Getting Things Rolling

Its been a little while since I posted something here–my apologies. We’ve been busy getting future sets ready for publication along with dealing with all those activities that come with a game’s release.

Now that MONSTERPOCALYPSE has been in the marketplace for a couple of weeks, it seems like there are plenty of you out there who have really taken to it. That’s awesome (and reassuring)! It truly is a treat to see people enjoying a game you put some hard work into.

The online community has really been taking off. Not only our hosted forum but also some of the non-official sites seem to be getting a lot of activity. One site I saw has a section for conversions and repaints, and I must say there’s some pretty intriguing stuff in there! There have been lots of great threads on all the forums I’ve visited.

With the online community getting legs, rules questions are starting to come in. I always enjoy coming up with the answer to these sorts of questions, so I’m psyched. Of course, 99% of the time the answer’s in the rulebook (especially for a new game that people haven’t had as much time to crawl around in), but there’s always that other 1% I have to work for. I’ve had a couple of really good examples of those come by my desk and have started an accumulated rulings document. We’ll make that available for you guys to reference once it gets enough rulings in it. Be patient, though! The questions are coming in a trickle and not a flood, so it may take a while.

In regards to future sets, I sent the stuff off for I Chomp NY a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday we got to see the gypsums, which is what they call the resin mock-ups of the figures, and “I’ll tell you what,” they look great. Even though the gypsums are yellow and have Chinese writing on them, it’s still pretty cool to get to assemble and behold their awesomeness. When I get some pics I can share, I’ll post them!

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Release Day

Well, it’s finally here—you can now go into your local game store and buy MONSTERPOCALYPSE! I thought I’d take a post to recommend what you should be purchasing to get started. This is basically a summary of how I’ve been purchasing my own boosters in the office in my quest for a finely tuned force and city that complement my monsters.

The first thing you need is a starter since you really can’t play without a set of dice, a map, and a reference card. A set of the rules is also a nice start. After you have your starter, you’ll want some boosters. You may be tempted to pick up some monster boosters first, but trust me when I say that you’ll be a happier player once you buy your first 10 unit boosters. You don’t have to get these all at the same time, but having a full complement of buildings is one of the first collecting thresholds you’ll want to cross. With the two buildings from the starter and 10 boosters, you will have a full city’s worth of buildings. Additionally, the 10 rare units and 10 uncommon units will give you a strong foundation for trading to acquire the figures you want to play with.

Once you have all your buildings, feel free to pick up another monster booster. That way you can start trading monsters to build a team that can work together in a two-monster game.

One of the first assumptions you might make is that you need to build a pure faction force. That would lead to a rather competitive force, but don’t overlook other units that can assist your monster. Saucers, Power Pods, and Explodohowks work well in most forces. I’ve also sung the praises of the Interceptor, and Spikodons are welcome in almost any army. You need to evaluate each unit for how well it complements not only your force but also your play style.

The most important thing you can do after you have made your initial purchases is to read the rules and play a few games! When approaching a new game, I play a couple of test games to get a feel for how I’m going to want to build my force. Then I make a list and start trading.

To recap:
1. Buy as much as you can! (I have rent to pay.) A starter + 10 unit boosters will get you going.
2. Play the game. No, wait—read the rules, then play the game!
3. Review the figures and make a list of what you want to play with.
4. Trade for the figures you want.
5. Buy some more. (I have to pay that rent every month, you know.)

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Play Tips

With Monsterpocalypse just about to land in a store near you, I thought I would share some helpful tips that can make your first play experience that much better.

In order to keep track of which buildings belong to each player, I like to place all of my buildings so that I can read their stats (the title will be upside-down to you) and then I ask my opponent to do the same. This way all my buildings are facing one direction while all of his buildings are facing another. To be honest, there is really no telling where your opponent may be putting his buildings when he is not playing, thus it’s best to make sure you take home the Downtown High-Rise that you brought to the table. Back when I worked on another CMG I saw a player remove a figure that was killed and place it in his mouth. If that player was willing to do that with his figure at a convention in public view of everyone, imagine what he would be willing to do with the figure when he is alone at home! Now pair those possibilities with the plot of Outbreak starring Dustin Hoffman and you have one heck of situation on your hands!

As an insurance policy to make sure you keep track of what figures belong to each player, you can also use a simple piece of scotch tape on the base or put a rubber band or twist-tie on the figure where it makes contact with its base. If two identical figures are next to one another and you accidentally take control of the wrong figure, you may benefit from additional movement or be penalized by not being able to get into the position you were counting on. Such a mistake could cost you the game or maybe cost your opponent the game, and that is not very sporting. Further, as mentioned before, there is no telling what people are doing with their figures when no one is looking; it’s best to keep your hands on your own figures!

Since figure facing is not a concern in Monsterpocalypse, you can give your unit a twist at the end of its movement to remind yourself and your opponent that the unit has advanced. Start each turn by making sure that your units are facing your opponent, then after you move your unit turn that figure 90 degrees clockwise to face your right side of the map. This way you can not only remember which units have moved, but if your opponent does the same, you can both easily tell which units belong to each player. That is especially helpful when playing those factional civil war battles where everyone is using the same figures.

The need for facing, rubber bands, tape, and twist-ties will be eliminated when we release the accessory pack with player ID rings (which should be a short time after the starters and boosters release) although twisting your units after advancing is still a great idea. The player rings will easily denote which figures belong to you and which belong to your opponent. Until then, these simple little tips will keep everything ordered and efficient while also preventing a super monkey-virus from spreading, which makes for a good time all around.

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