Gigantic Beasts Must Fall

Chapter 2: The Game

CHAPTER 2

The Game

The game looked like any other board game really, in a standard sized rectangular box, but his interest was caught by the numerous silhouetted pictures of monsters on the top and around the sides, with an underlying yellow and black design. On top, the game’s main title Gigantic Beats Must Fall took up most of the space, only sharing the title with its two main selling points; firstly, the fact that you could potentially earn over a million pounds in prize money and also, as a player, you would travel amongst the stars, through space and time. Upon closer inspection, the smaller print then stated that you would become a warrior and saviour, as you’d be transformed to a specific time and place as an official monster hunter, saving towns and villages from any monstrous creatures that rampaged through strange and foreign lands. You’ll instantly become a local hero, the box promised, saving the lives of hundreds of people as you progress through the game. ‘Wow, that’s quite a bold statement to make’, Gareth thought to himself, raising an eyebrow. The box claimed that it was a game of both skill and cunning, as well as strategic maneuverability, physical strength and agility, with the box bluntly asking if the player actually had the expertise and bravery to play.

Gareth picked the box up and examined it in detail, spinning it around to look at every side; it was at this point that he started to get excited. He especially loved the idea of winning money, but it seemed like so much more than that. The game was old, it looked ancient in fact, so he didn’t believe for one minute that someone would be paying him to have fun, nor offer any financial reward in any form, but the game did look really interesting and unlike anything he’d seen before. Gareth felt a strange tingle run down his spine, as this was surely the one thing that he’d been looking for; without a doubt, it would easily start numerous conversations and gain everyone’s interest if he was going to purchase it. Standing in the corner of the shop, just taking his time to study every little aspect, he had unknowingly already made his decision; deep down it became apparent that it would be the perfect centre piece for his coffee table. A smile then grew from inside, as he knew that this was definitely the find that he’d been looking for.

He flipped the box over and continued to read the small print and the instructions printed on the back of the box. It stated that the game could be translated into any language, if the owner was a ‘serious player’, whatever that was supposed to mean.

The rules of the game read as follows:

•You will be transported into real life situations, taking on the role of a main character and chief huntsman in whatever form that may take. Once you commit yourself to the game, you cannot leave until your task is completed. There are no time restraints, so you will be committing yourself to any length of time that is required.

•If you are killed during your time in the game, then you will restart the adventure at the nearest entry point.

•If death occurs as a direct result of confrontation, then you will restart your adventure at the nearest entry point. Please be warned, if you gain any form of serious injury during the game, but it is not deemed as life threatening, then you will stay in the game until the task is completed, regardless of the injury type or however long it takes to complete the challenge.

•The main creature or beast found in the game will always be your main objective and target – the creature must be killed by the game player directly or by their association only. Death can occur in any format, in whatever way the hunter desires or circumstances lead to. Injuries to the creature without death are not acceptable for completion of the level.

•There is no control over place, time or circumstance. All games are randomly generated.

‘Blimey, that sounds a bit full-on’, he thought to himself. He continued reading:

•For your endeavors, you will be paid a sum of money for each creature that is confirmed as dead.

•There are ten games in all, with a financial incentive for each level completed. If all ten levels are completed, you will then receive a bonus, claiming £1,000,000.

Gareth turned away and looked at the wall for a moment, as he had a lot to think about. He still could not be sure whether this was someone’s college product or whether it had been made professionally, but either way, the age of the box clearly made him question how old it actually was and where it must have originated from. Nothing really made sense, and to make matters worse, it all seemed too exciting, giving him numerous mixed messages about its origins and why the box had come into his life now. He thought to himself that as it had come to him, maybe it was fate. He continued reading the last part of the text:

•Friends and partners can be taken into any game, but any rewards issued for completed levels must be shared. The same rules of the game will apply to any accompanying persons.

•As an introductory gesture and after each completed level, the player will be given a weapon to aid their future battles. These will be weapons of significance, although there will not be any accompanying instructions or guides on their features or uses.

The more he read, the more enticing it sounded; apart from some great artwork on the box, he presumed that the game was probably the project of an art student, or maybe someone learning product design, but either way, it still looked professionally made. Thoughts then raced through his mind of a perfect warrior standing there in peak physical condition. This was then shortly followed by thoughts of the financial rewards that he might gain. ‘What more could a girl want’, he thought to himself, before he made the decision to go ahead and buy it. He took the box over to the young girl at the counter, who took it off him and stared at it for a minute.

“Where did you get this from?” she asked inquisitively, still smiling a bit too enthusiastically.

“Over there, it was on the bottom shelf, sort of pushed back a bit,” Gareth replied, pointing to its approximate location. The young lady just smiled back at him and placed the box in a brown bag, which was clearly a bit too small.

“That’ll be five pounds, please,” she said. Gareth hadn’t even thought of how much it was going to cost, but when he heard it was only a fiver, he gladly handed over the cash without saying anything. He then grabbed the handles and began his long journey home, content with the fact that he had actually purchased something weird and yet exciting. It was only when he was riding the tube home that it dawned on him that he hadn’t even opened the box yet, so he didn’t even know if all the parts were inside or not, but he knew that the tube wasn’t the place for that, so he just sat there with a very content look on his face, just presuming everything would be fine.

Once home, he chucked the bag on the couch on the way to the kitchen, where he quickly grabbed a beer before disappearing off to the toilet. When he came back, he sat down and pulled the game out of the bag. As he opened the lid, he took out the contents one by one. First the big, yellow game-board, which was folded into five sections, followed by a large brown envelope, which contained a small stack of blank white cards, weirdly still wrapped in cellophane. The box also contained a loose A5-sized leaflet with all the basic instructions on how to play, a slightly more detailed version of the text located on the back of the box. Gareth leaned back on his couch and took a good, long look at the leaflet whilst he sipped his beer, before then laying out the board properly onto his coffee table. There wasn’t much on the board except more vague drawings; there was a small rectangular box designated for the cards and a strange area of plastic that was seemingly moulded into the centre of the board. This dark grey-coloured plastic, which felt a little like some kind of gel, was apparently the place where you made the commitment to play. Gareth was now more excited than ever, and the prospect of playing was now quite exciting. Before he went any further, he decided to get himself sorted, quickly moving around his flat for the things he needed, before eventually returning back to the couch ready for action. As he went to place his hand onto the game, really looking forward to his big adventures and a momentary escape from his boring life, crazy visions raced through his mind of the old B-movies he’d previously watched, especially the ones with the tacky monsters terrorizing local communities. He excitedly decided to go for it.