Friday Filler: Adventure Begins

It has been a while since there was mass audience boardgame designed to introduce Dungeons & Dragons. The original dungeoneering board from TSR, Inc. was of course, Dungeon!, most recently republished a decade ago. Before, there had been the 2010 Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game, which would lead to a number of entries in the ‘Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System Board Games’ series, culminating in the 2019 Dungeons & Dragons: Waterdeep – Dungeon of the Mad Mage Board Game. All six entries in the series are themed around particular settings for Dungeons & Dragons and designed to introduce those settings as much as the basics of Dungeons & Dragons, including taking turns to be the Dungeon Master. There are elements of this in the latest board game for Dungeons & Dragons aimed at a family audience—Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins.

Published by Wizards of the Coast, is a co-operative, streamlined Dungeons & Dragons-themed board game designed for two to four players, ages ten and up. In it, four heroes will journey across four regions—Gauntlgrym, Mount Hotenow, Neverwinter Wood, and Neverwinter itself—and in the last of these face a Boss monster, either Felbris the Beholder, Orn the Fire Giant, Deathsleep the Green Dragon, or the Kraken. The four heroes—Korinn Nemmonis, a Dragonborn Rogue, Kiya Astorio, a Human Sorcerer, Thia Silverfrond, an Elf Bard, and Tak Strongheart, a Dwarf Fighter—will face different dangers in each location, including a gatekeeper encounter which must be defeated before they can go on to the next location, and their players have opportunities to decide what paths to take, which options to take in terms of what attacks their Heroes can perform, be a little creative here and there, and even take a turn being the Dungeon Master.

Each of the four Heroes consists of three tiles, which slot into a plastic health tracker with a slide. The three tiles are the Hero Tile, which gives the name, Race, and Class, and the Personality Tile and the Combat Tile. All are double-sided. The two sides for the Hero Tile are male and female, but the Personality Tile and Combat Tile provide a personality type and a special ability, and different attacks respectively. The Combat Tile can also be flipped to indicate when a Hero has risen from First Level to Second Level, and so gets better attacks. By changing around the Personality Tile and the Combat Tile, a player can customise his Hero, if only a little.

The game is played on four dungeon boards—Gauntlgrym, Mount Hotenow, Neverwinter Wood, and Neverwinter—that connect one after the other to form a zig-zag. They can be placed in any order, though the last one will contain the Big Boss which the players and their Heroes must defeat to complete the quest. Each dungeon board is marked with a core path consisting of four spaces, three Core Spaces with a Gatekeeper Space at the end. There are two Monster Spaces to the side which the Heroes can divert to if they and their players want to face more monsters and potentially, gain more gold. Each dungeon board also has its own adventure deck, consisting of twenty-four cards, which are either scenario cards or monster cards. The first presents a narrative and a challenge to be overcome, and the second a monster which has to be defeated.

Both play and set-up are quick and easy. Each player selects a Hero and choses which Personality Tile and the Combat Tile his Hero will have. The Big Boss is chosen and the appropriate dungeon board is placed last, with the others connected to it in a random order. Each Adventure Deck is shuffled and placed next its board. There is a plastic deck holder which is used for each Adventure Deck when the Heroes are on the associated dungeon board. Each Hero has its own nicely detailed miniature and a twenty-sided die in the same colour, which placed together on the first Core Space on the first dungeon space. One player will also take the role of the Dungeon Master and roll for the monster attacks—using a ten-sided die instead of the twenty-sided die that each player rolls, which means that the one player will control both a Hero and be the Dungeon Master for the dungeon board. The role of Dungeon Master switch to the next player when the Heroes progress onto the next dungeon board.

From one turn to the next, the Heroes progress along the Core Path on the Dungeon Board, with the Dungeon Master drawing cards from the Adventure Deck. This is done collectively, but Heroes can also take side paths onto Monster Spaces. They can do this together or singularly, but must defeat the monster before carrying on, and if some of the Heroes decide to remain on the Core Path whilst the others monster hunting, they have to wait for them to catch up before everyone can continue. Although fighting monsters means potentially losing Hit Points, if the Heroes win, they can gain more gold. Gold is important because it can be spent to purchase items, level up from First to Second Level, and defy death and re-join play if their Hit Points are reduced to zero.

Combat in Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins is greatly simplified in comparison to Dungeons & Dragons. A player rolls for his Hero against the table on his Hero’s Combat Tile with a twenty-sided die, whilst the Dungeon Master rolls on the table on the monster card with a ten-sided die, which will determine the type of attack made and the amount of damage rolled. For example, Undead Townspeople miss on a roll of one to four, but inflict one point of damage with assorted utensils with a roll of five or more, whereas a Hero and his player always has a choice of three—a combination of two weapon and spell attacks, and a move or creative attack. For example, Thia Silverfrond, the Elf Bard, could fire an arrow with his shortbow for a point of damage as the weapon attack, break out into hideous laughter for two damage as a spell-like attack, or create a Theatrical Distraction to get the monster’s attention using a musical instrument or an item from his backpack. If successful, the Theatrical Distraction either inflicts two points of damage or just the one, in which case, the attack also stuns the monster and prevents it from attacking that round. A roll of a natural twenty also inflicts an extra point of damage.

Once the Heroes reach the last space on the dungeon board, the Gateway Space, they must face a tougher monster or challenge, whilst the Big Boss at the end is tough with multiple different attacks and lots of Hit Points. Every Big Boss comes with some text to read out when it is defeated, which brings the game to a close Of course, by the time the Heroes get to that point, they should ideally have accrued enough gold to boost themselves to Second Level, which also has the added benefit of restoring a Hero’s Hit Points to full.

As a version of Dungeons & Dragons, there can be no doubt that Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins is greatly simplified. Mostly obviously in the singular path that the Heroes have to take in progressing from one dungeon board to the next to reach the Big Boss, but the Dungeon Master’s role is really reduced to rolling attacks randomly rather than choosing them. On the other hand, the players are presented with choices—simple ones, but choices, nonetheless. Again most obviously, in choosing which of the three attacks his Hero can use and whether or not to deviate from the Core Path to a Monster Space and there face an enemy in combat. Yet there is another choice too, one which encourages a little bit of creativity upon the part of the player. The creative attack calls for the player to describe how his hero uses items from his backpack, whether from the backpack chosen at the start of the game, or an item purchased during play, and that calls for some inventiveness. When that works—and sometimes what it does not work—that adds a bit of story to the play of Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins as well to the Hero himself. There at least you have the basics of roleplaying found in Dungeons & Dragons present in this game.

However, there are issues with just how many times Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins can be replayed before it gets stale. Now every Hero has two options in terms of both the special ability on the Personality Tile and the various attacks on the Combat Tile, and with twenty-four cards in the Adventure Deck for each dungeon board, there is a reasonable mix to be found there. With just four Big Bosses and a limited number of Gateway Cards, there is less variability in the end of level bosses to be encountered. Another issue is that the game plays better with all four Heroes, so it is best with four players, or fewer players sharing the Heroes. Other options might be for a parent to be the Dungeon Master whilst her children play the Heroes, or even a player take on the game in solitaire mode.

Physically, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins is decently done and of a reasonable quality. The miniatures are nice, and having colour-coordinated with the dice is a nice touch. Having the plastic stands for both the Heroes, the Adventure Deck, and the Big Bosses also adds a physical presence to the game.

For the experienced gamer, whether he plays Dungeons & Dragons or not, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins is at best a mild diversion, at worst simplistic. Yet for a younger audience or a family audience, especially one interested in Dungeons & Dragons or roleplaying, this is decent first step. There are some clever little elements in Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins which encourage a creativity and inventiveness without making things any more complex. It would be interesting to see a sequel, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Continues, but Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins is a serviceable start.

Dungeons & Dragons Minus?

Dungeon! is almost as old as Dungeons & Dragons, and with the publication of Dungeon! Fantasy Board Game by Wizards of the Coast in 2012, it has as many editions as Dungeons & Dragons. Originally published in 1975, it would be reprinted in 1981, redesigned and republished in 1989 as The New Dungeon!, and then again in 1992 as The Classic Dungeon! Now it is back twenty years since the last version, and whilst its arrival on the shelves at your local friendly games store might appear odd, it actually continues two trends with Wizards of the Coast. The first is the wave of nostalgia products that Wizards of the Coast is releasing in addition to continuing support for Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition, which has seen it release new versions of the core rules for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition and Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, and will see it release new versions of the core rules for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition as well as hardback collections of Against the Slave Lords: "A" Series Classic Adventure Compilation and Dungeons of Dread: "S" Series Classic Adventure Compilation. The question of just how much nostalgia the hobby can take is a question for another day… The second trend is the move into boardgames, begun with Castle Ravenloft and evolving into the well-received Lords of Waterdeep. The publication of Dungeon! combines the two, but is it a winning combination?

Designed for play by between two and eight players, aged eight and up, Dungeon! has heroes delving deep into a dungeon where they will encounter monsters and traps, and with more than a bit of luck will return with a trove or two of treasure. The amount of treasure needed to win varies according to the hero that a player selects at game start. Halfing Rogues and Dwarf Clerics just need to bring back 10,000 gp, whilst Human Fighters need to bring back 20,000 gp and Elf Wizards a total of 30,000 gp. Play is relatively simple and straightforward and involves mostly dice rolls and plenty of luck.

The game consists of the rulebook, the game board, eight Hero standees, one hundred-and sixty-five cards (sixty-one Monster cards, eighty Treasure cards, and twenty-four Spell cards), one hundred-and thirty-nine tokens (twelve Number tokens, eleven Lose a Turn tokens, Cleared tokens, five Magic Sword tokens), and two six-sided dice. The twenty by twenty-seven inch board shows the corridors, rooms, and chambers that radiate out from the central Great Hall, spread out over six colour-coded levels, from first down to sixth level. The eight Hero standees are colour coded according to Class and are little card board standees rather than sturdy plastic. The Monster and the Treasure cards are divided according to their Level, with tougher monsters and better treasure to be found on the lower level. The Spell cards – Fireball, Lightning, and Teleport spells – can only be used by Wizard heroes. The Number tokens are used to indicate the location of Monsters on the board who have not been yet defeated; the Cleared tokens are used to indicate rooms and chambers that have been wholly cleared of Monsters; and the Magic Sword tokens to indicate possession of weapons that give bonuses in combat. The rulebook folds out to five, double-sided pages. It is easy to read and like the rest of the game is done in full colour.

 The game starts with each player picking a Hero. The primary influence on that choice is the objective for each class; that is how much he has to bring back. The secondary influence on that choice is what the class can do. The Rogue is better at opening Secret Doors, the Fighter is an excellent combatant, and the Wizard can cast spells. The Wizard begins with a handful of spells – Fireball and Lightning spells that he can fling at the Monsters, and Teleport spells to move between chambers across the board. Which leaves the Cleric class, which is a kind of balanced class in that it is a slightly better combatant that needs to garner a lower amount of treasure than the Fighter and Wizard classes. Without any kind of special ability, the Cleric is to be honest, bland. It has no healing ability; it has no ability to deal with the undead. For a game that carries the Dungeons & Dragons branding with its iconic character types, this is disappointing omission.

Once this is decided, play begins. Each turn a player conducts up to four steps in order – Move, Encounter, Combat, and Loot. To move, a Hero can be moved up to five spaces, through any doors or secret doors (if he can open them), but must stop as soon as he enters a room or a chamber that still contains a Monster or has not been cleared yet. An Encounter then ensues that sees the Hero fight the Monster. Monsters are represented by Monster cards that divided according to the level where it is encountered on the board. So level one Monsters are encountered only on level one, and so on, with Monster’s treasure being drawn from the corresponding Treasure deck. Each Monster card comes with its name and illustration, plus a set of numbers that are the target numbers that a player must roll against and equal or exceed if his Hero is to beat the Monster in combat. There are six numbers, one each for the Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, and Wizard classes, plus one each for the Wizard’s Fireball and Lightning Bolt spells. For example, the numbers to beat on the level one Dire Rat are five for the Rogue, four for the Cleric, three for the Fighter, six for the Wizard, and two and seven respectively for the Wizard’s Fireball and Lightning Bolt spells. These targets get higher the lower the level a Hero is adventuring on. There are also some Monsters that a particular class cannot attack, such as a Rogue’s inability to attack a Black Pudding.

If a Hero defeats a Monster in room, he gets to draw a Treasure equal to the level he is on. A Cleared Token is then placed in the room. A Hero does not get to draw a Treasure card for defeating a Monster in a chamber, but he does get to place a Cleared Token. A room is cleared and no more Monsters will be encountered there once a single Cleared Token is placed there, whilst it takes three Cleared Tokens to completely empty a chamber of its Monsters.

Should a Hero fail to defeat a Monster, then the Monster strikes back. This simply involves rolling on the given table (which is pleasingly reprinted on the edge of the board) and checking the results. These start with a simple miss and rise through forcing a Hero to drop a Treasure card to forcing a Hero back to the start in the Great Hall with half of his Treasure cards to his being killed and being forced to start again with a new Hero, the old Hero’s Treasure cards left for others to pick up where he died!

Some Monsters are not creatures, but Traps! Cage Traps force a Hero to lose a turn, whilst Slide Traps send a Hero down to a lower level. Some Treasures possess a use beyond mere money value. Magic Swords give a bonus to attack, while the Secret Door card allows a Hero to move through any secret door without the need to search for them, whilst the ESP Medallion and Crystal Ball Treasure cards let a Hero detect the type of Monster to be found in the room ahead. Once a Hero has acquired the necessary value of Treasure cards needed to win the game, he only has to be the first to get back to the Great Hall with that Treasure to win the game.

Essentially that is Dungeon! Whilst an appendix provides some extra rules to allow for solo play, Dungeon! is not a game of any great depth. Despite the redesign of the game’s look to something more in line with the current Dungeons & Dragons trade dress– the board is very nicely done – Dungeon! is several things and not several others. It is an older game and it shows in the design; it is a classic piece of Ameritrash, in that it has a highly developed theme combined with a high level of luck; and it is a game for younger players over older gamers for two reasons. First, because it relies on luck rather than making choices and second, because there is no player interaction. In fact, there is almost no significant decision making involved beyond selecting a player’s Hero at game start, whilst it actually goes so far as to enforce the latter by recommending that the Hero classes explore particular levels rather than dive for level six straight off.

What Dungeon! is not, is a good example of Ameritrash because it does not sufficiently individualise the Hero abilities. Nor is it a good introduction to Dungeons & Dragons because it does not individualise the Hero abilities enough. In many ways the Castle Ravenloft board game is the better introduction to the game for that, even if arguably, it is an introduction to the wrong Dungeons & Dragons. Above all, Dungeon! is not really a dungeon crawl at all. There is no strategy involved, or indeed decision making, co-operation, planning, or any of the type of play that goes into playing a “dungeon crawl” which is what such games, whether board games or RPGs demand. If not a dungeon crawl then, what is Dungeon!?

Dungeon! Fantasy Board Game is a race game with a dungeon theme.

As much as that seems like a conclusion, there are a number of issues that need to be addressed with regard to Dungeon! First it is really a children’s game, the clue being given in its suggested starting age of eight and over, although Wizards of the Coast could have better advertised it as such rather than simply making it part of the Dungeons & Dragons family of games. Second, its production values are perhaps a bit too variable in quality, the Hero pieces and all of the cards are a bit too flimsy, whilst the board itself is nicely done. Third, it has potential, if not for a redesign, then for expansions in terms of rules and play. Besides fixing the Cleric class, it could have rules for player versus player combat; for ways to improve a Hero beyond the random drawing of Treasure cards; for team play; and so on. Fourth, the game is very reasonably priced.

Playing Dungeon! need not be unenjoyable despite its lack of depth. Further, despite its reasonable cost, how much satisfaction it will offer to the gamer who is buying it out of a sense of nostalgia is debatable.  So probably not quite as fun as they might remember, but as a race game with a dungeon theme, Dungeon! Fantasy Board Game is really one for the kids (though older players might like the diversion it offers too).

White Box Fever IV

To gamers of a certain age, the mention of Castle Ravenloft will both strike fear into their hearts and invoke any number of strong memories. Originally published in 1983, the legendary I6: Castle Ravenloft was a gothic horror adventure that pitted the heroes against the feared vampire, Count Strahd von Zarovich. Playing upon Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the heroes had to brave his castle in an attempt save the fate of a young woman that the Count believed to be his long lost love. As they explore the beautifully mapped castle and the crypts below, danger was never far away in the form of numerous undead creatures and the Count constantly toying with them.

I6: Castle Ravenloft not only received its own setting, but three sequels: I10: The House on Gryphon Hill in 1986 and then in 2006, Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, the latter for Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons 3.5. The third sequel is also from Wizards of the Coast, is based on Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition, but is not a roleplaying adventure. Rather it is a boardgame. Moreover, it is a co-operative boardgame in which a party of delvers must venture into Castle Ravenloft on a number of missions that will thwart the evil Count’s ambitions. Designed for between one and five players aged twelve and up, the game uses a simplified version of the rules for Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition, and with everyone taking turns being the Dungeon Master, the Castle Ravenloft Board Game never lets up!

Open up the box and you will find it crammed full with components. These include the Dungeon “Start” Tile and forty Dungeon Tiles; five Hero, seven Villain, and thirty Monster figures; five Hero, four Villain, sixty Encounter, fifty Power, thirty Monster, and fifty Treasure Cards, plus others; and some two hundred different Tokens. All topped off by the Rulebook and the Adventure Book, each sixteen pages long, and the game’s twenty-sided die.

Apart from the Dungeon “Start” Tile, which is effectively two Tiles together, all of the Dungeon Tiles are four inches square and marked in one inch squares. All have a black or white triangle marked on them to determine their orientation and a square with a pile of bones to indicate where the monsters start. Some Dungeon Tiles are marked with walls while others are “Quest Tiles,” the target locations described in the missions given in the Adventure Book. Together they form the corridors and rooms of the crypts below Castle Ravenloft.

The miniatures are unpainted, but come in a variety of different colours. So the heroes come in a rich blue, wolves and rat swarms (or rat pizzas as we have described them) in brown; the skeleton and the gargoyle in ivory; the villains such as Count von Strahd in grey; and the blazing skeletons in clear ice blue. These are not the only monsters of course, but all of the figures are nicely sculpted, especially the giant Dracolich Gravestorm.

Each monster has its own Monster card. This lists its Armour Class, its Hit Points – most monsters only have one Hit Point, while Count von Strahd has twelve! – its Tactics, its Attacks and Damage inflicted, and its Experience, or rather the amount of Experience Points the heroes gain for killing it. So for example, if the Skeleton is adjacent to a Hero, it attacks him with a scimitar (a +7 attack that does one damage); if it is within a tile of a Hero, it charges and does a slice (a +9 attack that does two damage!); otherwise, the Skeleton moves one tile closer towards the nearest Hero. Essentially, these tactics are conditional, and while they vary from Monster to Monster, they are always easy to interpret.

The Hero Cards are slightly different to the Monster Cards. First, they have more details on them, and second, they are double-sided. On the one side are the stats for each Hero at first level and on the other side, for second level. Each Hero has a name, a race and a class, a little background, and then his Armour Class, his Hit Points (ranging between six for the Wizard and ten for the Fighter), his Speed (movement points per turn), his Healing Surge (How many Hit Points he gets back after he dies) and a special ability. For example, Thorgrim, the Dwarf Cleric has the Aid ability, which allows him to heal another Hero for one Hit Point if Thorgrim did not attack that turn. In addition, each Hero has one Utility, two At-Will, and one Daily Power Cards that his player can chose from several available. For quick play, the Adventure Book suggests the starting Power Cards for each Hero. Most Power Cards will be familiar to players of Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition, and will provide some form of attack. Utility Power Cards provide another non-combat related advantage, and like the Daily Power Cards are one shot affairs.

It takes a critical roll of twenty and five Experience for a Hero to go up to second level. This increases all of his stats and enables him to inflict extra damage when he rolls a twenty. Besides Thorgrim, the Dwarf Cleric, the other Heroes are a Dragonborn Fighter (provides an Armour Class bonus to Heroes on the same Dungeon Tile), a Human Ranger (can explore or reveal unexplored Dungeon Tiles even if not adjacent to them), a Human Rogue (has a bonus to disarm Traps), and an Eladrin Wizard (knowledge of monsters grants a +1 attack bonus to all Heroes on the same Dungeon Tile). Given that each of these Hero Cards is in a different colour, it would have been nice if the matching Hero figure had been done in the same colour for easier identification.

Both the Rule Book and the Adventure Book are done in full colour and are easy to read and understand. There are a total of thirteen missions in the Adventure Book, of which two are designed to be played solo with just the one Hero. For most of them, the Heroes have to find their way to a certain location, usually a Quest Tile and there defeat all of the Monsters that appear. Nevertheless, the missions provide variety in terms of objective if not necessarily game play.

Game set-up is reasonably quick once a Mission has been decided upon. Play will require a reasonable surface area as the crypts will expand quickly. A player’s turn consists of three phases. During the Hero Phase, a Hero can either move twice, move and attack, or attack and move. Each move is equal to a Hero’s speed, while an attack consists of rolling the die and adding any bonuses listed on the Power Card to beat the Monster’s Armour Class. The most damage that a Hero will inflict is one or two points, usually enough to defeat most Monsters. A defeated Monster goes into the Experience pile, while the victorious Hero can draw a Treasure Card. Some Treasure Cards have an immediate effect such as granting a temporary bonus to attack rolls or forcing the next card drawn from the Monster or Encounter deck to be discarded. Other Treasure Cards have a lasting effect, for example the bonus to Speed that the Boots of Striding grant. Treasure Cards like this can be given to any player upon being drawn.

Following the Hero Phase is the Exploration Phase. If a Hero ends his move adjacent to an unexplored edge, then a new Dungeon Tile is drawn and added to the dungeon. A new Monster Card is drawn by the current player who will control it until it is defeated, its figure being placed on the new Dungeon Tiles’ pile of bones square.

The third and final phase is the Villain Phase, and is perhaps the most interesting. If a Hero did not add a new Dungeon Tile in the Exploration Phase or if the newly added Dungeon Tile was marked with a black triangle, then the player draws and plays an Encounter Card. These take effect immediately and have various effects. These include adding an Environment, such as “Bat Swarm,” which makes attacking adjacent Dungeon Tiles more difficult; an Event, such as “Strahd Attacks,” when the vampire lord appears suddenly, attacks everyone, and disappears; and Traps, such as a the “Crossbow Turret.” Traps remain in play until disarmed and are controlled by the player who drew them affecting only the heroes on that Dungeon Tile.

After the Encounter Card has been drawn and played, any Villains, Monsters, and Traps controlled by a player activate, attacking and moving as dictated on their Cards. Where the Villain Phase gets truly villainous is when there are two or more monsters of single type in play. If a player controls one of these monsters, he not only moves that monster, but also every other monster of that type in play, even if controlled by another player! So if you control a Spider during your Villain Phase, you will not only control its movement and attack, but that of every other Spider in play. Worse, when it gets to the player who controls that other Spider, he not only moves and attacks with his Spider, but also with yours! This multiple monster rule forces the players to try and keep the number of monsters in play down to a minimum of one type.

Once play starts, a rhythm soon develops. The game flows as each Hero advances through the dungeon, revealing more Dungeon Tiles and Monsters, an Encounter occurring, his Monsters moving and attacking, before the next Hero having an opportunity to move and attack, usually to defeat a Monster before it has a chance to attack again. The Encounter Cards add a weird, strange randomness to the game from turn to turn, actually echoing the eeriness of the crypts below Castle Ravenloft that many will recall from I6: Ravenloft.

So how do you win in the Castle Ravenloft Board Game? Well, there are thirteen missions in the Adventure Book, which gives you thirteen ways in which to win by achieving the objectives listed for each mission. Losing is another matter, and there is just the one way in which to lose. When a Hero dies, he is healed a number of Hit Points equal to his Surge value at the start of his next turn. This costs a single Healing Surge. In the standard game, there are only two Healing Surges available, and once both of these are gone, the game is lost.

Yet because new Monsters appear and Encounters occur almost every turn, the game literally never lets up against the Heroes. It confronts them relentlessly with evil and the undead. The only respite from this is Experience. Gained from killing Monsters, a total of five Experience points can be spent to negate the effects of a newly played Encounter Card. This will probably occur more frequently than a Hero going up to second level, which not only takes five Experience points, but also a roll of twenty on the game's die.

The relentless nature of the game's play can also make it a dispiriting experience for younger players. It can be just too hard for them. There are ways to make the game easier for them though. The one listed in the rule book is increasing the number of Healing Surges available to the players, but the Heroes could also start the game with more Treasure Cards and the Experience point cost to negate Encounter Cards and to go up levels could also be lowered. The game could also be made harder by doing the reverse of any of these options and also by having the players randomly choose the Power Cards for their Heroes. Then again, even playing without the Cleric Hero will handicap the players.

So is Castle Ravenloft Board Game a co-operative game? Absolutely. The players have to co-operate in order to defeat the Monsters and get to the objective. Just like any dungeon crawl. As with any co-operative game, the players are free to discuss their actions and should be encouraged to do so to make the best use of each Hero's powers and benefits. It is also co-operative in that the players are up against the game itself, each player's Villain Phase giving him a turn at being the Dungeon Master. In addition, the game can be played solo, a player controlling just the one Hero or many according to the mission. Nor is there anything to stop a fewer number of players controlling more Heroes between them.

The other question is, how reminiscent is Castle Ravenloft Board Game of the original 1983 scenario? Putting aside the big disappointment that the Heroes only get to explore the crypts below the castle – which surely means that there is room for an expansion supplement? – then it evokes memories of part of the castle. The randomness of the Encounter Cards brings to mind the Count's constant toying with the Heroes in the original scenario and the endless supply of Monsters at his beck and call.

Although playing Castle Ravenloft Board Game is hard, it is also fun. Anyone who has played Dungeons & Dragons will find its rules familiar, more so if they have played Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. Indeed, one player described it playing a roleplaying game, but without the roleplaying. Of course this boardgame is unlike playing Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition in that the game is never relentless like Castle Ravenloft Board Game. Monsters and Encounters do not keep coming at the player characters as they do here, but are neatly parcelled up in set Encounters.

On its own, Castle Ravenloft Board Game offers hard play against a relentless foe. Yet it also serves as a basic introduction to Dungeons & Dragons. Which leaves me with an interesting thought. For just a little time, before the release of Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Red Box, the fact is that Castle Ravenloft Board Game was the best introduction to Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. Perhaps it still is...?