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Tales of adventurers, treasures and dragons are now a distant memory for the citizens of Paradise City. Those who were enemies are now friends and the world has moved on, even though pockets of magic remain. And there is a new form of entertainment – Rock and Roll!
King Richard, son of Nicholas the Good, has never really liked people. His paranoia has grown worse over the years and he is building an army of robots to subjugate the good citizens of Paradise City. Only the people can stop the mad king, but they need inspiration to do so. You must lead your band, with your revolutionary rock songs and unite the various folks of the city. Only together can you take down the ‘Man’. But beware, the king’s secret police are everywhere and take a dim view of long hair and loud music. Make yourself too obvious and you will end up in a dank dungeon.
Monster Rock is a rollicking game of fun and adventure set in a modern fantasy world. You need to improve your band by playing gigs and writing songs. There are different audiences with varying tastes. The Halflings are simple folk and a popular ditty is all they need to entertain them, while the Elves are far more sophisticated and respect a well-crafted melody. Or you can play to the Undead and crank your amps up to eleven! Your fans become your followers, whom you can then lead in the revolution against King Richard and his robot army.
Monster Rock can be played by up to five music fans, competitively or cooperatively. There is also a solo mode.
- Fantastic game
- Loved the theme and puns
- Played the associated songs to enhance ambiance
- Sharp game
- Travel, harvest resources, make stronger band loop is satisfying
- Event cards are fun and thematic
- Could be one of the reviewer's favorite Martin Wallace games
- Phenomenal production
- Cheesy, punny nature might not be for everyone
- Swinginess of event cards could be a problem for some
- Fantasy rock and roll bands sparking a rebellion against an evil king.
- A high fantasy world with modern elements
- Australia
- Study in Emerald
- Discworld: Ankh-Morpork
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Selecting from constantly shifting opportunities like concert venues, new opportunities, resources, or equipment.
- Cooperative Play (mentioned) — A cooperative mode is available and intended to be played.
- Engine Building — Customizing the band and adding skills to create a stronger musical act.
- event cards — Drawing event cards that introduce unpredictable effects, both positive and negative.
- Movement — Players move their touring band one, two, or zero spaces on the board.
- Resource Management — Collecting resources and skill tokens to strengthen the band.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We've pretty much gone almost bankrupt moving all the way from the United States to Ireland and we got to start rebuilding our savings.
- This game will beat you up and spit you out mercilessly.
- It is such a mechanical thinky crunchy game, but so much of it is trying to make sure that you recognize what somebody else values.
- There is no worse feeling in all the board games than playing House of Fedo, moving to a zone, um, and then getting I'm going to get I'm going to get a bonus and oh no, the bonuses that are available to me right now, I can't afford, so I get no bonus.
- This is like the ultimate example of a game that I think is better played online on Board Game Arena than it is in real life because of this.
- Honestly, this is my single biggest issue with the game. The the swinginess of that push your luck game is so huge and so debilitating.
- This game is phenomenal. It is the number two best game that Jen and I played this month.
- So this is my go-to um, you know, area battle game. If anybody ever comes to my house and wants to play it, they're going to be playing Six Sjuns with me because it's brilliant and it is our game of the month.