Monsters of Buzhou Mountain

From BoardGameGeek:

The Heavenly Pillar has fallen. Among the ruins, a crooked city has risen. In Whale Song Chess: Little Monsters of Buzhou Mountain, 2–6 players take on the roles of chubby little monsters living in "Broken Pillar City"-a ramshackle settlement at the foot of the shattered Buzhou Mountain. Here, there are no heroes, no gods-just a bunch of round, clumsy monsters trying to carve out their own patch of territory. Each turn, players draw a card and place it onto the game board using one of two methods: Adjacent Placement, placing a card next to an existing one and deploying one meeple, or Stacking, placing a card on top of another, moving all meeples upward, and adding one more. Territorial disputes erupt when monsters from different players occupy the same card, triggering a Showdown: both players secretly bid Energy Tokens, roll dice to determine the winner, and the loser removes one meeple from the card. The game's end is never certain. On each turn, a wooden token is added to the central Gonggong's Wrath pedestal. When the tower collapses-triggered by unsteady hands or shifting balance-the final round begins. No one knows exactly when the game will end, keeping tension high until the very last moment. Beyond the surface, players can spend Energy to flip Fissure Cards, revealing an underground layer where meeples can take shelter or gain advantages. Hidden across the deck are mini-game easter eggs-physical interactions like mushroom-pulling and wind-blowing that break the rhythm of play and turn every session into a laugh-filled party. The goal is simple: when the tower falls, the player with the most monsters on the board and the highest total value of occupied cards claims the title of Monster King of Broken Pillar City. Welcome to Broken Pillar City. Under Buzhou Mountain, monsters appear every day. In the ruins of the broken heavenly pillar, a crooked city has risen. 2–6 players become chubby little monsters competing for territory in Broken Pillar City. Draw cards, place them on the board, deploy your monsters, and battle rivals through dice showdowns and secret energy bidding. The game ends when the physical Gonggong's Wrath tower collapses-no one knows exactly when. Fissure cards unlock an underground layer, and mini-game Easter eggs keep every session fresh. Playable in 30–45 minutes. A light strategy party game for ages 8 and up. -description from the publisher E-mail：tong213141@163.com