As a dedicated Godzilla fanatic, I've been predisposed to every "monster mash" board game I've ever encountered, starting with SPI's The Creature that Ate Sheboygan from 1979.
With its "legal document"-style rule book, antiquated combat results table and lo-fi production design, this one definitely has two gargantuan, clawed feet firmly planted in the realm of olde skool war games. Mercifully, the rules are fairly light, so there's actually a modicum of fun to be had here.
The next kaiju-adjacent board game that I became aware of was Monsters Ravage America.
This one was published on 1998; the exact same year Avalon Hill was bought out by HasBORG. Based solely on the theme, I was pretty gung ho to pick it up...that is until I saw it in the wild.
It was, without a doubt, one of the ugliest games I'd ever laid eyes on. The cover art was hideous, the board looked bland and the monster depictions were infantile. Hard pass.
Now, I've already talked at length about how Avalon Hill morphed from hard-core, hex-n'-chit hobby war gaming publisher into a dumbed-down subsidiary of HasBORG.
Here's an excerpt from that post:
"Granted, the lion's share of Avalon Hill's titles were too complex for my pea-brain, but I always had a deep respect, appreciation and genuine interest in what they did. I even bought lighter fare like Diplomacy, Blackbeard and Hitler's War at one point. Unfortunately, as soon as Hasbro bought them out, their entire catalog went out of print."
I go on to posit that the HasBORG execs had no sweet clue what to do with such niche, cerebral fare as Advanced Squad Leader, Titan, Hannibal: Rome versus Carthage, Republic of Rome, We the People, Advanced Third Reich, and 1830.
Instead, the company did a hard pivot to simpler strategic games, likely in an effort to appeal to those who had outgrown Parker Brothers games but found traditional hex n' chit war games to be boring and impenetrable.
This resulted in a veritable tsunami of Ameritrash, including Star Wars: Queen's Gambit (2000), Axis & Allies Pacific (2001), History of the World (a 2001 reprint of an original Avalon Hill title), the revised Axis & Allies (2003), Axis & Allies D-Day (2004), Betrayal at House on the Hill (2004), Axis & Allies Miniatures (2005), Nexus Ops (2005) and Roborally (2005).
And apparently they thought that there was enough game in Monsters Ravage America to a warrant a shwanky face-lift in the form of 2005's Monsters Menace America.
This brings me to the hand-written game diary I started circa 2004-5 before switching over to a Word document in 2009. And - hey- guess what? I still have those hand-scrawled notes...but the electronic version now lies trapped in digital RAM-ber 'cuz my old laptop died.
Anyhoo, here's the relevant entry from October 12'th, 2008:
I picked up Monsters Menace America in a nice, little FLGS in Charlottetown while visiting Cathy and Shane for Taylor's 5'th birthday. I managed to snag this bad boy for $30. Inspired by James "Angry Video Game Nerd" Rolfe's "Godzillathon" series video review, I've decided it's time to test drive this sucka.
I've decided to do a three-monster game featuring:
Tomanagi (using the Army)
Konk (wielding the Navy)
...and Gargantis (controlling the Air Force)
Coming direct from Japan, Tomanagi starts just off the southern west coast of the U.S. Oddly, Konk is no-where near New York, instead breaking loose between Atlanta, Nashville and Cincinnati (?). Gargantis is crowned "King of the Locusts" when he appears northwest of Omaha.
The eight unrepresented Marine units are placed on the board, two Rocket Launchers and two Fighters per coast, with one per space.
Tomangi's player places one armor in a hex northwest of NYC, a Rocket Launcher in Austin and a National Guard aircraft in Tampa, Florida.
In lieu of placing units, Konk's player draws a Military Research card and gets a "Molecular Cannon."
Gargantis drops one Cruise Missile south of Philadelphia, an aircraft at the OK Corral and a National Guard Tank in Phoenix.
TURN ONE
Tomanagi
Monster Move: stomps off to L.A.
Military Move: the Army moves a Rocket Launcher four spaces north and a Tank four spaces west to Detroit.
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Tomanagi trashes Los Angeles, gaining nine life on a throw of 3d6! He's now up to 20 Health!
Deploy: A Rocket Launcher is dispatched to Denver, one Tank is deployed to the base north west of Kansas City and a National Guard Tank appears in Minneapolis.
Konk
Move: The great ape waddles off to Chicago.
Monster Move: He has no Navy units yet.
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Konk stomps Chicago and rolls an "8" on his 2d6! He's up to 18 points!
Deploy: Places one Navy Fighter in San Diego while a Sub is dropped in the hex south of Tomanagi. A National Guard unit (a Tank presumably?) is delivered to Fresno.
Gargantis
Monster Move: The massive mantis skitters three hexes off to Old Faithful.
Military Move: Doesn't move any military units.
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Gargantis wrecks Old Faithful for two Infamy points.
Deploy: One Fighter is placed two hexes west of Winnipeg, another in Kansas City and a National Guard Tank rolls out in Salt Lake City.
TURN TWO
Tomanagi
Monster Move: The giant lizard wades into San Francisco.
Military Move: Doesn't move any military units.
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Tomanagi annihilates San Fran for eleven more Hit Points on a 2d6 roll...he's at 31!
Deploy: One Army Tank in Seattle, one in Nashville and one National Guard Tank in Detroit.
Konk
Monster Move: Our boi lopes four hexes east to Pittsburgh
Military Move: n/a
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Konk wrecks havoc in Pittsburgh, gaining six hit points. He's up to 26!
Deploy: Two Fighters scramble: one north west of Seattle, one in San Diego and a National Guard Tank is stationed in Sacramento.
Gargantis
Monster Move: Off to the Experimental Breeder Reactor #1!
Military Move: A Fighter speeds off to Salt Lake City and another patrols the skies just south east of the city.
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Gargantis kicks the crap out of the Reactor for some "War Spikes."
(NOTE: You don't Stomp Mutation spaces and a Monster is limited to one Mutation per site.)
Deploy: He places one Fighter on the Vegas Strip and another at the O.K. Corral while a National Guard Fighter is deployed to Portland.
TURN THREE
Tomanagi
Monster Move: lumbers four spaces north to Portland.
Military Move: one Tank motors three spaces east to St. Louis and is joined by a Missile Launcher.
Fight: Round One - Tomangi rolls a "5" against the defending Fighter. Hit and destroyed!
Encounter: He trashes Portland for a single Hit Point, bringing him to 32 Health!
Deploy: He places one Tank in Charlotte, one Missile Launcher north west of New York and a National Guard Fighter over Three Mile Island.
Konk
Monster Move: The savage simian trundles three hexes off to Detroit.
Military Moves: Two Fighters streak from San Diego to Sacramento. The Nuclear Sub moves four spaces north and a Fighter boldly moves into Tomanagi's space!
Fight: Konk takes on a pair of Tanks. Round One: Goes after the National Guard Tank, rolls a "4"...hit! Versus the Army Tank..."2"...miss! His second attack turns up a "6"...a hit! Both units destroyed!
The Fighter attacks Tomanagi and plays "Molecular Cannon." Die roll damage is "5"! 32 - 5...he's reduced to 27 Health and gets sent packing back to his starting hex!
Encounter: Konk demolishes Detroit and rolls a "10" on the 2d6 roll, bringing him up to 36 Health!
Deploy: One Nuclear Sub is launched south west of San Diego while a Fighter takes to the skies over the city itself. One National Guard Tank is also placed south east of San Diego at the Marine base.
Gargantis
Monster Move: The giant mantis moves three hexes south west to the Nevada Test Site.
Military Move: n/a
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Gargantis mauls the Test Site and gets the "It's a Robot!" Mutation!
Deploy: One Fighter is assigned to Kansas City while a Cruise Missile is installed south of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, there aren't any National Guard units available right now!
TURN FOUR
Tomanagi
Monster Move: Travels two hexes towards San Diego.
Military Move: Two Army Tanks and two Army Missile Launchers make their way towards Konk.
Fight: Before the first round begins, the Missile Launchers get "1" and "4" on their attacks...I.E. one hit!
Tomanagi gets one extra attack in a seacoast space! Goes after the Rocket Launcher and rolls a "1" - a miss - and a "6" - a hit! He then rolls a "6", smacking the Fighter out of mid-air!
(NOTE: I didn't document what destroyed the second Missile Launcher in that space, but Tomanagi did have four attacks and he ends up Stomping this space, so I assume he cleared it out!)
Round One: Army versus Konk. The giant ape attacks the Missile Launcher, rolls "4" and hits! Misses with a "2" against the second Launcher but then gets "3" (needed 3+) so that's a hit! Then the Tanks roll a "1" and a "5" and cause one point of damage to Konk!
Round Two: Konk attacks the first Tank and scores a "6" for a hit...but subsequent rolls of "3" and "4" both fail! The Tank counter-attacks but gets a "1"!
Since military units still remain (and they attacked on Tomanagi's turn), he chooses to retreat Konk back north one space. He then draws a Military Research Card and gets "Second Generation."
Encounter: Tomanagi kicks the crap out of San Diego for three Health points on the d6 roll. Since its also a Military Base, Tomanagi gains an Infamy token and the Navy is forced to give him a Fighter as a Trophy.
Deploy: One Missile Launcher is poised in Nashville, one Tank is placed north west of NYC and one Tank guards Charlotte.
Konk
Monster Move: The simian shuffles four spaces west to Minneapolis.
Military Move: two Fighters from Sacramento attack Tomanagi and both Subs also unload their Cruise Missiles at him.
Fight: Konk goes after a National Guard Tank and hits with a "6"!
The Navy versus Tomanagi! Round One: He's in a seacoast space so he gets four attacks! Needs a 4+ to nail the Fighter. After missing with a "3" he dials up a "6" and a "4", trashing two planes back-to-back. He then goes after the Cruise Missile but the "3" roll fails.
Then the two Cruise Missiles counter-attack, needing a "4" to hit! The first Fighter roll a "4"...one hit for three damage! The second Cruise misses with a "3"...then both units are destroyed!
Encounter: Konk devastates Minneapolis and gets a "5" on a d6 Health roll. He's up to 40 Health!
Deploy: A Sub enters the hex south west of San Diego, one Fighter takes to the skies south west of Houston and a National Guard Tank rumbles into Fresno.
Gargantis
Monster Move: The megabug moves three hexes south east towards Albuquerque.
Military Move: one Fighter jets three spaces north, another flies east and two Cruise Missiles launch north west eight hexes...all converging on Konk.
Fight: Air Force versus Konk, who is +1 versus Fighters. Round One: He rolls "2" + 1 = 3 (miss), "1" + 1 = 2 (miss) and "3" + 1 = 4...hit! One Fighter gets downed! The Air Force counters, but the Fighter misses with a "1." BOTH Cruise Missiles scores a "6"...a DOUBLE SMASH! This inflicts 3 + 1 = 4 x 2 = 8 points of damage, so Konk drops down to 32 points and Cruise Missiles are wrecked on impact.
Round Two: Konk versus the remaining plane, rolls "1" + 1 = 2 (miss) and "6" + 1 = 7...that's a knock down!
Encounter: n/a
Deploy: One Cruise Missile is placed south of Philadelphia and another south east of Dallas. No National Guard units are currently available, so this is skipped.
TURN FIVE
Tomanagi
Monster Move: The Big T sneaks four spaces south along the phalanx of Marine and National Guard units and arrives at the O.K. Corral.
Military Moves: The two Tanks northwest of Charlotte charge at Konk. The Nashville-based Missile Launcher joins them, as well as the Tank sitting in the rubble of Detroit.
Fight: Tomanagi Round One versus the aircraft. Rolls a "2" - miss - but then a "5" and a "6" for two hits!
Encounter: Tomanagi trashes the Corral, gaining two Infamy Tokens for the site plus one more 'cuz it's also an Air Force Base! He also takes a Fighter as a Trophy!
Deploy: Picks up a Military Research card - a "Laser Fence."
Konk
Monster Move: heads off towards Mount Rushmore.
Military Move: sends a Navy aircraft to the Vegas Strip.
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Konk crushes Mount Rushmore for a pair of Infamy tokens.
Deploy: One Nuclear Sub surfaces south west of the ruined San Diego and a plane rolls out on the tarmac south west of Houston.
Gargantis
Monster Move: two hexes to Roswell.
Military Move: Cruise Missile diverts from the base south east of Baltimore to Kansas City.
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Gargantis rips into Roswell and gets the "Rampage" mutation. (NOTE: again, you just need to visit these spots, not STOMP them)
Deploy: One Fighter goes on a sortie Kansas City and another aircraft protects the base north east of Houston.
TURN SIX
Tomanagi
Monster Move: off to the VLA Radio Telescope!
Military Move: Three Tanks and a Missile Launcher divert to the Largest Ball of Twine!
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Tomanagi stomps the Ball for two Infamy.
Deploy: Draws "Guard Commander" for Military Research!
Konk
Monster Moves: Like Bugs Bunny, Konk makes a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
Military Moves: two Subs become Cruise Missiles and fly at Tomanagi, two Fighters south west of Houston move five spaces to pile on and the Vegas Strip Fighter jets off two spaces to attack the giant lizard.
Fight: Navy versus Tomanagi. Round One: The creature attacks a Fighter, rolls a "1" (miss) "3" (miss) and a "4"...a hit! Spends three Infamy to continue the assault, rolling "2" and rolls a pair of "6's"...two hits!
The Cruise Missile hits true on a roll of "5", causing three points of damage. The second Cruise Missile fires wide with a "2."
Encounter: Konk crushes Albuquerque and nets a single Health Point.
Deploy: Draws the Military Research card "Mecha-Monster" and places it at the base south west of Houston.
Gargantis
Monster Move: three spaces to the Alamo.
Military Move: two Cruise Missiles launch towards Konk, plus four fighters.
Fight: Konk scraps with the military, gets +1 to hit versus Fighters. Round One: He rolls "5" + 1 = 6 (a hit!), "2" + 1 = 3 (miss) and "6" + 1 = 7...a hit!
The military counter-attacks! The first plane rolls a "6"...which causes two points of "SMASH" damage. The second Fighter rolls a "3"...a miss! With rolls of "2" and "1", both Cruise Missiles telegraph their target and are destroyed! Even worse: that roll of "1" causes Konk to Mutate into a"Winged Horror"!
Round Two: "2" + 1 = 3 (miss), "6" + 1 = 7 (hit!) and "5" + 1 = 6 (hit!).
Encounter: Gargantis annihilates the Alamo and gets two Infamy tokens. Since it's also a Military Base he also claims a Fighter for a Trophy and picks up one more Infamy token.
TURN SEVEN
Tomanagi
Monster Move: one hex north west to the Challenge Site.
Military Move: Two Missile Launchers and three Tanks move into Konk's space! Uses "Guard Commander" to move one National Guard Tank to Konk.
Fight: Before the battle begins, the Missile Launcher rolls a "3" and a "2"...both miss!
Konk versus the Army. Round One: Attacks a Missile Launcher and hits with a "4." He follows this up with two misses: a "1" and a "2." Regular Missile Launcher attack: "2" is a miss. Three Tanks get "5", "2" and "1"...one hit! The National Guard Tank gets a "5" and scores another hit.
Round Two: Konk wrecks the Missile Launcher with a "6" and then obliterates a Tank with a "6." The third roll - "3" - is a miss. Two Tanks roll "5" and a "3" for one hit! The National Guard Tank whiffs with a "2."
Military units remain, so they force Konk to retreat one hex north west. They draw a Military Resource Card called "Chopper Lift."
Encounter: n/a
Deploy: Thanks to "Second Generation", they place one Tank in Denver as well as a Missile Launcher in both Austin and the base north west of Kansas City.
Konk
Monster Move: he trundles off to the Vegas Strip.
Military Move: Mecha-Monster moves into Gargantis's space!
Fight: Gargantis versus Mecha-Monster! Attack rolls are "1", "1" and "2"...all misses!
Mecha Monster's counter attack is "1"...another miss!
Next round: "5" is a hit for four damage! The next swing is a "6" - a SMASH - and the damage is 3 + 1 (SMASH damage) and +1 for the "War Spike." Mecha-Monster is destroyed with one mighty blow!
Encounter: Tomanagi drops a "Laser Fence."
Konk pays two Infamy to stay in place and then mashes the Vegas Strip underfoot, earning back two Infamy and a bonus point for the Air Force Base there. He then claims a matching plane as a Trophy.
Deploy: He places one Fighter in the Base south west of Houston and a Sub off the west coast.
Gargantis
Monster Move: the beast wades into downtown Houston.
Monster Move: They have no military units left to move!
Fight: n/a
Encounter: Gargantis mauls Houston for two Health on the d6 roll!
Deploy: One Cruise Missile is dropped in Kansas City and one in the base south east of Dallas.
END OF REGULAR PLAY
***
CHALLENGE PHASE
Tomanagi - 24 Health versus Gargantis - 12 Health
Round One
Tomanagi leads with three attacks, rolling "3" (a miss...causing him to drop to 23 Health due to the electrocution from "It's a Robot!"), a "2" (22 Health) and a "4"...finally a hit for three damage! Then he spends three Infamy and rolls a "1" (21 Health), a "1" (20 Health) and a "4"...a hit for three damage!
Gargantis performs three attacks, starting with a "5" for a whopping four damage (thanks to "War Spikes") and reducing his opponent to 16 Health! His second attack roll of "4" also lands, dropping Tomanagi to 12! The third attack roll of "2" misses. Next up are the Infamy-fueled strikes, the first of which scores a SMASH with a "6"...resulting in 3 +1 (War Spikes) +1 SMASH = 5. The big lizard is down to 7...he's in trouble! The next Infamy attack is a "5"...another hit, dropping his foe down to 3! The third roll - a "2" - a temporary reprieve - but the coup de gras comes in the form of a "6" - yet another SMASH! The resulting five points of damage puts Tomanagi in the dirt!
Holy plot twist!!!
DAMAGE RECAP
24 - 4 misses due to "It's a Robot"!
20 - 12 (three hits...3 + 1 = 4 points each)
8 - 10 (two SMASHES...damage is 3 + 1 + 1 = 5 each hit)
12 - 6 (two hits)
GARGANTIS WINS!
Round Two
Gargantis - 6 + 3 + 24 (Tom's Weigh-In Value) = 33 versus Konk - 27
Gargantis performs three attacks, rolling "4" (a hit for four damage), a "1" (miss) and a "2" (miss). Then there are the Infamy attacks: a "6" (causing 3 + 1 +1 SMASH damage), a "3" and a "3"...another miss!
Konk battles back, rolling a "4" (which inflicts three damage), a "3" (a miss, which causes him to lose one Health) and a "4", another hit for three damage! The Infamy-fueled strikes include "3" (a miss, knocking off another -1 Health), a "5" (a strike for three damage) and the last roll is a "1", which misses for another -1 Health penalty.
Gargantis performs three attacks, rolling a "3", a "4" and a "5." That's two smacks in total for grand total of eight damage! The giant ape is reduced to seven Hit Points!
Konk tries to battle back, rolling a "3" a two "2's." Sadly, all he gets out of this is three self-inflicted points of electrocution damage!
In the next segment, Gargantis polishes off his rival with a roll of "2" and a "5", the latter causing the four points of damage needed for the victory.
GARGANTIS WINS!!!
***
Here were my post-practice-game comments at the time:
"Totally brain-dead, nearly random game manages to wring out some fun factor, just due to its subject matter. It’s a lot of fun, stomping cities, mutating your monster and eating planes and tanks.
"Regrettably, for such a simple game, you certainly do a lot of scanning through the rules to answer questions. I’m still not sure if I played a bunch of stuff right.
"Some might argue that Gargantis was always clearly in third place and won almost due to blind luck. I disagree. The wicked combination of doing extra damage and the defensive damage from a miss really is what told the tale. So the card strategy is a valid path to win.
"Makes you wonder though. You can kick ass during the destruction phase, but end up sucking wind just because someone got an unbalanced card combo. How much will this piss people off?
"Fun, but it could have been so much better."
Three (!) months later I got a chance to run the game for Dean and Andrew. Here's how that played out:
December 18, 2008
"Finally got a chance to do my game turn with Monsters Menace America.
"Played at Andrew‘s place. With him as a new dad of only three months, we decided to play there so he can be close to L'il Logan. The kid's eyes widened like saucers while I laid out the board and rolled the dice in front of him. I think Audrey believes that I'm already starting my campaign of corruption.
"Me: Tomanagi, Dean: Zorb, Andrew Toxicor. I took the Army, Dean had the Marines and Andrew controlled the Air Force.
"I started on the West Coast, Andrew, the north east coast and Dean in Florida. Given Dean’s limited movement, he quickly realized his tactical error in basically cutting himself off on the peninsula.
"I quickly gobbled up the major cities on the West Coast. Andrew fumbled around a little bit, unfocused, nabbing a few re-rolls and Mutation cards. Dean seemed to know what he wanted to go for, but his rolling was horrendous and he was soon nearly penned up in Florida.
"Although I read the Military Strategy Tips, Andrew and Dean kept throwing military units at me piecemeal. As opposed to Dean, my rolling was stellar for the first little bit.
"My five-Defense Tanks soon proved to be pretty potent, especially with my good luck. I split my military attacks equally between Dean and Andrew, especially after getting a card that added one to my unit's movement.
"Dean finally broke out and headed for the heartland. I kept pounding on him, first with armor then with Mecha-Monster. With a healthy-looking lead, I found myself predictably in both Dean and Andrew‘s cross-hairs. My luck went a bit sour, but with a recently-gained 'Iron Stomach' mutation (and a healthy supply of big cities to munch on) I gained Health back as fast as I lost it.
"Andrew got above me for Health totals so I attacked him with Tanks over two rounds armed first with 'Scientific Analysis' then 'Antimatter'. With Dean unable to crawl back higher than 10 Health, I kept on Andrew with a 'Laser Fence'.
"With all these aggressive moves, I was making I continued to be a target. Andrew used 'Blonde Love' to waste one of my turns and then attacked me with seven Fighters and Cruise Missiles. I decided to use my 'Berserk' card to carry me through and my good rolling came back at a fortunate time.
"Andrew picked up the last STOMP marker but both me and Dean were within walking distance of a Challenge Site. Dean opted to STOMP another site before I took the Challenger role.
"I faced Dean first. We screwed up the first round of combat by only dealing one point of damage for a successful attack, but played the rest properly. Dean‘s horrendous luck continued and - after killing Zorb - Tomanagi had more health than when the fracas started.
"Andrew put up more of a fight. My last antimatter Tank attack gave Toxicor an 'Atomic Breath' Mutation, which Andrew used a good effect. Still, my superior Health and 'Whip Tentacles' managed to defeat an already-beat-up Toxie.
"Error from last game: everyone agreed that you don’t stomp a Mutate site, your individual monster just can’t use a specific location a second time.
"I quickly manhandled 'Captain Colossus', who came down literally on Dean‘s last turn, leaving me with my own 'Mecha-Monster' to deal with. We didn’t play this out since it looked pretty foregone.
"Game went over very well to the point that Andrew said he’d like for me to pick up a copy at Gamezilla if I see it at a reasonable price.
"A few things will make next game more of a challenge for me: Andrew will be more focused, the Army will be the number one military acquisition, and Dean will probably either pick a more mobile creature or at the very least, not paint himself into a corner."
And here's the l'il capsule review I did for Monsters Menace America on Board Game Geek:
"Fun, mindless monster mash which almost renders most of the game pointless by near-arbitrary and luck-based end battle. 6.5 out of 10"
I'm gonna try and replay this sucka soon, so keep your eyes peeled on this space for my final thoughts.
Until then, make sure you only eat organic cities...and may all of your attack rolls be SMASHES!
***
UPDATE: I played a two-player match last night. Not recommended, by the way, since the National Guard and two branches of the military sit around idle and its really easy to avoid your opponent's forces.
Despite my solid rolling in Fights against the military and Trevor's Toxicor, he won thanks to the creature's ability to mercilessly spam Mutations. NOTE: the game desperately needs tokens to keep track of what Mutation sites Monsters have already visited.
His acquisition of "Radiation Field" crippled a lot of my late-game military assaults. Despite annihilating "Captain Colossal" in one turn and weathering "Berserk" thanks to five misses, things quickly went downhill for me in the end game.
First off, my precious "Armored Scales" (which gave me a clutch 5 Defense) were discarded in the very last round of regular play, thanks to an annoying "Stabilizer Ray" hit. Despite being powerless, I managed to hold my own during the Challenge Phase, but I just couldn't compete with Trevor's stack of Infamy tokens.
NOTE: since turns can fly by in this game, it's really easy to rush through steps and miss opportunities such as SMASHES and the first strike capability of Rocket Launchers. Pro-tip...announce and systemically go through the four phases of a turn to avoid a frenetic pace and keep everyone on the same page.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Seventeen (!!!) years later, I think my first impressions were spot on. The game didn't do anything particularly innovative back then and now it just feels kinda dated and creaky. Most of the game's playtime feels inconsequential compared to the Challenge Phase, with the final winner being he monster who collected the best Mutations.
Having said that, I'm unlikely to ever part with Monsters Menace America. The awesome board and pieces are super charming, the garish art design is a clear product of the 2000's and the game is so fast-paced and goofy it never overstays its welcome.
This unique little Ameritrash time capsule scores three pips out of six with a colossal tilt up to the tip of Tomanagi's head spine.
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