Monster Triple Threat

◀ MONSTER DASH    MONSTER HERDER ▶

 
GAME SETUP:  MONSTERS & MINIONS  •  PIANO MAT  •  LETTER DIE
EACH PLAYER GETS:  1 MONSTER + 5 MINIONS
SIMILAR TO:  TIC TAC TOE / CONNECT 4
FOCUSES ON:  NOTE RECOGNITION

✦ GOAL: LINE UP THREE-IN-A-ROW! ✦

GAMEPLAY

On your first turn: Roll the letter die and place your monster on a corresponding note anywhere on the keyboard. The star is wild. For subsequent turns, you can choose to place a minion OR you can move your monster to a new location.

Minion movements:

  • Minions can be placed on any open (white) key, in any octave.
  • Minions are stuck in place unless "eaten" by an opposing monster.

Monster movements:

  • Monsters can freely move to any open (white) key during their turn, but their job is also to obstruct their opponents by "eating" their minions or challenging another monster for their spot.
  • Eating Minions: Monsters instantly “eat” an opponent’s minion when they pounce on the note a minion is sitting on. This sends the minion back to its player’s hand. It can then be reused on a subsequent turn.
  • Monster Battle: Your monster can attempt to steal another monster’s spot by landing on that note and initiating a Monster Battle: 
    • Each player chooses a different note (as in Roulette). The challenger then rolls the letter die until one of the chosen notes comes up. That player is the winner and their monster claims the contested spot, while loser's monster must retreat from the board until their next turn.
    • Optional: To heighten the stakes of issuing a challenge, you can require that a challenger who loses a battle must also remove a minion of their choosing from the board. To be extra evil, allow the winner to choose which of the challenger's minions is removed. ;)
    • If a wild is rolled before either note comes up, the challenge is a draw. Everything returns to its previous position with no changes made to the board.


    WINNING THE GAME

    The first player to get three-in-a-row wins! Note: It is not necessary to include your monster as part of your final row.

    If all minions are placed without any player completing a three-in-row, the game ends in a draw.

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    If you roll a note for which there are no open keys, your monster MUST move and eat an opponent's minion.

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    You can make the monster battles more skills-based. Eg. Have the teacher roll the dice while the students compete to quickly find the note on the piano. The first player to make a mistake loses the challenge.

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    ✦ VARIATION ✦

    "CONNECT THIRDS" VERSION (on the staff)
    On the Grand Staff Mat, players practice finding notes by name while attempting to build a stack of three triads.

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    Of course, this game can also be played using any other intervals you choose. :)