Rob Looks at Plaid hat's The Monolith
Transcript
And be sure to check out Trading Card Market, the very best in sports cards, trading cards, trading card supplies, LEGOs, and so much more. Tradingcardmarket.com, the best in all your gaming needs. Hey everybody, it's your old pal Rob. Today, we're going to be taking a look at something that is really out there and uh only the great people at Plaid Hat because they never do anything that conforms to the norm. They are always doing something out there and that's what I love about them. Uh they are really a fantastic company and makes always making different games. But today, we are going to be taking a look at something that went to Kickstarter and it is called the Monolith.
And oh boy, is this really cool? So, let's go down. I'm not going to explain all the rules, but I want to tell you what the feel of the game is. Um as a matter of fact, um I'm trying to think if we did a play through of it. Uh oh, uh the Dice Tower. Go check that out uh because the one of the designers from Plaid Hat is actually there and explains the game. They could do it better than I could, but I I want to talk about all the things and how I feel when I was messing with this and how really out there this is and in a good way, in a good way. So, let's go down to the table and check it out. So, I can honestly say with some conviction that this one really um uh it gave me a good chuckle and in a good way.
Um
you are you are space travelers, okay? Uh Uh in the the the only god that matters. I'm going to read the inside of this. Once we were sailors who traveled the stars, pathetic, purpose purposeless. Then we found the holy planet and the monolith was here waiting for us all along. I was adrift before our shaman found me. She is the true conduit. Her mouth is not her own. She when she speaks, the monolith speaks through her. She let me let me hear it what it whispers when the skin breaks right, when the pleading stops, and the insight begins. Heed not.
Their shamans are frauds. Their frothing mouths twist divine signals into heresy.
What happens is there was a bunch of space travelers and they were coming around and I'm just going to straighten this camera out a little bit as I explain this because this is this this is awesome. And they come to this planet and these shamans claim that they they are the conduit for this this monolith because when the monolith speaks and does things, it it basically controls this planet. And each one of these shamans, and there's a bunch of different shamans that you can play as and I have some of them out here and I didn't throw all the armies out here, but you're going to have different armies out here and as you can see each one has a different stronghold.
And you know, you're going to have your guys and you're going to be trying to put these guys in a course you were going to try to battle. Aggression is the mainstay of this game. You want to be aggressive. And just getting back to this, I want to show you guys some of the some of some of the shamans uh and and they're they have certain abilities, which is unbelievable. Uh heart, oh, we'll get to that. Uh this dude is his big thing is slay actions. Slay actions, maneuver actions, shaman orders, maneuver actions. And And I'm going to explain that in a minute. The game is played throughout four different days, okay? And you are going to play and you are going to be trying to gain as many favor points as possible. You're going to have a dashboard along with with uh I I can't help but laugh at the You see these These are hearts. Yes, they are hearts. And I The only thing I'm going to tell you about this is you are going to want to make sure that you contain these little hearts, because they can get all over the place and you get a ton of them. Uh where did I put them?
And these little guys will get all over the place. And And you you have a bunch of hearts for each each faction. Um I didn't take them all out again. Um this is a This is a game that is made to be played with multiple players. You're also going Each faction is going to have a certain objective. And there are certain events that will happen. And oh boy, those can change the tide all the time. Um you're going to have this board, and you're going to be trying to not only kill your own guys, but kill other guys. And as your shaman goes through, uh and some of your guys are down, they can come there and pick these guys up and put these in for anger, which is going to fuel certain things, okay? You have guys that are reserves and backups and and some are in limbo.
Uh you are going to take your heart, see how they fly all over the place. Uh you're going to take your hearts and you are going to these are the available ones and you're going to use these as actions. Uh for your Whoops. Whoops. Whoops. Whoops. See, you got to be careful here. See, uh you are going to use these uh for actions. And there are a number of different actions in your phases. You're going to have your uh order phase. Uh you can spend You can spend a a one heart to move your shaman. So, you can take your shaman, move him to a different area. You want to claim these different areas cuz they are going to give you uh when you recruit like a mausoleum will uh recruit plus one warrior. Uh a temple when you rest, you can get plus two favor and you're trying to score points in these four rounds in order to win this game and claim victory as the ultimate ruler of the monolith. The one true you know, the one true believers and voice for the monolith.
Uh uh the the scriptorium. Rest, you can get plus one objective, okay? Uh uh uh to your objective. You're also going to be able to have have abilities to bid on these cards. There'll be four these cards and the cards are bettered by by how many uh you can see how powerful they are due to how many uh uh symbols up top here. But, you can bid on these cards and uh when it comes around to you, if if you have that uh if you have enough hearts on there, you can win. You can put five hearts on there. If somebody puts it somebody can never put five, they have to put six. So, you'll have four of those cards out. I I I just don't have room to put that out right now. Uh you can recruit. You can march. You can spend any number of hearts. You can take three hearts and say, "Okay, I'm going to move three spaces." And you can take and and start maneuvering your guys.
Do not hold uh This is not a game where you sit there and you turtle. You are aggressive. You have to go out there and punch people in the face and take people down. That because you are fanatics. You are uh worshipping this great monolith. Then, um Oh, commit. Uh you can finally commit, dump the remaining hearts that you have into the monolith. Okay, here's where it gets fun. If you have a whole bunch of uh things and say, "Oh, no, I'm going to use my my thing and I'm going to commit." And you are going to dump these in here. Oh, come here, little fella. All right. Now, here's where it becomes really, really cool. There is an automizer here. And this is the actions that you're going to be able to take.
Okay? You And you can see here there is boast, maneuver, and slay. Now, in your action phase, okay, you get two actions per turn. Okay? You can kill an enemy on a space you occupy. That is slay. You can maneuver, ma- uh move one unit one space. Okay? That's cool. And then boast, put a heart into a boast slot on a space you contest. This is going When you do this, and if you have the most hearts, like for over for instance, over here with the monolith, it um you're going to get plus one favor, okay?
So, when And favor is really important because it could double up your favor, which at the end of the turn, when you go and add points, it's going to really boost you out front there. So, you want to control certain areas, but you got to be smart in all the things that you are doing and you have to be aggressive. And it really is something different. It is this cult fanatical thing, which is just really cool. This monolith is cool and it fits back into the box very easily. So, you know, don't be intimidated by that because it all comes apart and each piece has a certain notch in there, so it shows where it goes. So, it makes it very easy to store and keep.
But, all the different shamans, the beautiful models, the the the strongholds, this is fanatic this is just fantastic and fanatical. Okay, it is very different. It feels creepy and and for what this does, it really is unique and fantastic. And when I mean it feels creepy, it's very thematic. You feel the fanaticism in in each action and how when you you knock guys off, you know, you kill guys, they mean nothing. They want to die for the monolith and that is is is thematic and it's different and it's, you know, everybody's come to this planet and are fighting to to to just just control this and and be the speaker for it. It's just it's it's different.
It's unusual, but that's what makes this so great. So, let's go up top and talk more about this and I've got plenty to say about it. Oh my god,
this is just Oh boy, I I I I love the fanatic ism if I could get that word out correctly. It reminds me of how crazy, you know, Space Marines were when when you would play a 40K. I really am in really enjoying this. And I'm trying to play different sides of it. And the the only negative thing, okay, this is a fantastic game. This is a great game for a game group. This is a great game period, but it is three to four players, okay? Not even two, three to four. So, you need to play this in a group to really get the full feel for it. And I'm trying to do it by myself. And that's the only thing I wish there was a solo mode or a two-player mode, but um to be honest, this is just so out there.
I really mean it is out there and it is glorious. It is another masterpiece from a great company that does everything right. Everything I've ever played from Plaid Hat Games, I'm telling you, are some of my favorite games of all time. And these guys just do it right. They do it right. The quality and the the little prototype that I got here. This is the quality was through the roof. It's class, it's passion, it's heart, it's it's making sure that they just make the best of the best and that, my friends, is what it's all about. Go go uh you know, go to the Kickstarter page um and late pledge this or wait for it to come to retail. I am telling you this one just a home run.
Home run, plain and simple, and a lot of fun from our good friends at Plaid Hat, The Monolith.
And I love it when games give me a good laugh because boy, I'll tell you something. Uh the there is just some things when you're taking the hearts and you're putting them in that monolith
it's just the most
[snorts]
most insane thing, but those little buggers you got to keep track of those little buggers. They they fly all over the place. Uh flying hearts, what can I tell you? All right. The Monolith, make sure you check it out the great people at Plaid Hat another masterpiece. Until next time, it's your old pal Rob. We'll see you soon, everybody. And thanks for watching the video. Be sure to head over to Trading Card Market where you'll get the best in sports cards, trading cards, trading card supplies, LEGOs, and more. Trading Card Market .com.