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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game $2.00
Average Rating:4.2 / 5
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Brandon M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/07/2019 23:25:26

I really enjoyed playing this title. You really get great value from this product. I was able to read through the rules and do my first play through within 20 minutes. I actually laughed when my character died because I was having that much fun. I recommend this product to anyone of any age and I will be purchasing the expansion because I would like to see more material from this author.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by John T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/25/2015 22:18:44

As mentioned by other posters, this little game is a basic dungeon crawl, with little story beyond the initial framework save what you bring yourself. However, the game is still quite fun, and absolutely worth the itty-bitty price.

The Good: --Price -- $3.50 for the basic game and an expansion is exceedingly reasonable

-- Magic system: a hoot.

--Post-quest experience system: Surprisingly robust.

--The "quest monster" mechanic works well to differentiate Quests from each other.

--The cards that come with the PDF -- make the game super-quick

--Basic combat system does the job and lends tension

--Enjoyable throwback to early D&D with wildly variable monster/event lethality and random treasure drops (magic armor from a bat! One gold from the manticore!). You'll probably lose a lot of PCs before you finish a dungeon.

--My 5-year-old and I have had a lot of fun playing this. I read, he rolls and makes choices about what to do next. We lost a dwarf, three elves and a mage, but finally his Elf Rayen survived one quest and then waltzed through his second.

The Less-Good (for $2, nothing is bad): --Magic section is oddly just before Bestiary. Should be just after Heroes.

--The classes are not created equal. Elf is hard to beat (bow, high speed, decent combat, 1/3 chance of Healing Hands after each Area). Mage is a lot of fun. Dwarf and Barbarian will need favorable Areas and lucky treasure drops to make it through their first Quest.

--The classes in the Dragon Fang Mountain expansion are quite a bit stronger than the non-spellcasting classes in the basic book. The Treasure Seeker begins with the best ranged attack in the game, and the treasure reroll ability is remarkably useful. The Runecaster has some interesting choices to make about how often to attempt her spells in combat, which I like, and has a 2/3 chance of triggering modest ranged auto-damage.

--Some small moments where rules aren't clear. Here are some clarifications/house rules I adopted: Initiative. I think this is as written: Ranged first one time, in speed order (if combatants have the same speed, a d6 roll-off). Melee: Higher speed always has initiative, tie speed has a roll-off after each round in which both combatants have acted. If rolled off for ranged attack, roll off again for first round of melee. Scenario 1: unarmed=light weapon (good luck with that, unless Mage). *Enchanted Armour allows spellcasting. The odds of getting it are low -- why not treat yourself?

This game is a lot of fun for the money. Enjoy!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Michael B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/04/2015 14:04:22

A nice little solo game for in between, yet I'd label it hack 'n' slay rather than a RPG. I'd have appreciated some more character types with more special abilities than being able to use magic. Also, a character sheet would have been nice, even if it's a very simple one. Still, it's fun to play and if you don't mind repeating the quests (it's not that hard to make up your own) you'll easily enjoy this game.

Pros:

  • easy to learn and play
  • cheap

Cons:

  • repetitive
  • system sometimes seems overly simple

All in all, worth checking out if you're looking for something to play while you've got some spare minutes. Just don't expect any complex adventures.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by AJ B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/14/2013 16:50:56

A good little game, especially for the price. Played out one of the quests and it plays in under two hours. I really enjoyed the game. It can also be played as a multiplayer game with a little tweaking. My college son and daughter ran through as I DM'd the game, much fun. Lots of dice rolling but lots of choices to be made too. Easily expandable and adapts well to customization, a game you can build on. Great for that dungeon delve urge for solo gamers and those whose group can't meet up together some night. Highly recommend.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Michael K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/05/2013 16:27:48

Dungeons positions itself as a great game that can just be picked up and played. Either when you are stuck without your gaming buddies, have a little downtime or simply do not want to waste your time with a game where the rules are too cumbersome to just get down and dirty in a dungeon.

Dungeons makes it easy to get started with 4 ready to play character classes from which to choose and a selection of quests to get you on your way into the depths or bowls of "The World."

Monsters run your classic fantasy fare and are varied enough to keep multiple runs through Dungeons both entertaining and diverse between runs.

Initial attempts at playing Dungeons will likely be frustrating. You are not a hero to begin with so the battles can often fall in the favor of your enemies.

That stated, once one moves past the potentially rough beginning quest the game is both enjoyable and well worth $2.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Michael R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/01/2013 05:02:08

This is my first time playing an RPG-based single player fantasy game, and thankfully Dungeons is proving to be a very nice product, well designed and offering great replay value. I've previously played plenty of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, both the original printed books and the newer iOS examples, where the story is as important as the fighting system and dice mechanics, but this style of game still offers some story to get involved in (which surprised me a bit) and you do form a tangible bond with your character as you increase skills and experience after each completed quest and then head off again on a new adventure.

My only real negative comment at this point would be that it is too easy to die in your first quest, when your base stats are low and the enemies and/or encounters quickly take their toll on your health (wounds) before you really get going. Once past this initial hurdle things start to balance a lot better (plus you can purchase bandages with your gold rewards after completing the initial quest), and you do start to feel like a powerful adventurer exploring a wild and dangerous world – which surely is what we're all looking for in a game like this!

As I play I'm referring to the pdf on my monitor as I roll dice on my (physical) desktop, and have created bookmarks for the different sections in the pdf so that I can quickly jump from tables for encounters and events to the bestiary listings etc. This really should have been set in the original document, but is only a minor oversight. I have also noticed a few typos, and a couple of listings that drop a final line of text or two onto the next page – often I've missed reading that the first time, which is annoying. Layout is important to make the game flow well (particularly for beginners like me) so there are a few rough edges that could be easily fixed regarding the page layout and presentation.

Overall, well worth the investment of the few dollars required. It's a really solid, enjoyable and well crafted adventure game.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Michael M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/15/2012 03:59:37

It's good old fashion fun! Like the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks with more of a random element. Lots of reply value. I'm looking forward to more quest options.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Dustin M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/12/2012 01:33:26

I don't have a steady group anymore so I bought this as something to play when I wanted to Role Play. I didn't know what to expect and I was happily surprised.

PRO: The game is fun, it is Role Playing by yourself, your character slays monsters or faces challenges and in return earns loot and upgrades, the game can be challenging (I myself died a few times), you can start playing within about 10 minutes, the system is so easy that you can start playing quickly and later down the road you could probably write your own quests or monsters without worrying about balancing issues, IT'S ONLY $2.

CON: You do have to flip back and forth to certain pages. If you are using the pdf, then bookmark the pages.

I have already suggested Dungeons to all my friends and I suggest that you get your copy as well.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Jonathan H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/01/2012 03:45:30

It may be difficult, sometimes, to find a gaming group. Or maybe everyone has commitments that stop them from meeting on a regular basis. There are times when you just want to game, but you’ve only got yourself for company and the last thing you want to do is sit in front of a computer screen tapping keys.

Say hello to Dungeon: A Solo Adventure Game.

Dungeon is a self contained game that enables a player to have random roleplaying adventures without the need for those pesky Gamemasters sitting at the head of the table hogging all the limelight. It has the feel of an old-school gamebook - such as the Fighting Fantasy series - but there’s no page-flipping. Every game is a random sequence of events that your hero has to fight through to win their goal and gain the treasure. All you need are some six-sided dice.

THE BOOK

The book itself is a 47 page PDF with a colour cover and black-and-white interior. The cover is quite striking, with a red leather-like background and the image of what could be a fossilised dragon splashed across it. It’s quite effective.

The interior is black-and-white with large print and small pieces of simple but effective artwork. There are nice scroll-like borders on the hero, quest and encounters pages that are quite pretty and add to the atmosphere. It would have been nice to see more artwork invoking the genre, such as warriors and monsters, and more illustrations in the bestiary would have been a good addition - I always like to see what I’m fighting. It’s all very well laid out, easy on the eye and professionally done.

You also get a sheet of Dungeons Cards you can print out with monster and encounter details on – more on this later.

THE SYSTEM

Players get to choose from four Heroes – the barbarian, the dwarf, the elf and the mage. Each of these heroes has abilities and equipment that will help them in different ways during the adventure so what you choose will make a difference.

Each hero (or monster, for that matter) has a set of simple stats – Combat Dice, which denotes how many D6 the player rolls when attacking. Armour, which indicates the target number you have to reach on the Combat Dice roll to injure your opponent; for every die that scores equal to or above this number you score a single wound. Wounds are the health score of the hero. Magic Dice, if you’re playing a mage. Speed, a form of initiative score, and Gear, what the hero is carrying.

Magic is handled in a similar fashion as combat, with scores for the difficulty in casting the spell acting in a similar fashion to the Armour score.

As you can see, the system is very simple and I’ve managed to give you an idea of how it works in the stat description above. Anything more would give away the entire system, so I won’t go into any more detail here.

The combat system is incredibly simple – you roll and damage, they roll and damage, until one of you drops down dead. It’s a nice and effective little system and plays out really well.

THE GAME

Now that you’ve got a hero, you need an adventure for him or her to go on.

Quests are a sequence of twelve random encounters, called in the game ‘Areas’, that the hero has to overcome in order to reach the ‘Final Area’, the conclusion to the Quest. In overcoming these Areas and the Final Area, the hero can increase in treasure, items and abilities. What is in each Area is decided upon randomly and can take the form of a Monster to fight, an Event to overcome or a Quest Monster to defeat. Each Quest also has a different Final Area with special goals for the Hero to reach in order to complete the Quest.

First of all, you choose one of six quests – these are the simple goals to achieve that have a possible Special Rule, which tells you how you begin or what may happen during the Quest; a Final Area which gives you the goals to overcome after surviving twelve Area; and the Quest Monster, the primary foe of the Quest.

Each Area is rolled for randomly, or you can use the cards I mentioned earlier – first, a 1D6 decides whether you encounter a foe, an event or if nothing at all happens. Upon rolling for an Encounter or an Event, the player then rolls 2D6 on the relevant Encounter or Events tables. Encounters decide what monster you will fight, including the Quest Monster, and Events tell you what other things befall your hero, such as cave-ins or finding a fountain. These Events can also have their own sub-tables to randomise effects should you decide to interact with them.

From all of these areas the hero has the chance to earn gold, potions and artefacts to help them on their Quest. All of these tables create a random variety of results that keep the game entertaining.

Upon completing the Quest, the hero can earn Experience, which increase their Wound stat, learn a skill that ups their abilities, or earn even more gold and artefacts. This is decided on randomly.

CONCLUSIONS

For two dollars what you have here is a quick, easy and simple game that will keep you entertained for quite a while. You also have the basics of a great introductory roleplaying game with simple mechanics and a form of character advancement.

It certainly looks the part – the simple colour cover is quite evocative and effective, and the interior is well laid out and easy to read. It does suffer slightly for lack of illustrations and it would have benefited from more images. I’m also a sucker for game world maps, too, so it would be nice to see where it is I‘m adventuring, but that’s a personal preference and bears no impact ion the game itself. You could quite easily set this on your favourite game world.

The game itself takes about ten minutes to fully learn and I’ve played out quests that last ten to twenty minutes, so it makes it perfect for a pick-up-and-play game if you have nothing else on or if you’re on along journey. It is fun and the random nature of the game keeps you on your toes and makes every game different. With only six quests in the book and two lots of Areas that equal 22 events it is easy to see that games will become repetitive, and in fact I have had a couple of games that have felt very similar. It does say in the book that future expansions will provide additional Quests, which is a good thing, and it would be nice to see an increased number of Encounters and Events to supplement what is already in the book. This would definitely add some longevity to the game, but they’re so easy to do then there’s nothing stopping enterprising players from creating their own. You could create them for your friends and challenge each other.

You can use the random dice for the Areas or print the cards that come with it. To be honest it’s much easier to print the whole thing out as it makes it easier to refer to the sheets you need.

I can recommend this game. It’s a great little system that you can use for its intended purpose or as an actual roleplaying game for your gaming group. If you’re looking for a rules-light system then there’s a great one right here. I would have liked to have seen more artwork, and the longevity of the initial game itself may suffer due to the repetitive nature of the rolls, but for two dollars you’re getting a great game that’ll keep you entertained for hours.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Alexander L. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/09/2012 06:41:01

Originally posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2012/11/09/tabletop-review-dungeons-a-solo-adventure-game/

To some, it might seem that playing a tabletop game by yourself reeks of loneliness and despair. However, when you consider the millions (if not billions) of games of Solitaire played each year, I hardly think choosing to play a more involved solo game is the saddest thing you can do.

I’ve had some experience with solo tabletop games. I’ve played a couple of Fighting Fantasy games as they got released on the PSP. I enjoyed them enough that the idea of a similar game seemed like something that would be fun. Enter Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game.

It all starts with choosing a hero. There are four in the book to choose from. These are barbarian, dwarf, elf, and mage. They come pre-equipped and have all of their stats written out, making it easy to jump right into a game.

The stats included are combat dice, armor, wounds, magic dice, and speed. Combat dice represent the number of six-sided dice that character rolls when determining damage. Armor represents the lowest possible roll that lands a hit, wounds is basically health points, magic dice equal the number of dice rolled when trying to cast a spell, and speed determines attack order.

Barbarians use brute force to quickly dispatch opponents. They are the only heroes that use three combat dice, and they have the highest starting health in the game. However, they don’t have any armor to start with, and have a low speed that gets them in trouble. Since they have no armor, there’s a good chance that a quicker enemy will be able to deal damage. Still, if you can keep a barbarian alive long enough to get some better equipment, they are well positioned to win most fights.

Dwarves are probably the weakest character in my opinion. They have a respectable two combat dice, and start off with heavy armor that requires an enemy to roll at least a five to hit. They have the second highest wounds stat as well. What kills them? They have the lowest speed rating in the game. This means that they will always be attacked first. Plus, since most enemies have at least three health points, that means the dwarf can’t one shot them. This means that most encounters will result in the dwarf getting attacked at least twice. That’s a lot of extra dice rolls that could easily penetrate that tough armor. I have never had a dwarf make it out of the first campaign.

My favorite hero is the elf. Elves have two combat dice, start off with light armor, and are tied for the lowest health points in the game. More importantly, they have a base speed of three. This is as good or better than most of the enemies in the game. In addition, elves come equipped with a long range weapon at the start. Long range weapons allow you to get an attack in before starting normal combat. With the high speed, this means that an elf will be able to get two attacks in before an opponent in most circumstances. I’ve had a fairly high percentage of battles end quickly this way. Elves can also use magic. While that single die roll isn’t ideal, it can come in handy in a pitch. This makes the elf the most versatile character in the game. My most successful games have been with elves.

Finally, we have the mage. They have low HP, only attack with one die, and don’t start off with any armor. However, they get two magic dice. This means they have a much greater chance of successfully casting spells. This allows them to boost defense, boost strength, or just outright deal damage with a high success rate. The fourth spell allows you to roll for a chance to recover one health point at the end of each area. With two dice to roll, I had a high success rate here. The catch is that the mage has a medium speed, which means faster enemies have a good chance of wreaking havoc on that low health count. The key to using a mage is find items that increase his odds of avoiding that early onslaught. Boosting his speed is a good option, but so is picking up a suit of light armor.

The way the game works is simple. Most everything is decided by the roll of a die. You roll to pick the type of adventure you run, what you do in each area, during combat, and also when you earn treasure. There are six adventures. Each comes with a basic setup, a generic monster that you’ll likely face, and a final encounter you’ll have to overcome to complete the quest. After that, you roll a die again to decide what happens in the first area. You’ll either encounter an enemy, take part in an event, or simply find an empty room. Once you’ve completed twelve areas, you can move on to the final part of the quest.

It may sound like the game is too random, but there is a good deal of decisions to be made by the player. For starters, most of the events offer you choices. For example, you could come across a fallen soldier. The game offers you three different items that can be found on the body, and you’ve got to choose one. Another example is a fountain. If you choose, you may drink from the fountain. This could heal you, do nothing, or even poison you. If you need the health, it just might be worth the risk. At the end of each quest, you’re allowed to spend gold in order to purchase new equipment. Do you get better armor, save up for that powerful ranged weapon, or simply by some restorative items?

Character progression is done through finding treasure for the most part. Every time you successfully beat an enemy, you make a treasure roll. More than likely, you’ll just earn some gold. However, you can also find potions or magical items as well. At the end of each quest, you make a roll to determine your quest reward. You’re most likely to earn bonus health, but you could also earn a skill. If you get a skill, there’s a list of various options to choose from. This could make you faster, more deadly with a particular weapon, allow you to reroll some dice, or even shorten the length of subsequent dungeons. It’s always interesting to earn that reward.

The key to success in Dungeons is to get past the first few quests. At the start, the game is brutal and unforgiving. More than half of my characters never made it past the first quest. In general, the game gets easier as it goes. Your character gets more powerful, and everything else stays the same. Sure, you’re outgunned for the grand majority of the game, but it’s much more manageable when you can at least take care of the riff raff without a problem.

The game isn’t perfect by any means. There are so many dice rolls that my wrist was starting to hurt after a couple of games. Also, there is no story to keep you interested. You’ll have to use your imagination for pretty much everything. However, this game is very open for customization. You could easily create your own hero classes, monsters, events, and quests. The game is very light on rules. Therefore, it’s easier to customize it your play style. If things start to get too easy, simply increase the stats of your opponents. Make it so that lowly orc can suddenly cast spells. There’s a lot here to play around with.

For a measly two dollars, Dungeons presents an amusing solo game that can easily be modded and/or adjusted to fit your play style. If you can deal with the lack of story, it is certainly worth a try.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the review! In regards to dice rolls, we have added print-and-play cards to lessen the amount of dice rolling required. Hope you find it makes things easier!
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Billiam B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 11/09/2012 04:52:16

(Purchased Copy) I may write a longer review for this in a bit, but I'd like to say that the genius of this product is it's dice based simplicity. I was surprised to see that that author has now added a card deck -since the game is totally playable from the text. One of the reviews above implies that flipping backwards and forwards through document is a negative, but if you like solo-games, you may also be a fan of solo gamebooks - and believe me, there's a lot less moving between sections than there are in a T&T or Fighting Fantasy gamebook. The system is very accessible and the mission play reminds me of games like Warhammer Quest (without figures or massive floorplans)- but the beauty of this is that all you need is the text - perhaps separate out a few pages - like your character sheet - a pencil and a small area to roll dice in. This is the perfect rainy day game. Also it's an ideal imagination builder for younger players because the encounters and system is simple enough to be accessible to new players, and the re-playability factor is very high. This sort of product demonstrates a type of tabulated resourcefulness which not appreciated by many modern game writers and players, where the thrill of structured-but-random play brings the thrill of the gamble back to a genre clogged up with strategic power play. It definitely feels "old school" -but the better elements of the older games which required minimal gaming aids. The solo-play campaigning has more possibilities in this product than in solo texts many times it's size. It's also ripe for home-ruling, once you get confident with the structure of the game (nos of encounters/scenes etc.). Excellent.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Jonathan S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/31/2012 13:38:17

I just played this a bit this afternoon and I must say that I'm impressed. Reminds me a lot of "Hero Quest" the board game without all the bits (the illustrations actually are very similar Gary Chalk's! Very cool). It plays fast- it took me about 30 minutes for one game and really scratched that dungeon crawl itch. I do think that adding a map system might give a better sense of exploration which it lacks. Its very rules light which is nice. If you're looking for something just a little bit more complex, I would recommend Shane Garvey's other game - "Epic Adventure Dungeon Crawl" which is more board gamey but a lot of fun. I hope in future expansions there will be more in game events or several types of event tables to avoid repeated events. I'm glad they're included, for me the mark of a good dungeon crawl is one that goes beyond just killing monsters and collecting loot. One other suggestion I have is to make a printer friendly version. Good game and definitely worth 2 bucks.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Dungeons: A Solo Adventure Game
Publisher: Adventure Games Guild
by Gary W. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/29/2012 18:25:43

This is a good game if you are really dedicated to solo adventuring, and are not turned off by tons of die rolls, page flipping, and no maps to move around in. You choose one of four Heroes: mage, elf, dwarf, and barbarian, each with different strengths and weakness, and go on one of six quests, rolling for encounters and events on various tables, turning back and forth through the book as you do so and visualizing it all in your imagination, as there are no maps and few illustrations. Maps and a page that summaries all tables would make this game much more playable. On the upside, the mechanics are instantly recognizable if you have ever played an rpg and surprisingly sophisicated for a solo game.

For now, I can only recommend this book for solo gaming enthusiasts, and hope future books will include maps and summary charts.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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