DEVELOPER: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
The original Dungeon Mayhem game was an adorable Dungeons & Dragons-themed Battle Royale-style card game which had a barbarian, paladin, rogue and wizard compete against each other. The new addition to the series is Monster Madness, a standalone game that also expands the previous core game. Or to put it another way, this edition adds to the fun and is a full game in its own right.
This new iteration of Dungeon Mayhem adds classic D&D monsters rather than adventurers. We get adorable versions of the beasties, so we have Owlbear called Hoots McGoot, a Red Dragon called Lord Cinderpuff, a Beholder called Delilah Deathray and so on. Each character has their own special attacks and themes. For example, the Mindflayer manipulates others people’s cards, the Mimic copies opponent’s defensive abilities and the Gelatinous Cube absorbs you in various ways.
It’s still basically the same game; timing is really important and figuring out how to stack your cards so you can do the most harm to your opponent requires some planning. That said, younger players still have a chance if they hammer away and strike quickly.
The game integrates seamlessly with previous versions in more ways than one. For a start, the actual box it comes in has space and dividers to let you put all the decks in one place, including those from the Baldur’s Gate set. This is lovely because shelf space is at a premium for most gamers. There’s also a little tuck box to put the various tokens. It’s also quite pretty.
The characters from the previous games interact very well also and there’s no slack here; each character choice feels competitive and fun to play. The quirky artwork and clever theme adds to feel of the game. This is the silly and whimsical side of Dungeons & Dragons that we’ve come to know and love. We find it very likely that this is not the last we’ve seen of Hoots McGoot and chums. Monsters they may be, but they’re the cuddly kind that we’d quite like to see in plush form.
Despite the wide range of playable characters, it’s still only really optimal at four players. Rules for up to six are included, but like many quick-fire games, this means that things go on a little too long if you add more people. It is easy to play and if all of your players know what they’re doing then six players is fine. This is a game best served as a starter; it’s perfect for playing while waiting for people to arrive, or as a way to start or end a lovely games session.
