The Secret of Monte Cristo

About this board game

The Secret of Monte Cristo is a treasure-searching board game for 2–4 players, with games lasting around 60 minutes. Released in 2011, it casts players as smugglers searching the island of Monte Cristo for any fortune that may remain.

The players learned about the treasure from Edmond Dantès while traveling together. Each round, they receive cards indicating the types of treasure that might be found in the castle. The active player places three smugglers in the castle, while every other player places one.

New treasure is then distributed among the castle rooms, setting the stage for the round’s actions. To determine who acts and when, the game uses an action slide: a tilted rack with four slots, each connected to a different action.

Marbles show the order of play within the slide. The player whose marble is at the bottom of the first slot performs that slot’s action, then moves the marble to the top of any other slot. The player at the bottom of the second slot acts next, followed by the remaining slots in order.

During these actions, players may try to seize treasure from the castle rooms. To do so, they must outnumber the other smugglers in the room and have the correct sacks available to store the treasure.

With its shifting action order, room-based competition, treasure cards, and sack requirements, The Secret of Monte Cristo turns the search for Dantès’s fortune into a carefully timed race to secure what remains on the island.