After backers burned by Mythic, Privateer Press has news about Monsterpocalypse

Over the years I've expressed my fondness for Monsterpocalypse: Privateer Press's game of giant kaiju battling it out in cities that players put together before thrashing them to smithereens.  It's an awesome game that has a lot of appeal and when it first came out a decade and a half ago it enjoyed quite a dedicated fan base.

Then some decisions were made.  And they weren't necessarily for the better.  In its original iteration Monsterpocalypse was a "blind box" game that you bought a package of without knowing what was in the box.  The idea was that you could trade game pieces with others.  Some of us filled out our factions by purchasing the wanted pieces on eBay.  That in itself was sort of a fun pastime "game within the game".  That wound up being replaced by traditional packaging that let you see what you were getting.  And then came the movie rights getting optioned by Tim Burton, and that put the game in a holding pattern of sorts.  A few other things happened too that impacted Monsterpocalypse.

And then came the Kickstarter for the board game edition.  The one that licensee Mythic Games promised the fans.  It was basically the same game as the regular miniatures game, but with a few things like the game maps upgraded to sturdy stock as well as the pieces being higher quality plastic.  It was a project that launched on Kickstarter: the premiere platform for crowd-funded games, books, music albums and even movies.  The Monterpocalypse board game Kickstarter revved up on November 2nd, 2021 and by the time it ended it had pretty much met all its stretch goals.

And then for whatever reason, Mythic Games went bust.  There was going to be no delivery of the game.  Many people - and I was one of them - went "all in" on the project: backing the core game itself and all the miniature sets.  It was a few hundred dollars investment (but I had saved up from the COVID "stimulus checks" that the government had handed out).  Anyone who invested in the board game wound up all out of the money they had pledged.  Meanwhile Mythic seems to have split the scene entirely, and I don't think anyone got their dough refunded.

Here's my write-up about the situation, from October 2023.  That post got a lot of attention from all over the place.  Maybe what I'm about to post this time will be as widely read, for other reasons.  It's not a complete salve for the wound but it's at least something...

A few weeks ago on January 30th Privateer Press published a massive update on the state of Monsterpocalypse, with an especially strong emphasis on what went down with Mythic.  Privateer Press has expressed a lot of regret about what happened with the Kickstarter, and I believe we should take them at their word.  What happened was completely beyond their control.  But it looks like they are taking steps to make right that situation.

So going forward, Privateer has announced that they're shifting their production to make it "made to order" for Monsterpocalypse.  And that furthermore, those who got left high and dry by Mythic are going to be given the STL files that will allow players the option of 3D-printing the various monsters, units, and buildings.  There is also something of an authoritative book in the works, and Privateer is hinting that there may be other things coming down the pike for the franchise.

Personally, I think that Privateer is playing it safe, maybe too much.  The game started out solid and there's no reason why it can't be solid again.  The pieces don't have to be fully painted: just produce them the old-fashioned way with plastic molds and they will sell well in the brick-and-mortar stores.  All it needs is some marketing to help get it past the King Kondo-size gorilla in the room: the Mythic fiasco.  I for one would certainly invest a little in putting together a complete army for my favorite factions (especially the Lords of Cthul).

For anyone else with an interest in Monsterpocalypse, there may be reason to be of good cheer.  The franchise is back firmly in the hands of its creators and they are paying attention to what has happened and are doing something to win back the fans.  That's a lot of responsibility they're assuming and I think, again, we should take them at their word.

(Maybe I'l be able to once again play on my self-designed map of Reidsville, North Carolina!)

UPDATE 02/26/2025: Privateer posted a progress report a few days ago on February 21st.  Looks like they're going full-bore with their intention of making the 3D-printable files available to everyone who invested in the Kickstarter.  They get bigtime props from this blogger for that.  As you can see from the report if you were in on the Kickstarter, you can go to MyMiniFactory.com and create an account with the e-mail address you used with your Kickstarter account and that will get you on the way to (soon) getting the STL/LYS files.

I know very little about 3D printing at home other than it requires STL files to work from.  So if you have a printer perhaps this will all make sense to you :-)

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Team Covenant churning out new Monsterpocalypse maps!

I've written tons before on this blog about my mad love for Monsterpocalypse: Privateer Press's awesome game of giant monsters and metropolitan destruction! And if you haven't checked it out yet right now is a great time to give it a looksee. Privateer Press recently announced that the game was moving to a non-collectible format (making it much easier for new players to get into it) and a full-length Monsterpocalypse motion picture from DreamWorks involving Tim Burton is currently in pre-production.

And now those ever-clever folks at Team Covenant have come through with - ta-daaaah! - new Monsterpocalypse playmats! Introduced at MonCon 2011 this past weekend where attendees were treated to the convention-exclusive "Mayhem on Memorial" map (I really wish that I could have made it to MonCon, ahh well hopefully next year :-), the Covenant Maps Campaign brings you a new playmat every sixty days, with the maps designed to inter-relate with each other across a larger Monsterpocalypse story-driven narrative. As the Team Covenant guys put it...

In addition to igniting standard Monsterpocalypse play, each Covenant Map comes with a printed story that acts as the next chapter of a continuous, fictional campaign revolving around the struggles of all of the monsters and factions involved in the game. These stories are epic, and relate directly to the happenings on the past Covenant Map and how those occurrences have led to the current map.

But of course there’s even more to this! Each map not only comes with a story, but also a scenario that is the direct result of that story. This scenario will pick up where the story ends, putting the fictional conflicts onto the map itself, ready to be resolved by YOU, the players. The next chapter of the story, and the map pertaining to it, will then be created based on the results that YOU report.

And 'course, the map itself will no doubt come in handy for years to come! Team Covenant has set up three subscription plans, beginning at $22 and change charged bi-monthly. Looking at the exceedingly high quality of the "Mayhem on Memorial" map, that's a darned good deal! I'm looking forward to unleashing my precious Lords of Cthul upon these new maps :-)

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Awesome news: Monsterpocalypse to ditch collectible format (MUCH easier to get into the game)

I've been so busy with community theatre and other projects that it's been months since I've had time to get in a game of Monsterpocalypse: Privateer Press's terrific game of giant monsters and metropolitan destruction (or defense, depending on which faction you wanna side with). But that hasn't stopped my love for this sweet lil' game (which I wrote of my love for over a year ago). I now own sizable armies of each faction and every Mega figure except for Mega Vorgax (one just sold for $197 on eBay: I love the Planet Eaters but not that much :-P). And I've come to develop a pretty good metagame-thinkin' style so far as strategy goes.

Monsterpocalypse is one of the most fun games that I've ever played. But there's been one complaint about it: that its been a collectible miniatures game. Meaning, you had to buy booster boxes without being able to see firsthand what you were getting. So a typical box might have 1 building, and 5 units of differing factions... and they might not necessarily be a faction you want to collect. This has led to a significant trading element to the game (not to mention a secondary market on eBay and other sites) but horribly frustrating for most people.

But things are about to change for the better. Last week Privateer Press announced that Monsterpocalypse would soon be going to a non-collectible format. Beginning this summer there will be boxes clearly marked with each faction and those are the figures you can expect to get. So if you like to play G.U.A.R.D. and need more of that faction, you can buy that box and not have to worry about a single Lords of Cthul creeping out (though as a player who loves the Lords of Cthul perhaps too much, I for one wouldn't have a problem with that :-P). A lot more people are about to start playing this game, who wanted to get into it earlier but were turned off by the collectible marketing. Which can only be a good thing :-)

By the way, if you're in the Greensboro/Burlington area, we play Monsterpocalypse most Thursday nights at HyperMind: a very neat game store in Burlington, not far from Elon University's campus. And if you wanna know even more about this great game and also order Monsterpocalypse figures and accessories (including some super-kewl dice just for Monsterpocalypse) click on over to the Team Covenant website: those guys live and breathe Monsterpocalypse. I'm even considering attending the second MonCon convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma in a few months that these good folks organize.

And 'course, it goes without saying that I have to mention the video I made for HyperMind's entry in that Monsterpocalypse contest a year and a half ago...

According to my calculations, I used Defender X and Terra Khan to demolish all of downtown Burlington, North Carolina. But hey, it coulda been worse: I could very well have unleashed Yasheth :-P

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Department of Homeland Security halts Monsterpocalypse strategy guide publication! "Radical ideas" espoused by board game a terrorist threat?!

Folks, please understand something: this is NOT a joke! That was my first thought when I read about this situation late last week. And then over the weekend I played Monsterpocalypse for the very first time (and very much enjoyed it) at HyperMind and this was the #1 topic of discussion among the faithful players meeting there.

So then I contacted the good people at Privateer Press, the producers of Monsterpocalypse, and received confirmation: the Department of Homeland Security has delayed the publication of the Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base Strategy Guide due to "national security concerns".

Throughout the day I have made attempts to contact the Department of Homeland Security, by both phone and e-mail. As of this writing no one in any official (or unofficial for that matter) capacity with the United States government has gotten back with me about why a collectible miniatures game focusing on giant monsters, aliens and robots wrecking havoc on tiny plastic cities is supposed to be a threat to national security.

But look! Press release!

Bellevue WA July 21, 2009—Privateer Press reports that the release of the Monsterpocalypse Series 3: All Your Base Strategy Guide for the Monsterpocalypse collectible miniatures game will be delayed due to national security concerns.

Homeland Security pulled the shipment for an intensive examination last week when it arrived in the United States. While no comment was made to the nature of the investigation, several crew members within Privateer Press believe the government became concerned over some of the more radical ideals espoused by several factions within the Monsterpocalypse game.

Privateer Press Chief Creative Officer Matt Wilson said of the investigation, "Privateer Press would like to extend its complete support to the men and women who defend our national security on a daily basis. However, I am confident that the investigation's outcome will reaffirm the rights of free speech and protest of the radical environmental group Green Fury at the perceived devastation man is having on our planet as well as the freedom of people to practice religion without governmental oversight—even those religions which may very well bring forth the minions of the ancient Lords of Cthul."

For more information and updates on this and other Monsterpocalypse news visit www.monsterpocalypse.com.

About the Monsterpocalypse Collectible Miniatures Game

The collectible miniatures game (CMG) Monsterpocalypse brings the giant-monster genre—a pop culture favorite—to the tabletop in the form of a fast-paced, action-packed game. Designed by Matt Wilson, the award-winning creator of WARMACHINE and HORDES, Monsterpocalypse leverages the critically acclaimed abilities of Privateer Press as a leading miniatures manufacturer to enter a new category of product with a property that appeals to a worldwide fan base of all ages. Players can visit www.monsterpocalypse.com for game previews and updates.


About Privateer Press, Inc.

Privateer Press, Inc. is a privately held producer of entertainment and hobby brands based in the Seattle area. Its products include the newly released Monsterpocalypse collectible miniatures game, the award-winning WARMACHINE and HORDES hobby miniatures games, the award-winning Iron Kingdoms property, Bodger Games, the full-color No Quarter Magazine, and the Formula P3 hobby line. To learn more about Privateer Press, visit www.privateerpress.com or contact the president, Sherry Yeary, at (425) 643-5900 or sherry@privateerpress.com.

July 21, 2009

Incidentally, something very similar was reported a month ago happening to comic book artist/writer Mark Sable, whose new graphic novel series Unthinkable deals with possible terrorist scenarios that begin coming true.

But so far as Monsterpocalypse goes: I suppose that this might well mark the very first time, ever, that the U.S. government has made an official position against giant dinosaurs, Martian invaders, and Lovecraftian horrors from beyond the realm of normal space and time.

Sleep soundly, folks! Whether it be protecting us from Taliban terrorists or Green Fury activists, the Department of Homeland Security is on the job!

I just wish that I could be anything but a nervous wreck. I mean, after making this video for HyperMind's entry for the Monsterpocapalooza event...

...does this mean that I'm now suspected by Homeland Security of colluding with "terrists" and using weapons of mass destruction?!?

In a different time and a saner age, that might be pretty funny. But when tiny plastic toys are considered a legitimate enough danger to American sovereignty as to warrant spending time and money stopping the publication of a game manual, something is seriously off-kilter in this country.

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