How to Play Dungeon Raiders (2018) & Review

Dungeon Raiders is a simultaneous action selection, take that game.

Title: Dungeon Raiders (2018)

Year Published: 2018

Designer: Phil Walker-Harding

Publisher: Devir Games

Players: 3-5

Game Time: ~30 mins

Set-up Time: ~2 mins

Ages: 8+

Theme: Fantasy Adventure

Mechanisms: Hand Management, Simultaneous Action Selection, Take That, Variable Player Powers

How to win: Have the most Gold at the end of the game

Game Description

In Dungeon Raiders each player takes the role of a different adventurer. You will have to join forces to survive the dungeon, but only one of you will get out with the most treasure and win the game.

The dungeon is different each time you play, so its dangers like deadly traps and terrible monsters will always surprise you on your path to swag and riches. After pushing your luck to gain the most treasure, the adventurers will face the strongest and most horrendous boss monster!

Set Up, Game Play & Game End

Dungeon Raiders Round-Up

Plenty of these games right? The old ‘choose a card, simultaneously reveal’ stuff.

Boom: Runaway always comes to mind. Mostly because of the theme of you playing bombs trying to escape a bomb factory. Dungeon Busters is very similar in a way with it being pure combat. Also, Dungeon Guilds while not the same, does the theme OK but I didn’t like it as the previous couple I mentioned.

I don’t compare it to the heavier, larger games that use this mechanism. Ones like Mission: Red Planet as the card reveal is only part of the game. Also, it’s very different I guess, but it’s always a game I mention because it’s fun 🙂

So this is the 2018 edition, so what’s different to the 2011 edition?

Firstly the wound system changed. You no longer start with a large number of wounds and count them down. This led to player elimination which is not a popular mechanism. Instead, you start with a couple of wounds depending on your class and count them upwards. At the end of the game, the player or players with the most wounds can’t win.

This removes the player elimination while still making wounds a key part of the game. Very well done.

Secondly, I believe you halved the room deck and shuffled them so they were randomly face up and down. Now you have a room card that tells you which rooms and face up and which are face down. Makes setup a bit easier 🙂

Rating

The 2018 edition of Dungeon Raiders is a fun game though, give it a try.

I give it 7/10

Dungeon Raiders First Impressions August 2018

Jesta ThaRogue

Note: The copy I played was a review copy generously provided by Devir Games, big thanks to them for this game.