Battle To Serve The Monolith With Plaid Hat’s Brutal Board Game

June 26, 2026 by brennon

Delve into brutal battles in the shadow of The Monolith with a new, grim, brutal Sci-Fi board game from the folks at Plaid Hat Games. Become a Shaman and lead your faction to victory on the battlefield before offering up hearts to The Monolith itself!

The Monolith // Plaid Hat Games

Here's some of the background behind the game...

"Human explorers landed upon an alien world, eager to study, only to discover a horrifying intelligence awaited them. A monolith of unknown origin and design has seized hold of their minds and reduced the humans to violent psychopaths who now battle for the stone's secret, unknown purposes."

During a game of The Monolith, you will take on the role of a Shaman, a Warrior-Priest who believes that THEY have interpreted the true will of The Monolith. All other foes are Shamans who have claimed they know the true meaning of The Monolith and now need to be brutally slain so their false claims won't take root.

The Monolith Set-Up // Plaid Hat Games

The Monolith embraces that classic "dudes on a map" style gameplay that a lot of folks will be familiar with. Each Shaman comes with their unique abilities, which offer the game an asymmetrical nature. So, how do you win and earn the favour of The Monolith?

Killing your enemies in brutal battles is one way. You can also complete objectives that pop up during the course of gameplay. There are also opportunities for you to control temples around the map, strengthening your devotion to The Monolith. You can also complete Boasts in order to show off your power before The Monolith, alongside other opportunities as they come around during gameplay.

Actions in the game are done using Hearts. Any leftover Hearts are then dropped into The Monolith, which then randomises how your Combats are going to play out. This represents a great choice for the players at the table. Do you use your Hearts to move into place and do actions, or do you commit enough Hearts so that you can get the best results in combat? You can download the Rulebook right now if you'd like to learn more about how the game plays.

One of the major reasons why this game caught my eye was that it has stunning artwork and excellent designs for the figures you're using on the tabletop.

The Monolith - Artwork // Plaid Hat Games

The Monolith - Game Pieces (WiP) // Plaid Hat Games

Art comes from Calder Moore, Thomas Elliott and Alfie Garland, who have really captured an excellent Dark Sci-Fi feel for the game. It reminds me of the cool style and aesthetic that drew me to games like Return to Dark Tower. Doing Fantasy and Sci-Fi (in this case) with a unique twist.

Could The Monolith be for you?