Boss Monster: The Dungeon Building Card Game

Boss Monster: The Dungeon Building Card Game

As a retro video game fan, Boss Monster immediately caught my eye with its pixel art and clever premise. The idea of being the bad guy building a deadly dungeon for heroes is just plain fun. I enjoy the simple card play and how quick and light the game is; it's a perfect little filler on game nights. There’s a bit of strategy in timing your spells and building an optimal sequence of rooms, and the nostalgia of the 8-bit artwork always brings a smile to my face. On the flip side, Boss Monster doesn’t have a ton of depth. After a few plays, it can feel luck-driven since you’re at the mercy of the cards you draw and which heroes show up. A player with a lucky combo of rooms can run away with the victory, and there isn't much of a catch-up mechanism for others. And if you take too many wounds, you get eliminated early, which is never fun for the person knocked out. Still, for a short, thematic romp, I find it enjoyable enough. Entertaining for its theme but not a game to play when we want deep strategy.