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Koryo — 2007-11-28T22:27:47+00:00

No, this is not a travel version, the die is really big!

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BrewB — 2007-09-07T00:20:47+00:00

Monte Rolla - The Edsel of Selects - Age 4

Thread: Monte Rolla - Snakes and Ladders with gravity

Red Wine Pie — 2007-04-09T05:00:41+00:00

Our FLGS is also a children's book puzzle and game store. Robyn and Graham often bring around the latest German kid's games to play as a break from heavy sessions of Powergrid etc. Along with Piratissimo, the game we tried on Maunday Thursday 2007 was Monte Rolla.

This is a very nicely presented game with a solid card board. The design of natural stream, shrubs, rocks and cuddly forest animals is very nice to look at. The board folds in half with Monte Rolla itself formed in the middle, so that there is an equal slope in two directions from the mountain. Each space on the board is an indentation in the board, so that the marblse can sit in place without rolling away.

Players take two marbles in their colour, and all start at the downhill side of the hill. The object is then to move by die roll from one bottom corner to the top of the "mountain", down the other side then back up the other side and down to the last corner. There is only one track and one direction to move, but the player can chose which of the two marbles to move. A roll of six entitles the player to additional rolls until a non-six is rolled. One marble must be moved the total of all the rolls, rather than being able to split them between the two marbles.

If you land on another marble you push that marble off the track. If you are on the downhill side, the marble will roll down the "hill" pushing that marble backwards to the start or the half way point. If the marble has made it over the hill then you are actually pushed forward to half way or the end of the board. First player to get both marbles to the finish wins. There are a few places where the marbles are held in steps rather than indentations, and so might be knocked off by other marbles pushed out fuurther upstream. There are also a few double spaces, so that two marbles can sit there without one being knocked out.

We were playing with three adults and a pre-teen - not quite the target audience. Where there are many marbles close together it is inevitable that lots of marbles are knocked back, especially at the start. After about 5 minutes of play both my marbles were back at the start, but I did finally win after a further 10 minutes. The game can become a tit-for-tat of marble knock-offs so that the game length is greatly extended. Once the marbles got "over the hill" and spread out it became easier to make progress.

So, I can't recommend Monte Rolla for adults playing only with other adults. Adults playing with kids may want to give it a miss, as the variable game length could be a bit of a curse. I think that kids of the right age and about the same age would get a lot of fun and enjoyment from this game. The choices are limited and progress can be frustrating, but the theme and board design make this more than just a roll-and-move game. Relatives and friends buying for young kids should definitely buy Monte Rolla ahead of a standard roll-and-move game because of the board, theme and marbles.

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Werbaer — 2006-09-23T14:30:01+00:00

the 2nd hill on the other side

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Werbaer — 2006-09-23T14:20:09+00:00

on top of the (first) hill

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Werbaer — 2006-09-23T13:56:04+00:00

a long road lies ahead: up the hill, downhill on the other side, up again (left upper corner), and down to the finish)

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Werbaer — 2006-09-23T13:55:49+00:00

short after the start of the game (the pool in the foreground is the starting area)

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Werbaer — 2006-09-16T14:35:34+00:00

game board (flat from top)

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Werbaer — 2006-09-12T13:54:03+00:00

back of the box

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Werbaer — 2006-09-12T13:53:59+00:00

box cover

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Honey — 2004-06-04T21:35:46+00:00

Game: Monte Rolla

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Thread: Monte Rolla - Snakes and Ladders with gravity

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