Title: Roll Player: Monsters & Minion
Designed By: Keith Matejka
Art By: JJ Ariosa and Lucas Riberiro
Published By: Thunderworks Games
Released: 2018
Player Count: 1-5
Time to Play: 60-120 Minutes
Ages: 10+
Overview:
Roll Player: Monsters and Minions is the first expansion that was released for Roll Player. For those unfamiliar with Roll Player, it is a dice manipulation game where you work to build what are essentially Dungeons and Dragons Characters by using the dice as stats. You do not need to know anything about dungeons and dragons to enjoy the game. It is a top-notch puzzle game with some fun asymmetry. The Monsters and Minions expansion adds a new elements to the base game, along with more character boards, and alignment/ backstory cards.
Take your character on a quest to fight minions in order to take on the monster at the end of the game! Increase your reputation as the perfect character by fighting off the hoards of evil in the land. Killing the big monster can earn you a lot of reputation at the end of the game.
What's purr-ty cool:
Awesome Factor: I was a bit late getting into Roll Player and got it around the time the second expansion came out. When I decided I loved the base game, I went out and got the new expansion, but I never got the 1st one. I really enjoyed what the Fiends and Familiars expansion brought to Roll Player, but I kept hearing how everyone loves the Monsters and Minions expansion. I had even heard a number of fans say that once they got the Monsters and Minions expansion, they no longer play the base game without it. Well after finally getting to play it, I can confirm the rumors are true. It is awesome and makes a great game even better. I totally understand why everyone who plays it loves it and chooses to use it all the time. It is definitely easy enough to learn and add in as well which is always a bonus as it makes integrating it with the base game simple, even for new players.
Monster Madness: Besides being another way to score points, monsters and minions offer additional options for something you can do during the market phase. Short on coins, but don't want to just sell a card? Go fight a minion instead. Fighting minions affords the opportunity to gain bonuses, or learn information about the big monster at the end in order to be best prepared to defeat them! I like that it adds another avenue for when you just do not want to buy, or cannot afford to buy from the market.
Increased complexity: One new feature I particularly enjoyed were the boost dice. The dice are higher than your standard 1-6 dice, which makes boosting your stats easier. However, these dice are clear and do not count as a color, which makes meeting certain color objectives more challenging. It is balanced really well in that you have to make hard choices whether to go for numbers or colors at times.
More Variety: Do I need more character boards? No. Do I want more character boards? Of course! This expansion includes the Dark Elf, Gnome, Construct, Wrathborn, and Pudgy Cat's purrrsonal favorite the Bastja (or cat-folk). I like having new characters to play as. I also love that all characters have a male and female option, where the character information does not change, just the sex and picture. I like playing as a female character when I can, so it is nice to be able to play any of the characters as female.
The cat's meow:
"I'll be a minion. How do you feel about dice goblins because I am going to steal every last die on this table!" - Pudgy Cat
Disclosure: Pudgy Cat Games was provided a copy of this game in exchange for a review, however, this review reflects the honest thoughts of the author.