Spotlight On: Boss Monster

July 20, 2021

This week’s spotlight goes to a compact card game that is the perfect combination of retro video game meets tabletop fun! Boss Monster is a side scrolling dungeon building game that pits heroes against different dungeon rooms in a fight for their soul. 

The game allows for 2-4 people to play at a time, and each person attempts to become the “Boss Monster” by building a successful dungeon that not only lures in heroes, but is also able to claim their soul before they reach the end of the dungeon. A player can win once they attain 10 souls, or lose if their Boss Monster receives 5 wounds, which occur when a hero makes it through the dungeon without perishing. This balancing act is the crux of the game, as it can be a gamble when deciding what kind of room to build with how many heroes you’re looking to lure in. Spells can also be performed by players to give themselves an advantage or disrupt their opponent, and add another element of unpredictability.

Boss Monster is easy to store and travel with, and the 8bit retro art style will be attractive to young and old audiences alike! The base game itself has a good amount of replayability (and trust us, you’ll want to play several rounds in a row once you get going) and there are also multiple expansion packs and even a sequel called Boss Monster 2: The Next Level which can be played as a stand alone game or expansion with the original Boss Monster game. 

And there’s more! Overboss is a separate game where the Boss Monsters emerge from the dungeons below to fight to become the Overboss above in a completely different experience that combines drafting, set collection, and puzzly tile laying while being set in the same retro-inspired pixel art world of Boss Monster. Get ready for game night and pick up one or all of these fantastic games!

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