Five Great Dungeon Crawling Board Games To Slake Your Lust For Loot

Descent

We’re getting the big ones (literally) out of the way early. Descent is on the top of most Best Dungeon Crawling Board Games lists, and for good reason. It’s got everything you could want in a massively immersive dungeon crawl, plus expansions in case you want even more. Plus, the set piece is just stunning.

Delve into the depths of darkness with Descent: Legends of the Dark, the definitive dungeon-crawling cooperative board game that promises epic adventures for one to four players. In this immersive experience, players assume the roles of heroes of the realm, embarking on a quest to thwart evil throughout the expansive campaign known as Blood and Flame.

Featuring six distinct heroes, each with their own unique playstyles and abilities, Descent offers players the opportunity to learn new skills and increase their strength as they progress through the campaign. With the help of the game’s companion app, managing the unfolding storyline and controlling the game’s monsters becomes seamless, allowing players to fully immerse themselves in their heroic roles.

Tales from The Red Dragon Inn

Tales From The Red Dragon Inn is a game I’ve been praising for a while now. It’s got that dungeon crawling campaign experience but with much more streamlined gameplay. You won’t find as many numbers to crunch, but that doesn’t mean you won’t still get that dungeon crawling fix.

TALES FROM THE RED DRAGON INN – An explosion in the basement of the Red Dragon Inn launches our heroes on the adventure of their lives! Evil schemes are in motion – can the adventurers thwart them before it’s too late? Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is a cooperative tactical combat game set in the well-loved fantasy world of adventurers and tavern brawls.

The scenario driven campaign will pit players against unique challenges presented by each of the fully illustrated maps. Band together with your friends and with a bit of luck and careful maneuvering, you’ll complete your party’s objective…before your enemies achieve their own! Lay out your map and it’s on toward adventure! No dungeon master or assembly required!

One Deck Dungeon

Modifying the formula a little with One Deck Dungeon. This solo game will have you rolling dice to push your luck against an ever-growing dungeon of monsters and traps. Along the way, you’ll gain new abilities, potions, magic, and items. It’s quick to set up and provides hours and hours of quick-playing adventure.

Adventure calls.but you don’t have four hours or the desire to set up hundreds of pieces. One Deck Dungeon lets you jump right in, bash down doors, roll dice, and squash baddies with style. By using cards in four different ways (as an encounter, XP, a skill/potion, or a stat-boosting item), all the experience of dungeon delving has been fit into a compact package. You can venture in alone, or bring a friend.

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The Dragon doesn’t care, he’s happy to eat both of you! and don’t even think about trying to spare him, that’s the wrong game entirely. One Deck Dungeon is a tabletop version of the popular video game phenomenon of rogue-likes — dungeon delves where you try and survive as long as you can against increasingly nasty monsters. The game is very easy to learn, featuring intuitive dice mechanics and thematic skills and abilities.

Dungeon Academy

Dungeon Academy is aptly named. It’s a great way to introduce newer players to the idea of dungeon crawling board games. The dungeon is generated by rolling a handful of dice, and it’s up to each player to determine the best way through, using their skills and limited resources. It’s quick to play and super accessible for nearly any age.

Roll & write your way through the Dungeon to graduate from the most prestigious academy. Play as young students battling monsters, collecting potions and loot to obtain glory points. Players simultaneously enter in different levels of the dungeon to clear rooms as quickly as possible. The more monsters you defeat to closer you are to earning your diploma. Make sure to have enough Mana and Health to escape all 4 levels of the Dungeon before the time is up!

HeroQuest

I just didn’t want to get yelled at for not including it.