Dungeon Roll

In my last blog post I wrote that I would talk about the other game I played by Tasty Minstrel Games; Dungeon Roll. I was rather distracted last night from writing as we had a full-on gaming session with new friends, and it was quite epic! We ended up playing Burgoo, Machi Koro, Broom Service, Imperial Settlers (twice), Button Men, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Hannibal Island and One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I was proud of my performance in the last round of One Night Ultimate Werewolf, as I was the werewolf but pretended to be the troublemaker in a way that finally fooled everyone, I lied for the first time without going bright red or quavering!

But, back to the main event, Dungeon Roll is a dungeon delving dice game designed by Chris Darden, where you push your luck as the adventurous Hero, creeping into dark dungeons to seek fortune and glory with numerous companions to assist you. The game components are plentiful and very attractive; gorgeous custom dice, illustrated cards and counters all rest in the treasure chest. The cards depict the Hero characters, the counters are the treasure and the XP, the white dice are the companions for the adventurer to roll, the black d6 dice are the encounters in the dungeon and the d10 die is to record what level your Hero is at.

The white die faces are the Champion, Fighter, Cleric, Mage, Thief and a scroll that can be used to re-roll dice. Each companion has different abilities that could allow you to defeat a foe, defeat multiple foes or open chests. The black die faces consist of the perils of the dungeon and the spoils; a treasure chest and a potion for quaffing that can be used to revive companions, and perils are goblins, skeletons, oozey creatures and the dreaded dragon.

Before the game begins you choose a Hero card from the stash. The cards are double sided, you start with the novice and you can turn over your card to reveal the master when you level up at 5XP. 

The game starts by the adventurer rolling the white dice to determine who will be accompanying them to the dungeon, whilst the opposing player acts as the Dungeon Lord, setting the ten-sided die to level one then rolling one black die to see what the first encounter will be. For each time you push your luck delving into the dungeon, ascending a new level, the Dungeon Lord will roll that many die for you to tackle. You use your companions to kill the monsters, quaff the potions and open the chests, then the companions are retired for that turn. 

If you roll three dragons on the black dice this means you must fight it with three different types of companions, so knowing when to stop pushing your luck can be a good strategy! You do not want to be facing a dragon with only two or less companions, unless you have a special ability on your card that aids you. Opening the chest allows you to pick up a piece of treasure at random, I like to pour all the counters in the chest and fumble around inside with my eyes closed. The treasure you gain presents the adventurer with abilities that can be used once then returned to the chest, and some count as XP if you still possess them at the end of the game.

After defeating monsters, unlocking chests, looting treasure and possibly evading or slaying a dragon, the Hero flees the dungeon and regroups at a tavern with any leftover survivors. Here, they toast their victory if they have uncovered a fortune, or drown their sorrows if they lost their comrades and return empty handed.   

This is another enjoyable game from TMG, that can be set up quickly and has more to it than some of the other push your luck dice games out there. The Hero cards give you options with their abilities and the treasure you pick up can help you when you are in a jam. The game could be brief or more lengthy, depending on how many players you have. An additional advantage is that it can be played solo, as well as with up to four players. and I think that is handy as I know a few people I would like to keep occupied while I am in the bath! 

Thanks for reading :)

Marisa xx 

  

      

Burgoo - Stewing on it!

Last weekend I played two games by Tasty Minstrel Games; Burgoo and Dungeon Roll. I purchased Dungeon Roll from Orc's Nest in Covent Garden, the majestic-looking treasure chest caught my eye as I was browsing the shelves and the description on the box sounded quite fun and appealing to a fan of dice rolling games. Burgoo was given to me by a friend to help me reach my goal of playing 200 games in August, it is a loan but I have a feeling I may be purchasing it at some point. My notes on both of these games were quite lengthy, so I will concentrate on Burgoo tonight, to save my blog from turning into an essay.   

Burgoo is designed by Dan Manfredini and consists of a collection of counters, with six different images of food ingredients to make a special stew. The premise of the game is that it is a cold Autumn month, and the community have gathered together to prepare a warming stew for all. The winner of the game will be the first one to add all of their ingredients to the Burgoo, whilst sampling it the most. It is making me hungry all over again, just typing this! 

The game is set up by each player by randomly arranging ingredients of the six types into a column, this is called the Batch. In the two player version, as I have been playing it, each player constructs two Batches. They additionally take one of each ingredient into their hand and hide this from their opponent, keep it secret! All leftover counters are placed in the middle of the table and this becomes the Pot. As the game begins, there are three actions that players can take; adding ingredients, sampling the Burgoo and splitting a Batch.

Adding ingredients is how you empty your Batch; throw a robust onion into the hearty stew to give it a little kick! You can add an ingredient from the top or bottom of your Batch by throwing a matching one from your hand in the Pot. If your opponent has the same ingredient in the same place as yours then you acquire that piece in your hand, thus making your secret stash even bigger. 

To sample the Burgoo you simply grab a wooden spoon and dip it in to the simmering Pot. Or, in reality, you pick up a piece from the Pot that would benefit you in a future turn. 

When splitting the Batch you toss any ingredient from your hand into the Pot, then you split one of your Batches in any way that will benefit you, such as splitting it so you have two potatoes at the top, then when you next discard a potato you will be ridding your Batch of two. You can split a Batch multiple times, even down to one counter that is deemed both top and bottom, but you can only split once per turn. Doing this also could help out your opponent, though, so keep a watchful eye over their Batches and make sure you are not emptying their stack as much as your own!

This is an enjoyable game, I like the idea of neighbours coming together to make a big stew but trying to out-cook each other and finish up first. It is almost like a cooking show on the Food Network, with the chefs racing against time to finish their dish, but also sampling it and keeping a little stack of secret ingredients on their person. I have a bit of a penchant for games with a food theme (you may have noticed) and this one certainly ticks all the boxes with its accessibility and strategic game play. It even has a recipe for Burgoo printed in the instructions sheet!

Thanks for reading, next post will be focusing on Dungeon Roll :)

Marisa xx