Board Games in Review – Dungeon Lords

December 14, 2015

Hello and Happy Monday. You know what that means. It is time for another board game article. I have been playing board games for quite a while and they can get time consuming. I have focused for a while on some games that can be played in a short amount of time, but today I am going to go through a game that takes some time. Dungeon Lords.

How Evil will You be when You Become one of the Dungeon Lords?

If you have played the video game Dungeon Keeper then you are already familiar with the premise. It is possible that the same brilliant minds were behind both. I definitely see similarity in the artwork. In case you are unfamiliar with that game, Dungeon lords is a hysterical game where you are building and filling a dungeon for adventurers to come and try and stop you.

This game is so fun because just reading the rule book is enough to make you bust out in laughter. There is a section for first time players to use a simpler version. It even has a little voice bubble that says something like I know what you are thinking I am a hardcore gamer let me play the full version, well this game is designed for hard core gamers so it specifically tells you to play the first time version anyway.

The real beauty of this game is in the orders bracket. All players have a handful of orders that they wish their little imps and minions do for them throughout the ‘turn.’ The other player might very well be trying to do the same thing, which could be good or bad for you. Each player issues his orders, using cards, in secret until all orders have been placed. Then in turn order the orders are revealed. There are 8 different orders that can be done, Make more imps, mine gold, get food, dig a tunnel, lower your evil rating, hire a monster, build a trap or build a room.

Each of these has a purpose in the game and each round two of your orders based on the previous round cannot be used. The ones that you cannot use are shown to all players. So lets say that two players are mining for gold on the same turn, the person later in the turn actually walks away with more gold. So here going first is never a good thing.

I am sure you read the part about lowering your evil rating and if playing a dungeon Lord how could that possibly be a good thing. Well there is always a mighty paladin waiting to come smash down your dungeon if you get too evil so you might want to play it safe. In my most recent game, I played it safe and my fellow player went all evil and smited the paladin for some nice extra points in the end. So I lost be playing it safe. When you play you make up your own mind about how evil you want to be.

The layout is great with double-sided boards for turn tracking and players either in the game or out. I highly recommend playing this game with all 4 players. It is more fun that way as you are all scrabbling for resources and bossing around imps and minions.

Now this game does take a while be prepared to spend 90-120 minutes for your first game. Once you get the hang of it you can shave that down but not by much. But with all the ridiculous stuff that can go on in the dungeon it is well worth the time spent.

You can get your copy here. If you feel like splurging there is even an anniversary edition, which comes with extra stuff and the expansion built right in. I do not have the expansion yet but it is on my list of things to get.

If there is a game you would like Nerdarchy to review let us know either in the comments below or send us a suggestion over on the forum. As always thanks for reading and Until Next Time Stay Nerdy