I really enjoy Dungeon crawler boardgames but I have a problem.
I want a "rules medium" game.
Nearly all dungeon crawlers are either too light to give a good nights gaming (Dungeon!) or too heavy to enjoy casually (Decent).
I want a game that will satisfy a group of regular gamers for a couple hours but I can also get non-gamers to play without ripping their hair out over all the little pieces/bits/rules/etc...
Any recommendations?
Quote from: Piestrio;626836I really enjoy Dungeon crawler boardgames but I have a problem.
I want a "rules medium" game.
Nearly all dungeon crawlers are either too light to give a good nights gaming (Dungeon!) or too heavy to enjoy casually (Decent).
I want a game that will satisfy a group of regular gamers for a couple hours but I can also get non-gamers to play without ripping their hair out over all the little pieces/bits/rules/etc...
Any recommendations?
Believe it or not, the 4e-based D&D boardgames (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardelon) are pretty good. Definitely rules-medium and the simplified 4e mechanics work way better in a boardgame than they did for me as an RPG.
Milton Bradley's HeroQuest.
Quote from: Benoist;626895Milton Bradley's HeroQuest.
Games Workshop's advanced version: Advanced Heroquest.
Quote from: Benoist;626895Milton Bradley's HeroQuest.
That's one of my favorites :)
I've heard the D&D boardgame they released in Europe (mid-00's) was pretty much a direct rip-off of heroquest and I'd love to get it but as cheap as it is on ebay shipping to the US is a killer :(
Quote from: elfandghost;626899Games Workshop's advanced version: Advanced Heroquest.
What's the difference?
Quote from: elfandghost;626899Games Workshop's advanced version: Advanced Heroquest.
I'll raise you : Warhammer Quest. Edges a bit further towards "detailed", but it's still very fast in play, and has a lot of potential extra depth.
Quote from: Piestrio;626902What's the difference?
Both are good but the original is very basic it was in conjunction with games Workshop too. I remember selling them at Games Workshop for a bit (long time ago!) as an initial entry to Games Workshop products so it is designed for players between 10 -14.
The advanced version has more RPG elements and is easier to invent your own games, it is also aimed at an older player range. It has a magic system, essentially a watered down version of the Warhammer magic system with varying different wizards too. Old White Dwarves used to have some articles for extra rules and adventures. Wiki tells you a little more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_HeroQuest. Copies are always on ebay - though I'm not sure of its availability in the States.
Quote from: Ladybird;626906I'll raise you : Warhammer Quest. Edges a bit further towards "detailed", but it's still very fast in play, and has a lot of potential extra depth.
True! Though isn't it harder to get hold of?
Quote from: elfandghost;626909True! Though isn't it harder to get hold of?
Especially if you'd need to get it posted to the US...
There is going to be an iOS version later this year, though - no idea yet how that will work out.
I'd like to say "My own rules system" .... but i have no magic rules for it uploaded, yet ...
Quote from: Piestrio;626836I really enjoy Dungeon crawler boardgames but I have a problem.
I want a "rules medium" game.
Nearly all dungeon crawlers are either too light to give a good nights gaming (Dungeon!) or too heavy to enjoy casually (Decent).
I want a game that will satisfy a group of regular gamers for a couple hours but I can also get non-gamers to play without ripping their hair out over all the little pieces/bits/rules/etc...
Any recommendations?
I don't know from personal experience, but I hear the 2nd edition of Descent can be played in one night.
Dungeonquest?
Had the old GW version and I've seen its been re-born via FFG relatively recently - might be a tickler of fancies...
Milton Bradley's Heroquest is the best.
I love Descent 1e, but as everyone knows a single session takes about 6 to 12 hours. I recently got 2e, but haven't given it a test drive yet.
Wrath of Ashardalon is pretty good and gets sporadic play at my table. It plays quickly.
Nowadays I don't like Advanced Heroquest. I can't really articulate why. It's just that if I'm up for the level of detail AHQ gets into, then I'm in the mood for Descent. If I'm not in the mood for that kind of thing, I'd rather play regular Heroquest.
Quote from: Gabriel2;628289Milton Bradley's Heroquest is the best.
I love Descent 1e, but as everyone knows a single session takes about 6 to 12 hours. I recently got 2e, but haven't given it a test drive yet.
Wrath of Ashardalon is pretty good and gets sporadic play at my table. It plays quickly.
Nowadays I don't like Advanced Heroquest. I can't really articulate why. It's just that if I'm up for the level of detail AHQ gets into, then I'm in the mood for Descent. If I'm not in the mood for that kind of thing, I'd rather play regular Heroquest.
Yeah, Warhammer Quest is the best rules-medium game IMO, too. I think Ashardalon (and it's semi-clones) is a little too light for what you get out of the game...it strikes me as too much rules for too little fun. All the depth of Dungeon!, with half the complexity of Warhammer Quest.
It's funny, I've found Descent to be a freakin' 6 hour games as well, but lots of folks insist is plays much more quickly than that.
Quote from: Gabriel2;628289Milton Bradley's Heroquest is the best.
It's the one I had the most fun with. It's got the most simple mechanics, the cool emergent game play feature of the board you reconfigure for your adventures, the minis included and all... this game was really, really good. I don't think any "advanced" or "complexified" version ever came close to the goodness that basic HeroQuest (and Space Crusade) was, really (to me, YMMV etc).
The correct answer is Warhammer Quest. It will cost you $200 on eBay and it is worth every dime. Better than HeroQuest and faster than Descent. The campaign mode is awesome.
Quote from: Spinachcat;629018The correct answer is Warhammer Quest. It will cost you $200 on eBay and it is worth every dime. Better than HeroQuest and faster than Descent. The campaign mode is awesome.
I just did an eBay search. The first page: $200, $500, $450.
I'm going to make a slightly odd recommendation : Death Angel, the Space Hulk card game.
"Ladybird, stop being daft", I hear you type, "not only is that a sci-fi game, it's also a card game, and not in a dungeon, and there is no loot".
Well, all of those are true. But. It's got tactical play - if the Marines don't work together, they will die, and quickly. It's got adventure, because you don't ever know what the next room and event are going to be, only how close you potentially are to the end of the game. It's incredibly fast-playing - turns are short and brutal, and there potentially aren't many of them (But on the other hand, it's quick to set it all up again for another go...). It's up to six players co-op, and scales very well.
There's even one - count it! - piece of loot.
It's also, for the complete game (With all four optional expansions), only $58.75. There's also plenty of play in the core set alone, and each expansion adds a lot to the game.
So it's maybe not the most obvious suggestion, but it's worth a glance at.
Quote from: Benoist;628970It's the one I had the most fun with. It's got the most simple mechanics, the cool emergent game play feature of the board you reconfigure for your adventures, the minis included and all... this game was really, really good. I don't think any "advanced" or "complexified" version ever came close to the goodness that basic HeroQuest (and Space Crusade) was, really (to me, YMMV etc).
I use my old AHQ board and bits as visuals when I RPG with my daughter although I usually let her use a disney princess or tiger from kungfu panda as her mini though
Works really well. that game had some great props.
Quote from: misterguignol;626845Believe it or not, the 4e-based D&D boardgames (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardelon) are pretty good. Definitely rules-medium and the simplified 4e mechanics work way better in a boardgame than they did for me as an RPG.
I would agree with this completely. 4e as an RPG does nothing for me. 4e as a board game has always meant a fun time to be had.
And if you use minis in your RPG gaming, then you can repurpose the pieces.
Quote from: Benoist;628970It's the one I had the most fun with. It's got the most simple mechanics, the cool emergent game play feature of the board you reconfigure for your adventures, the minis included and all... this game was really, really good. I don't think any "advanced" or "complexified" version ever came close to the goodness that basic HeroQuest (and Space Crusade) was, really (to me, YMMV etc).
I agree with this, too, and the only reason I don't recommend it is because of just how damn hard it is to get a copy without spending an arm and a leg. I HAD the board game and the first two expansions, but lost vital pieces in a move. Made me very, very sad.
Quote from: Tommy Brownell;629062I would agree with this completely. 4e as an RPG does nothing for me. 4e as a board game has always meant a fun time to be had.
And if you use minis in your RPG gaming, then you can repurpose the pieces.
Also, the Dungeon Command games have some cards which can expand the Ravenloft/Ashardalon/Drzzt sets. The Dungeon Command sets are probably not worth it as pure expansions to the dungeon crawlers, but if you want a sister skirmish game with material that can be used in your dungeon crawler, then it's not a bad deal.
I was able to try out Descent 2e. If the starting quest is in any way representative of the rest of the game, then they've definitely solved the play time problem of the game. In Descent 1e the first quest took us about 4 hours the first time we played. In Descent 2e the first quest took us about 1 and a half hours even though we were reading the rules and we had to restart after realizing we had borked the initial setup.
It didn't feel much of anything at all like Descent 1e. It's a brand new game. But it was still pretty fun.
Quote from: Gabriel2;629064Also, the Dungeon Command games have some cards which can expand the Ravenloft/Ashardalon/Drzzt sets. The Dungeon Command sets are probably not worth it as pure expansions to the dungeon crawlers, but if you want a sister skirmish game with material that can be used in your dungeon crawler, then it's not a bad deal.
And, again, if you use minis when you game, you can repurpose the Dungeon Command pieces.