I needed some new titles in my life, something that still captured the excitement of a good dungeon crawler, but for one player – and Bag of Dungeon does just that. Much like classic roguelikes, part of the fun is just seeing how the dungeon will sprawl out this time. Bag of Dungeons is a great game that scratches that dungeon crawling itch in such a way that it is really quite remarkable… well Legends cranks that experience up to 11! The aim of the game is the same – find the ring, give the dragon a kick in the family jewels, then scarper. There’s another advanced rule which causes monsters to run towards you if you use ranged attacks, which not only adds more excitement to the game, it also makes more sense.

Bag of Dungeon - a mini-fantasy adventure game in a bag

I picture an elf sitting down and doing a sudoku, waiting for the dwarf to come lumbering down the corridor to fight the monster a few feet away.We always intended for Bag of Dungeon to be at times challenging and at other times relatively straightforward. The deliberately divisive element within Bag of Dungeon (the appearance of the Ring) that pits player against player is there for your own moral conscience – it’s not mandatory. In a different universe, this would be a box weighed down with a couple of kilos of plastic minis, so we have that to be thankful for.

Bag of Dungeon - Firestorm Games Bag of Dungeon - Firestorm Games

Just by playing my first game I can see how the flexibility of the game will create a lot of fun for plays byadding or taking away items and monsters to fit your needs. Each character has their own pool of Action Points, which are used for moving, laying dungeon tiles, fighting and using some items. If you take damage, you can keep trying to empty (and discard) the chest while you still have hands an AP to spare.It’s every rabbit for themselves in this delightful roll ‘n’ run family game of competitive carrot rustling for 2 to 4 players. The tornado spell will allow you to whisk up any adventure from their current tile and place them safely five tiles away in any direction.

Bag of Dungeon - Etsy UK Bag of Dungeon - Etsy UK

Another is Shadowrun: Crossfire which, despite some criticism of its difficulty to win, makes it into respected reviewer Rahdo’s top ten games of the past five years.

Some additional rules can make monsters rush you after a range attack or make it that range attacks can harm other heroes in you way of a monster leading to more competitive play especially if you are after a certain item another hero has. I was always looking for a way to introduce my family and gaming friends to tabletop dungeon-crawling, but most RPG sytems and board games have a very high learning curve, and require a lot of investment (time and/or money). We have created simple rules, solid mechanics and a populated world, but we never promised an easy ride. It’s a “grab-a-beer-and-snacks-with-your-mates” smash-and-grab, or a family’s first steps into the genre.

Review: Bag of Dungeon - Polaroids and Polar Bears Review: Bag of Dungeon - Polaroids and Polar Bears

What we never wanted to do was control or subdue its unpredictability, because this is essential, possibly defining, element of adventure. Meeples, tiles, simple but engaging rules and a element of randomness and luck making every game different.As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser-to-browser, you should visit your browser's help menu for more information.