Monsters go Hi-Tech with Nukotoys' Monsterology app

Monsters and mythical beasts have slowly been taking over my kids' imaginations this past year. All three have really gotten into the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles series -- along with all the creatures that inhabit those worlds. They have turned to the popular Monsterology and Dragonology books for more information about wyverns, hippogriffs, and other amazing beasts. They love the drawings and the details -- and I love anything that gets them to read so voraciously.

So I was delighted to hear that Nukotoys is coming up with a new kind of trading card game, based on the Monsterology books. Last week I was part of a group of bloggers who spent the day with Nukotoys executives, learning all about what how this new game is played, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Here's a sneak peek of what the cards will look like. (*note, these are just mock-ups, so the final version sold in stores may end up looking a bit different)

Each card has all the beautiful, intricate detail that the Monsterology series is famous for. Monsterology fans hungry for more Monsterology paraphernalia are going to love collecting and trading these cards. I can just see my kids clamoring for collector tins and display binders.



Since each monster is assigned specific attributes (for example, the Chimera is a Class 5 Earth Monster), kids will be able to use the cards to battle with their friends.



The addition of Monster Trap cards will make things more interesting. 3Po and Jammy were delighted to see these cards because they're not featured in the Monsterology books at all. The book does mention monster traps but doesn't go into detail, so these cards are a great way to delve further into the Monsterology world.

They'll be available for sale at major retailers, $1.99 for 4 cards.

BUT WAIT.

You didn't think I was getting all excited about mere trading cards, did you? I told you: this is a New kind of trading card game, and when I say New, I mean hi-tech touch-screen iPad-iPod 21st-century paradigm-shift game-changing call-the-papers kind of New.

Nukotoys is also developing a Monsterology app that you'll be able to download, for free, onto your iPod Touch or iPad. Once you have the app, your kids can bring their Monsterology trading cards to life, simply by tapping them on the iPod Touch or iPad screen.

That's right -- touch a pegasus card to the screen, and a pegasus will appear on the screen, prancing and flapping its wings and doing whatever it is that pegasi do.

It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

Kids will be able to dress, feed and play with their monsters. When they trade their physical cards, their virtual monsters will also change ownership. They get to collect badges and trophies for different achievements. Best of all, they will be able to play their virtual monsters against each other in a tactical, turn-based game.

We got some time to play with Monsterology, but it was not nearly enough (the Nukotoys people literally had to pry the iPad out of my hands). However, Nukotoys will send me the final version of the app at the end of the month, so I can keep giving you sneak peeks and sharing my opinions. Having said that, no matter how much I try to describe it and rave about it, I won't do the app justice, so you can also check it out for yourself -- sign up to be a Beta Tester (maybe a better term would be Beta Monsterologist?) on the Nukotoys website.

Ancient creatures meet 21st century technology? This is going to be awesome. And it's all coming to life in October 2011.



Check out the other Parents@Play: Melinda Roberts from The Mommy Blog (@TheMommyBlog), Beth Blecherman from Techmamas (@techMama), Beth Avant from SDMOMfia (@SDMOMfia), Jason Avant from Dadcentric (@dadcentric), Anne Collier from Netfamilynews.org (@annecollier), Jeana Tahnk from jeanatahnk.com (@jeanatahnk), Shawn from BackpackingDad (@BackpackingDad).


As a Nukotoys Parents @Play member, I will be receiving an iPad with the Monsterology app loaded on it, so I can share my opinions with Nukotoys and my blog readers. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.