So, what on earth is the Beyond the Monolith system?
Mega games company Monolith announced that the Kickstarter campaign they will launch for Conan in January 2020 will also feature their new "Beyond the Monolith" gaming system.
Let's see what exactly this is.
"Beyond the Monolith" involves three basic concepts: the Engine Box, the Universe Box, and the Second Life Kits.
1. The Engine Box.
The engine box is a core game set that will apply to all the games produced by Monolith, and possibly by other companies that Monolith partners with. This includes a basic ruleset that the player will have to learn once, because it is the basis for all the Monolith games. It will also come with dice, colored bases, tokens, and other components that are 'one size fits all'.
2. The Universe Box
As soon as the buyer acquires the engine box, they will need to combine it with the setting and theme of their choice, and a few extra rules. The universe boxes will supply different game worlds that the player will be able to mix with the core box to have a different experience each time.
3. Second Life Kits
These are meant to breathe new life to the heaps of minis you already have sitting on your shelf and never play with. The kits will contain extra maps, campaigns, and rules so that you can revive your old plastic toys.
The question that concerns us here is how does this affect the solo gamer? For the most part, this system has been developed to apply to the Versus (player vs player) and Adventure mode (one vs many). Monolith, however, has partnered up with Modiphius to offer solo/co-op scenarios for Conan, and also partnered with CMON, to bring Zombicide into the "Beyond the Monolith" system. This is apparently the latest fad in gaming, considering that CMON is going to offer something similar with its own Teburu consoles.
