As you probably know, you can be entered into a drawing for games by registering your library for International Games Month events (register here: https://games.ala.org/international-games-month/). All events that are game related are fair game, from Bingo to Smash Tournaments, and from Gloomhaven to Roblox. One of the games that you might get if you register is Megaland by one of our lovely sponsors Red Raven Games! (https://www.redravengames.com/)
Red Raven Games is a wonderful supporter of libraries and we are so happy to work with them more closely this year. Enjoy this lovely review of Megaland by a librarian with the game in their library collection.
Megaland by Jessica Spears
• Designer: Ryan Laukat and Malorie Laukat
• Publisher: Red Raven Games
• 2-5 players
• 20 minutes
• 8+
Megaland is an easy game with a fun push-your-luck mechanic. Players enter a dungeon. On each level the players uncover a treasure, and then have to decide whether they will take their loot and run back home, or journey onto the next level. If they encounter a monster that is too strong, they have to drop all of their treasures and return home empty-handed.
So far, this is a very normal push your luck mechanic, but Megaland adds a nice and easy bit of engine building. Sets of different treasures can be spent to buy “buildings” which grant special abilities, or points. Sets of the same treasures give you more hit points so that you can face stronger monsters. There is a fair amount of luck in the game which might level the playing field for younger players.
The art, as always with a Ryan Laukat game, is lovely. I especially like this smug cat and happy lizard. The cute style makes Megaland more approachable to kids and their adults. The instructions are short and include copious visuals.
My compatriot Ben Perry and I started our small collection of circulating board games at two branches of the Brooklyn Public Library, and we added a bunch of Red Raven games first thing, including 8 Minute Empire, Above and Below, Near and Far, and Megaland.
Megaland has circulated pretty well and is still in stellar condition after two years of circulation. I especially appreciate that the lid for the custom game divider by Game Trayz stays securely closed even when I dropped it at the reference desk by mistake.
I would definitely recommend Megaland for any library collection, circulating or in-house.
Jessica Spears is a Young Adult Librarian at Brooklyn Public Library. She loves board games, but professionally sets up and runs a lot of video game programming . She has a small, around 350 titles, collection of circulating board games, and plays Coup and Love Letter with teens on the regular. Currently she is probably playing Spirit Island and eating pie.