Up in the Bonnie lands of Scotland, plenty of Lochs can be found and numerous legendary creatures are rumoured to reside in them. With the creatures stirring at nightfall, you'll need to protect your clans from the monsters that seek to infiltrate the lands surrounding Loch Lomond and prove that you're the strongest clan leader in these lands.
When I came across this game, I was instantly intrigued as to what it was all about, having visited Loch Lomond a couple of times, I've developed something of a love for the area.
First Impressions
I was immediately impressed by the compostable packaging that the game is wrapped in and the box is a nice travel size to take around with you. The artwork is very typical of the stunning landscapes surrounding Loch Lomond with the fun addition of a Loch Monster. Upon opening the box, I was pleased to see that the eco-friendly packaging didn't stop on the outside; the cards inside the box were held in two decks by a paper band around each. The beautiful artwork continues onto the cards which have a nice thickness and finish to them. The rules are kept simple and to 1 folded sheet, with 1 side explaining how to play and the other detailing the specific cards and tokens. I was also pleased to see the addition of a score book with plenty of sheets to score all your games.
Game Play Overview
Monsters of Loch Lomond is played over 4 rounds. Each round, you'll deal 4 cards face down to each players which when laid out form your clan. The remaining cards form a central deck called the Closed Highland pile. Each player can look at the bottom two cards in their clan and must then try to remember what they have. Once all players have looked at their cards, the top card of the deck is flipped over to start the Open Highland pile. Players then take it in turns to carry out 1 of 3 possible actions... Draw a card from the Open Highland Pile and swap it with one of your clan cards, Draw a card from the Closed Highland Pile and replace a card in your clan, placing the replaced card in the Open Highland Pile or draw a card from the Closed Higland pile and play it into the open highland pile, activating the action on the card if you wish to. If a card gets placed into the Open Highland that you believe matches a card in your clan, you can call out "Shoo" to chase that monster out of your or your opponents clans, but you'll need to be careful as if you shoo the wrong card, you'll gain a new card into your clan. As soon as you think you have no monsters in your clan and are likely to have the lowest score, call out "Saorsa" to end the round, each other player gets 1 final turn and then all players calculate their scores. If the player that called Saorsa has no monsters in their clan and the lowest score, they earn the rounds victory token. After 4 rounds, the player with the lowest score is the winner.
Pros and Cons
Considering the basic premise of the game, I was suprised at the amount of strategy and thought needed for each turn weighing up the pros and cons of how to play your cards for the best effect and to maximise your chances of victory. However, it did feel that to some extent your chances of success or failure was based upon the luck of the cards and the strength of your memory! The theme and production of this game is great draw along with the compact travel size and small footprint.
Final Verdict
Overall, I felt Monsters of Loch lomond brought a new playstyle to the table that was quite different to most other games on my shelf, however it didn't appeal to my husband quite as much due to the luck based nature of what cards you draw. I personally enjoyed this game and feel it will be a great game for taking on our travels and as a filler for game nights.
In conclusion, we would rate this game a 9.1/10
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