As the newest members of the Royal Monstrological Society, players embark on an expedition to hunt for legendary monsters, which have been spotted in the cloudlands, in the deep sea, and in the haunted forest. With ideal dice combinations, players can improve their camps, catch new monsters, and use the abilities of previously captured monsters.
At the start of Monster Expedition, which is set in the same world as 2019's Carnival of Monsters, players each receive a set of three supply camps, and a wilderness display is formed from ten cards. Create a draw pile based on the number of players, then place this deck in the center of play, along with the game board and dice.
On your turn, you choose one of your three camps, then go monster hunting, with your camp level determining which dice are available. At the start of the hunt, you roll all the dice, and after each roll, you set aside all dice of a chosen value that you haven't yet set aside. If you can't set any dice aside, the throw counts as a miss and you lose the best dice you laid out previously.
When you stop, use the set-aside dice to capture monsters from the wilderness and improve your supply camps, possibly calling on abilities from monsters already in your collection. When the draw pile is exhausted, complete the round so that all players have had the same number of turns, then tally the points to see who took the biggest haul.
- fresh theme in recent coverage
- fits into the heavy-games focus they mention
- specifics not deeply discussed in the clip
- expedition-style exploration
- exploration/adventure with monster-themed elements
- n/a
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative exploration — teams explore and overcome challenges together
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- representation is really really important you know like this is speaking from experience growing up as a people of color
- we are curious to know what your experience was like with spiel digital and online conventions
- calico, i really enjoyed learning and playing calico
- we would like to know what your thoughts are on Patreon and what you would like to see
- this month you'll probably see beyond the sun and at least on two Fridays we're going to be live streaming
References (from this video)
- Accessible yet crunchy push-your-luck mechanics with meaningful decisions.
- Strong player interaction via cage theft, card refills, and set bonuses.
- Vibrant monster artwork and thematic ties to Carnival of Monsters / Garfield lineage.
- Clear core loop (hunt, purchase, upgrade, refill) that scales with player count.
- Randomness can dominate in tighter scenarios, producing swings.
- Iconography and tiny text on some camp upgrade arrows can be confusing on first play.
- Two-player experience is solid but feels more streamlined with more players.
- monster hunting, expeditionary exploration, competitive scoring with set-collection and exploitation of hidden information
- Three hunting camps (airy, ducts, enchanted forest) where players pursue and capture monsters as members of the Royal Monstrological Society
- light narrative framing around monster hunting, with real-time on-table decision-making and strategic upgrades
- Carnival of Monsters
- Port Royal
- Bunny Kingdom
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cages and cage points — Cages hide monster values and contribute cage points to final scoring. Cages are visible to the owner but hidden from opponents until end game scoring.
- Camp upgrading — Camps can be upgraded, rotating their upgrade level to increase the number and type of dice available on future turns and unlocking higher upgrade rewards.
- Dice chucking / rolling and banking — On a turn, players roll a pool of dice determined by the chosen camp, then bank a unique-number to build hunting value and avoid “mist throws.”
- Direct interaction / cage stealing — Players can steal cages from opponents, triggering refill opportunities and shifting end-game pacing depending on who takes what.
- End-deck timer — The draw deck functions as the timer for the game; when it runs out, the round ends and final scoring begins.
- End-of-round refills and cages — After purchases, players may refill the display up to 10 cards, placing a token on newly refilled cards to indicate they were refreshed this round.
- Monster traders — A powerful card in the display representing a person who, for a steep hunting value, allows immediate access to six cages, accelerating end-game timing.
- Notes on misthrows (mist throws) — If a player has to bank a second die value and cannot, or if a rolled number is already banked, it may cause a loss of the highest die in hand, creating dramatic swing opportunities.
- Set-collection bonuses — Certain monster cards grant ongoing bonuses when you collect one of each type across multiple camps, often adding an extra die on future rolls.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is the newest Alexander Pfister game Monster Expedition
- it's a dice chucking game of sorts
- pusher luck
- best with four players
- the misthrows... exciting moments
- the artwork is fantastic and very thematic
References (from this video)
- Fister return with a dice-centric design
- Linked to a known universe (Carnival of Monsters)
- Mythical expedition/adventure
- Carnival of Monsters universe
- Carnival of Monsters
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- car drafting — Drafting car components within the same universe
- Dice rolling — Pure dice-rolling game in the same universe as Carnival of Monsters
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "it's kind of a weird year for board game releases"
- "this is top five most anticipated essens digital releases"
- "we are going to discuss our top five"
- "there's 500 coming out this year"