Board game form dungeon crawler adventures aren’t new.

Even deck builders with a few dozen of different shapes are no longer board games these days.

So the coincidence of the two concepts was almost to be expected, although the number of deckbuilder-dungeon-crawl-style games is now likely above requirements.

The two things work pretty well when you consider an RPG where you play around in a dungeon collecting gold and treasure, which the deck building mechanics handle quite well.

So we come to this week’s Dungeon Alliance game.

“In the days before the void consumed much of the Old World, there were imperturbable humans, elves, dwarves and dwarves who banded together to penetrate the depths of the earth. These heroes forged unbreakable alliances in search of knowledge, treasure and fame. Rival adventure parties often went to the same dungeon, and these companies fought each other as hard as they did against the monsters that lurked around every dark corner, ”notes the rulebook fuzz (by the way, I also enjoy snippets of this kind to improve my view of one Game).

“Those were daring times, when nothing in the world was considered more sacred than the oath that bound those who shared the dangers of the pit. This was the age of the Dungeon Alliance. “

So what exactly is the game about?

Dungeon Alliance is a deck building, dungeon crawling, and miniature adventure game that allows players to send different teams of adventurers into dangerous dungeons in search of experience and treasure.

“At the beginning of the game, each player puts together their own team of four heroes and uses tactical moves and card games to overcome the monsters and treasures of the dungeon,” says the rules. “Rival teams can compete with each other to kill monsters, or even fight each other for complete control. When the sun greets those who emerge from the pit, only a dungeon alliance will prove victorious.

“As each hero team overcomes monsters and challenges, the heroes gain experience points that they can spend to buy new cards for their Alliance decks. Once issued, XP tokens are turned face down and kept until the end of the game. Which alliance collects the most experience points in the course of the game will win the cloak of victory. “

There is a lot to like here. In particular, in addition to the Dungeon Alliance itself, there is a good selection of miniatures that can be used in the RPG game or in mini-games like Frostgrave. That’s a bonus.

The variety of miniature characters and dungeon tiles means that no two games have to be alike.

The idea of ​​tucking wooden tokens under wounded monster tokens as a reminder of how close a battle is to winning works well.

The game frame where the dungeon tiles are not good because it moves too easily, doesn’t leave the play area square and looks bad. A little more attention to the design would have been an improvement.

The aspect where players can choose from two known tiles when opening a door to explore makes no sense. So turn the tiles over and take your risk like a real adventurer would.

In the end the game is fine, but having played others some are better; Hand of Fate: Trials, Dire Wild, Village of Legends, this one is currently underchallenged. Part of it was that the game is a bit cheerful, slows down the prep, and the game lasts more than 30 minutes to provide a good treat for the time spent.

If this was the first game of its style to be played it will likely be better appreciated, but since it wasn’t, it pale in comparison to previous games.

© Copyright Yorkton This Week

The post The Meeple Guild - A dungeon crawl deck-builder first appeared on DECKSAND FENCES DAILY.