Dungeons, Dice & Danger Review
Advert: this game was gifted by Ravensburger, this has not affected our opinion.
In the words of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz “Dungeons and Dice and Danger, oh my!” Well, maybe they would’ve been her words if she wasn’t so preoccupied with lions and tigers and bears. She should have really stayed at home with her badly trained dog and played a board game instead of winding up Mrs Gulch!
Disobedient girl and their dog aside, welcome to a review of the roll and write game Dungeons, Dice and Danger, trust me that wasn’t the introduction I thought you would be reading either, but it’s written now!
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Setup
Give all players the same player sheet from the four available, also give each player a pencil and place the five dice in easy reach. Some games are a faff to set up, Dungeons, Dice and Danger is one not one of them. You’ll be ready in less time then it took you to read this paragraph!
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Gameplay
In this pen and paper game, players take it in turn being the active, dice-rolling, player. They will roll the four white dice and the black die. With these they will make two combined number combinations. All other players will use only the white dice to make their number combinations. Using these combinations players will then mark off squares of matching numbers on their player sheet, or if applicable do damage to the monsters scattered around the dungeon.
Thematically you have to have explore the tunnels in order, so other than starting places, you have to navigate a path around the dungeons and reach the various monsters before you can attack them. The monsters have specific numbers that you need to roll to cause damage, with additional numbers being unlocked from specific neighbouring squares. There is also a race to defeat the monsters as beating them first gains greater rewards. As well as monsters, there are treasures to discover and bonuses to unlock.
The one thing to avoid is not being able to place your dice combinations. Every time you cannot cross off a number you take a wound and these will cost you negative points at the end of the game, or worse for you to be eliminated from the game.
Once any player has defeated all the monsters in the dungeon, scores are tallied and the dungeon explorer with the most points is the winner.
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What it’s like
The dungeons are fun to navigate, but not a stroll in the park by any means. My first game saw both of us die after rookie mistakes of rushing to kill monsters were quickly exposed. You see, while you want to be the first to slay monsters, they give options for number placements and we both realised that perhaps navigating the tunnels was more important than being the first to draw monster blood. Similarly, it wasn’t very clever to leave the monster that required combination of 12s and 2s until last. Mistakes were made, but fortunately we could giggle about it and draw our mighty pencils and embark on another quest immediately!
You are rolling dice, so the luck of such is always a factor. Unlike many roll and writes, there is very few ways of mitigating the pip values rolled. There is an option for passive players to use the black die a few times if things get particularly tricky, and using this can be optimal. Obviously probability comes into play a little too. Combinations of 6, 7 & 8 are more likely to be available.
The games I have played have been around 50 minutes to an hour, so although the gameplay is fairly light the decision making and the various combinations of dice that you can use do make this a slower game to play. You will be involved personally pretty much throughout and, unlike some in the genre, there is some player interaction as you keep half an eye on how close your opponents are to defeating monsters.
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The four maps included don’t necessarily mix up play dramatically, but they do offer different puzzles to solve. As I mentioned, the Annoyed Animals map that is recommended for beginners has a monster that requires 2s and 12s, while the puzzled Pyramid has no monsters requiring the popular number 7. Identifying these trickier elements and working out how to minimise their impact is important.
Two and three seems to be the optimum player count, although I must confess I haven’t tried the solo option.
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Table Presence
It’s unlikely people will be wowed by how this game looks on the table. However, when you are making your marks on your player sheets, the little details, particularly the monster illustrations and names add a bit more fun to the experience. The dice are standard D6 and it might’ve been cool to have these as custom dice that match the theme. I appreciate that pencils are included in the box too, particularly as many in this genre are starting to omit this essential component. I say this and then immediately contradict myself by using a pen, so that I can see my paths clearer! These are the fickle opinions of a board game reviewer!
My only minor gripe with the player sheets themselves, is that the treasure you collect has to be multiplied at the end of the game. It isn’t the maths involved that is the problem, it is that there is no demarked area to write your subtotals down before the final tally. A big positive is that there are loads of double-sided player sheets included in the box.
The rulebook was pretty good although the text for the Defiant Dinosaur dungeon was really badly worded. If you struggle with the same paragraph, it is saying that you can only do damage with two simultaneous hits to an armoured dinosaur, thus you do not get the usual one hit bonus if another player defeats that particular dino. However, you can do 0 damage with one dice, so a pro-tip might be to leave these soaking up numbers you can’t use elsewhere!
There’s a bit of air in the box and it could’ve been less deep but it certainly isn’t the worst offender.
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What the kids thought
Harrison (16): I think this might be my favourite roll and write and the theming is on point. I like the strategy of how to use the dice, even though the results can be frustrating. The bonuses are helpful but not overpowered too. I like how the maps vary with their mini objectives, I think my favourite is the Puzzle Pyramid map set in the desert.
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Final thoughts on Dungeons, Dice & Danger
Those that regularly read my reviews know that I do like a pen and pencil game. I find them strangely relaxing. Dungeons, Dice & Danger is no different, it may not be as quick as some others, but it offers a really nice puzzle to solve while chucking dice around. I do find myself adding up and repeating the various dice combinations in my head while often desperately searching for somewhere to mark off.
I think some people could find it repetitive, I haven’t personally felt like that, although I do think some of our games have felt a fraction too long. If you were to be eliminated too after investing an hour I think that could be a little deflating. When it happened to me, we both died so it felt more acceptable and less infuriating. We both learnt from the experience and we haven’t died since our first game.
Like Harrison, I really like the theme and styling of Dungeons, Dice & Danger and think it lends itself nicely to the game. I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the four different dungeons and battling the monsters therein. I can certainly see this one hitting the table lots more. It’s a good one!
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Key Facts
Number of players: 1 to 4
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 10+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 12+
Playing Time: 50 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 1 minute
Designers: Richard Garfield
Publisher: Alea / Ravensburger
RRP: £19.99
Summary
If you enjoy the paper and pencil genre like me, then Dungeons, Dice & Danger could well be a great candidate for the next roll and write to grace your board game shelves!
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Each map offers an interesting maze to navigate
- Cool monster names and illustrations
- Fun options to weigh up
- Keeping eye on other players offers some interaction
- Lots of sheets
Cons
- Possible player elimination
- I can imagine some thinking it lasts just a fraction too long
- Luck of the dice rolls
- Rulebook could be improved
Need more games?
If you already own Dungeons, Dice & Danger and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
- Seven Bridges
- Drawn to Adventure
- Pioneer Rails
- My City: Roll and Build
Buy Dungeons, Dice & Danger
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Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews. However, we were kindly gifted this game by Ravensburger. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
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