In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection.
This review is a breakdown of the Monsters & Minions expansion for the game Roll Player. Pictured below are some of the new components introduced in this expansion. Setup for a game is very similar to the setup for the base game, with a few additions. Boost dice (sides numbered 3-8) are added to the dice bag and will help boost your character during creation. A deck of Minion cards is assembled, with which characters can fight to earn XP, trophies, and Honor (more on that later). A ‘final boss’ Monster with corresponding Adventure cards is selected for the characters to square off against at the end of the game. The basic setup for players’ character sheets and the Market are essentially the same as in the base game. A starting player is selected, and the game is ready to begin!
Each round is broken into 4 phases, as in the base game. The Roll, Dice, and Cleanup phases are played normally, but the Market phase is where the expansion content comes into play. During the Market phase, players have the opportunity to purchase a card from the Market, discard a Market card for 2 Gold, or Go on a Hunt. To go on a hunt means that you will be fighting the current Minion in play, in hopes of defeating it to earn XP, Honor, gold, or Adventure tokens. In order to initiate this combat, you will take 1 Combat die (orangish/reddish smaller dice) from the supply, plus any additional Combat dice as stated on the Minion card. You may choose to buy additional Combat dice by spending 5 gold/ 3 XP per die. When your pool is complete, roll the dice (rerolling any by spending XP) and then adding up the total amount rolled. Based on your total, you will gain rewards as listed on the Minion card – XP, gold, Honor tokens, or Injury tokens. If your total is high enough, then you get to take that Minion card as a trophy, take an Adventure token, and look at one of the three face-down Adventure cards in play. These Adventure cards become relevant in the final fight against the boss Monster, so knowing their information is crucial!
The game basically continues in this manner until all players have filled their 18 slots of their character sheet. Now, the final battle commences. As with fighting Minions, players will create their dice pools for fighting the final Monster – 1 base die, plus any additional from the Monster card or Skill/Armor/Weapon cards in play. Now the Adventure cards are revealed and resolved. These cards offer a benefit for players (additional dice, etc.) and are only given to players who have the corresponding Adventure token! That’s why fighting the Minions is crucial – it gives you information and allows you to benefit from it for the final battle. Once the dice pools are created, they are rolled against the Monster for the final combat. When a player is satisfied with their roll, they add 1 to their total for each Honor token they have, and subtract 1 for each Injury token. Compare your total to the strength of the Monster to see if you have defeated it or not. Depending on your total roll, you will earn varying amounts of Reputation stars for slaying the Monster. When this final combat is complete, players will count up their Reputation stars, as in the base game, adding any received from defeating the Monster. The player with the most Reputation stars is declared the winner!
To touch briefly on components – these expansion components are as nice as those in the original base game. The card/cardboard quality is sturdy, the artwork and text are clear, and the iconography is intuitive. The only thing is that there are a lot of components, so sometimes setup can take a bit as you assemble the correct decks of cards and lay out the appropriate tokens. Not a knock on the game at all, and you’ll read why in my official recommendation.
Official recommendation: After having played the base game for a number of years, adding the Monsters and Minions expansion is a must. Yes, the base game in and of itself is great, but this expansion gives you the opportunity to do something with the character you have just created! I don’t think I’ll ever play just the base Roll Player again – I will always add in the Monsters and Minions expansion. So that’ll help me with my setup qualms from earlier! The expansion offers so much more in terms of strategy and theme that it takes Roll Player above and beyond for me. Yes, you are trying to build the strongest character, but you can’t just ignore the Minions throughout the game. They can provide crucial information that could make or break the final combat for you. At the same time, you want to make sure you’re spending enough time and energy outfitting your character with Skills, Traits, Weapons, and Armor. It’s a fine balance between the elements of the base game and expansion that makes it that much more strategic for me. I love how, at the end of the game, you are able to use your character and see if your build actually works. It adds a nice resolution to the base game concept that makes the experience feel more whole for me. So do I recommend adding the Monsters and Minions expansion to your plays of Roll Player? Absolutely. It is a must for me now, and I can’t believe it took me so long to pick it up.
I’ll be checking out the Fiends and Familiars expansion soon, so come back to see how that one fares with the base game compared to Monsters and Minions!
