''Dungeon!'' is an
adventure board game
An adventure board game is a board game in which a player plays as a unique individual character that improves through gameplay. This improvement is commonly reflected in terms of increasing character attributes, but also in receiving new abilitie ...
designed by
David R. Megarry and first released by
TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...
in 1975. Additional contributions through multiple editions were made by
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson.
In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...
,
Steve Winter
Steve Winter (born December 8, 1957) is an American game designer who worked on numerous products for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, which was originally published by TSR and later Wizards of the Coast.
Early life
Winter ...
,
Jeff Grubb
Jeff Grubb (born August 27, 1957) is an author who writes novels, short stories, and comics and a computer and role-playing game designer in the fantasy genre. Grubb worked on the ''Dragonlance'' campaign setting under Tracy Hickman, and the ''F ...
,
Chris Dupuis and
Michael Gray.
''Dungeon!'' simulates some aspects of the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' (''D&D'')
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
, which was released in 1974, although Megarry had a prototype of ''Dungeon!'' ready as early as 1972.
''Dungeon!'' features a map of a simple six-level
dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...
with hallways, rooms, and chambers. Players move around the board seeking to defeat monsters and claim treasure. Greater treasures are located in deeper levels of the dungeon, along with tougher monsters. Players choose different
character class
In tabletop games and video games, a character class is a job or profession commonly used to differentiate the abilities of different game characters.
In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes aggregate several abilities and aptitudes, ...
es with different abilities. The object of the game is to be the first to return to the beginning chamber with a set value of treasure.
Original edition
David M. Ewalt
David M. Ewalt (born 1976) is an American journalist and author. Ewalt is the author of the books ''Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It'' (2013) and ''Defying Reality: The Inside Story of the Virtual Reali ...
, in his book ''Of Dice and Men'', described Megarry's original edition of the game as "a Blackmoor-inspired board game that represented TSR's most ambitious production to date: a color game map, customized cards, tokens, dice, and a rules booklet all packaged in an attractive box".
Artwork and game pieces
![Dave Megarry Dungeon Gary Con 2018 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Dave_Megarry_Dungeon_Gary_Con_2018_1.jpg)
The original edition of the game featured the
rulebook Sports
The Laws of the Game may refer to the codified rules of a number of different sports:
*Laws of the Game (association football)
*Laws of Australian rules football
* Bandy Playing Rules
* Rules of chess
*Laws of cricket
*Laws of rugby leagu ...
, a folding vinyl cloth gameboard, four colors of
Parcheesi
''Parcheesi'' is a brand-name American adaptation of the Indian cross and circle board game Pachisi, published by Parker Brothers and Winning Moves Games USA.
Equipment
''Parcheesi'' is typically played with two dice
Dice (singular die or ...
-style playing pieces (white, blue, red, and green), a pair of six-sided dice, and an assortment of color-coded monster and treasure cards for the six levels of the dungeon. The artwork on the face of the cards was in black and white, while the backs were colored by level: gold for first, orange for second, red for third, magenta for fourth, green for fifth, and blue for the sixth level. The original (1975) game featured four
character class
In tabletop games and video games, a character class is a job or profession commonly used to differentiate the abilities of different game characters.
In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes aggregate several abilities and aptitudes, ...
es :the ''Elf'', ''Hero'', ''Superhero'', and ''Wizard'' (the hero and superhero are warriors, with the superhero being more powerful). These were ordinarily represented by the green, blue, red, and white pieces respectively. The 1989 'New Dungeon' had six classes: the ''Warrior'', ''Elf'', ''Dwarf'', ''Wizard'', ''Paladin'', and ''Thief''. The 1992 'Classic Dungeon' had the same six classes.
As there were multiple playing pieces, custom game variations could be set up with more than one of a given character class (using an arbitrarily-colored piece), but ordinarily a game involved players selecting different classes. In the 2012 version of the game, released under the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' brand name, the heroes are Rogue, Cleric, Fighter, and Wizard,
allowing for up to 8 players.
* Original (1975): Elf, Hero, Superhero, Wizard
* New Dungeon (1989): Warrior, Elf, Dwarf, Wizard, Paladin, Thief
* Classic Dungeon (1992): Warrior, Elf, Dwarf, Wizard, Paladin, Thief
* Dungeon! (2012): Rogue, Cleric, Fighter, Wizard
(Male and Female of each)
* Dungeon! (2014): Rogue, Cleric, Fighter, Wizard (Male and Female of each)
Gameplay
In the original edition, the monster and treasure cards were quite small, approximately 1.375 inches by 1 inch. At the start of the game, these would be randomized and placed face down to fill all the dungeon rooms, treasures being placed first, then monsters overtop. Additional monster cards were then placed in chambers, which were larger rooms at key intersections throughout the board. These monsters were placed three to a chamber, with only the top monster in the stack encountered when attempting to pass through a chamber.
Monster cards listed the minimum number totaled from two dice that had to be rolled in order to defeat the monster. If a player's roll to defeat a monster was lower than the required number, a second roll was made to see what happened to the player. The result of a player losing a battle could be any of the following:
* The battle might end in a standoff, with the player staying in the room unhurt.
* The player might be forced to retreat, losing one or two treasures in the process.
* The player might be forced to retreat and lose a turn.
* The player might be seriously wounded, losing all treasure and being placed back at the starting space.
* In dire cases, the player could be killed, losing all treasure.
If a player's initial attack failed, then death from the resulting monster attack had only a 1 in 36 chance, occurring only on a die roll of 2 (on two 6-sided dice). If a player died, he or she could start a new character at the starting space after losing a turn. If, after a battle, a player remained alive but was unsuccessful in defeating the monster, he or she could return to attempt to defeat the same monster, sometimes required to retreat, drop a treasure, and lose a turn.
Once a monster was defeated, any treasure card under the monster card became the possession of the victorious player. Treasure cards listed a gold piece value, and ranged from a 250 gold piece value ''
Bag of Gold
A money bag (or money sack) is a bag normally used to hold and transport coins and banknotes, often closed with a drawstring.[treasure
Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...]
s, such as magic swords and
crystal ball
A crystal ball, also known as an orbuculum or crystal sphere, is a crystal or glass ball and common fortune-telling object. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying in particular.
In more recent times, the cry ...
s, altered gameplay; swords added to a player's hand-to-hand combat rolls, while crystal balls permitted players to forego a turn of movement and spend the turn looking at monster and treasure cards in a room without entering the room. These had the lowest gold piece value for treasures on a given level of the dungeon.
Dungeon levels
The six levels of the dungeon offered a range of difficulty in monsters corresponding with the range of value in treasure. First level monsters were generally the weakest, while sixth level monsters were generally the most powerful.
A small number of monster cards were not monsters, but traps that either opened a slide that dropped the character encountering them into a chamber one level deeper, or held the character in a cage for a number of turns.
Character classes
Each class had particular advantages
* The Hero was the basic "average" class. To win the game, the Hero would need to collect only 10,000 gold pieces (GP).
* The Elf had twice the probability of others to pass through secret doors, marked by dotted outlines in the dungeon (1 through 4 on a roll of one six-sided die, whereas all others required rolling a 1 or 2.) To win the game, the Elf would need to collect only 10,000 gold pieces (GP).
* The Superhero was the toughest hand-to-hand fighter in the dungeon. Superheroes had to acquire 20,000 GP.
* The Wizard had magic spells, permitting the launch of fireball or lightning bolt attacks into rooms without entering hand-to-hand combat, and teleport spells to move quickly through the dungeon from one chamber to another. Wizards had to acquire 30,000 GP.
The amount of treasure required to win the game varied by character class- theoretically, this evened out the odds of winning the game, and allowed the less powerful characters to stick to the upper levels of the dungeon.
Although the Hero arguably had no advantages, given the weighted treasure requisites to win the game, the Hero packed the most punch for a character class requiring the least amount of treasure to win, being slightly tougher against most monsters than the Elf.
The Elf and Hero were best suited to the 1st and 2nd levels, but could occasionally venture to the 3rd level to get larger treasures. The Superhero was best suited to the 4th level, while Wizards needed to go to the 6th level to get enough treasure to accumulate the 30,000 GP they needed to win. The 5th level was rarely visited due to a combination of hard-to-access rooms and monsters that were difficult for an Elf, Hero, or Superhero to defeat and smaller treasures than the 6th level monsters that Wizards could kill.
House rules
Some players created their own character classes, such as Ultraheroes, Elf Wizards, and Spellwarriors. TSR also printed some official variant rules in the
Strategic Review
''Dragon'' is one of the two official magazines for source material for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game and associated products, along with ''Dungeon''.
TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed ...
and
Dragon magazine
Dragon Magazine may refer to:
* ''Dragon'' (magazine), an American magazine for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' players
* ''Dragon Magazine'' (Fujimi Shobo), a Japanese light novel magazine
{{disambig ...
, giving extra cards and new character classes.
Later editions
Rules containing new monsters and character classes were published in 1976. Revised editions of ''Dungeon!'' were published in 1980, 1981, 1989 and 1992. The original game had the versatility of a playing surface that could roll as well as fold and the advantage that the small monster and treasure cards could be easily laid out within the rooms depicted on the board. The constant throughout all the editions of ''Dungeon!'' was a quick simplified essence of the more complex ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' environment.
Later editions also included rules for additional classes, each with unique advantages or rules and requiring different amounts of treasure to win the game.
Editions were also published in other countries including versions by
Altenburger und Stralsunder Spielkarten-Fabriken playing card company in Germany and
Jedko Games
Jedko Games is an Australian importer/wholesaler of games, jigsaws, playing cards, wooden toys, board games, traditional games and puzzles. It was originally a publisher of original games and Australian editions of overseas wargames.
The company ...
in Australia. The Jedko Games version closely resembled the original US edition but with a light cardboard map playing board instead of the cloth-vinyl one.
Wizards of the Coast editions
The 2012 Edition of ''Dungeon!'' was released by
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
on October 16, 2012
under the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' brand.
The game board and basic rules were returned to the original rule set. The new game features a change in the classes of the heroes. The heroes are Rogue, Cleric, Fighter, and Wizard.
The 2014 Edition ("Fifth Edition") of ''Dungeon!'' was released by Wizards of the Coast on June 24, 2014. The rules are unchanged from previous editions, but all of the art has been re-done in a more cartoony style.
Computer version
In 1982, the game was adapted as ''Dungeon!'' for the
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
.
The Apple II version of ''Dungeon!'' was well received, gaining a Certificate of Merit in the category of "1984 Best Multi-Player Video Game/Computer Game" at the 5th annual
Arkie Awards
An electronic game is a game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as pro ...
.
[
]
Reception
Fred Hemmings reviewed ''Dungeon!'' for ''White Dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
'' #4, giving it an overall rating of 8 out of 10, and stated that "Even if you play D&D it is still worth having a game or two of Dungeon. You may argue that Green Slime is not as deadly as it is portrayed but a little thing like that shouldn't spoil your fun. If on the other hand D&D is not your cup of tea (or coffee), don't let the connections put you off, this is a game in its own right and a good one."
Forrest Johnson reviewed the 2nd edition of ''Dungeon!'' in ''The Space Gamer
''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...
'' No. 38. Johnson commented that "Whoever decided to make this simple game even simpler should have his brains impounded before he does more damage. ..Recommended to rank beginners and the hopelessly drunk."
In the August 1989 edition of ''Games International
''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 19 ...
'' (Issue 8), James Wallis reviewed the 1989 edition, retitled ''The New Dungeon! Game'' and noted that the components "are of a high quality" and "gameplay is straightforward." He gave the game an average rating of 3 out of 5, saying, "the game relies too much on rolls of the dice or the turn of a card, but this does not detract from its 'fun' potential."
Game designer Robert J. Schwalb wrote about ''Dungeon'' for the 2010 essay anthology ''Family Games: The 100 Best,'' concluding, "In all, ''Dungeon'' provides a strong foundation for playing D&D and is, more importantly, a lot of fun in its own right."
David M. Ewalt
David M. Ewalt (born 1976) is an American journalist and author. Ewalt is the author of the books ''Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It'' (2013) and ''Defying Reality: The Inside Story of the Virtual Reali ...
of ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' commented on the 2012 edition of ''Dungeon!'': "for just $20, the new Dungeon! is a great buy — a classic game reborn in an affordable, attractive package". William Niebling of ICv2
''ICv2'' is an online trade magazine that covers geek culture for retailers. ''ICv2s main areas of focus are comic books, anime, gaming, and show business products. The site offers news, reviews, analysis, and sales information for retailers an ...
gave it 2 out of 5 while this version met his nostalgia fix, Wizards made no effort to fix any issues and added a new problem. Both Niebling and Ewalt found that the change in the cards size to be larger than the rooms forcing the use of place-holder markers to indicate were the monsters were located was a problem.
''DieHard GameFan
''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising. and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and import video games. It was notable for its ex ...
'' said that "this is definitely a game any fantasy fan should be on the lookout for – especially if you played one of the earlier editions as a child. Nostalgia abounds here."
In a retrospective review of ''Dungeon!'' in '' Black Gate'', Bob Byrne said "''Dungeon!'' is the ancestor of all dungeon crawler board games. ''Descent!'', ''Runebound'', the ''Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Board Game'' line, ''Talisman'', ''Dungeonquest'', and ''Star Wars: Imperial Assault'': these all find their roots in ''Dungeon!'' TSR had a major innovation in not one, but two areas of the gaming industry in 1974-1975."
Other reviews
*''Shadis
''Shadis'' is an independent gaming magazine that was published in 1990–1998 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). It initially focused on role-playing games.
Publication history
Shadis was conceived and started by Jolly Blackburn as an indepen ...
'' #33 (1996)
*''The Complete Book of Wargames
''The Complete Book of Wargames'' by Jon Freeman and the editors of Consumer Guide was published in 1980 by Simon & Schuster under the Fireside imprint.
Contents
This book comes in both a 285-page hardcover edition and a paperback version. In ...
''
References
External links
*
YouTube: 40 years of Dungeon!
YouTube: How to play Dungeon! with Ross Maker
{{Dungeons & Dragons board games
Board games introduced in 1975
Dungeon crawler board games
Dungeons & Dragons board games
Gary Gygax games
TSR, Inc. games