Dexterity dungeon-crawler series Catacombs dives into a new entry, Monster Pit
Critter-flicker.
Brave the depths of the underworld to defeat a horde of invading creatures in Catacombs: Monster Pit, the next standalone instalment in the dexterity game series.
Catacombs: Monster Pit is a game for two to four players that sees a team of people working together to either defeat another player - the Overseer - or the game board itself. There are two different adventures included in the box, one based below the ground and another taking place above, that players can play separately or together as a single campaign.
Deep beneath the surface lies the Khezenil Crater, otherwise known as the Monster Pit, where teeming masses of deadly abominations lie in wait until they can launch an attack on the world above. Situated directly on top of the crater is the Citadel of Arezibet, home to a society of people who are under threat from the Catacomb Lords in command of the monsters below. As defenders of the citadel, the players must defeat all the enemies that appear on the surface - or take control of the monsters, if they’re the Overseer - before eventually facing the forces of evil below ground in a final stand.
In Monster Pit, players can choose to tackle an overground or underground scenario, with the overground mode enabling players to work entirely cooperatively, whilst the underground requires one player to be the Overseer. As in the previous entries in the Catacombs series, players in Monster Pit take turns to flick their character disc at their chosen enemy piece in the hopes that they’ll hit it and perform an attack. Aside from standard weapon attacks, players can cast spells and shoot missiles that inflict additional effects on their targets.
The fantasy board game enables players to choose from a selection of different heroes with their own unique abilities, including the Querling, Hunter, Ice Princess, Battle Robot, Rakshasa, Royal Defender, Raven Empress and Amazon. Whichever player becomes the overseer is able to pick from five Catacomb Lords - the Enchantress, Dragon, Orc, Warchief or Behemoth - alongside a collection of outlaws that will defend the Catacomb Lord in the Underworld.
Monster Pit’s two different boards are inspired by the original Catacombs in that the Overground is more akin to the dungeon exploration part of the game, whereas the Underground board is more like the final confrontation segment. Players can also tackle Monster Pit as a solo game, and the standalone game can be combined with Catacombs’ third edition as an expansion.
Catacombs: Monster Pit was designed by Aron West, who worked with publisher Elzra on the original Catacombs and several of the series’ spin-offs and expansions, such as Catacombs & Castles - that has two teams of players competing against each other in a simplified version of the first game - and Catacombs: Cavern of Soloth, a dexterity game about a band of heroes fighting against an ancient vampire and a group of acolytes.
The Kickstarter campaign for Catacombs: Monster Pit is live until December 5th, with a pledge of CA$120 (£70) getting backers a copy of the game set to arrive in September 2021.