Can You Find the Right Number of Arms, Legs, and Eyes in Monster Match?

Hungry monsters are stealing all the donuts! Find the culprits and reclaim the tasty sweets!

Monster Match is a super fast-playing game of speed and observation in which you try to match monsters to dice roll results.

Gameplay

Shuffle the deck of monster cards and deal ten face up on the table. Each monster card has one to three donuts shown in the corner; these donuts will act as your score at the end of the game. Every round begins with the two dice being rolled. One die will show a number and the second die will show a feature such as eyes, legs, or arms. Players then race to claim one of the monster cards on the table which has the exact number of the specific feature indicated on the dice, by laying a finger on the card. Once you have claimed a card you cannot switch to another one.

Even after one player has claimed a card, other players can continue to search for additional monsters that meet the same criteria. After each player has picked a card or there are no monsters left that match the dice, each player takes the card he claimed and puts it in his score pile (unless an error was made and it was not in fact a correct match). Then a new round is started and the dice rolled again.

There is one zilch card placed in the center of the table. If the dice are ever rolled and there are no monster cards on the table that match their criteria, the first player to touch the zilch card wins the round and draws a card from the monster deck and places it in their score pile. Ten new monster cards are then added face up to those cards already on the table and the dice are rolled again.

If you ever make a mistake, touching the zilch card when there are valid matches or claiming a monster card that does not in fact meet the dice’s criteria, then you must remove a card from your score pile and place it back onto the table face up. The game ends once the monster card deck runs out. Players then count all the donuts on the monster cards in their score piles and the player with the most donuts wins.

Review

Monster Match is a colorful and fun speed game that's light and enjoyable for adults and kids alike. It's a game that keep things balanced by the simple fact that multiple players can score each round. This means that being faster isn't always better, as you need to register not just which monsters match the dice, but also how many donuts they are worth.

There is a lot of personality and character in the game, not just in the adorable monster carry case the game comes in, but also in the artwork. The monsters are really creatively drawn, sometimes to the point of purposefully attempting to trick you when you're taking them in at a glance. The cards are also made of a nice, thick quality card stock that should hold up well under lots of play.

It's a great game for kids or for playing with kids since it’s easy to keep it feeling balanced, but adults can enjoy it on their own as well. There’s no adjustment, however, between the number of cards placed on the table based on your player count, so with a full group of six it’s likely to be a lot harder and not quite as enjoyable.

Monster Match’s fast play time, light rules, and the competition of racing for the best monsters, along with the increasing tension as the number of cards on the table shrink and the odds increase of needing to race for the zilch card grows, makes it a great fit when you want something short and sweet.

Pros: Great components, enjoyable speed mechanics where more than one player can score

Cons: Better with smaller groups

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.