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I just picked up this game at Origins. I've always been a big fan of old, giant monster movies, so I couldn't resist this game.

It includes two mapboards that show America and some parts of Canada, plastic planes and rockets, a sheet of counters, and cards.

The neat thing about this game is that you play two sides -- one giant monster (there's ten to pick from, including some clones of Godzilla, King Kong, and Mothra) AND one of the military forces (army, airforce, marines, and navy).

You move your monster around the board smashing cities and other sites. If you go to a mutation site you can mutate... if you're playing with the advanced rules. The cards include some neat mutations, many of which have appeared in monster movies.

Your army units try to stop the other players monsters. Each service has two different units to buy, each with advantages and disadvantages. As monsters smash your bases, your income goes down and the military gets weaker.

At the end of the game (which takes less than two hours) and 30 cities have been destroyed, the monster who finishes off the last city challenges the other monsters.

THe monsters brawl and the strongest one wins. If you're weak going into the final match, you don't have much of a chance to win, but an underdog monster won in my second game.

The game doesn't take long to figure out. The designers must have loved monster movies because there's so many great cliches and gadgets incorporated into the game.

My only complaints about the game are the cards. Some of the research cards are really powerful. If you get lucky, you can get a really powerful weapon early on in the game. Luckily, most of them are one-shot weapons.

Worst of all, though, the cards are perforated! For $40 I would have expected nicer cards, since these will wear out really fast. I recommend cutting them out with scissors or a matte knife, since otherwise you get nasty jagged edges that look horrendous.

The plastic pieces were a nice addition, though. Toys always make games more fun!

The art is good, though not as good as Successors, AH's last game. It's very colorful and reminiscent of the Illuminati card game.

Any fan of monster movies will really, really like this game. Having four giant monsters eating America was a blast... especially since it takes about as long as watching one of those old movies!

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Monsters Ravage America
Author: JC Conners, Ben Knight Category: Boardgame Company/Publisher: Avalon Hill Cost: $40 Page count: n/a Capsule Review by E. Letz on 07/08/98. Genre tags: none	I just picked up this game at Origins. I've always been a big fan of old, giant monster movies, so I couldn't resist this game. It includes two mapboards that show America and some parts of Canada, plastic planes and rockets, a sheet of counters, and cards. The neat thing about this game is that you play two sides -- one giant monster (there's ten to pick from, including some clones of Godzilla, King Kong, and Mothra) AND one of the military forces (army, airforce, marines, and navy). You move your monster around the board smashing cities and other sites. If you go to a mutation site you can mutate... if you're playing with the advanced rules. The cards include some neat mutations, many of which have appeared in monster movies. Your army units try to stop the other players monsters. Each service has two different units to buy, each with advantages and disadvantages. As monsters smash your bases, your income goes down and the military gets weaker. At the end of the game (which takes less than two hours) and 30 cities have been destroyed, the monster who finishes off the last city challenges the other monsters. THe monsters brawl and the strongest one wins. If you're weak going into the final match, you don't have much of a chance to win, but an underdog monster won in my second game. The game doesn't take long to figure out. The designers must have loved monster movies because there's so many great cliches and gadgets incorporated into the game. My only complaints about the game are the cards. Some of the research cards are really powerful. If you get lucky, you can get a really powerful weapon early on in the game. Luckily, most of them are one-shot weapons. Worst of all, though, the cards are perforated! For $40 I would have expected nicer cards, since these will wear out really fast. I recommend cutting them out with scissors or a matte knife, since otherwise you get nasty jagged edges that look horrendous. The plastic pieces were a nice addition, though. Toys always make games more fun! The art is good, though not as good as Successors, AH's last game. It's very colorful and reminiscent of the Illuminati card game. Any fan of monster movies will really, really like this game. Having four giant monsters eating America was a blast... especially since it takes about as long as watching one of those old movies! Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Monsters Ravage America