Diving Into the Roll Player: Monsters & Minions Expansion
Understand what the first expansion for Roll Player brings to the table in both a literal and figurative sense.
From the many wonderful pieces of advice I’ve had recently, the base game of Roll Player is often vastly improved when adding in the first expansion, Roll Player: Monsters & Minions. So after working through a few standard plays, I figured it was time to add the new content! How was this going to change things up? I was about to find out!
Game Overview
Game Name: Roll Player
Publication Year: 2016
Designer: Keith Matejka
Artist: JJ Ariosa and Luis Francisco
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
I saw the new additions lurking in the background! With this expansion, the process of crafting a character has the added option of fighting minions. In the end, the goal is to fight a final battle against a ferocious monster. No pressure there… Failure is equivalent to death for the solo mode. Oh, my! There was much more to take into account.
First Play
July 26, 2020
Complexity
3
Latest Play
June 18, 2025
Expansions
2
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
28
Play Time
35 Minutes
High Score
44
Game Area
26" x 20"
Low Score
0
Expanding the Area
As I added in all of the expansion content, it didn’t actually increase the size of the play area by a lot.
The minions occupied a single deck with the top card flipped up. I spread out the reference summary cards for my own benefit, but overall, the space remained the same.
This might seem like a minor point, yet I know some expansions add new boards or otherwise take over a table. Not so here! Just a little more room was needed.
Keep in mind that the size of extra table space doesn’t always correlate with the depth of expansion content.
The Doomed Dwarf
Every randomized setup has been thrilling for me, but some characters feel more real than others. This dwarf felt more alive and unique than I would have imagined.
Doomed. Miscreant. Illusionist. The combination felt odd, yet perfect. I could just picture his experience performing illusions and making all sorts of trouble!
Then, he crossed paths with the wrong individual. He knew he was doomed, so why not go off adventuring?!
I was excited to do more with him! Now I wasn’t just building his core, but also his prior battle experiences.
Evil at the End
During setup, the big bad boss is chosen and revealed. No wonder there was a sense of doom during this play!
I had to deal at least 18 damage in order to survive the last battle. More damage would mean more points, though.
The other main feature of the monster involves hidden information: The location, obstacle, and action. Each of these is randomized from a small deck of 3 cards.
As minions are defeated, these cards are flipped in order to reveal ways to earn bonuses against the monster. Quite a neat way to simulate preparation for the major battle!
First Sightings
Aside from the final battle, the other major gameplay addition was the ability to fight a minion instead of using the market cards. But when to start battling?
My dwarf started off rather roughly. The revealed minions looked too difficult, and there wasn’t a scroll in sight.
Although the dice were in his favor, he got a very late start in tracking down a kobold. He did it, though, and with gusto! These dice also offered some assistance.
The rewards were useful, as was the discovery of where the demon was preparing to attack from. Interesting…
The Base Game with and Without the Expansion
It’s often conflicting when a base game is labeled as incomplete or a partial experience. With so many excellent board games in the world, having to invest more money and fiddle around with storage space can be dealbreakers. Many times, I was told to add the first expansion right from the start. But what about the base game all on its own?
As I played, I felt like I had more options. Not only did I have to think about when to attack a minion, but I had to accept losing out on the market cards. For instance, I had to either go after the kobold or purchase a useful trait. Which was better? It took a good deal of thought and felt a lot more challenging! The complexity wasn’t overwhelming, though.
I’ll have some more thoughts on this below. In a nutshell, the base game is all about creating a character’s core statistics. A little story might form, yet it’s all about using dice to complete goals. With the expansion, characters come to life. “Remember that time the dwarf got defeated by a lowly harpy, but then banished the vampire?!”
Illusions of Armor
During those turns when the minion wasn’t worth attacking, this dwarf had limited market options. The best path was just to collect all the armor. All of it!
Well, not entirely… The chain set didn’t pan out, and no other mystic armor showed up. Great.
But picture this dwarf illusionist in this attire. I laughed at the prospect of him switching in and out of his cloak to act as a magician. Lots and lots of fun!
Yet in the end, armor wasn’t going to do much against a demon. That involved something called… Strategy. Ha ha!
A True Illusionist
Completing attribute goals is often an easy way to collect points. I decided to go all out here with this poor dwarf. In the end, he had all of his attributes exactly met!
Note one of the new components shown here: A boost die. Although these dice can’t be used to match colors on the backstory cards, their values range from 3 to 8.
I was worried about the lack of traits and skills. He wasn’t bland, yet I wasn’t sure if he could go up against a demon.
Perhaps that doomed feeling would work in his favor. I could only hope immediate death wasn’t on the horizon!
Minion Mincemeat
With this trio of minions defeated, I had all the details I needed to go into the final battle. As I mentioned, the dice were exceptionally cooperative during this play!
I even had a little storyline going… The kobold built a holding cell for the ooze. His end led the dwarf to the ooze. Oozed to death, out popped a rather gross zombie. Eww.
These battles heavily depend on dice, although there are ways to help with either gold or experience cubes.
I got lucky! At the same time, the solo enemy dice cycled through the cards very quickly and kept me on my toes.
Do You Need the Monsters & Minions Expansion?
I’ve caused a lot of wallet damage over the years! But in the end, I want to be honest with my recommendations. The base game isn’t cheap, and adding on a not-so-cheap expansion isn’t an easy choice. Well, unless you have unlimited funds and can’t spend your money fast enough. Ha ha! I’m not in that boat, so purchase considerations are vital.
The base game is entirely playable and enjoyable on its own. It’s about expectations, though. You’ll just be drawing and rolling dice, placing them in the most optimal way possible, and buying useful cards along the way.
Is that enough for you? It may very well be! The first expansion introduces the ability to do something with a character. The same concepts exist from the base game, with the added choice of when to race off into battle. It doesn’t feel like a tacked-on mechanic, either. Fighting minions leads to information, which leads to a better final battle.
So… Do you need the expansion? It adds a lot and I don’t imagine I’ll ever play again without it. But the mechanics and concepts behind the base game are interesting enough on their own. Can you have fun just creating a one-off character with a small or non-existent story? Base game! Do you want more, including battles? The expansion it is!
The Final Countdown
At the end of the main phase, my dwarf was actually in good shape. Every piece of information was uncovered!
I didn’t manage to complete the requirement for the location, but that was OK. I ended up with a pretty impressive 5 extra combat dice. Very nice!
This is the reason why fighting minions is so valuable. To know these bonuses early on can lead to a much better result against the monster. Without them… Ouch.
Yet fighting minions too early can lead to botched outcomes and injuries that the monster will pounce on.
Session Overview
Play Number: 5
Expansion: Roll Player: Monsters & Minions
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Required Play Space: 26″ x 20″
Setup Time: 5 Minutes
Play Time: 40 Minutes
Outcome: 38 Points (Loss)
Take that! I didn’t reach the minimum level for a proper win, but the doomed dwarf wasn’t so doomed after all. Luckily, only a single die had to be flipped from 5 to 2. I was quite pleased with this first expansion outing!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
8
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
Victory Conditions
Score 40+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 67%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 35 points.
Score at least 40 points.
Score at least 45 points.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Roll Player: Monsters & Minions? I’m excited to craft more characters in the future! The new mechanics seem excellent, adding on options without going overboard in the complexity department. Do you like expansions in general, or only in specific circumstances? I guess the moral today is that doomed isn’t always doomed!
Nice review, Jessica! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it and I share the same sentiments.
One detail perhaps missing depending on how in-depth you want to be is the monster can roll up to two dice to thwart your plans in the market if you select a high pip count die off the initiative cards. Can’t tell you how many times the monster rolled exactly what was needed to remove a critical market card for my big plans. Grrrr!
Thanks, Derek! And good point about calling out the enemy dice rolled during the market phase. I kept it down to a single die for most turns, but there were a couple of times I desperately needed a die in initiative slot 3. That cycled the minion deck when I didn’t want it to and took away a useful card that was my backup option. How terribly rude!
It’s a very simple sort of system that adds a great challenge. Then it’s not just down to thinking about what you want to do during that turn’s market phase: It’s also about how risky you want to be in terms of losing your top choice. I love the decision-making process so far!