Game: Go Away Monster!

Thread: Re: Is your child younger than 3? Here's a variant for you!

adso — 2008-10-20T15:01:19+00:00

Yeah... I tried to introduce Go Away Monster to my 19 month old. My wife and I sat down to take turns drawing pieces from the bag, to see if it was interesting enough to hold his attention. In short, he loves the game, but generally he just wants to dump out the bag and take all the teddy bears and monsters. Drawing one at a time didn't hold any appeal, and when we threw a monster into the box, he got upset - he seems to identify with them very strongly. So, our copy of Go Away Monster has received a great deal of love and wear, and maybe in a few months we'll try to introduce the taking-turns concept again .

Thread: Re: Customers who purchased this product also purchased:

claudio212 — 2008-07-21T11:30:12+00:00

OzGamer wrote:
Some people who are zombie fans are clearly also parents.
To be clear, I don't think it's really surprising at all. I'm a parent thinking about getting Go Away Monster, and I can see myself owning either or both of the other two down the road. I guess late on a Sunday night, I just thought the coincidence was funny and a bit ironic.

Thread: Re: Customers who purchased this product also purchased:

OzGamer — 2008-07-21T03:51:10+00:00

Some people who are zombie fans are clearly also parents. Or maybe it's just that new parents often feel like zombies or that at 3AM their little angels start to seem like monsters from the abyss.

Thread: Re: Customers who purchased this product also purchased:

AnakinOU — 2008-07-21T03:48:31+00:00

That may have been me. I've purchased and enjoyed all three of those games.

Thread: Customers who purchased this product also purchased:

claudio212 — 2008-07-21T03:21:58+00:00

Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game. Seriously. I'm not joking. Thoughthammer. Look it up. That and Arkham Horror. I hope whatever algorithm spit that out at me is consistent. Or I'm going to be like the guy trying to replicate the box fart. 'Um, it was the box. I swear.'

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Randy Cox — 2008-06-21T15:01:48+00:00

3.5 and 5 year old

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ccmonter — 2008-04-02T10:57:55+00:00

Wondering if a monster will come out of the bag.

Thread: Re: Is your child younger than 3? Here's a variant for you!

LoMa — 2008-02-27T20:39:53+00:00

My son's 23 months, but he's able to play the game with the regular rules pretty well - he's very excited to put the pieces "on TOP!!!" of the shapes in his bedroom board, he understands about taking turns, and he's pretty good about taking only one piece at a time out of the bag, but sometimes he's excited and wants to "TWO pieces". He feels around to try to find a monster, and when he pulls one out, he's nearly out of his head with joy: "monster, Henry got monster, my monster!!! Go away monster, go home monster!!!!" and he throws the monster in the box. He has names fro some of the monsters.

Oh lordy, does my kid dig those monsters. He makes up stories about the monsters from the game too. Like how they took a ride on the hot steam train with his brother and mama...

He asks to play this game every day!!!

Thread: Re: Is your child younger than 3? Here's a variant for you!

cferejohn — 2008-02-27T19:30:15+00:00

Ha. Love it. I got this for my niece. The funny thing is that she doesn't see monsters as bad (since the only monsters she knows are the benevolent ones from Sesame Street and these kind of look like those), so rather than telling them to "go away", they just go live in their own house (i.e. the box).

Thread: Is your child younger than 3? Here's a variant for you!

macls29 — 2008-02-27T13:46:54+00:00

Disclaimer: I'd say that the pieces are still choking hazards!

My son is approaching 2 years old. Our games go like this:
-he brings out the box
-I open it
-he dumps out the contents
-he finds the blue monster we call "Mr. Boggersnot"
-he sticks him on my nose and we both go "Doh doh doh!" in unison
-he throws the monster, and the four beds into the box
-he requests that I hold "Mr. Stink" up on the other side of the cellophane window, and bounce him around
-he clicks some of the bedroom pieces onto their places, and we both clap for him
-I put some piece in the bag, which he pulls out and throws into the playing area
-we find most of the pieces and put it away

Another variant!
-piece by piece, Robert puts the components into my hands
-he then jumps up and down asking to be picked up
-we run around the house yelling "Yea!" while I hold the pieces up above our heads
-his mother tells us to "calm it down"
-we put the pieces back in the box
-repeat

EXCITING UPDATE!
-he can now take turns drawing pieces, although he clearly dislikes the 4 second "downtime" when Dad is drawing

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TimothyP — 2008-01-10T16:56:36+00:00

The cast of monsters.

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TimothyP — 2008-01-10T16:55:58+00:00

The complete blue bedroom setup.

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TimothyP — 2008-01-10T16:54:51+00:00

The bag and the tiles.

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jeblucas — 2007-12-28T16:54:05+00:00

Sivan hopes to escape her colorful fuzzy DOOM.

Thread: Monsters = Big Fun For Kids, Joy For Parents

pigeoncamera — 2007-11-23T09:37:34+00:00

It seems right that my first review should be for the game that's quickly become my most played: Gamewright's Go Away Monster!

When I recently got back into gaming, I thought it was important to share my interest with my family, including my young daughter. As I poured over GeekList recommendations for kid-appropriate games, this was one of the titles that kept coming up. And from the moment that I broke open the box, it's been a hit.

Components

Inside, you get 4 bifold gameboards depicting a child's bedroom with items missing. The art is simple and colourful, which each board slightly different from the others. The cardboard is thick and durable.

The game pieces consist of the beds, lamps, teddy bears, and pictures missing from the bedrooms. These also vary slightly in their color and patterns, and don't belong to any specific gameboard.

But the stars of the show are the 8 monster tiles you get. Each is different in shape, size, and colour, drawn in a friendly style (think Seasame Street or Monsters Inc). All the cardboard pieces are thickish and have so far held up to a lot of tosses to the hardwood floor.

And all the pieces go into the supplied cloth drawstring bag.

Gameplay

It's so simple, a child can do it. Literally.

Each player has a bedroom board and takes a turn drawing a tile from the bag. If you pull a missing item, place it in your bedroom. If you get something you already have, give it to another player. And if you pull out a monster, toss it away, shouting "Go away, monster!" Play continues around until the bag is empty. That's all there is to it.

Opinions

There is no strategy to this game, and there's not supposed to be. It's pure fun and luck of the draw. Unless you feel for the shape of the pieces in the bag, as the rules suggest.

Which leads to my only knock on the game. The bed tiles in particular are much larger than all the rest and therefore are usually drawn first, while some of the monster pieces are smaller and appear only at the end. Beacuse the shapes aren't similar enough to keep you guessing what you're about to pull out of the bag, I'll often choose furniture tiles on purpose in order to give the children the thrill of more monsters. So it may not be a flaw after all.

Another improvement would be to have indented spots for the missing items on the bedrooom board. This would keep pieces in place when kids are enthusiastically tossing tiles.

My daughter frequently asks to play "Go Monter!" and she practically vibrates when I pull out the box. And even at under 2-years-old, she plays it properly and even sets it up. My wife and I have had a great experience watching our little one learn to share, take turns, and match shapes all while having fun.

Thread: Two Year Old Delight

bnordeng — 2007-11-19T18:31:22+00:00

A common request for recommendations on this site comes from parents who love games and have young children. They want to get their children interested in games but aren't sure where to start. Go Away Monster is a great place to start! If you have a two or three year old... try this game with them and I think you'll find that they love it.

My two year old requests this game almost everyday and we play it several times each week. She requested it this weekend and so we brought it out for a game with the whole family... mom, dad and the two sisters. The four year old prefers Froggy Boogie or Gulo Gulo, but will happily play Go Away Monster too.

There isn't much "play-by-play" to provide in a session report for Go Away Monster since we play the cooperative game where everyone is just filling up their room with furniture and getting rid of the monsters. For me, the best part of this game is the smile of anticipation that appears when it's my two year old's turn to draw a tile from the bag. And, when someone else reaches into the bag, how she covers her eyes with both hands and says, "I hope it isn't a monster." My four year old plays along too and does quite enjoy yelling "Go Away Monster!" when a monster comes from the bag.

This almost isn't even a "game" because it is so simple. And, although you can play it like a competitive game, I find it works best in the cooperative format (at least for us).

I love games like No Thanks! and Circus Flohcati that are so simple and yet so engaging. Go Away Monster captures that same simplicity and fun for the littlest gamers.

EDIT: Misspelling

Thread: Re: Happy Homecoming

davido — 2007-11-08T01:59:27+00:00

My daughter likes/liked to give the Monsters their 'own room' e.g. once we each have an object, it goes to the Monster's room

GAM is a simple game, but it does encourage the lil' uns to make their own decisions about the direction the game takes. At 3 or so that is more important than 'following rules'.

nice report.

Thread: Happy Homecoming

dbucak — 2007-11-07T03:43:26+00:00

I returned home from an out of state trip in time for some pre-bed games with the family. My wife had taken advantage of my absence to teach the kids Monopoly and my son wanted to return to their game (which stretched over several days.) My daughter did not want to play however (signs of good taste at age four.) So my wife and son retreated to his room to continue Monopoly while I played with my daughter.

Audrey wanted to play Go Away Monster, while I was more partial to HABA's Moo!. Our previous game of Moo had ended with a meltdown and I wanted to try for a successful game of it. We compromised by saying we would play both, as Monopoly wasn't going to finish any time soon. Audrey declared that we would play four games of Go Away Monster, using each of the boards in turn.

When my son was young enough to appreciate Go Away Monster, he liked to beat me, so we played competitively. My daughter instead likes to give me gifts of the various pieces of furniture, which I then reciprocate on my turn. So we play co-operatively. The first two games finished rather quickly with the two of us working together. Meanwhile a stream of updates by my son came from the other room ("Baba, I bought Park Place" "I rolled doubles!" "I have three railroads" "I have a house on Boardwalk and Mommy landed on it" "I'm driving Mommy into the gutter!") and a flood of complaints from my wife ("I landed on Income Tax. Again!")

Our third game of Monster got a little strange. Audrey decided she wanted to give the teddy bears their own bed. Then she decided to staple the monsters to the walls, like mounting a deer head. The beds became bunk beds, piled on top of each other. The fourth game we played on all four boards, arranged to make a house. The pieces were dumped out of the bag and distributed as evenly as possible to the rooms (including stapled monsters.)

Eventually we got to play Moo!. We got 2/3 of the way around the board, but I could see she was getting tired. She kept leaning against me and whining when she didn't have a good turn. She put the big bottle Moo came in in the middle with the milk bottles and announced that whoever knocked it over would lose. Then she threw the die against it as hard as she could, knocking it over. I took this as a vote against Moo, which is too bad since I rather like it. So we read a Sesame Street book and went to bed.

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pigeoncamera — 2007-10-24T20:26:41+00:00

Monsters Spilling Out

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pigeoncamera — 2007-10-24T20:23:46+00:00

A Completed Bedroom

Thread: Re: Little bit scary?

cull — 2007-09-29T14:53:00+00:00

I guess it's possible that just bringing up the idea of monsters before bedtime might plant an idea.

But the monsters in this game are about as un-scary as you can be while still being a monster. The monsters you can see in this image are typical of all the rest:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/240273?size=large

And as mentioned already, the game actually lets kids confront and control the "monsters."

Thread: Re: The First Board Game Session With My Daughter

pigeoncamera — 2007-09-26T20:35:06+00:00

Luckily, fearing monsters under her bed hasn't been a problem with Georgia yet. But if it ever becomes one, perhaps I can use this game as a sort of therapy session.

Thread: Re: The First Board Game Session With My Daughter

blaze1599 — 2007-09-26T16:56:06+00:00

Sure its a fun game and they seem to love it. But does anyone else see the irony in the fact that some of us spent the first two or three years convincing are little ones that there are no such things as monsters under their beds or in their closets?

Still a good game for the little ones.

Thread: Re: The First Board Game Session With My Daughter

Barry Kendall — 2007-09-26T13:35:30+00:00

Georgia rocks! You guys did a great job with her intro to gaming. Sounds like you have years of good times coming. Congratulations!

Thread: Re: The First Board Game Session With My Daughter

bnordeng — 2007-09-26T13:26:20+00:00

I just picked this game up about a week ago and I couldn't agree more with your report. I have Gulo Gulo which I play with my 2 and 4 year old daughters and they love it. But, the 2 year old simply adores Go Away Monster! It is so simple and yet she is so excited no matter what comes out of the bag. My 4 year old gets into the game too. She likes it, but I think she is playing along to some degree because the 2 year old likes it so much.

Every day for the last week, my 2 year old has asked to play this game. And, after each game, my 4 year old (and sometimes the 2 year old) asks if we can play Gulo Gulo.

You just gotta love that they are enjoying games already at such a young age... and asking to play more! At least, I love it.

Thread: The First Board Game Session With My Daughter

pigeoncamera — 2007-09-26T09:36:20+00:00

I thought it would be fitting that my first session report was also about the first time I played a board game with my daughter, since spending time with my family is one of the primary reasons I got into gaming.

At only 21 months old, Georgia's playtime with me consisted mostly of fort building, block stacking, and colouring. Like most proud fathers, I considered my girl to be as smart as a whip, and always gave her the benefit of the doubt when trying new things that may be considered advanced for her age. So after I joined BBG and found many new games I was interested in, I expanded my research to children's titles in order to find something we could all play together. "Go Away Monster!" seemed to come up again and again as a suggestion for a quick, simple game that was fun and appropriate for her age range.

Off came the shrink wrap as my wife spread out a blanket for the three of us to play on the floor. After struggling with the tabs on the box (which I accidentally broke), we dealt out the game boards (with my daughter getting two) and punched out the pieces. With Georgia's help we were soon ready to start.

We let her go first, of course, and she pulled a bed out of the bag. "Bed!" she shouted, and understood right away that she had to match it to the blank shape on one of her bedroom boards. She wanted to take another piece, but we explained that it was Mommy's turn. Rocking back and forth in anticipation, she watched my wife pull out a picture tile. "Oval!" she blurted, referring to the piece's shape.

We continued taking turns until my wife pulled out the first monster, a green and long-snouted fellow. "Croc!" my daughter exclaimed. "Monster!" my wife replied and then "go away, monster!" as she tossed the tile onto the hardwood floor. Georgia stood up and clapped with joy, "go monter!"

The next few rounds produced only furniture pieces for our rooms, most of which my daughter gladly helped us place in the proper spots. Then she drew her first monster, red with a big nose. "What's that?" my wife asked. "Monter," Georgia answered, not sure what to do. "Go away, monster!" the two parents shouted and watched as the little one took her cue and tossed the offending tile out to join it's brother. There was clapping and cheers all around.

The game continued as a couple more creatures were exiled and the bedrooms were filled. At the end, we were left with only a few monsters in the bag. This created a great climax to the session as it was a rapid fire of hand in bag, "go away monster", toss, hand back in bag. We let Georgia have the last throws, and she was a little disappointed when the sack was empty. When asked if she could help clean up, she gladly rescued the monster tiles from the floor. "Monters away," she sang as she returned them to the bag.

I don't know who won, but that wasn't the point. Georgia had practised some basic gaming (and life) skills: problem solving, taking turns, and following instructions. And had a blast doing it. As she went off to play with one of her toys, my wife just sat there, grinning. "What?" I asked. She said, "I can't believe we just played a whole board game with our 21-month-old. That was awesome."

I couldn't agree more.

Thread: Re: Little Miss P.B. (21 mo) gets her first game

Nick Warcholak — 2007-09-19T01:15:52+00:00

Cute story. Thanks.

Thread: Little Miss P.B. (21 mo) gets her first game

Gern_Blanzden — 2007-09-18T21:28:45+00:00

Sure, Little Miss P.B. (21 months old) had wreaked havoc across ASL mapboards and thrown Nexus Ops dice with wild abandon, but she had never had a game she could call her own, never a game to play rather than disrupt.

On Saturday morning Little Miss P.B. found a bag with a new game in it. There was a time not so long ago that a bag was gift enough alone, but this bag had a game in it - a game for P! P. has a game like Daddy!

She had fun just looking at the game box and seemed intrigued by the picture on the cover. She's not really aware of monsters yet, but has been interested lately in Halloween stories (and stories of maulings at the zoo, but that's a bit off-topic). We said a few things about monsters (monstros) and how the little boy was sending them away. Soon she was eagerly asking us to open the box.

Mr. and Mrs. B. plus Little Miss P.B. sat down in a circle and laid the room boards out near each player. P. didn't seem very interested in the boards quite yet, but when Daddy reached into the bag and pulled out a tiny cardboard bed, she was excited about what else might be in the bag and immediately began exclaiming, "P's turn! P's turn!"

It was, indeed, P's turn and we passed the bag to her. She had a little trouble getting anything out (the bag is a little long and narrow for her alone), but she got a lamp and we explained to her where to put it.

It was then Mommy's turn and Mommy got a monster. Both Mommy and Daddy exclaimed, "Ooo - Un Monstro!" and Little Miss P was fascinated. Mommy threw the monster into the box stating firmly, "Ve te monstro!" and all was well.

Play continued round and round and P. really got into the whole thing. She became the thrower of monsters for all of us and enjoyed that as well as telling what she had pulled from the bag and putting it onto its appropriate place on the room boards. You could watch her excitement and impatience building during our turns and she was always excited about getting her chance to reach into the bag. We continued to play until the bag was empty. P. was immediately asking for another turn, so we started all over again.

We've played at least once a day since then. The little one really likes this game and understands the play perfectly well. The only trouble she has is pulling a single piece from the bag. The bag seems tough for her to handle on her own, so I folded down the top and hold it for her when it's her turn.

Thread: Re: Little bit scary?

remus — 2007-08-26T11:47:04+00:00

I had the same concerns playing this with my 3 year old. It never did seem to bother him at night, though. I think that because he gets to say (loudly) "GO AWAY MONSTER!" follwed by the action of throwing the monster away, actually empowers the child over potential fears.

Occasionally my son would express a fear of ghosts at bedtime. When he did this, I would ask him if I could cast a "protection spell" on his favorite blankie. He would hand over his blanket and I would then proceed to dance around and chant something like "Make this blankie a magic blankie and keep all ghosts away!" Followed up with an extra silly dance and some nonesense chanting like "ooga booga boo" which would result in a giggle or two from my son. At this point, I kiss him goodnight and he sleeps soundly.

If you don't mind being a dancing fool for a few seconds, give it a try and substitute "lions" for "ghosts".

Thread: Little bit scary?

Calistas — 2007-08-26T11:30:14+00:00

Played with my niece today. She's three, me and my gf played TEN games with her.

She seemed to take it well within her stride, but tonight when she was put to bed she was really not keen, she's a bit scared of "lions" (her term for anything in her nightmares and whatnot I am guessing).

Like all kids she does get nightmares now and then, but they seem to have been bothering her a bit more than normal recently, (hence I thought she'd like this game), but tonight was the first time she was a bit scared before she'd gone to sleep.

I kinda worry that bringing up monsters during the day sort-of put them in her mind for the night. Anyone have any thoughts? Don't want to scare the poor tyke!

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Calistas — 2007-08-26T11:24:34+00:00

Learn to share and take turns!

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Calistas — 2007-08-26T11:23:42+00:00

With three players, two board for Heidi is a good idea!

Thread: Re: First Game with my 3.5 year old daughter.

citizen k — 2007-08-19T21:07:47+00:00

Watti wrote:

Many horrifying minutes later I returned nursing emotional scars that will never truly heal.

One of the funniest comments I have read in a review in sometime, and one with which I can identify

Has the game grown on your daughter?

Thread: Re: Ahhh- throw him in the box!

wmshub — 2007-08-05T23:29:14+00:00

Hellfish wrote:
t's strictly a kid's game and skews more towards the younger end of its 3 and up age range
...
It's too simple to hold a child's attention for very long in any one sitting, and the game doesn't last long enough. Also, I've been playing it with my daughter for over a year, but I can't believe that when she's 5, she'll be too interested anymore.Nice review!

I think that the age range on this game is way off. We played it with my younger daughter when she was 18 months, and she did OK; by 21 months, she could play the game completely. Now, at 2+1/2, she's outgrown it and/or gotten tired of it. So I agree with you, the "3 and up" is misleading; really, as soon as the toddler can sit still long enough, they can learn to play just by imitating the parents. My daughter thought it was loads of fun at the time!

Thread: Re: Ahhh- throw him in the box!

adamknight — 2007-08-05T23:29:00+00:00

Nice review - that's exactly how I feel about this game. I play with my son, who's a bit younger (20 months) so I don't worry about the game much. We just take turns pulling things out of the bag, and seeing if we can add it to his bedroom. He loves it, and often requests that we play this. When he actually worked out what a monster was he refused to stick his hand in the bag for a few games, and jumped when a monster was brought out, but he's getting over it now

Thread: Ahhh- throw him in the box!

Hellfish — 2007-08-05T20:53:29+00:00

With Go Away Monster!, Monty and Anne Stambler have created a game that taps into several basic aspects of play that kids consider fun, and they wrap it up in a package that appeals to parents of any gaming background. It's strictly a kid's game and skews more towards the younger end of its 3 and up age range, which is a good thing- so few games successfully manage to do that and still hold the parent's interest.

Rating: 8/10

How to play:

Each player receives a playmat that represents their bedroom. The object of the game is to reach into a bag and randomly pull tiles until you fill your room with a bed, a lamp, a picture, and a teddy bear. But watch out! The bag is also filled with goofy looking monsters! When a player accidentally grabs a monster, he is supposed to say "Go Away Monster!" and toss the fiend back in the box. That's really all there is to it.

What works:

First off, the artwork is great. It's bright and cheerful, and young kids love the funny looking monsters (they remind me of the single cell disease organisms you'd see in an old health class filmstrip).

The simple requirements of the gameplay are good to. There's not too many rules to keep track of, and I didn't have to keep telling my daughter the do's and dont's of the game. Three year olds aren't concerned with rules, and you don't want to have to worry about it either.

One major part of the fun factor is reaching into that grab bag and pulling out a surprise. And they get to do it every turn! Kids get a big kick out of never knowning what they are going to pull out of that bag. As an adult, it's easy to skew the results a bit by not pulling out a piece of furniture every time (the shapes are kinda distinct).

Sending the monsters to monster jail is great. When the kids see a monster they scream, "Ahhhh, throw him in the box!" and laugh and laugh. I know- what's so funny right? Well, if the kids are laughing, you're laughing. It's downright contagious.

Finally, there's no real requirement to compete. My daughter and I tend to work together in filling up each other's room. Being that this is often a kid's first game, I find that it's nice to ease them into the concept of winning and losing.

What doen't work:

It's too simple to hold a child's attention for very long in any one sitting, and the game doesn't last long enough. Also, I've been playing it with my daughter for over a year, but I can't believe that when she's 5, she'll be too interested anymore.

Bottom line:

This is one of the best games for kids in the 3-4 year old age range that I've played. If you're looking for something that's an alternative to all the Disney/Dora/Bratz/Elmo branded material out there, and the thought of breaking out the classic tyke games doesn't excite you too much (because generally, they aren't that good), Go Away Monster! is the game for you. Even better, I'm pretty sure it's a designer Eurogame hiding in a swaddling blanket. It's never too soon to put the kids on the right path!

Thread: Re: First Game with my 3.5 year old daughter.

wmshub — 2007-06-04T16:41:27+00:00

Get your son on this game soon! My youngest daughter was playing this at 18 months. She is now (26 months) playing Monkey Madness, Cranium Cariboo, and a simplified version of Gulo Gulo. This is almost a year before my older daughter was playing games that complicated. Starting early helps a lot!

Thread: First Game with my 3.5 year old daughter.

Watti — 2007-06-04T13:42:52+00:00

So I ordered this game from Funagain games around Christmas time and it was back ordered. I cancelled my order and waited for the dust to clear. Almost six months later I remembered to re-order it and it arrived in two weeks.

This weekend it rained all day Sunday and in order to keep my 3 1/2 year old daughter from killing my 1 year old son with rough play, I broke out Go Away Monsters. I tried to hype the game with a description of how fun it would be to put the monsters in monster jail and I sat down with my daughter and my wife while my son mouthed everything in the living room.

I explained the rules, which takes very little time as they are so simple, and then I went first to give example to my daughter. I pulled a monster - like I had hoped - and very actively chucked it in the jail shouting "Go Away Monster". My daughter was visibly excited and nervous when it was Mommy's turn. Mommy pulled a bed and showed how to set up a bedroom.

When it was my daughter's turn she was so nervous she did not want to take a turn because she could get a monster. In fact she claimed to not want to play anymore because she didn’t want a monster. We gently plied her until she reached in - peeking I might add - and pulled a bed like Mommy. She was relived.

At that point there was a huge raspberry sound behind us and an unholy reek. It was my turn to change the son's diaper. [Session reports should be detailed and accurate right? ]

Many horrifying minutes later I returned nursing emotional scars that will never truly heal.

They waited for me and I took my turn and got a lamp. Then we proceeded through our turns with my daughter becoming more distraught at the thought of pulling a monster. Finally we decided that they were all friendly monsters because most of them were smiling and that we wanted them to live in our bedrooms with us.

So with a slight modification in the rule we continued making the monsters our pets and placing them about the bedrooms, mostly jumping on the beds and playing with the teddy bears.

Mommy was the first to finish her bedroom and we rewarded her with a round of applause. I then had to prevent my daughter from taking all the monsters on a walking tour of the house in which they surely would have been lost forever (I still can not find some hobbits from my LoTRs game).

When asked, my daughter stated that she DID NOT want to play again. But I suspect this was largely because she needed to continue pouncing on her brother while he attempted to learn to walk.

I had fun, she looked like she had fun and I successfully killed about 45 minutes of down time before the horsing around continued - all without having to watch "Lion King" for the 10,000th time.

Thread: Playing with my sons

cagriggs — 2007-02-02T03:05:42+00:00

This if the first game I purchased specifically for my two-year-old and I must say, it's been quite a success. The gameplay is as simple as can be. Each player has a personal gameboard in front of himself. The gameboard depicts a child's room but it is missing four pieces: a bed, a lamp, a teddybear, and a picture. The pieces that will fill these voids are placed in a bag for players to pick from. In addition, eight monsters of various shapes and sizes are also placed in the bag.

On a player's turn, he draws from the bag, trying to find a needed piece for his bedroom (the rules actually state that players should try to feel the shape of the piece to help identify it). If he finds a piece he needs, he places it in the corresponding position on his gameboard. If he already has that piece, he can give it to another player or put it back in the bag. But if he should draw a monster, he is supposed to shout, "Go away monster!" and throw the monster away (we just throw it to the middle of the table, or at least that's what my sons are supposed to do). The object of the game is, of course, to fill up your board, or everyone's board, as quickly as possible, especially before you draw all the monsters.

The game has been a big his with my boys. My five-year-old enjoys it but is has been especially successful with my two-year-old. This is really the first game that my younger son can play by himself, which has been great. In addition, my sons will play it together, without having mom and day assist them, which is another plus. The theme is also great for kids of this age, really making the game even more attractive to my kids. My sons tend to throw the mosters a bit too far at times.

As a family, we always play cooperatively, which means it's us against the monsters. We are trying to fill up all the gameboards with the necessary pieces before we draw all of the monsters. I really like this cooperative element of the game. It's nice to have a game where everyone wins or everyone loses together. As I said, this game has been a big hit in my home and I would certainly recommend it for families with young children that the parents are trying to mold into gamers (or even just families who want to have fun playing games with their kids).

Thread: Re: First Play with 15-month old

jupawsly — 2006-12-02T02:32:37+00:00

She didn't really get the throwing the monsters out part. Maybe next time.

She loved pulling the pieces out of the bag though. That was right up her alley.

Thread: Re: First Play with 15-month old

CrankyPants — 2006-11-30T15:13:37+00:00

I was thinking about this game last week. I have a 14 month old who loves wood puzzles -- he can put the pieces in with a little help. I wondered if he would enjoy having this.

How did your daughter do with throwing the monsters out?

Did she get it?

Thread: First Play with 15-month old

HappyProle — 2006-11-30T03:28:18+00:00

I bought Go Away Monster! several months ago to play with my now-15 month old daughter, Lucy, once she got to be 2 or 3. But she has seemed so fascinated with it lately that I decided to open it up and give it a shot. She was instantly fascinated by the bag of tiles. We sat down on the floor and I took one board and my wife, Julie, and Lucy took another. Lucy would reach into the bag and pull out a tile, and with a little help she would place it on the game board. All told it took about 5 minutes to play -- which was just about right. We all had a great time and I was very happy to have played my first boardgame with my little girl.

She won, by the way.

Thread: Re: Help Your Kids Deal With Their Fears

XaaK — 2006-10-09T18:52:46+00:00

Great review. I have been meaning to write about this game as well. My two year old and I have a great time playing. I would highly recommend this to anyone with kids as a good first game.

Thread: Re: Help Your Kids Deal With Their Fears

dbucak — 2006-10-09T13:41:05+00:00

I think it would work either way, but my kids like to beat me.

Thread: Re: Help Your Kids Deal With Their Fears

wmshub — 2006-10-09T06:41:39+00:00

Nice review, but don't the rules recommend playing it cooperatively?

That's what we do. If you pull something you have, you give it away to somebody who needs it, and we just play until we furnish all the rooms, then congratulate each other on our bravery.

Thread: Help Your Kids Deal With Their Fears

dbucak — 2006-10-09T02:13:17+00:00

Go Away Monster is a fun game for 2-4 year olds. The objective is to furnish your bedroom by pulling the pieces you need from a bag while avoiding the monsters.

The components of Go Away Monster consist of four boards that show bedrooms with outlines of the missing furnishings (a teddy bear, bed, framed picture and a lamp), 16 cardboard pieces representing the missing objects, 8 cardboard monster pieces, a cloth bag and the rules. They are moderately attractive and seem sturdy enough to stand up to repeated use. The monsters are icky but cute at the same time. The cardboard pieces are not as nice as the wooden pieces that come in HABA's similar game Ear Tug, but I feel the theme is superior and makes Go Away Monster a better game.

Each turn the player pulls a piece out of the bag, trying to identify it by touch. If it is a piece they need, they put it on their board. If they already have a lamp, teddy or whatever it is, they give it to a player who needs that piece. If it is a monster, they yell "Go away monster!" and throw the monster in the center of the table. The first person to complete their room wins.

There are several things which I like about this game. First off it isn't random; you win by being the best at feeling the pieces. It teaches turn taking, following the rules (no looking inside the bag!), and sharing when you have to give another player your duplicate piece (which is also a good catch-up mechanism.) And drawing the monsters is actually fun, since you get to yell and throw things, so the kids don't mind pulling a monster. My son is afraid of the dark and I think it was good for him to be able to beat the monsters by yelling at them.

My son is almost six and isn't that interested in the game. However my three year old daughter enjoys it. It plays quickly enough that she doesn't get bored with it and it's simple enough for her to completely understand what is going on. I would guess that 4 is the upper limit for interest in the game and 2 the lower limit. Whithin that age range I think it is an excellent choice.

Thread: Re: Can an 18 month old play?

FrozenHoHos — 2006-09-14T11:54:13+00:00

My older son was two when we started playing. He picked up on matching the shapes quickly, but it took a few sessions before he understood giving pieces to someone else if he didn't need them. My younger son is only 15 mos. and not quite ready for this yet.

The older boy also liked to throw monster tiles with enthusiasm. Before he could say "Go away monster" he'd just say "No" to them.

Thread: Re: Can an 18 month old play?

swaits — 2006-09-12T21:35:41+00:00

Impressive. We've been playing it for awhile with our two+ y/o grandson. It's good at teaching turn-taking, and cooperation, for sure.

We gave the game to him to take home with him, and when they play it as a family, his father insists that someone is declared the winner. Oh well.

Thread: Can an 18 month old play?

wmshub — 2006-09-12T19:28:47+00:00

I got Go Away Monster in my last big order in June, but I hadn't brought it out yet, figuring that we should wait until Lucy could talk at least. How can you play Go Away Monster without yet being able to say the title? But my wife was feeling bad that Lucy was never included when I played games with Ella (who is now 4), so insisted that we give it a try. With that, the four of us sat down to play; Lucy and Sue (my wife) would be partners.

First I showed Lucy the box, said "Lucy's game," and she smiled, pointed at the box, and said "Baby!" She got that it was her game, that's her way of claiming things. Good!

We spread out the boards. I explained how to play. Ella got it, but was thrown a bit when I explained that nobody wins, we keep playing until all boards are full. Lucy sat in Sue's lap and looked at the board.

I explained that I would go first to show how it's done. I reached in...a bed! I put it down on my board and clapped. Lucy clapped along.

Next it was Lucy's turn. I held out the bag, and she copied me, reaching in...and pulled out a bed! Sue pointed to where the bed went on Lucy's board, and she did a great job of putting the bed down pretty close to that spot. We clapped, Lucy clapped too, and smiled! She was having a good time.

Ella took her turn and played well. Then my turn, then Lucy's. At some point Lucy drew a monster, so we made throwing motions and shouted "Go Away, Monster!" Lucy really liked that part, she threw the tile as far as she could, smiled, and clapped for herself. In fact, she liked it too much, because for the rest of the game, she was throwing every bed, lamp, picture, and teddy bear that she drew. She would clap after each toss.

In the end we played two rounds. Lucy understood that she was participating in a family activity, she knew her roles to play pretty well, and had a great time. Did she understand that she was trying to fill up the board? Not sure. But in the end, I think my wife was right, she was ready for this game.

Thread: Fun with your toddler

woodjh — 2006-04-08T17:42:58+00:00

I've been on a mission as of late to find games to play with my 2.5 year old. There doesn't seem to be very many (good ones) catered to that age. I started a geeklist for some ideas, and this game seemed to pop out at me. A thoughthammer order and a few days later...it had arrived.

The premise of the game is simple. Each person has a bedroom board. On each turn, you pass a bag around the table with bedroom furniture pieces and monster pieces inside. Each person draws one piece. If it's bedroom furniture, you place it in your room (duplicate pieces are shared with other players who don't yet have that piece). If it's a monster, you throw it in "monster jail" in the center of the table. The point of the game is to collect all the monsters in monster jail, and then to dispose of them in whatever creative way you decide...unless of course your toddler is anything like mine. He thinks it's fun to collect the monsters and, at the end of the game, use them to destroy the bedrooms. Either way, he has a blast.

He constantly asks to play "The Monster Game", so it appears it's a big hit. My wife and I have a blast watching how excited he gets when he pulls out a monster. It teaches how to take turns, sharing, and the fact that monsters don't have to be scary. I would recommend this game to anyone with a 2-3 year old.

Thread: The Princess teaches her subjects

davido — 2006-01-16T20:25:20+00:00

Background: After one too many games of "Candyland: Dora the Explorer edition" Daddy decided 1) he has no shame and would submit this game to BGG as a new game and 2) Daddy *really* needed to play some different games with Daughter the 3 year old Princess. So after the requisite search through the myriad 'games I played with my 3 year old kids without going completely insane', Daddy placed an order through http://www.funagaingames.com/control/main since they were the only ones still shipping in time for Xmas.

Fast forward and fade/zoom into shot of happy Daddy, Princess, and even sometimes Mommy (a devout non-gamer, Daddy has his work cut out for him) playing Hiss, Crafty Badger, and Go Away Monster.

Fast forward some more to a reception hosted by the wife. All ladies, so Daddy is relegated to kitchen duty and Princess to co-host. Daddy was busy heating up casseroles and setting places when he heard the unmistakble commanding voice of The Princess, "Let's play the Monster Game". Guests or no, the Princess' new subjects had no choice but to comply.

Princess immediately took charge, opening the box and removing the white cloth Monster Bag and the 4 gameboards, passing out the latter. "This is *my* bedroom, Princess firmly declared, claiming the coveted Yellow bordered bedroom gameboard. "This is yours, yours, and yours", she continued, passing out the remaining three bedrooms/boards (Blue, Purple, Orange bordered, respectively).

Princess then preempted any doubt of turn order with a firm "I go first" and reached into the Monster Bag. The four beds are each 3/4 of the length of the Monster Bag, so unsurprisingly, Princess pulled out one fo the beds. "Your turn", proclaimed the Princess to a befuddled womanwho was only just beginning to realize that she was playing a game that was *not* Candyland, Chutes and Ladders or other game that normal little boys and girls play. "Take from the Monster Bag", prompted Princess. The woman hesitantly complied, drawing an oval piece with 4 cats on it. "Family Picture", exclaimed the Princess with glee, "You got your family picture" and showed the thoroughly confused woman where to place the oval on the bedroom template. So it continued, with each woman taking a piece. On the second go around, the third woman realized that she had drawn her second Teddy Bear. Hesitantly looking at the Princess, the woman awaited further instructions at this new turn of events. Princess was up to the task. "Who needs a Teddy Bear?" she asked. Eavesdropping from the kitchen doorway, Daddy half-way expected The Princess to lead a Knizia-style auction for the coveted item. But no, The Princess merely pointed out that woman number two (and four, but no matter) needed a Teddy and guided Woman number two's hand over to place the Teddy on the requisite empty space.

On Princess' third turn-Jackpot! She pulled a red figure with a bulbous orange nose. "Go AWAAAAAAY Monster" she shrieked, followed by a throaty (as throaty as a three year old girl can manage) Grrrrrr, followed by a little girl shriek of terror. Fay Wray, Jessica Lange, or Naomi Watts playing *both* King Kong *and* Ann Darrow could not have done better. By now, the other three woman were thoroughly confused. "Go AWAAAAAY Monster!, Grrrr, Shriek", repeated the Princess, indicating that the others were to imitate her. Hesitantly at first, then with enthusiasm, the women joined in. Eventually woman number two completed her board (Bed, Teddy Bear, Family Picture, Lamp). "You're a winner", declared The Princess, giving the startled victor a hearty high five. Play continued until all boards were complete and all monsters banished. "I'm a Winner, too", "You're a Winner, too", "We all win" declared the Princess as each board was completed.

Daddy, of course, was both amazed and proud of his little Princess, as she had in fact, taught a group of grown women how to play game they had never seen, let alone played before. Princess, however, was not content to rest on her laurels. "Let's play Badger Game", as she proferred "Crafty Badger" to the group. But that, my fellow Geeks, is a session report for another time.

Thread: Early on Saturday morning

Kanga — 2005-10-28T22:57:25+00:00

I was sound asleep at 6am this morning when my 2 ½ year old daughter Claire came into the bedroom. Morning duties are my responsibility so I quickly got up and left my wife sleeping while I entertained Claire. Claire announced that she wanted to play her game, which is “Go Away Monster”. We bought this via the internet a couple of weeks ago following recommendations from other people, and have played it a few times so I was happy to dig it out again.

Claire wanted all 4 boards to be in play, so I got her to choose two of her toys to be the players of the other boards. She chose a small plastic horse and a mutated Mr Potato Head which looked something like a cross between a pig and darth vader.

In games with Claire, she decides who draws the pieces, usually always her, though sometimes she lets me have a go. The first couple of draws were beds, followed by a light and a teddybear. Then, Claire drew out her first monster, the red hairy monster. Her response to this is true Claire behaviour:

“Look Daddy, it’s the friendly monster. I need to give him a hug, not throw him away!”

After a few hugs and kisses it was decided that this monster would be placed on the red bed so he could have a sleep.

Shortly after, she drew the crocodile monster. A similar response followed. Various bits of furniture filled up the rooms, although Claire often wanted to cuddle the teddy bears or stack them together. Somewhat to my surprise, the 4th monster she drew was declared to be a scary monster and thrown halfway across the room. The next monster received the same fate, but I have no idea why some monsters were scary and some were friendly.

By the end of the game Claire had successfully filled all the rooms, along with several monsters sleeping on beds. She was happy, and so was my wife, who got to sleep for another hour….

Thread: A Good Game for Toddlers and Parents

Jvsquare — 2005-08-12T17:49:18+00:00

So, your kid has just turned 2, and you're ready to turn him or her to the dark side -- boardgaming. Or maybe your designs are less insidious, and you're just looking for something fun to play with your 2- to 3-year-old. My unhesitating recommendation is Go Away Monster. It teaches the basic concept of taking turns, has some puzzle-building elements, is low on competition, and has cute art. And kids like it, too!

Concept

Your goal in Go Away Monster is to draw random items from a bag and place them in matching spaces on a picture of a bedroom. If you get a monster instead, you yell "Go Away, Monster!" and throw it away. Once all the spaces in your bedroom are filled, you can either be declared the winner -- or, in the more friendly version, help other players fill theirs, until all the bedrooms are complete.

Yes, this game is not going to win any awards for it's strategic complexity -- it's completely random. But it's a short game, so it doesn't drag on like Candy Land, and it is fun to throw the monsters.

Components

The game comes with four foldable cardboard boards representing four bedrooms, a handful of cardboard pieces representing bedroom items and monsters and a cloth bag for drawing the pieces out of. The pieces are made of thick durable cardboard and have brightly colored cartoon images on them, so they should last awhile and give your kid(s) long enjoyment.

The only minus that I see is that the box isn't really set up to hold the bag with the pieces inside unless you shuffle them around the right way. So it's probably easier to store the game loose, as just the four bedroom boards and the bag full of pieces (you won't need the rules). However, if you do manage to get it into the box, the current edition has a little suitcase handle on it, so your kid can have fun carrying it around.

Other Thoughts

Obviously this game is not for adults. It's for adults to play with toddlers, and I recommend it as such. It's short enough so that neither child nor parent gets too bored with it. And if you want to spend more time with it, you can play again.

One other nice thing about this game is that the base concept is so simple it allows kids to modify the rules and play the game their own way. For example, my daughter actually likes monsters. So she throws them away, and then gathers them up and puts them in one of the bedrooms as if they were pictures hanging on the wall. If there's only two of us, we also play that each person fills up two bedrooms rather than just one. If there are three of us, my daughter gets two bedrooms for herself.

So in summary, if you've got a toddler/preschooler you want to play games with, or a toddler/preschooler you want to give a gift to, I highly recommend Go Away Monster.

Thread: User Review

jmilum — 2005-04-18T17:48:57+00:00

My two year old son loves monsters so I thought this game would be a slam dunk. The mechanics consist of pulling tiles out of a bag and building your bedroom up by placing the appropriate piece on your playing board. The game includes 4 different playing boards (they vary by color). The tiles show such items as a bed, lamp, bear, picture, etc. There are also
Monster tiles that you sre supposed to throw back in the box while shouting "GO AWAY Monster!!!". My son likes to play with all four boards so we use all the tiles. It's a pretty simple game but can be fun for young kids. My son does not like that the playing boards do not have recessed spaces to put the tiles in, you just lay the pieces on the flat board. He would like it to be more like a puzzle.

Thread: Re:User Review

Gutrender — 2004-05-02T14:24:26+00:00

silverpenny (#9748),
I absolutely agree. My daughter is going through the phase where she is afraid of monsters. This game is both a tremendous amount of fun for her and seems to help her get over her fright.

Thread: User Review

silverpenny — 2003-06-20T13:37:11+00:00

A very cute little game, that I bought for my 3 year old daughter on her birthday. She loves watching us play "big people" games and always wants to join in, so this is a great item for her.

The game is very simple and she caught onto the rules right away, even taking turns properly. You start with a small board representing your room, with empty spaces for your bed, your lamp, your "kitty picture" hanging on the wall and your teddy bear. On your turn, you reach into a canvas bag and pull out one of 23 pieces, either parts of the bedroom or "monsters," silly cartoon looking characters. If you get an item for your room, you place it on the correct spot. If you get a monster, you shout "Go Away Monster!" and heave it into the "monster pit" (the game box) to get rid of it. First player to fill their room wins, but then you get to help everyone else fill their room too.

My daughter loves getting monsters and shouting "Go Away Monster!" almost as much as getting pieces for her bedroom.

Not alot of strategy or tactics, of course, but the game is meant for 3 year olds. It gnerally only lasts about 5 minutes or so. Of course, a 3 year old can play it over and over and it gets a little thin for adults after a couple of times. Emma has learned, however, to play it by herself, which is nice.

Well worth 12 bucks for the budding gamers in your family!