http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Product.aspx?x=dnd/products/dndacc/355940000

Half my D&D group didn't show up yesterday, so we ended up playing this instead. I can honestly say I had a great time, in spite of thinking it was going to suck. The guy who owned the game said it was very close to how 4th edition combat was run, which solidifies my belief that 4th edition D&D is a fun boardgame, but a crappy roleplaying game.

Anyway, the game has enough depth to be very interesting, but not so much as to be overwhelming. We had four players and ended up winning, total time around an hour and a half, so definitely not an all night affair. I'd put the level of complexity above something like Sorry or even Risk, maybe on the same level as Axis and Allies: some investment needed, but even a casual player can become proficient after the first game.

Recommending this game for sure.

Wizards has knocked the last few board games out of the park.

Give Lords of Waterdeep a spin if you get the chance.

Correct, the Ravenloft/Ashardalon/Drizzt series are pretty simplistic. Good mid range family games,

Quote from: Brad;709387The guy who owned the game said it was very close to how 4th edition combat was run, which solidifies my belief that 4th edition D&D is a fun boardgame, but a crappy roleplaying game.

That guy is lying to you.

Although the games use 4E terminology, the actual game play is radically different. I've actually seen this lead to several 4E players misjudging the boardgames because they expect it to play like 4E combat and when it doesn't they conclude that they're strategically shallow games.

But I definitely join you in recommending these board games. I've spent a considerable chunk of my life searching for a dungeoncrawl boardgame that (a) doesn't require a GM and (b) doesn't suck. The D&D boardgames have actually delivered that experience.

I have the Ashardalon game, but my experience playing it was dreary. It didn't help we only spotted the (obscure) note to draw a treasure after killing each monster after about an hour. But even after that it still felt like a grind, with no real strategy, and most importantly no way to get a breather, since each turn either a monster spawned or an equally bad event card hit. We still won though, so it was easy enough, but it wasn't much fun. Maybe if the presentation had been vastly better. Everything felt really abstract; I'm used to board wargames with much better 'fluff', from Arnhem Bridge to Dragon Pass. The fluff here was incredibly weak and didn't draw me in at all.

These games are fairly fun monster bashes, and I certainly see *some* 4e aspects to them. Ultimately, the games are just a little too simplistic for my taste.

If you don't mind some serious rules, the Mage Knight boardgame is a fun dungeon crawl that delivers...not since Warhammer Quest have I found a dungeon crawl that was really fun (and Quest still wins out if "simpler" is my goal for the day).

Quote from: Justin Alexander;709538That guy is lying to you.

Although the games use 4E terminology, the actual game play is radically different. I've actually seen this lead to several 4E players misjudging the boardgames because they expect it to play like 4E combat and when it doesn't they conclude that they're strategically shallow games.

But I definitely join you in recommending these board games. I've spent a considerable chunk of my life searching for a dungeoncrawl boardgame that (a) doesn't require a GM and (b) doesn't suck. The D&D boardgames have actually delivered that experience.

Warhammer Quest is still my personal favorite GMless dungeoncrawler. As long as you dont take it too seriously or think its a real RPG. Unfortunately over on BGG at least there are players who absolutely obsess over the falsely perceived NEEEEEEEEED to have a mini for every single damn thing listed in the advanced book.

Quote from: Doom;709573Ultimately, the games are just a little too simplistic for my taste.

They're simplistic compared to ASL or SFB, sure. They're not simple if you're used to playing Monopoly. I'm all for a game I can play with non-gamer friends while getting hammered...try convincing three friends (who won't be for long) to play a "quick" game of Titan instead of Parcheesi. That did NOT go well.

Anyway, I am getting the Ravenlot game because that looks really neat.

Quote from: Brad;709905Anyway, I am getting the Ravenlot game because that looks really neat.

FWIW I consider the best of the three to be Wrath of Ashardalon, followed by Castle Ravenloft and then Legend of Drizzt.

I liked Ravenloft. But its selection of minis didnt quite feel thematically appropriate for the setting. It might as well have been called Geryhawk Dungeon and it would have felt about the same.

CR seemed to me to have high proportion of undead and "horror" themed monsters. Only the Kobolds are not all that thematic:

Kobold
Wolf
Rat swarm
Skeleton
Blazing skeleton
Wraith
Gargoyle
Zombie
Strahd
Dracolich
Werewolf
Kobold sorcerer
Flesh golem

Quote from: Skywalker;710003CR seemed to me to have high proportion of undead and "horror" themed monsters. Only the Kobolds are not all that thematic:

Kobold
Wolf
Rat swarm
Skeleton
Blazing skeleton
Wraith
Gargoyle
Zombie
Strahd
Dracolich
Werewolf
Kobold sorcerer
Flesh golem

hmmm, I dont recall seeing mention of some of those. But if they are in there then that does make it more thematic...

Quote from: Skywalker;709921FWIW I consider the best of the three to be Wrath of Ashardalon, followed by Castle Ravenloft and then Legend of Drizzt.

I would agree with this.

They are all pretty good. Castle Ravenloft is a bit more difficult grind, while WoA and LoD are a little easier - with more fun powers.

On the down side, the really successful tactics are unfortunately rather counter-intuitive, relying on manipulating the monster control and movement rules. Particularly if you arrange the tiles correctly, PCs are much faster than monsters, so to win, it often helps to *not* fight the monsters that pop up, but instead just let them get one shot in and run past them to get to the end and complete the victory condition.

Quote from: Omega;710014hmmm, I dont recall seeing mention of some of those. But if they are in there then that does make it more thematic...

That's the complete CR monster list. A lot of the villains don't appear until the later adventures though.