Monstret som slukade Stockholm (1983)

Theme and General concept

A rough translation of the title would be "The Monster that devoured Stockholm".

Being a thematic sibling of The Creature That Ate Sheboygan, this game is original enough not to be considered a rip-off. It is part of the early 1980s board game offerings put out by Target Games.

Gameplay

The mapboard is actually a rather accurate map of Stockholm, divided into areas of different sizes that regulate movement. Dividing the center of the board is a streak of water, Stockholms ström, which is impassable to human forces but not to the monster. Certain areas are also spawn points of police and military forces, that randomly enter the fight against the monster as reinforcements each turn. There are also civilian counters, i.e. monster food.

The objective of the game is, for the monster player, to destroy a certain well-known landmark in Stockholm, including the old Tax ministry headquarters, the "degenerate" statue group Paradiset, the Royal castle et al. Before the game starts, the monster players chooses from a set of monster statistics that include which landmark it is to destroy, and also determines the monster start area. The objective of the human player is simply to kill the monster.

Rules chrome includes the then renowned skinhead gangs of Stockholm that in the game are portrayed as violent, unkillable, and anarchist -- they randomly change allegiance each turn -- as well as the ceremonial palace guard, Högvakten, at Stockholm Castle.

Introduction from the rules

The following is a translation of the Swedish introduction from the rules:

The Monster that devoured Stockholm is an exciting adventure game where tactics and good foresight are of great importance.

The game is played by two players. One is the "monster"-player who tries to destroy a certain part of Stockholm. The other player is the "human"-player and controls Stockholms' military and police forces.

The monster will try to reach its destination without being killed by defending humans. On its way, the monster may eat innocent citizens to regain its strength.

The human player must try to figure out where the monster is heading and concentrate his military forces there while trying to reduce the casualties from innocent bystanders to a minimum.

Components

The box contains:
1 Gaming board 39x52cm
2 Dice
1 set of 60 cardboard counters

(The rules is the only part of the game with Swedish text).