Dungeon Roll

I kick-started Dungeon Roll, a good amount of time ago, because the idea looked fun and the price was right.  I was following their progress all the way up until I got to unbox my own recently.  It was mixed emotions during the unboxing process.  When I cracked open the large box that I got in the mail I come to find a very small treasure chest.  The box (or chest) that this game comes in is really small.  It's only about 3.5 inches tall by 4 inches wide.  My opinion instantly changed when I saw how much stuff they managed to cram in that small box.  There was layer after layer of nerdy things in this box that made me smile.  There where layers of cards, dice, tiles, and booklets.  For their Kickstarters they skinned the outside of the chest differently and added the first expansion to the game.  If you are looking to pick this game up for the first time I can tell that the first expansion is fun, but it is not needed to enjoy this game to its fullest.

So I dumped everything out of the box with a group of friends to start our first play through.  I have to say the rules for this game did not jump out at me.  We had a little bit of trouble gaining a good foothold on the rules in this game.  The rule book is not bad, but I feel that it could be slightly clearer.  I would suggest that you find a good video to watch the game being played.  The game is not that hard, so once you see it once or twice you will get the picture.

Once we did have the rules in order we were off dungeon delving and having a good time!  If you want to get an instant idea of what this game feels like I would say it feels like a much more fleshed out and deeper version of zombie dice.  It is a press you luck game where your character actually grows and gets more powerful as the game progresses.  You are a powerful leader that brings together adventure parties and magical items to delve dungeons and become the most powerful at the table.  How do you do this?  You start by going into town and assembling your team.  You roll the dice to see who is on your team and what supplies they are brining.  Monsters are populating the dungeon at every turn, and the farther you go down the dungeon, the more monsters you need to face.  The real trouble is that the more time you spend in the dungeon the higher chance you are going to gain the ire of the dragon!

...more loot! ...more monsters!

Different heroes have different strengths and weaknesses.  You bring rogues to crack open locked treasure chests, you may need priests to fight the undead, or you may need to bring a champion to face anything that comes your way.  Then the person after you rolls for the bad guys.  The level of the dungeon you are on is how many black dungeon dice are rolled.  You start at level one and go as far as you want to, spending you hero dice along the way to deal with obstacles that are in front of you.  Beware, the more you press your luck in the dungeon the more ire you gain from the dragon.  If you roll three dragon symbols you fight the dragon.  To kill the dragon you need a whole party of three different heroes to take him down.

If you manage to clear the level you are on you can leave the dungeon and collect your XP for the run.  Level up your leader and keep on pushing deeper!

I have to say that I like the game and it will go in my rotation of “in-between” games.  I think that this is a great game to pull out when you are transitioning between bigger games.  Everyone playing only gets three turns and it moves very quickly once the group gets the hang of it.  I count this as another win for the Kickstarter gaming section.

The following video is from Watch it Played.  It goes through what's in the box and how to play the game.