A cooperative memory game about hunting monsters around the world might not sound like a heavyweight release, until you see who made it. Encyclopedia of Monsters is co-designed by Antoine Bauza, the man behind 7 Wonders and Hanabi, the card game that won the 2013 Spiel des Jahres, alongside prolific French family-game designers Corentin Lebrat and Théo Rivière. It is available now direct from Le Scorpion Masqué, with wider release through Hachette Boardgames this summer.
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Start organising for freeThe concept is charming. The box is built like a real encyclopedia, split into five colourful volumes, one per continent, each holding three countries full of local creatures, spirits and legends to track down. On your turn you play a Monster card and use its special rule to find the matching hidden token. Get it right and the monster stays revealed; get it wrong and a candle is snuffed out, every monster flips back face-down, and you are testing your memory all over again.
It is pitched squarely at families, playing two to four and aged six and up, and at $29.99 (about £23) it is an easy pick-up. Bauza has plenty of form beyond his two gateway hits, with a long track record of clever, accessible designs, and Lebrat and Rivière have a stack of quick family games between them. Maud Chalmel's illustrations give the whole thing a storybook look that should pull younger players in.
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See how it worksIf you want a co-op that works for kids without boring the grown-ups, this is worth a spot on the shelf. Round up the family for game night.
Sources: Le Scorpion Masqué | Big Boss Battle
