“Win the race of the monsters!”
Published in 1975 by Whitman, the Monster Dash board game was a spin-and-move race to be the first monster to traverse the trail and make it to the finish line.
GAMEPLAY
Players chose one of four monster characters as their pawns. Each of the four monsters — Eyerene, Sharkey, Webster, and LaFeet — came with a special ability that gave them an advantage at different points along the board. Eyerene had an unusual number of eyes and could see well in the cave (black spaces), Sharkey had fins so could maneuver quickly through the water (blue spaces), Webster was endowed with many legs and could easily move along the webs (red spaces), and LaFeet’s large feet could move efficiently over the snow field (white spaces).
Players spun the dial and moved the corresponding number of spaces from the starting position on the board towards the finish. The pace quickened when the monsters landed on areas that spoke to their special abilities. When this happened, players doubled the number on the spinner and moved further along the board.
Multiple players could inhabit the same space without penalty with the exception of the yellow spaces leading up to the finish line. When a player landed on a yellow space already occupied by another monster, the first monster was moved back three spaces.
Each player took turns spinning and moving their monster. The first player to reach the finish line won the game.
IN THE BOX
A complete Monster Dash board game included the game board, spinner (illustrated with a blue-haired monster and numbered one through six), and four monster pawns with plastic bases. Instructions were printed on the underside of the box top.
COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS
Monster Dash games consistently come up for sale through online marketplaces, but the game is not terribly common. It makes a nice addition to a board game collection focused on monster-themed games, games that use spinners to determine moves, children’s games, or the charming and colourful games published by Whitman — such as Dark Shadows (1968), The Archie Game (1969), and Race Around (1975).
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