Dungeoneer Scenarios: Solo Play

One of the most common requests I've heard from players, online and in person, is for a good set of solo rules to play Dungeoneer by.

Dungeoneer was designed as a multiplayer game from the beginning. For a game to be successful I believe it has to have a strong social aspect, players must be able to interact frequently, a game should foster communication. One of the reasons I think so many dungeon-crawl boardgames (and card games) have failed in the past is because each player takes his or her turn independent of what the other players are doing. This creates isolation and reduces the crucial community aspect of game playing! Dungeoneer solves this by forcing player interaction each turn through the Peril/Glory mechanic and the Dungeonlord/Hero phases of each player's turn. This interaction is the heart of the game - well, almost.

Quests are the only time a player is really "playing in isolation" compared to the rest of the game. And Quests are the other piece of the heart of the game.

So how do we go about creating a compelling solo player experience out of a game intended for multiple players? The answer must lie in the Quest system. And this means the solo player's goal must be almost exclusively to complete Quests. I've seen several solo variants floating around on the Internet, and I do pay attention to how others have tried to solve the problem. It almost always boils down to automating the Dungeonlord aspect of the game, and allowing the players to focus on playing their Hero. Still, there are many cards such as those with Shift and Warp effects that only make sense in a multiplayer game. After considering all the solo rules what we've ended up doing is choosing 4 solo rules variants and polishing them. In addition we've put together a collection of modular solo rules that can be used with any of the solo variants. This is the basic description of each variant:

Variant 1, Run Forest Run:
In this variant the goal is to complete 3 Quests and return to the Entrance to win the game. All "problem cards" are removed from the deck.

Variant 2, Revise Problem Cards:
In this variant, similar to the first the goal is to complete 3 Quests and return to the Entrance to win. But it has a breakdown of all the "problem cards" and explains how to use them in a solo context. Yeah, more consulting the book, but you can use all the cards.

Variant 3, Simple:
The turn order is cut down significantly. Problem cards are removed. None of the modular variants are used, instead it describes it's own abbreviated variants.

Variant 4, Scenarios:
This isn't so much a set of solo rules, as it is various scenarios using the cards in a pre-determined manner to create interesting problems to solve with your Hero (some even as the Dungeonlord to slay all the heroes defiling your evil lair before they can kill off your Boss monster and make off with your captive Princess...).

Now, I'm sure I've disappointed many of you since I haven't put up a full solo rules set for you to try out. Sorry, but you'll have to pick up Dungeoneer Scenarios for that when it comes out. Besides, we are still testing them out.

Happy Dungeoneering!

Dungeoneer: Polish Editions

One of the greatest pleasures has been seeing Dungeoneer published in various languages. So far we have French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Polish. I recently toured Rome and was surprised to find a game store right across the street from our hotel! It was exciting to see that they stocked the Italian version of Dungeoneer - they even had the Italian Vault of the Fiends which I had not received a copy of yet from the publisher, so of course I bought one. :)

However, I must say that the Polish editions are far and away the highest production values of all editions, even beating our own American edition! The box is sturdy, full of all the components needed to play (including hero stands!) and it is a very nice size. The printing itself is very true to the actual art as I illustrated it (most non-Polish editions have come out too dark, losing much of the detail). I don't know how to get a hold of copies here in America, but they would be well worth getting just for the components to use for playing the American sets with. If anyone knows how to get copies please let me know. :)

Tomb of the Lich Lord

Vault of the Fiends

Dragons of the Forsaken Desert


Haunted Woods of Malthorin (combined with Den of the Wererats)


And Realm of the Ice Witch is currently in production.
Polish Publisher: Galakta

(Images gathered from Boardgamegeek.com posted by Łukasz Czajka (thanks Łukasz!!!)

Dungeoneer Adventures: the roleplaying game

An update on Dungeoneer products in development:

We have been working on the Dungeoneer roleplaying game for a couple of years now. Hopes were that we'd have it in time for the Gencon game convention this year. That won't happen. Simply put I am far more concerned with quality than with a deadline at this point.

Currently Dungeoneer is being developed into a line of miniatures by Aberrant Games (I've seen the early casts, they look very cool), a roleplaying game by Goodman Games, as well as the Dungeoneer Scenarios book by my own Studio Denmark to support the card game. So my hands are quite full at the moment.

If you haven't been following the designer blogs by Richard Plockington, who is writing and co-designing the RPG, I recommend you take a gander. They are quite interesting and I'm enjoying seeing Dungeoneer through another designer's eyes.

Here is a very rough, very unreliable schedule for these various Dungeoneer products:

• Dungeoneer Scenarios: Gencon 2007
• Dungeoneer Miniatures: Gencon 2007
• Dungeoneer Adventures RPG: next year sometime...

Talk atchya later!

Dungeoneer Scenarios Design Diary 1

Now that you are enjoying Legendary Dungeoneer: Wrath of the Serpent Goddess I would like to introduce an exciting new product we are working on for you avid Dungeoneer players. Dungeoneer Scenarios is a book designed to give you the most value out of your Dungeoneer decks. It is a product long needed to tie all the loose ends together and be the definitive resource for the Dungeoneer expandable card game.

Dungeoneer Scenarios is the ultimate collection of variant rules and so much more. It describes in detail ways of using your Dungeoneer sets to create interesting new scenarios. Cooperative play, solo play, pre-constructed decks, pre-made maps, errata, complete and detailed card lists, and back stories for many of the fascinating heroes and villains of the Dungeoneer world!

One of the things that has long been needed in Dungeoneer is a condensed rules summary that clearly explained how to play the game. Sure this problem has been mostly solved in the latest rules, but there has long been a need for rules that explain the game in the simplest terms for new players.

As your first taste of the kinds of goodies you will find in Dungeoneer Scenarios I present the concise rules summary. This document was inspired by a document posted on Boardgamegeek.com that almost had the rules boiled down to 1 page (sans combat), but it had a few errors. You can check out our version right here:

http://www.studiodenmark.com/images/dungeoneer/Turn Summary.pdf

Current players don't worry, exhaustive detailed rules explanations for experienced players will be included as well!

Future Dungeoneer Scenarios design diaries will explore variant rules, and most exciting of all scenarios that can be played cooperatively, competitively, or even solo!

Legendary Dungeoneer: Final Sneak Peek

In this final installment of Legendary Dungeoneer sneak peeks we will reveal the most powerful card, and the core concept of the game.

As with all sets since Realm of the Ice Witch, the legendary set includes a card with special rules. These rules alter the base environment of the game to give the set its own special flavor. These special rules are, of course, optional, but I think you will enjoy trying them out.

Nakari, the Queen of Darkness and Goddess of Serpents likes fiends. Well, really she loves fiends. Those who worship her too much may just find themselves...changing. The Wrath of the Serpent Goddess allows fiends to become cheaper and cheaper to play (their Peril cost is reduced) as the game advances. In addition her most faithful followers, her priestesses become more deadly.


When the Lair of Nakari is placed it triggers a special event. The Legendary Quest: Defeat Nakari becomes active as a global Quest (anyone can attempt it). And Nakari appears in her lair.



And revealed at last, the Queen of Darkness herself, the Serpent goddess!

As I write this, copies of Legendary Dungeoneer should be in the Atlas Games warehouse ready to be shipped out to game stores and to those who have ordered the game all over the U.S. If you can make it to Kublacon this weekend I will be there with a copy waiting just for you. :)

Enjoy.