Oky Posted October 25, 2009 (edited) With Halloween only a week away, It's time for some spooky reviews! Set name: Monsters 4 Set #: 3837 Theme: LEGO Games Players: 2-4 Play time: 15-25 mins. Year: 2009 Pieces: 141 Price: EUR 12.99 Let's start with the box. It has the same length and width of other EUR 10+ sets, but it is thicker/higher. It was initially sealed in a clear plastic foil. The back features all the pieces included in the set, some play features, and the description of the game in four different languages: It opens up simply by lifting up the top part of the box, just like any other board game, which is why it was sealed in plastic. A look inside reveals two bags (a small and a large one) and two booklets (building instructions and game instructions). No stickers. Yay. Here are all the parts that come in this set. Nothing special except for the white 1x1 round plates with a hole through the stud, the relatively new brick-high clip pieces, and of course the new die piece. The red part of the die is normal Lego plastic, the rest is rubber. The assembled set. Not much to show here. These are the left over pieces: A robot claw, one of the new round plates, some 1x1 tiles, and... a wrench? What the heck is that doing there? A look into the game manual tells us that they included it as a tool for removing the tiles on the die. Good move, I think. And here are the real stars of this set: the minifig heads! The troll and skeleton ones are the same as those found in the Castle sets, but the others new and exclusive to this set! Every head has a different slight misprint though. Pro: It adds variety to the heads. Con: Some heads look a bit messed up. The only ones that are pretty much flawless are the troll heads. Here are some best and worst print comparisons. Note that the Jack-O-Lantern heads have the pumpkin pattern all around the head! UPDATE: One person told me that he got completely identical heads in his set, so I guess I just got unlucky. As the printing inside the box shows, you can put the game inside the box without having to take it apart. Hi-res pics can be found in this Brickshelf folder. Final Thoughts: Design: Well, it's very simple, but considering that this is a board game, that's probably intended. And as a board game, it does its job pretty well. Also, I think that the spider looks rather cute and is cleverly designed. One little gripe is that the troll heads' color doesn't match their "bodies" and the color on the die. It would have been great if they would have simply printed the troll faces on normal green heads but oh well. 6/10 Parts: As I mentioned above, nothing special aside from the die and the round plates with holes. The plates could come in handy, but the die will probably not have much use aside from a die. This set comes with some neat plates and tiles for landscaping though. But the inclusion of the three exclusive minifig heads (each of which is represented four times!) are a big factor in the purchase of this set! It would have been nice if we would have gotten sand blue vampire heads (such as the one shown on the box art) instead of the old troll heads, but perhaps that would have been too much to ask. 7/10 Playability: This is where this "set" shines, I guess. I have only played the game once so far, but it's pretty fun. It's a mix between Tic Tac Toe and Connect 4, but with some additions. The die tells you what you can do in your turn. If you roll grey or dark grey, you can put or move one of your pieces to a tomb of that color. If you roll half-grey-half-dark-grey, you can put your piece anywhere. If you roll white, you can use a skeleton. The skeletons work as "Joker" pieces, meaning they're stand-ins for any color. If you roll black, you can put the spider in a section of the graveyard (a square of 4 same-colored tombs) and it will clear that section of all pieces. In order to mix things up once in a while, you can change the tiles on the die or make up new rules for them. A very interesting concept IMO. 10/10 Price: I think the price is pretty fair, at least in Euros. Normal sets which cost EUR 10 usually don't have more than 100 pieces, and this set has 141 for EUR 13. And considering the new molds and prints in this set, it seems like a steal. 9/10 Overall: 8/10. Although it looks very simple and doesn't have a lot of special parts, it's a fun game and a neat parts pack for a fair price. Happy Halloween, everyone! Edited November 23, 2009 by WhiteFang Indexed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ILikePi Posted October 25, 2009 Great review Oky Wan! There isn't really anything special about this set, but the minifig heads are awesome! I can see many custom alien/fantasy creature minifigs in the future. I found one mistake in your pictures - for the minifig head comparison, the same pic is used twice. Also, could you possibly show some pictures of the inside of the game manual? Or is it just a piece of white paper? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kill will Posted October 25, 2009 Good review with good, clear pictures. But I'm wondering, how exactly is the game played? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lordofdragonss Posted October 25, 2009 Nice review, but I think you should add scans from instructions. I'm so sad that I am not able to get one in Poland... The lego games are always so fun... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squidman85 Posted October 25, 2009 Great Review!I like new lego games(ramses pyramide,magicus,race 3000,minotaurus),but i don't very like Monster 4.Only thing i like-heads. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Batbrick Posted October 25, 2009 Thanks for the review Oky, I would totally buy this set if it came out here, mostly just for those sweet heads. The wolfman one especially is great, but the devil and punpkin ones are also very good. Though it does sound like an enjoyable game, I wouldn't really buy it for that. Batbrick Away! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
supertoad64 Posted October 25, 2009 Wow! The game seems like nothing special, but those heads are really nice! I remember seeing them in some mocs on Brickshelf and getting really excited about making some figs out of them. This is coming out in the US I hope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Milan Posted October 25, 2009 Nice review! The games sound interesting to play. Good set, but I would not buy it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Cobra Posted October 25, 2009 Nice review. I'm waiting for these board games to be available in Italy (Jan. 2010, yet some very expensive shops seem to already sell them). I actually hoped for the new heads to be used in main themes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dunjohn Posted October 25, 2009 (edited) I've been looking at these in the shops since they came out, but haven't gotten any yet because I have other Lego priorities, and they don't make nice display models (I reckon). Some nice bits alright - pumpkin heads especially - but the ones I'd like don't warrant paying tat price for them. I'll have to check again, but I don't think it's €12.99 for me, otherwise I think I'd be more tempted. €16.99, I think. Maybe I'm misremembering. Great review, though, and thanks for the closer look! How sturdy is the baseplate? It looks like it's held together fairly loosely. Edited October 25, 2009 by Dunjohn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ILikePi Posted October 25, 2009 I just read your final thoughts, and I have to say, the game sounds really fun! If I was a young child, I would have loved to play a Connect 4 and Tic-Tac-Toe game with many twists to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillip10 Posted October 25, 2009 Nice review! I might get the set for the heads or buy the heads on bricklink! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WesternOutlaw Posted October 25, 2009 Thanks for the great review! I see this set as an excellent parts set, esp. with all the spooky heads. I don't think the price is bad either. I'll definately be picking up one of these. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MightySlickPancake Posted October 25, 2009 oh well done nice review (parts mainly). didn't realise we could review these- i'll get on reviewing lunar command tomorrow. cb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thee Pirate Posted October 25, 2009 If this is ever released in the US, I'm gonna snatch up a few of them. Those new heads rock! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prateek Posted October 25, 2009 Great review. As you said, the only selling point if you don't want the game is the high piece count and cool heads Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Green Brick Giant Posted October 25, 2009 This is one of the games that need to be released in the USA now! I love the minifigure heads! They are amazing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CommanderFox Posted October 26, 2009 Great Review Oky Wan Kenobi I really want those sets now Good job! CommanderFox Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Cam Posted October 26, 2009 Very cool, I'm buying this just for the heads. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick Posted October 26, 2009 Couldn't they've matched the cones with the color of the Orc heads? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dunjohn Posted October 26, 2009 I was indeed misremembering the price, it's €12.99 here too. Almost got it, but I just can't spare the funds right now. I did notice that the heads on the box are all identical, perhaps yours were just a little messed up? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Cam Posted October 26, 2009 Hey Oky, I see your in the USA, where did you get this set? I can't find it on LEGO's site. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iminifig Posted October 26, 2009 That's the question, when are these game sets coming to North America, Xmas is just around the corner... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheLegoBoss Posted October 26, 2009 Looks pretty cool, especially the heads. That's the question, when are these game sets coming to North America, Xmas is just around the corner... It's supposed to come out in 2010 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Cam Posted October 26, 2009 Looks pretty cool, especially the heads.It's supposed to come out in 2010 Funny, Bricklink says 2009 and with so many copies out, I want to agree with bricklink. I've found one on bricklink for sale as well as 2 on ebay, all come from the UK, so maybe it's out now, but not int he US. Does LEGO usually release something in one country and then wait a whole year to release it in another? Not from what I've experianced. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
