I finally got my "Squee!" moment when my 3rd Edition of Dungeonquest showed up this afternoon. I still have the old Games Workshop version from ~1985 but I had to get this one because nearly everything about it has been improved. And there is no planned reprint coming. ::)
This brings me to a question.
Are there any other tabletop dungeon crawlers out there that feature similarly randomized exploration and doesn't require a lot of record keeping? I already own Betrayal at the House on Haunted Hill which is a somewhat similar tile-based crawler with some randomization (although not as much as Dungeonquest) but I'd like to hear of any more that may fit the bill, for future purchasing prospects.
I've eyed Descent a bit, but I'm not sure if the dungeon crawler exploration & randomization side of it is there. It seems more like some 'set' scenarios with a limited variety in each run. Any additional thoughts on this specific series would also be appreciated.
Arkham Horror, perhaps?
Doom: The Boardgame is a lot of fun, even though it's not technically a "dungeon" crawler, it's pretty much the same thing.
http://www.atlas-games.com/dungeoneer/
make sure you have a few spare minis laying around, as they're a better effect than the fold-up cards in the box.
I'm a fan of the old TSR Dungeon game (recently re-released) but it's not a random map, just random encounters.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on November 22, 2013, 09:56:43 PM
I'm a fan of the old TSR Dungeon game (recently re-released) but it's not a random map, just random encounters.
Geez, can't believe I didn't think of that classic game!
Dungeon is a lot of fun. I'd always try a wizard and go right for the 6th level to get those 10,000 gp items. Then again, a warrior on the first few levels was fun too - racking up denizen body counts left and right.
Hero Quest was fun too, but that'll be hard to come by; I just sold my copy this past summer on eBay.
I remember my dad and I playing
Magic Realm back when I was in middle school. (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22/magic-realm). That one had quite a bit of randomization and changing worlds, IIRC. It's not hard to find, but it's long out of print and therefore pretty expensive ($100 or so from what I've seen).
I'll throw out the obvious choices of Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, and Legend of Drizzt.
All of these are solo-friendly, random maps, random encounters, without much more brain burn than dungeon crawling. If you want, I understand you can house-rule these into a campaign of sorts although I've never tried it.
Tons of plastic figures in the boxes; I've heard the games are actually worth their asking price just to get the figures.
I've only played Ravenloft, although I have all three. Ashardalon is considered the best of the three, and is therefore now the most expensive. I enjoyed Ravenloft well enough, though.
Ravenloft (from which you can link to the others): http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59946/dungeons-dragons-castle-ravenloft-board-game
Ha! I own Ravenloft too, but never played it. :-\
I already own Ravenloft. It's a good game, but I don't feel like shelling out a butt ton of money for the other two to expand the variety. One big thing I felt it didn't have was interesting rooms. While you draw a card on each newly explored tile (as per usual in these games), nearly all the rooms were just barren corridors. The dungeon crawlers I've enjoyed most usually also have room tile specific cards or events tied to them. Also.. I wasn't all that crazed about the movement mechanics switching between square and tile. It made for some odd measurements at times. It's certainly a good one for some family co-op, especially when some of the youngest ones need some help reading cards.
I gotta say the Dungeoneer one looks like it fits the bill nicely. Even though it doesn't have a bunch of fancy pieces hopefully the card stock is decent. I'm gonna grab a couple sets and check it out! ;D
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I suppose nobody here has actually tried Descent then? It seems almost like one of the D&D boardgames (such as Ravenloft) but with one person actually playing the bad guy.
Quote from: Nefaro on November 23, 2013, 11:21:23 PM
I gotta say the Dungeoneer one looks like it fits the bill nicely. Even though it doesn't have a bunch of fancy pieces hopefully the card stock is decent. I'm gonna grab a couple sets and check it out! ;D
Can't recommend that one enough. Nifty game system - read the rules on the website - and the sets connect together quite nicely. The only downside to them is that there's no good "campaign" where you keep the same character for an extended period through multiple adventures. There are ways to graft it onto the game, but they're clunky.
That will in no way detract from the hack-and-slash dungeon crawl glory that is the basic game, though. It's a lot of fun.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on November 23, 2013, 11:34:12 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on November 23, 2013, 11:21:23 PM
I gotta say the Dungeoneer one looks like it fits the bill nicely. Even though it doesn't have a bunch of fancy pieces hopefully the card stock is decent. I'm gonna grab a couple sets and check it out! ;D
Can't recommend that one enough. Nifty game system - read the rules on the website - and the sets connect together quite nicely. The only downside to them is that there's no good "campaign" where you keep the same character for an extended period through multiple adventures. There are ways to graft it onto the game, but they're clunky.
That will in no way detract from the hack-and-slash dungeon crawl glory that is the basic game, though. It's a lot of fun.
That's all I can ask for ... a fun varied dungeon crawl.
I always have the Pathfinder ACG for a persistent fantasy hero card game. It just doesn't really have the exploratory side of it like some of these others do ( no actual rooms & such).
Crap! I think I ordered a the first "Lich" Dungeoneer game .. and the last higher-level expansion (Legendary.. Serpent Goddess thing). I suspect there's one in the middle that I will need to bridge the gap? Looks like there's
another "Lich" one labelled 'Epic'. The two Lich titles are was a bit confusing.
Edit: Also.. I've had different versions of the TSR's old
Dungeon game over the years but I'm not all that into it in my adult years, now. Way too simplistic. For some reason, I recall it actually having more "stuff" you could find, in the version I played back in the early 80s, and more classes each with a specific ability. Or am I thinking of a different dungeon crawler from TSR in that period??? The latest versions seem like they culled items, classes, and abilities from the oldies.
Check out Gears of War, Nefaro. A surprisingly good game based on the video game license. You do have pre-determined map tile layouts, but completely randomized monster movement based on card draws. It isn't too involved that running more than one character is too taxing, and the difficulty is actually pretty respectable.
Quote from: Nefaro on November 24, 2013, 12:35:34 AM
For some reason, I recall it actually having more "stuff" you could find, in the version I played back in the early 80s, and more classes each with a specific ability. Or am I thinking of a different dungeon crawler from TSR in that period??? The latest versions seem like they culled items, classes, and abilities from the oldies.
you sure you're not thinking of the incarnation of red-bid D&D from that era? ;)
I've played Descent with the kids. It has a fairly good set-up time. Also, Descent is really a competitive game- it's the DM vs. the players. If that's ok with you then fine, but understand that the DM is trying to "win" the game by killing the players just as the players are trying to "win" by beating the dungeon. The DM doesn't facilitate play like in regular D&D.
Having said that, if you're into a game that requires at least 2 (preferably 3 or more) to play, Descent is a highly recommended dungeon crawl. I have the old edition. Apparently they released a new edition now so you'll likely have to go that route.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on November 24, 2013, 07:46:31 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on November 24, 2013, 12:35:34 AM
For some reason, I recall it actually having more "stuff" you could find, in the version I played back in the early 80s, and more classes each with a specific ability. Or am I thinking of a different dungeon crawler from TSR in that period??? The latest versions seem like they culled items, classes, and abilities from the oldies.
you sure you're not thinking of the incarnation of red-bid D&D from that era? ;)
I just remember the name was pretty much the same (it had Dungeon in it) and I vaguely recall there being more classes available. Like eight or more. Such craziness as 'Hero' and 'Superhero'. I don't recall exactly how different each was from the other but there were definitely more. There also seemed to be a few more usable item cards you could find.
Not really a boardgame if that is what you are looking for but recently the kids and I (got tired of DM'ing and wanted to participate in some good old fashioned hack and slash myself) have been using the random dungeon generator in the back of the 1e AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. We all rolled up characters and just dove in using it without a dedicated DM. Its not real sorry driven but the kids like to make up the reasoning behind "what the heck are these guys doing down here and where did this particular treasure come from". I suspect the kids like the chance to build on the story as they want as we adventure on. They actually come up with some pretty interesting stories, stories that I frequently steal from them to write up real dungeons for my VTT games. 8)
Quote from: Nefaro on November 24, 2013, 07:35:50 PM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on November 24, 2013, 07:46:31 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on November 24, 2013, 12:35:34 AM
For some reason, I recall it actually having more "stuff" you could find, in the version I played back in the early 80s, and more classes each with a specific ability. Or am I thinking of a different dungeon crawler from TSR in that period??? The latest versions seem like they culled items, classes, and abilities from the oldies.
you sure you're not thinking of the incarnation of red-bid D&D from that era? ;)
I just remember the name was pretty much the same (it had Dungeon in it) and I vaguely recall there being more classes available. Like eight or more. Such craziness as 'Hero' and 'Superhero'. I don't recall exactly how different each was from the other but there were definitely more. There also seemed to be a few more usable item cards you could find.
It sounds like...Dungeon.
http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgame/1339/dungeon
This is a newer iteration of the game; the first version came out in 1975. I played it in the early/mid 80s a lot.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on November 25, 2013, 07:02:50 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on November 24, 2013, 07:35:50 PM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on November 24, 2013, 07:46:31 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on November 24, 2013, 12:35:34 AM
For some reason, I recall it actually having more "stuff" you could find, in the version I played back in the early 80s, and more classes each with a specific ability. Or am I thinking of a different dungeon crawler from TSR in that period??? The latest versions seem like they culled items, classes, and abilities from the oldies.
you sure you're not thinking of the incarnation of red-bid D&D from that era? ;)
I just remember the name was pretty much the same (it had Dungeon in it) and I vaguely recall there being more classes available. Like eight or more. Such craziness as 'Hero' and 'Superhero'. I don't recall exactly how different each was from the other but there were definitely more. There also seemed to be a few more usable item cards you could find.
It sounds like...Dungeon.
http://boardgamegeek.com/images/boardgame/1339/dungeon
This is a newer iteration of the game; the first version came out in 1975. I played it in the early/mid 80s a lot.
LOL. Yeah, that's what we were talking about.
I was saying that the oldest version(s) had more 'stuff' to it than the later versions. I'm going from vague memories but the new editions released in the last couple decades have been a bit dumbed down compared to the late 70s/early 80s version.
Quote from: Toonces on November 24, 2013, 02:37:18 PM
I've played Descent with the kids. It has a fairly good set-up time. Also, Descent is really a competitive game- it's the DM vs. the players. If that's ok with you then fine, but understand that the DM is trying to "win" the game by killing the players just as the players are trying to "win" by beating the dungeon. The DM doesn't facilitate play like in regular D&D.
Having said that, if you're into a game that requires at least 2 (preferably 3 or more) to play, Descent is a highly recommended dungeon crawl. I have the old edition. Apparently they released a new edition now so you'll likely have to go that route.
Thanks. I'd actually prefer one with some competitive game mechanics. I already have a couple co-op ones and those are enough.
My only concern about
Descent was the variety of 'stuff' in it. It looks like it's a series that you gotta invest lotsa money in expansions to get more than a handful of monsters/times/wotnot in the delves. I'm also not sure how varied each individual session is or whether it's just a scenario setup with pre-determined dungeon contents. The latter is probably my biggest concern - canned scenarios or a fair bit of randomization so you're never sure what the party may run into?
On another note, I played the new
Dungeonquest the other night with some of the family. It's still quite brutal and the players often die before succeeding. Like the "roguelike" of boardgame dungeon crawlers - see who can get further before dying. But it's still fun, a good deal of variety and randomization, and it plays well with nearly all ages since nearly all the cards with text are turned over and read to the group. The only reading done is just one special character or monster skill card during a monster attack mini-game, the rest is just playing highest number to win and matching an attack type symbol to see if you can add more in a counterattack to your total. Pretty easy on the young-uns. The combat card game system is new since the old 80s version I have but the rulebook still has a few extra optional combat resolution mechanics to use in it's stead if you want to simplify it even more. I can recommend 3rd Edition Dungeonquest for including their kids that don't read so well but still know their base numbers alright. If you can find a good copy nowadays. :-\
as a possibility for a more contemporary dungeon crawler, you might want to give the Adventurers games a look.
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamefamily/10592/the-adventurers
think of it as the boardgame equivalent of the first 15 minutes of an Indiana Jones movie. Fun settings, a race to escape, some different dangers, and a bunch of grab-the-loot-and-run mechanics.
Quote from: Nefaro on November 25, 2013, 11:01:23 AM
LOL. Yeah, that's what we were talking about.
I was saying that the oldest version(s) had more 'stuff' to it than the later versions. I'm going from vague memories but the new editions released in the last couple decades have been a bit dumbed down compared to the late 70s/early 80s version.
Got it. I haven't seen the latest iterations, but I do remember the older version, and can't comprehend how it could have possibly been dumbed down any further. I'll have to check and see if there's a PDF rulebook there on BGG...might be worth a laugh.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on November 25, 2013, 01:02:00 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on November 25, 2013, 11:01:23 AM
LOL. Yeah, that's what we were talking about.
I was saying that the oldest version(s) had more 'stuff' to it than the later versions. I'm going from vague memories but the new editions released in the last couple decades have been a bit dumbed down compared to the late 70s/early 80s version.
Got it. I haven't seen the latest iterations, but I do remember the older version, and can't comprehend how it could have possibly been dumbed down any further. I'll have to check and see if there's a PDF rulebook there on BGG...might be worth a laugh.
There are fewer classes in the new edition. Also, I'm pretty sure that there are fewer usable item cards to find. What do the new ones have.. just a few sword cards that are the same +1 or +2 bonus that you roll for when you find it? Weren't there usable potions, rope, keys/lockpicks and other such things in the original?
I want to say there was only a handful of items, like a +1 sword, with the vast majority of Treasure cards being piles of gold and gems worth lots of gold.
Quote from: Nefaro on November 25, 2013, 01:52:29 PMWeren't there usable potions, rope, keys/lockpicks and other such things in the original?
there were a lot of expansion cards floating around out there. some from magazines, some homemade, some you can find on BGG or other places
later some of those expansion cards found their way into reprints
The more I check out some web details on Dungeoneer, the more it seems to be just what I was looking for. Thanks for suggesting that Brant, I didn't know about it before.
I should be receiving it this afternoon, minus one of the expansion packs that will show up next week. However, I forgot to order some extra 'counters' and such. I certainly have stuff to use around here but had to turn around and order some for it, specifically, so I don't have to shuffle bits between various games. I'm also thinking about slicing up some cardboard and attempting some arts & crafts craziness to reinforce the little standee cutouts that come with it, for the same reason.
just use some random figures laying about for them. You can also use pennies for much of the tokens. We used a lot of the gold tokens from the Pirates! series of punch-out card games.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on November 27, 2013, 07:47:34 AM
just use some random figures laying about for them. You can also use pennies for much of the tokens. We used a lot of the gold tokens from the Pirates! series of punch-out card games.
Yeah, I'll use counters & figures from other stuff in the meantime but when I pack it up I want it to have it's own self-contained set of 'stuff'. I can get by with the paper pieces if I can glue the paper figures to some more durable materials. I'll definitely need to put all this stuff in a new box, along with the cards, too. I grabbed a few expansions along with the two full-sized base sets.
It's nice that the rules are short and to the point but the gameplay is still interesting due to the CCG-like card mechanics being able to each dictate their own additional rules or changes to rules. Doesn't look all that difficult once you get the turn sequence down and it has some of the variety I was looking for. 8)