Reiner Knizia’s Monumental

James | Feb 15, 2010 Games

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(8 votes, average: 3.13 out of 5)

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Reiner Knizia is a world renowned game designer that always seems to hit his mark. While he has designed hundreds of games over his career, most of them have been board games. He has only recently delved into the electronic gaming world. He has teamed up with Conlan Rios to bring about Reiner Knizia’s Monumental. Trust me, this is good news for us.

At first glance, Reiner Knizia’s Monumental looks like a relatively simple or casual game. Given a few minutes of play, it becomes obvious that Monumental is actually a game of skill and careful planning. There is a column of stone blocks stacked in the middle of the screen and there are four rows of three on either side of that column. The blocks can be pushed into any of these columns, but it is the order of the placement that is the most important. When you slide the blocks to either side, the blocks above move down. This makes sense, but could trap you in an unfortunate position if you are not careful.

The point of the game is to make matching lines. These lines can match based on block color, symbol or number of symbols adding another layer of strategy that is very interesting. As you play, more colors and symbols are introduced, making it increasingly difficult to make matches. They also include broken blocks that can only be matched based on their color. If things get too tense, you can utilize the dynamite that stacks up as you play. Dynamite can clear out any block from the column, giving you another edge. Only use these when you need them, because you will certainly need more and more as the game progresses.

There are a couple of game modes to choose from; Challenge and Action. The difference is that Challenge is untimed so you can strategize all you want and Action requires you to make fast decisions. Personally, I’m a fan of the Challenge mode because I don’t need a countdown clock to screw me up. I screw up just fine on my own. The graphics are beautiful and the music is fun. Very Aztec. If you get tired of the music, though, there is an option to play your own. The controls are solid and moving the blocks around feels “right”. If you enjoy puzzle games but want a bit more depth, Reiner Knizia’s Monumental is for you.