There is also treasure in the dungeon (gold and gems) and players gain these rewards once they cross off the corresponding space. That danger is faced by rolling five standard D6 dice—four white, one black—and using the results to navigate a dungeon full of rooms that each have a distinct number from 2-12. The box has dozens of sheets of paper, each double-sided and showing one of the four dungeons available. One gives you a gem and some extra Life Points, another lets you cross off any two spaces of your choice, and the third lets you use the Black Die another three times. The active player can make any combinations they’d like to form 2 sets of dice, while the other players may only use the white dice unless they’d like to use 1 of their 3 starting black die uses, indicated on the right side under the treasures.

As players keep rolling and crossing out squares, the game draws closer to the end and when the game does end players count up the amount of gems they have acquired throughout the game and potential other points, depending on the map, then subtract any points from health lost. Each player then sums up each pair and then uses those two numbers to cross off rooms on their dungeon sheet. For instance, the Annoyed Animals (Novice difficulty) has spots with a Fist symbol and 2 dice – doubles must be rolled there equaling the number listed. Maps have multiple pathways to get you somewhere but also have single-file pinch points and bottlenecks, which can be dastardly if you get a run of cursed dice, do not have a diversity of numbers stashed for a rainy day, and are out of mulligans.With two players, that variance kind of goes away; there are still just as many Monsters, granted, but there isn’t necessarily going to be any way for those two players to get through the existing Monsters as quickly as four players could. Three times during the game you may use the (fifth) black die on your turn to make dice pairs – even if you aren’t the Active Player. Even though 2d6 is its currency, it doesn’t conform to the traditional notions of 2d6 probability as strategy. Incurious folk who reduce board games and their board game experiences to monosyllabic and abstract rubble by saying “It’s Just This” or “It’s Just That” – with no deeper curiosity, context, or even a human element. Certain spaces (generally gray boxes adjacent to a Monster) will “unlock” a number that you can fight that Monster with.

A game of Dungeons, Dice and Danger ends when the players collectively defeat all of the monsters on the map. I would certainly recommend referring to the rules at the start of each game to make sure that you understand the specific rules for each particular dungeon.Compare those with the Expert dungeon Defiant Dinosaurs, where players must face armored dinosaurs that they have to deal 2 damage to or none gets through, and the activating spaces are replaced with claw spaces that unlock damage opportunities all over the board. Spaces that are either the starting space or adjacent to a previously crossed out space are available for selection. My biggest problem with it is that once someone gets a few rolls their way, it’s hard for anyone to catch up to them. The passive players (or in the case of solo play, the only person at the table) must use only the white dice to make their pairs, giving the active player the most flexibility each turn.

I will say however, that I’d like to keep trying and seeing if I can top my scores after playing several rounds. But, as with most of these RAW games, scoring is better when things are crossed off first, so you’ll always be choosing between rushing for certain things versus playing it safe and leaving yourself options. I enjoy the exploration and the moving through the map with only having access to spaces adjacent to previously visited spaces. I mostly say this because at lower player counts, you get more turns with the Black Die (as the Active Player), but at higher player counts, you end up being the Passive Player more. I highly recommend this game for any and all players, wether that’s young or old, new or experienced, with friends or with family.In addition to treasure, there are treasure chests which when unlocked grant the player special abilities, such as extra life or the ability to use the black dice an additional three times. I think it only appears in English rulebooks, but we were definitely about to wait until one player has defeated all of the monsters, which would have just resulted in a ton of lost life. Every game starts off nice and easy like a jolly stroll though the park but later in the game it gets challenging to find the route to beat your opponents as your dungeon runs out of rooms to explore. Game time is nice and short, coming in around an hour, serving as a solid experience without going on too long. I enjoy the light humor of the game (the Pastry Mancer is currently my favorite), and I think the fun colors and fantastic art help make the game engaging and appealing (along with a bright blue box to help).