Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
In Monster Lab you play as a Mad Scientist trying to defeat your fellow Scientists by collecting Spare Parts to Build Terrifying (Or Terrible) Monsters, equip them with Items like the Pig 'O Nine Tails and send them off to fight your Opponents Monsters in order to collect enough Specimens to win the game. Monster Lab is a funny card game based around the horror trope that plays quickly, with mad cap back and forth action as players build ridiculous (or incredible) sounding Monsters by combining parts as they try to win, Send their Monsters out to fight where the better a Monster is built, the more dice they can roll in the fight, or play Actions to mess up their rivals and steal their points such as Traps, Sabotage and Grave Robbing cards, while trying to avoid Monster Hunters that appear randomly in the deck trying to destroy their Lab.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Set Collection
Gather related items that become more valuable when scored together.
Player Elimination
Players can be removed from contention before the game ends.
Read the full game description
In Monster Lab you play as a Mad Scientist trying to defeat your fellow Scientists by collecting Spare Parts to Build Terrifying (Or Terrible) Monsters, equip them with Items like the Pig 'O Nine Tails and send them off to fight your Opponents Monsters in order to collect enough Specimens to win the game. Monster Lab is a funny card game based around the horror trope that plays quickly, with mad cap back and forth action as players build ridiculous (or incredible) sounding Monsters by combining parts as they try to win, Send their Monsters out to fight where the better a Monster is built, the more dice they can roll in the fight, or play Actions to mess up their rivals and steal their points such as Traps, Sabotage and Grave Robbing cards, while trying to avoid Monster Hunters that appear randomly in the deck trying to destroy their Lab. It plays like a mix of Munchkin, Exploding Kittens and Epic Spell Wars, whilst creating a mechanic and play style all its own.