of pygmy alligators and ended two international wars (one by land and one by sea).
  Even my small children joined the fun, playing the simpler edition “My Uncle, the Baron” which roused the faculties of their imagination. Bravo!
• 
  Broodingferret

  Excellent. A roleplaying game for telling stories over drinks, the rules for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen can be summarized in just a few pages; the real joy comes from the quality of the righting. The game is written from the perspective of the Baron and little wit was spared in its creation. Even if you have no desire to play the game, the book is well worth the read, especially since it's only 106 pages and can be read rather quickly.
• 
  Ellen

  So, as far as reading an RPG guide simply for the giggles, it would be hard to go wrong with the Extraordinary Adventures of the Baron. It wanders, it boozes, it occasionally makes one cringe, and mostly it lays out the rules for a game of improvisational wit and spirit (and provides variants for the young and the not-so-clever, which I have enjoyed as a casual car game).
• 
  Matthew

  1998: The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen—A twentieth anniversary review of The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the competitive storytelling roleplaying game written by James Wallis and published by Fantasy Flight Games.
  
  
  http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2018...
  
• 
  Jay Little

  A hilarious parody of itself -- a gamebook that itself is a game and a parody and an example of the game all wrapped up into one. Brilliantly written, very clever, and evocative of the Baron Munchausen themes and ideas.
• 
  Nick Sakkas

  Another (rule)book that is almost as fun reading it as playing the actual game. The other one was Paranoia: Troubleshooters.
  
  A rulebook of freeform competitive lying, written by the Baron himself.
  
  Highly recommended to all RPG players out there.
• 
  Matt Kelland

  Possibly the most fun set of game rules ever written.
  
  It's a drinking and boasting game in the style of Baron Munchausen, written in period style. Even if you never play the game, it's totally worth it for the sheer pleasure of reading the rules.
• 
  David

  I played this game at GenCon, and it delighted me so much that I decided to purchase it. In addition to being the rule book for a fun improv game, it's also a hilarious story on its own. I look forward to playing it again, and recommend it for all but dull-witted buffoons.
• 
  Anthony

  
  Funny, stylistic and well-done. This RPG offers a storytelling game that anyone can play. Make up your own tall tales weth your family and friends.
• 
  Thomas

  I have had a tremendous amount of fun playing this with my regular gaming group. It's an excellent storytelling game and can easily be played with friends, children, or kooky aunts.
• 
  Russ

  Simple but entertaining little game - the real wonder of this book is that it is written by Baron Munchausen himself - very entertaining read, unless you happen to he French.
• 
  James

  Both a fantastic system and a convincing manifesto for a new way of looking at role-playing games and storytelling.
• 
  David

  Enjoyed the book - look forward to trying the game!