MONSTROLICIOUS Board Game Review

Every now and then, I absolutely love playing a game that is so simplistic, I feel like very little thought is required to play. Ultimately, that isn’t the case with Monstrolicious because, well, if you don’t think you don’t win! And I learned that the hard way playing against my 10 year old son Lochlan. This game is so simplistic you might mistake it for a straight kids game, but I’ve enjoyed playing this with a wide variety of people, Lochlan included! Let’s take a look at how this plays and whether it’s worth the investment.

In Monstrolicious, players will be drawing numbered tiles from a stack and placing them along a track. The numbers on the track start at 1, and rise from there for each space. Some locations on the board have special abilities, like the ability to break ties. The first player draws a tile form the stack, secretly looks at the value printed on it, and places it at one location on their side of the board. Then play passes and the second player also draws a tile and looks at it, before also playing it to a location.

If one player plays a tile to a location where another player has a tile, the other player is forced to flip their tile and reveal the value. The active player must then indicated truthfully whether their tile that they just placed is a higher value or lower value than the just revealed tile from their opponent. If the active players tile is higher, they indicate so and leave it face down, with the opposing player removing their tile from the game. It it is lower, the active player removes their tile.

Play continues until both players have used up all their tiles, at which point you score each of the sections of the track and the most points wins!

Monstrolicious is a very simplistic game, but there is some strategy in how and where you play certain tiles. If you pull a high number early, for example, do you play it at the 1-Location that is only worth 1 point but might guarantee you breaking ties all game? Or do you place it near the top and maximize your points? Do you chase your opponent or play to empty spaces? The game itself is so simplistic, but there are still decent decisions that need to be made. And I love how quick it plays – we easily got 4 or 5 straight games played in less than an hour. It’s so quick, even with younger players, and I love it.

If you are looking for a nice filler game, something you can play with kids or non-gaming friends, Monstrolicious is a really great option. Nice pieces, easy to learn gameplay, but still lots to think about!