Monstrology

Players: 2–10 players
Play time: 30–180 min
BGG rating: 8.2

Monstrology is a fully cooperative card game, which you can also play competitively between two teams, a la 'Charades', suitable for gamers of all ages. You can play Monstrology with 2-8 people. Each round takes about 5 minutes, with a recommendation of at least 2 rounds per player. The game requires both sides of your brain to work together, as you'll have to blend your imagination and deduction skills in order to succeed. At the core of the game are 84 illustrated imaginary monster cards, depicting some of the most beautiful, strange, unique monsters you have ever encountered. The game also includes twelve taxonomy boards that will allow you to categorize and identify these delightful, unsettling creatures. A simplified explanation of the game: 1. One player - the "subject" of a monstrological investigation - randomly and secretly selects an imaginary monster from the deck of monster cards. 2. The subject fills out a "taxonomy board" in order to give the other players (the "investigators") a sense of his or her monster. The subject cannot communicate with the other players in any other way - no facial expressions or hand gestures! 3. The subject places his or her monster in a lineup with other imaginary monsters (i.e. more cards). 4. The investigators attempt to deduce which monster belongs to the subject. Lively discussion ensues as the investigators attempt to convince each other that "this monster looks like he'd prefer flies to gerbils", or "are you kidding? that monster would be terrible at babysitting!" 5. The more investigators who select the correct monster, the more points the team scores.