There is nothing better in life than cutting a swath through hordes of monsters in an ancient dungeon filled with traps and treasure. The squishy Goblin blood under your boot as you heft the chest filled to the brim with gold and jewels onto your back and begin to head back to town to regale your story of heroism to the townspeople. Or that’s the way it would have gone had you not stepped in the poisonous cloud and melted into a tiny puddle.
Note: This is a review copy of the game. The components do not represent the quality of the finished product. Crash Games has stated the final product will have a higher production value.
Dungeon Heroes by Crash Games is a two player game where you play as either the Dungeon Lord or a band of four heroes trying to take the treasure from the dungeon. To win, the Dungeon Lord must kill the heroes, or the heroes must acquire three treasures from the board. During this time the Dungeon Lord is placing tiles with various effects on the board attempting to disrupt the heroes plans. Each player gets four actions per turn starting with the Dungeon Lord. The heroes will either move or use one of their various abilities: The Wizard can reveal a tile, the cleric can heal an adjacent hero (or themselves) for 2 points, the warrior can kill monsters, and the rogue can disarm traps. The Lord on the other hand will randomly choose four tiles, look at them, then place them on the board where they will do the most damage. That is until the Dungeon Lord runs out of tiles. At this point in the game the Dungeon Lord can flip over tiles and move revealed monsters to attack the heroes.
Dungeon Heroes is a surprisingly strategic game. When I first read the rules and setup the board I was expecting a really light and fluffy game, but once I hit the meat of it I started counting multiple moves ahead trying to determine what directions my opponent would go. Placing tiles as a Dungeon Lord has a strategy all it’s own and then the game completely changes when you begin moving the monsters. The game began to feel like a chess match where you are either trying to corral the heroes to their deaths, or attempting to outmaneuver the monsters so your warrior can pick them off while the rest of the party clears the board and/or takes the treasure. Initially it may seem as if one side is stronger than the other, but once you have a few games under your belt and switch sides the balance really shows itself.
Dungeon Heroes is a very fun game. The theme and mechanics work surprisingly well together and really allow for a much deeper experience than would be expected from face value. The minimalist rules and the short time from setup to game’s end really make for a quick and enjoyable game. I could really see this game being taken to a bar or restaurant to kill some time.
I really enjoyed Dungeon Heroes and would definitely suggest picking it up. The kickstarter can be found here.
This game was tough even with us cheating and playing 3 against the Dungeon Lord! Can’t wait to see the fully-realized product.
yeah I liked this game. I enjoyed playing three against the D-lord, it had that chess feel which I super like. I hope we have another go at it and try it the other way. great review Rob!!! PS I liked the “melting” link/ jump!
I’d like to give this game a shot again. Maybe if we actually MOVED around rather than hanging back, we’d do a better job. Yes, I said we, because there is no way I’m playing one-on-one with Rob, I’d get my ass kicked!!