All of my 'Light Reviews' aim to offer a brief overview that allows people to get a good feel for what the game may offer them, the options involved and general flow of play.

Summary

Game Type - Children's Board Game
Play Time: 10-15 minutes
Number of Players: 2-6
Mechanics - Roll & Move
Difficulty - Pick-up & Play (Can be learnt in under 10 minutes)
Components - Excellent


Image Courtesy of dbucak

Overview

Monza is one of those titles that knows exactly what it wants to be right from the get go. The box cover artwork shouts children's game and that's exactly what this game is. It can certainly be enjoyed by adults if parents are playing with their children, but adults alone won't find anything here to engross them.

Essentially Monza is a formula one racing game for children. More specifically it plays something like a simplified version of Formula De. This is no bad thing and my boys certainly enjoyed the experience.

The Components

Monza is a Haba title and for those not familiar with the company, Haba stands for quality components and often ‘hands on’ game play. These two factors are extremely engaging for children, especially the 3-6 year old rug rats. So what do we get…

Board (Track) - This is the centrepiece of the game as it depicts a 3-lane racetrack. Each lane is made up of numerous rectangular spaces and each one of these is coloured (of which there are 6 colours in all). Several sections of the track feature tyre symbols, which I will cover in more detail in the game play section below. The reaminder of the board features eye-catching artwork of cars that serve to reinforce the theme.


Image Courtesy of m_hamburg

Dice - There are 6 in all and each face of the dice features one of the 6 colours that make up the track. By now I am sure you are getting a better picture of how Monza plays out.


Image Courtesy of m_hamburg

Cars - The cars take the cute factor over the top. Made from wood, each car is a different colour and a small round addition on top represents the head of the driver. Rather cool.


Image Courtesy of m_hamburg

Rulebook - The rules come in a multi-language format and they are well structured and easy to read. Nothing to groan about here.

That's all that Monza requires to play and it certainly reinforces the adage that sometimes less is more. The minimalist approach to components also helps to meet the needs of the target audience for this game.

The Game Play

The game is set-up by simply placing each car in play on its coloured start arrow. Taking approximately 1.2 seconds to achieve this, the game is ready to play.

Each game of Monza only consists of a single lap and it is the car that completes their lap in the shortest possible time (fewest rolls) that will be declared the winner.

Starting Roll - The first player takes all 6 dice and rolls them. Each dice will stop on a given colour and it is these colours that must be used to advance around the track as far as possible in a single turn.

From the start position only 2 squares are open for movement, a blue and a white square. If either of these results were rolled the active player can set aside the appropriate colour and move their car to that space. Now they must look at their remaining dice to see if they can make another move. This occurs until a player no longer has a movement option because they have exhausted all 6 dice or they do not have access to a colour required.

Once a player is finished their turn the dice are given to the next player in clockwise order and they repeat the process. The turn order is maintained for the entire race.

Movement Rules - It is possible to move from one space to another adjacent space, provided that the adjacent space ends at a more advanced point than the end point of the space your car currently sits on (in other words your car must move forward with each move). This sounds quite complicated in the written form but when looking at the board it is dead easy to identify and my 6 year old (Alex) understood it very quickly.

Tyre Spaces - Sections of track that feature a tyre or 'no go zones'. They can always be avoided but in one spot they narrow the track to a single lane, where a purple result is required to move ahead. The tyre obstacles serve to offer children some limited strategic thinking as it is wise to sit directly behind a tyre in order to have 2 colour options on the next roll rather than stop to one side of a tyre and only have the single colour option to progress to next turn.

I highly recommend allowing children to discover this strategy for themselves. They will feel a far greater sense of achievement if this thought is not simply handed to them.

Overtaking - It is quite legal to pass through a space containing another car as you look to surge ahead. Should a car finish their turn on the same space as another car though, the passive car (not active player) will see their car moved back one space in the same lane. Multiple cars can be pushed in this way but beware as a car cannot be forced back into an obstacle! This is yet another clever way that a player can position themselves for maximum benefit.

Obligated Movement - Wherever possible it is mandatory for a player to use all of their movement to the full. This stops deliberate blocking tactics and 'push-backs' and fits nicely with the age level that Monza is aiming for.

Winning - The end of the track is similar to the start in that only 2 squares are available as the finish spaces. Again they are blue and white and once a player reaches one of these, the current round is played out to ensure that all players had the same number of turns. If only 1 player rests in the finish zone, they are declared the winner. If multiple players managed to finish the race, then it is the driver that used the fewest dice that is declared the victor.

This last part is the only rule that doesn't sit well for me given the target market for this game is 3-6 year olds. Having to record how many dice a player has used in the race is a level of book-keeping that little tots really aren't up to and this implies that a parent must be present with them if the game is to be enjoyed as intended.

Of course like any good game we are all entitled to ignore the rules from time to time and personally I am happy with the '1st past the post wins' option. The winner can then go last in the next game to even out the field.

I guess another way to play it would be to record how many dice were used to reach the finish line on the final roll. If another car also comes to the finish line they can compare how many dice they needed. The player who needed the fewest dice on that final roll is declared the winner. At least in this way the record keeping is only needed in the final end-game and memory is good enough.

The Final Word

Monza is an excellent game. The theme is great for youngsters, the colours are perfect for the pre-schoolers and early primary school kids and the components are top notch.

Haba have a knack for creating games that allow families to have fun times together and my kids loved seeing me roll some dodgy results and laughed raucously as their car left mine for dead.

Whilst 3-6 year olds are likely to love this beyond the 10th play, my 6 and 8 year old still had a fun time. I just question how stale it may get for them beyond the 10th play.

Still this is early Formula De training...and that can only be a good thing. Vrooomm! (damn I need an emoticon with a racing helmet).

Links

Here are some other titles I have reviewed for the 3-8 Age Bracket.

Knuckling Knights