It’s close to midnight...one week before the Blue Moon Monster Mixer at Spook Manor. To throw a proper monster mash, you only need one thing—Spook Juice—and you’re gonna need an awful lot of it for these party animals. Spook Juice is a powerful spirit distilled from human fear, and the main ingredient in every popular monster drink. The bad news is that you’re completely out of it. The good news is that the nearby town, Startleton, is a great place to scare some up.
You need to send your Monster disciples to scare up some of that sweet Spook Juice. So dust off your Fearmobiles and get your scariest Monsters on Board!
Monsters on Board is a dice-drafting game that takes place over six rounds. Each round, players will draft Monster Lords (dice) arriving from out of town in Fearmobiles, trying to fulfill their Prophecy cards.
After each player drafts four Monsters, they will send them to the Order of Spider Jack. Monsters sent here will give players actions, as well as Spook Juice when Spider Jack is summoned. The higher the die’s number, the scarier the Monster, which means the more Spook Juice they will scare up for you. However, scarier Monsters have fewer and less powerful actions, while less frightening Monsters have more powerful actions (they try harder)— so choose wisely!
Drafted Monsters also move their matching colored Grunt (Monster miniature) through the Town of Startleton, scaring the townspeople with the help of their little Minions (miniatures). In doing so, Grunts will award players bonus actions. If the Grunts terrorize the town well enough, they will grant bonus Spook Juice during final scoring.
Additionally, players will draft Arch Monsters and Ghosts that will help them achieve their goals.
During final scoring, players will gain additional Spook Juice based on how well they completed their Prophecy cards, scared the Town, and appeased the Arch Monsters. The player with the most Spook Juice wins!
—description from the publisher
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We have 63 games to talk to you about today.
- Grab a coffee, we're gonna go quick.
- We love board games and board gaming things.
- I just bought too many bones and dungeons dice in danger.
- If you're interested in buying board games, I feel like we missed a bunch.
References (from this video)
- Thematic cohesion and a strong Halloween-monster vibe
- Deep, multi-layered tactical decision making with many interaction points
- Expansion content (Monster Mixer) adds variety and new strategic options
- Rule density and tabletop fiddliness can deter new players
- High variability between runs may affect learning curve and balance
- Component quality varies by deluxe vs base versions, as noted in the video
- Horror/fantasy monster menace, fear as a resource, Halloween-inspired confrontation
- One week before the Blue Moon Monster Mixer at Spook Manor in Startlet
- Die-drafting and action selection driven by monster lords and neighborhoods
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dice drafting and placement — Players draft dice from a fear mobile, assign them to driveways, and then activate die-specific icons.
- Endgame scoring via prophecy/arc monsters — Prophecy cards set long-term scoring goals; ark monsters provide endgame bonuses based on conditions.
- Movable tracks and area control — Grunts move along Startlet 10 and other tracks; certain icons grant actions when grunts land on them.
- Resource management — Malice, spook juice, and ghost/arc monster cards drive endgame scoring and incentives.
- Simultaneous action resolution — Phases (arrival, grunt movement, swamp jack, and spook) are resolved with all players acting in parallel each day.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the goal is to have the most spook juice
- one of the key things is the six days and 18 spiderjack slots at endgame
- this is going to gain them three malice
References (from this video)
- fun, engaging dice-driven puzzle
- hidden objectives and ghost powers create variety
- two-player limitations may reveal flaws
- Halloween-themed puzzle/strategy
- spooky town with monsters
- light and playful, with modular dungeon vibes
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's freaking adorable
- it's freaking spooky and cute I just love it
- I would play it outside of Halloween
- I really enjoyed it
- it's the most fun I've ever had playing it in person
- I am not a big social deduction guy and I loved that
- huge hit
- it's silly
- it's so much fun we loved it
- loved it