Monsterpocalypse? Yes please!

I've decided that the Cross Gaming Club is a dangerous place for me. Since I have started to attend, I have been roped into Warmachine/Hordes and now Monsterpocalypse. I was just happy building up my Necron army, awaiting the new Codex that's supposed to be coming out next year (also waiting to see if they give the Dark Angels an updated Codex as well). If I built them up to say 10,000 points, I, then at that point, might have actually started to read the Warhammer rules and then made my Dwarf army legal. I'm now safely hooked on WM/Hordes (although taking a break after the Riots and a C2A league at the club) and have now turned my greedy eyes on plastic monsters. The idea that there is a game that plays exactly like an old monster movie is just too much to resist. I've watched games where monsters throw each other and stomp and rampage through built up cities.
As the Monpoc scene was gradually gathering new players just like Katamari Damacy, a guy called Carlos decided to purchase the Series 4: Monsterpocalypse Now! Mega Kit and get people involved. Also he needed 5 additional people to cover the cost, I helpfully put my name forward. Once it was agreed who was taking which faction (I chose Empire of the Apes), we all got together after London Riots and shared out the Mega Kit. Because no-one knows what is in each box, we had to swap our goodies until we got what we wanted. It is a nice idea to do this, but I had reservations about this because you can't choose what you get. But having to swap means that you will most likely meet another gamer and end up playing after you trade. After divvying up all of the monstrous goodies, I had to rush home as I had something planned with my Princess at home. From what I heard, the rest of the Mega Kit Shareholders had pretty decent games.
I had to wait for the following Wednesday in order to get my first game. Instead of playing on club night (Tuesday) I met Carlos in a pub in Marylebone to go through the finer points of Monpoc. Carlos used his one of his new monsters from the Mega Kit (UberCorps Gorghadratron) while I used the Terrasaurs Terra Khan (whom I picked up in a box of Series 1 Monpoc stuff on evilBay). I probably should have used one of the monsters from the Mega Kit (King Kondo or Gakura), but somehow felt that a rampaging dino would have been better. It was to work out how things should work like how many units you can spawn, how to balance the Action Dice between monster and units, which buildings to stomp all over, etc. Even though it was just a friendly, I still ended up on the losing side despite being in a pub called the Perseverance (my secondary school motto being Persevere (I forget how to spell the Latin version) which I thought was a good sign). It was my first full game and I didn't know much of what all the various symols mean and how that could affect my play. A good idea would be to actually pick up, and read, a rulebook. I don't think I've ever sat down and immersed myself in any set of rules (I thaven't even read the Monpoc, Warmachine or 5th ed 40k rulebooks!) as I think it's best to learn by playing. But as I have a bad memory, I get confused and ended up losing. Which is something I should remedy as soon as possible.