Encyclopedia Of Monsters After 20 Games Family Review *4, 10, 13, 40 Year Old*
Transcript
What does that even mean? Bowers Game Corner.
Oh there YouTube. We are back again today for another game review. Another family tag team review. I'm here with all my kids, Amelia, Luke, Sean, who are four, 10, 13, and we are sharing our thoughts on Encyclopedia of Monsters, the new one from Scorpion Mask and with a heavy hitter pedigree of designers with Antoine Bowsen. Antoine Bowser, Corentin Labrot, and Theo Rivieri. It's a memory cooperative travel around the world game for two to four players ages six plus. Take you about 15 minutes to play. We'll take you to the table. We'll show you how the basic game works and then we're going to come back with a fully spoilerific review. Don't worry, the spoilers aren't like that major. I don't think they're going to really rock your world knowing what's coming in South America. Uh but first, let's take it to the table. Right now, we're going to take a look at what you're going to get inside of Encyclopedia of Monsters.
First and foremost, you're going to get these five boxes right here. Each one of these boxes is going to be a different part of the world. And each part of these worlds, you're going to have a different collection of components, specifically a rule booklet that will teach you about three different locations in the world. So, we're going to start with Europe. There's ocean there. Here we go. Europe. And we're going to learn about Scotland first. And you read about Scotland, and then you learn how to set up the game. And the base game is set up like such pretty much. The big thing you need to notice are these candles right here. Those are your health points. You're going to take these cards. You're going to deal them out as evenly as possible as you can to your players. And then you're going to start the game. Now, at the beginning of each game though, you're going to need to let everybody know which monsters are going to be in place. So, right now, we have four specific monsters. We have the troll right here, and it has great simple iconography. Because on your turn, what you're going to do is you're going to flip one of these cards over and you say, "Everybody, hey, I'm doing this thing." And then you do the action on the top, and then you do the second action if it has a second one. So the first one says you close your eyes and then you're going to flip over one of these tiles so everybody else can see it. So it doesn't help you but it helps everybody else. This one means you're going to keep your eyes open and look and peek at a tile while everybody else's eyes are closed. This is the ghost is the best one. You get to look at a tile and everybody else gets to look at the tile and then you get to search for a ghost. So all these actions we've talked about, you do those and then you search for the thing right there. The one intriguing one you start
off with the the in the first game is the uh I believe it's the the howler here. What the heck is this called? The banshee, right? So, how this one works is you have to search and you close your eyes and everybody's like trying to navigate you to grab the right one in the center because let's just show you how it works. The ghost will be like, "All right, I'm going to peek at this one. Everybody sees it. It's the banshee." We flip it back over and then I'm looking for the ghost right here. Oh no, it's a bat. It's not actually supposed to be in this one. Oh no, it's troll. So, we we say, "All right, I failed." We blow out a candle, [snorts] blow that out. That's one of our health points. Everybody sees this troll right here. Everybody also got the useful information about that. We flip this over. This card goes back to this player. Clockwise, it goes to the next player, and they rinse, wash, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, peek. They say, "I'm going to look for I'm going to look for the skeletons this time." Even though it's optimal, obvious look for the ghost. They say, "Everybody close their eyes." They peek. They see this is here. Then they go search. They say I'm wrong, but everybody sees the ghost. And you continue to do this. Now, that's the core gameplay. The core gameplay is fun. However, as you go through different parts of the world, they start to add in different characters. Eventually, you'll get your trusty dog right down here who's going to act like a wild. And then there's the Dracula with the bad. And then you get like start getting some really cool components where it's like, oh, this one there's a three-parter here. And then this one has, you know, like a seashell and we're having to breathe underwater.
And then there's this dice that you got to roll because there's mummies. And they just keep adding to this core basic gameplay loop as they go across 15 different adventures using mostly similar components, but changing it up each and every game in in small ways and in big ways depending on which game it is. But that is how you're going to play. Oh, and you also get the handy dandy rule booklet, which is kind of a a coverall off for learning the first game. But that's Oh, and limited communication. Probably should have told you that. That's a huge aspect of this is you're not supposed to be communicating what you have in your hand, what you see, because obviously what's the point of closing your eyes if you can just be like, "Oh, hey, it's the green card." There you go. Encyclopedia of Monsters. All righty then.
Encyclopedia of Monsters from Scorpion Mask. What are our final thoughts? Once again, spoilerisms coming up. Let's go over the pros. Let's go over the cons. I think we all like this game a good deal. So, we'll start on the con side. Anyone got any cons they want to start off with the things they didn't like about the game before we talk about why we really kind of love this game? Go ahead, Sean.
Um, so so uh each country would introduce a monster and the last monsters of most of the uh continents felt kind of repetitive. Find this then this or find this and this. Find this, this, and this. like on uh Europe, the Americas, um Africa. Wait, no, not Africa. Europe, the Americas, and Asia. All all three of them had their last monster had different things of all right, you need to find this token and then this token or this token, this token, and this token. So, pretty much the big boss was always just, "All right, you're going to have to get multiple people involved and do it in a specific order." Uh, I think that is a fair point. I don't think like I didn't hate that though, like it wasn't something I thought was terrible, but I definitely feel like more variety would have been nice and I think it would have been an easy way to add more variety. I think of like the uh the the first one that I know you're going to talk about as one of your cons. The the Banshee uh could have easily been a final boss.
You' be like, "Oh, that was a really unique and interesting final boss." So, that one was simply just kind of I think swapping things around a little bit because I think you just I think it wasn't supposed to be seen as a climactic ending so much as just each one is its own separate awesome little game. [snorts] And I agree. It definitely felt like the third one. It didn't feel that way. It felt the other way. I would agree with you. What do you think, Luke? Would you agree with that?
Yeah.
Now, one issue that I had with the game is that components. We're [snorts] going to talk about components. And Luke pointed this out in the first game. Actually, the first box, it was like, uh, it feels kind of weird and dumb that like we get extra skeleton cards that are just different color backs for each one of these boxes. So there's, you know, there's two skeleton cards in this one, and there's two skeleton cards in this one, and two skeletons, and two skeletons, and they're all the same exact skeletons, except for the backs are different. And I was like, oh, surely with this designer pedigree, there's some sort of system in play where you're going to be able to mix and match different things. And so, and so now you're going to be like, so it's like, oh, there's actually two different colored skeletons out there or something like that. And none of that ever came about. And maybe that was just my own personal expectations, but it just felt like it was wasted components. And what's worse is if a card gets damaged for say the Americas, then you can't just grab an extra skeleton card out of Africa cuz the back is completely different. And it's it's just annoying and it feels unnecessary. and the decision not to just have some sort of system in play where it's like, "All right, here's some great combinations of cards that we think you should do. Let us know some of your favorites." Felt like a weird missed opportunity that the game just once again, it felt like it was setting itself up for that it just never comes about. Did you guys expect that as well?
Yeah. And I felt it just it was a disappointment because it was what I was expecting. And it's not the end of the world though because it's still a great game. Let's get back to more. Any other cons? Any other cons anybody had of this game?
Me.
What's up?
Uh
this is the things you don't like.
Yes.
What did you not Oh, by the way, this is for ages six plus and Amelia is four. So, we were breaking the uh no table talk rule mostly just for her. Like me, like we wouldn't do as much table talk to each other, but when it was Ameilia trying to be like, "Hey, you might want to play that friendly ghost instead of that horrifying Kurapira card." Uh cuz you know that'll help us and the other one will really hurt us if you succeed kind of thing. But what was your con?
Uh so I don't want the banshee.
The banshee was it felt really difficult and I think I think they So, the Banshee's basic premise is you close your eyes and then everybody has to navigate you around to the spot and it was cool. It's a cool idea and I was actually kind of disappointed they didn't use it later on. I thought that one for sure was going to come back and I think that one was one of the hardest one for the for the younger crowd. But that being said, I think
I think you guys liked it, right?
Yeah.
And I liked it. So, that's more of a if you plan on playing this with younger kids, which you totally can, that one is going to be a little bit rough. And there was I think one or two that were like that.
Any other cons with the game? Oh. Oh, the there's one there's like one or two where you have to have this little lamp that stands up and the lamp will not stand up at all. it like legitimately just wouldn't stand up like just regularly and it's supposed to be oh if you bump it then you know then you lose a candle and that's terrible but uh it just wouldn't work at all and we ended up getting one of these standies and then doing it like that and I think you'll probably have to house rule it. Any other cons? Any other cons?
Um I think I think so the skeleton and the ghost were there the whole game, right?
Mhm. I wish the Banshee was there the whole game because I really like the Banshee like how other players got to navigate you because I never got the Banshee. But when I did get to like navigate people, it was really fun.
Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I agree. And and that's what I'm saying. This feels like a really cool system. Uh for instance, how werewolf works is they they kind of just say, "Hey, this if you're going to mix in this card, you want to mix in some of these cards. If you want to mix in this card, you want to mix in some of these cards." But they balance out like this one's going to help you. This one's going to hurt you. And they could have easily done that with that. Like this one is negative three. So then you have to put positive three. Any of the cons? I think we're good. Honestly, we've just been dancing around the fact that I think all of us really, really enjoy this game. And I want to start off by saying, is this your favorite memory game that you've played of all time? Or let's just say in your top three favorite memory games that you played all time.
It's my favorite memory game.
Favorite memory game of all time. Top three. Uh, it's my number two.
Number two. Top three. Is this one of your favorite memory games you played ever?
Top four.
Top four. All right. I'm top three. And that's coming from someone who is like literally these kids have reviewed probably close to a hundred children's games. Uh, and I'm up there a lot as well. So, that's, you know, really where we need to start. This is great. And the iconography is really easy to utilize. like she could understand it, you know. Um the each of the games feels different and distinct. That's what I was really worried about. Like each of those 15 boxes has their own different quirks. And I imagine that we would each potentially have if we were like, "All right, what are your top three of these 15?" I'm not asking for that. We would have a good variety amongst it. I would imagine. You think that's fair to say?
So, the bottom line is this one's like 30 bucks MSRP and you're getting 15 games minimum that your family is going to probably want to play, right? Minimum. Then there's the case of like, oh, we were so close. Like, let's just run it back because we just have to mix things up and set it up. So, you're already probably looking to get 20 to 30 games out of these five boxes, which is why all those cons at the beginning. They're hard to complain about because it's like, oh, I wanted more gameplay, but there's already 15 minimum and the 15 is solid. Slaps best on for games I wore a nine or higher. This inevitably is a fantastic children's game. But who wants to get started with like what in particular they liked?
Me.
Go ahead. So like
no finger in your mouth.
Like um
talk to the camera.
Like I don't bi but I don't want people I but I love moving them to go around.
Oh, you like telling people where to move when you're the banshee. That is fun. Yeah. Like Luke's saying, that is a fun thing. I think it's a very fun idea. And if your age is six plus and you know your lefts and your rights and your forwards and your backwards really well, I don't think you're going to have a problem with that one. Uh other pros.
Um I really like the artwork. I thought the artwork was cool.
Oh yeah, we should probably focus on the theme. The theme come like the theme is fun. We legitimately Yeah, we're burying the lead here. We really enjoyed learning about the different places. We learned about we we pulled out a big atlas cuz one had like a ridiculous amount of lakes. Um
yeah. Oh, one more thing. So, the final book takes you underwater. This is kind of in the con side, but did anybody else feel underwhelmed overall by that?
Yeah, a little bit.
Yeah.
I mean, it was really cool like the whole new setup, but after like the third the second or third game, I feel like the last game of the fifth was very underwhelming for like the the last game overall. It was just
I agree. I thought the So, in the fifth box, they they get rid of the candles, which is really cool. And they introduce like a breathing system with the mermaids. And I really I like that was really cool and it was really strategic of like we need to know where the mermaid is, but we don't want to get the mermaid too early. And there's a lot of great thinking you're kids are going to be doing in this game. But it just for my money, I felt like box four was probably my favorite, you know, where it's like we had the one with the I think it was the swamp.
No, that's box three.
Was that box three? The one was the river where it's going back and forth and just
that's box four. The river is box four. The swamp's box three.
All right. I like box three better. Whatever. What I'm saying is I just I want more. I want five more boxes and I want the the 10th box to include a modular system where it's like, hey, mix all this stuff together.
Where would they go for the other five boxes?
They go back. There's tons of monsters.
All right. Any other things you like spot? Did you guys enjoy the stories and hearing about the different places?
Yeah, I liked the stories. I also liked how in the last um thing like the ghost and the skeleton they had scuba deer gear.
Oh yeah. The uh
and that was pretty cool.
That was they changed the thematic artwork for the under the sea one which was appreciated but still at the end of the day I still would have loved to just you know not seen the skeleton. It's like oh we got a different look different thing that works you know similar to the skeleton right? Like would you much prefer that? And that's yeah, it felt like it felt like 15 games stretched it out, but it's I don't know. Still, end of the day, it's great. I I just I think it could have been one of the best children's games ever, family games ever, and instead it's just fantastic. So, is that really that bad?
Nope.
Yeah,
it's No, I don't think it Well, I mean, I love your set. I love your expectations. Did Did you have something to say? One more pro before we before we wrap it up.
Yes.
What's up?
Uh, so like I don't I don't love closing my eyes when I have the skeleton.
The skeleton? Oh, did you not like uh when you had to close your eyes and every and somebody else peeked? Why didn't you like that?
Because I did.
Did you want the information?
I But I want the ghost. Me too. Ghost is very useful. Yes. Encyclopedia monsters from Scorpion Mask and three amazing designers. Apologies for uh butchering those names. Check it out. If it looks like it might be your cup of tea, I'll be sure to post a link down below. Also, if you enjoy the content, please be sure to click on the subscribe button down below or consider supporting the Patreon down below and in the comments below. Let me know if you could add a monster, what would your monster be and what would the special ability on the card be? Does anyone have one up top ahead they want to go first?
Monster in the game with a card.
Me.
Go. What's your monster?
Uh, so like I don't love
No.
Dragon or the I don't love the dragon or the big snake or or the green or the orange.
Oh, you didn't like the werewolf. We had That was a fun one, too.
That was fun. That was
No, no, no. The green that green guy.
Oh, yeah. The the creep. Yeah. So, you didn't like the the cards that made the game hard. So, you're going to make an easy card. All right. Cool. So, what's your monster going to be that's going to make the game easier?
Uh, ghost.
A ghost. All right. What's the ghost going to do? Is it going to be a friendly ghost?
Uh, yes.
Maybe they'll be like the dog and they'll give you a wild or something or what are you thinking?
Wild.
Wild. All right. What's your idea? Um, I wanted to add uh like a top up like like and it would like uh be able to hide underneath other tiles cuz it goes like and submerges underwater.
I like it. I also like the aisles, too. There are so many cool ideas in this game. Like I feel like we're, you know, Anyho, continue. You got an idea?
No idea. I'm going to go with I'm going to go with uh what's the opposite of a vampire?
Garlic.
Garlic. Yeah. I'm going to go with garlic. There's going to be a garlic card that will be out with the vampire, a garlic tile, and if you happen to get that and then So, if you're looking for the vampire and you get that, it's I guess that's just the spider. I just copied the spider. Or if you get the garlic, then you can keep looking for the Yeah, it's just
I'm trying to look for it, not kill it.
Oh, this is why I'm not a world famous game designer.
I have a confidence.
What's yours? Like I don't love the spider.
You don't love the spider.
That guy too.
The spider just feel just kind of crammed in.
I I kind of disagree. I kind of like the spider. Like the Oh, I actually because it it was like a press your luck aspect.
I love those guys.
Okay. Well, I like the spider because I thought it was a press your luck aspect of like Oh, I can remember exactly where the spider is. Or if I want to press my memory luck, I can remember where the two webs are and the spider is. I know, but like I would have liked it if they didn't have an introduction for it at all. They just were like, "Oh, there's a spider here. Cool."
It's not even like a monster.
It's a spider.
Fair point. Fair point.
Actually, I have I have a pro.
What's it? I liked how if you find because you get a dog. If you find that dog and you don't like let's say you're looking for a ghost, it's your first turn and you find the dog. You can that dog. It will just give you like you'll you'll have it done. You'll have the ghost done if you find the dog and you stick with it and don't go looking for another thing. Now, I like how you can just you can bail out on the dog.
I like how you could name the dog. How how in uh Europe there was just a little thing when you got your dog. It says like, "Oh yeah, you can name the dog."
I did little minor memory like a legacyesque aspect in the rule booklet. But let me know your monster account. As always, thanks for your time, YouTube. This video is brought to you by all of my amazing Patreon supporters, and I would love it if you would join their ranks and have your name immortalized in the end of many of my videos for the end of time. But consider for only a dollar a month. And as always, thanks for stopping