This week we’re taking a look at the new range of buildings that Privateer Press have released for Monsterpocalypse Miniatures Game.

I hope you’re all ready to rumble as these buildings look set to expand Monsterpocalypse in a few interesting ways!

What’s On Offer?

Monsterpocalypse just had its re-release towards the end of 2018 and the team at Privateer Press aren’t resting on releasing several of the factions and their respective units. The team have quickly followed up with six buildings that can be used in your game.

The buildings you can get are the Skyscraper, Downtown Highrise, Communications Array, Industrial Complex, Corporate Headquarters and a Power Plant. They all add an interesting variety to your setup and come with their own rules which can alter your approach.

The Miniatures

Each building is a chunky piece of resin and so it’s going to require a little TLC for use on the tabletop and when painting. The skyscraper and downtown highrise buildings won’t sit flat on the board otherwise. And for some of the taller buildings, there’s a small danger of them tipping over if someone clips them with one of the huge monsters. But that can be easily prevented by attaching a coin to the base to give it a bit more weight at the bottom. The smokestack of the industrial complex is a bit skewed on our model though, but that’s not too frustrating since I’ll be throwing Justin’s monsters into it soon enough.

The buildings have a good amount of detail and are definitely a step up from the cardboard ones provided with the base set. For those who like everything nice and uniform, however, it might be a bit off-putting to mix the cardboard ones with these resin casts. Especially since there is a small scale difference between the two.

Because of the nature of these terrain pieces, they can be painted relatively quickly dependent on the detail you are looking to bring out. A simple prime, drybrush and wash will make these pieces come alive. But there’s plenty of opportunity for detail on the doors and trimmings of the skyscraper and the radar dish of the communications array.

Added Rules

As well as adding some variety to your Monsterpocalypse setup, the new buildings also have a special rules card which can impact your game in subtle ways. As might be expected, destroying the power plant immediately sends any adjacent units to the reserve because of its Blast Radius rule.

I particularly like the Industrial Complex which, if secured, gives your allied units +1 speed which can sometimes be the difference in executing a big manoeuvre. Some of the buildings like Downtown Highrise and Corporate Headquarters can give advantages or disadvantages to certain monsters, like healing mechanical monsters or decloaking sneaky ones.

Final Thoughts

As much as I think the models look great and add some cool rules to Monsterpocalypse there are some issues that I have.

For me, I don’t mind if the models aren’t painted for the tabletop, but it would be a little frustrating to see them alongside the cardboard ones. That inconsistency would be a little jarring. I personally like to keep the cost of things on my tabletop low. So I appreciate that they are an added extra that doesn’t increase the base price of the game.

It might also be difficult to use these models with any other game. Dropzone Commander would be the closest game with its 10mm scale but that might still be a little big for some of these Monsterpocalypse buildings.

If you love Monsterpocalypse and are looking for a good way to expand how your games are played then you should definitely consider the buildings. And buildings are such a great thematic feature of the game so it’s nice to see this kind of expansion.

However, the individual cost of each building is a little off-putting. Would you rather upgrade your force with another monster, maybe getting another friend into the game with their own faction, or add some special rules through the buildings?

What do you think about the addition of special rules per building in your Monsterpocalypse game?