DwD Studios

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Summary

There is a dungeon in the kingdom and each of the players represents a party of adventurers who has stumbled upon one of its entrances. Players take turns exploring their dungeon or throwing obstacles in the paths of their rivals. It's a race to the treasure room, while managing the finite resources of adventurers in your party. Cards represent dungeon rooms with different door patterns which can be placed in a labyrinthine manner until you have a 10-card dungeon path with no lurking creatures and no unexplored paths... as long as you have a hero left to claim the treasure, it's yours, and you win the game!

Number of players: 2-4

We played most playtest games with 2-3 players. Our tests with 4 players lasted a bit longer than the typical game length.

Suggested age range: 12+

Though this is just a suggestion. Two 11 year old play-testers could play it just fine (no problem understanding the mechanics) but became emotional if people played too aggressively. Therefore, I recommend 12+.

Duration of play: 15-30 min

A game can be played in 15-30 minutes typically. With 4 players it's a bit longer, and very competitive players can enjoy a tactical experience and make the game last a bit longer.

Components: 126 cards, 12 hero pawns

(4 of which have different backs for easy identification, the rest are dungeon room cards, creature infestations, illuminated rooms that keep creatures at bay, and event cards). Oh, and one sheet of instructions!

Unique features

One unique feature is the theme. Although many fantasy games exist, this one uses the concept of an adventuring party without actually delving into the minutiae of the concept. For instance, there are no classes, races, gear, magic, etc. What makes this game unique is that it accomplishes the theme without use of these components, while leaving a lot of room for possible thematic add-ons. For instance, I have already started working on the first add-on which provides a single red wizard hero pawn. An event card recruits him into your party. In this add-on pack is a number of additional event and dungeon room cards which expand the tactics of the game involving this new wizard piece. Additional concepts have been discussed between myself and my testers regarding a possible rogue's add-on (a black hero pawn, of course).

Therefore, the thing I find most unique is the way the game is so expandable while not requiring such expansion for a fun gaming experience.

Play test results

The most fun was had in 4-player games with very competitive players, where tactical use of event cards can be coupled to perform some pretty surprising results. When someone starts to get close to the 10-card path that results in his victory, everyone gangs up on him and keeps him pinned down. A clever player can use that distraction to pull off some fun type of victory. Most of the game's changes resulted from 4-player tests. Tests using fewer players was no less fun, just less cut-throat.

Buy this game if you love fast-playing tactical beer & pretzels games that still has the capacity for complexity. Buy this game if you like dungeons and creatures and heroes and treasure. A great addition to any game collection!