Review
Monasterium
Monasterium looks more forbidding than it is: the teach takes a little while, then the structure settles into place. It is a clean tableau builder with meaningful choices and none of the headache its rules initially suggest.
- Published
- 2020
- Designer
- Arve D. Fühler
- Publisher
- dlp games, Arrakis Games, Emerald Games
- Players
- 2–4
- Playing time
- 120 min
Monasterium sat in my collection for some time because its rules made it look rather more arduous than it is. That was a misreading. The teach needs a little patience, but once play begins the design becomes immediately legible; it does not ask the table to carry a dossier of exceptions.
At its centre is an engaging tableau builder. Players select dice from a shared pool, then use them for the basic actions: gathering goods or placing monks around the monastery. The pool matters because each selection also changes what remains for everyone else.
That was a misreading.
TheTrainSpotter
Placing monks is not merely the familiar route to points. It improves the actions attached to the relevant die, so the interesting decision is whether to take an immediate return or develop an engine for the end-game goals. It lacks Grand Austria Hotel's explosive combinations, but the comparison usefully marks the distinction: this is dice management with a calmer, clearer progression.
The length feels right, and the first play suggests scoring that is balanced and accommodating of several strategies. For me, Monasterium is an unqualified recommendation: lighter on its feet, and much better than I expected.
For me, Monasterium is an unqualified recommendation: lighter on its feet, and much better than I expected.
TheTrainSpotter
Source: BoardGameGeek
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