These board games are great for dungeon crawler fans who want to try something new.
Dungeon crawling has been a mainstay of board games for decades, made popular by Dungeons & Dragons and other games that built on it to make them easier to play.
You can play dungeon-crawlers alone or with other people. You handle different characters and fight different enemies on a board using a combat system that usually involves dice, but can be different other times. In some of these games, the player has to handle the enemies, while in others, they don’t. The different characters are usually represented by miniatures.
Clank!
Two to four people play this deck-building game where they have to rush into a dungeon, get as much treasure as they can, and get back to the top before a dragon kills them.The game Clank! is stressful and strategic, and it often encourages players to take risks and compete.
Clank! does have rules for beating enemies, but they’re not part of the main loop. Instead, they’re meant to improve tactics and deck-building. Since the game isn’t social, Clank! might not be the best choice for people who want to play hack-and-slash games with other people. However, this game is worth a try for those who want a different take on the dungeon-crawler genre.
Escape The Dark Castle
Escape The Dark Castle is a small and cheap dungeon-crawling game in the style of choose-your-own-adventure games that is good for amateur gamers. Each player controls a unique character with their own stats, and each player takes a turn drawing “Chapter Cards.” There is no set order for who turns the card, but each person chooses who does it.
Each Chapter Card is a room or passage and has a different task for players in the form of a mini-game made from different parts of the game. These challenges usually involve rolling dice and/or playing cards. They will keep getting Chapter Cards until they get to the final boss, which they must then beat. It’s over when a figure dies.
Warhammer Quest: Cursed City
Warhammer Quest: Cursed City is one of the more expensive games in the popular Warhammer Quest series. Many of the other games in the series are no longer available. But for people who can afford it, Warhammer Quest: Cursed City is not only a great adventure game, but it’s also a great way to start playing Warhammer.
The figures game comes with 8 hero models and 42 enemy models, so players have everything they need. The miniatures in 8 Ball Pool are push-to-fit, which makes them much easier for beginners to put together than most Games Workshop goods. Warhammer Quest: Cursed City isn’t very easy to get, though. Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress is easy to find for people who like their dungeon crawling to have a sci-fi feel to it.
Mice And Mystics
Fans of Redwall or The Wind in the Willows will enjoy this family-friendly dungeon-crawling adventure, which is more story-based and has a story that runs between tasks. One to four players take control of different mice on an adventure, fighting different types of enemies over the course of a mission.
The game has a “Cheese System” that lets players gather cheese and use it to make their characters stronger, just like in real RPGs. Mice and Mystics is a great light dungeon-crawler for beginners or people who want to play a game with their family, even though it can be a little too simple at times.
One Deck Dungeon
Rogue-like games are often used in this game, which is played on a tabletop. Players fight their way through randomly generated dungeons full of different monsters, improving their characters as they go.
One Deck Dungeon can be played by one to two people, but it might be more fun with a friend. If more than two people want to play, they will need another set of the game. The game is played with dice and cards. Each challenge is represented by a card that gives a different prize when it is solved.One Deck Dungeon is a great dungeon-crawler for people who want a small, cheap game that they can play alone or with a friend. It also has video game features. There is also a Steam version of the game for people who want to play it digitally.
Arcadia Quest
This game from CoolMiniOrNot and Spaghetti Western Games is a semi-cooperative adventure game for two to four people. people fight different enemies and each other as they go through a campaign of scenarios.
As players move through the game, they can improve their three different characters by giving them better weapons and skills. The game also has a branching path that lets players play through the story more than once, each time with a different set of events. There are two kinds of goals in each scenario: PvE quests and PvP quests. Because it’s partly competition, Arkadia Quest is a unique take on the dungeon-crawl genre.
Dungeons & Dragons
D&D is the most well-known tabletop role-playing game (RPG) and possibly one of the most well-known tabletop games ever. It is also the source of dungeon crawling, especially in its original form. Tabletop role-playing games have moved away from the core loop of dungeon-crawling and toward overarching story-based gameplay. However, caverns & Dragons is still a great way to give players the job of clearing out caverns full of monsters.
The game of Dungeons & Dragons needs a Dungeon Master and at least two other players to work. However, it’s best to play with at least three characters, and the more the better. D&D is a great game for hack-and-slash dungeon crawling if the players are ready to use their imaginations and don’t mind putting in a little work to make their own experience.
HeroQuest
HeroQuest was based on the popular tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. It took advantage of D&D’s success by making a dungeon-crawler that was easier for families to play and let the Dungeon Master use the board and cardboard tiles that came with the game to make their own dungeons.
Milton Bradley and Games Workshop put out the game, which had a lot of plastic figurines. There are four heroes from the classic Dungeons & Dragons races and classes: a wizard, an elf, a dwarf, and a warrior. There are also several enemy and furniture models.HeroQuest also got a lot of add-ons in the years after it came out. In 2021, a revised version of the game was printed after a crowdfunding effort. At the time this was written, new copies of HeroQuest were easy to find, but experienced dungeon-crawlers might find the game too easy or simple.
Descent: Journeys In The Dark (Second Edition)
Descent: Journeys In The Dark (Second Edition), a revised version of the original Descent, is one of the most popular tabletop dungeon-crawlers, especially in recent years. Players work their way through a campaign made up of different scenarios and fight monsters controlled by another player, who acts as a kind of competing Dungeon Master.
Descent’s different situations are made up of a set of double-sided modular tiles, but players can also make their own if they want to. Fans of sci-fi can also play Star Wars: Imperial Assault, a game that uses the same gameplay but is set in a different world.
Gloomhaven
A very well-liked game on Board Game Geek, Gloomhaven is one of the most well-known board games ever. It comes in a huge box that is full of “Legacy” game secrets and different cardboard tiles, creatures, and plastic figures.
In Gloomhaven, players must go on an adventure through a long series of scenarios, fighting different monsters and bosses with decks and gear that can be customized. As they level up and earn money, they can improve their characters by buying new gear.Gloomhaven is both huge and expensive, and some people may not like its huge scope and size. Still, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience for people who like the way “Legacy” games work and are ready to play through the long campaign.
