Dungeonquest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dungeonquest
Dungeonquest as published by Games Workshop
Designer	Dan Glimne Jakob Bonds
Publisher	Brio AB Games Workshop Schmidt Spiele
Players	1-4
Setup time	10 minutes
Playing time	1 hour
Random chance	High
Skills required	Strategic planning

Dungeonquest (sometimes known as Dungeon Quest) is a fantasy adventure board game, set in a fantasy setting reminiscent of TSR's Dungeons & Dragons or the Warhammer Fantasy universe. The game was originally published in Sweden in 1985 as Drakborgen ("Dragon Castle") by Alga AB (later bought out by Brio AB), and first published in English in 1987 by Games Workshop. Today, the title is no longer produced or published. The Swedish edition, however, is still being published and maintained by Alga as Drakborgen: Legenden ("Dragon Castle: The Legend").

The object of the game is to explore the ruins of Dragonfire Castle and collect treasure before time expires. Players must try to locate the treasure room at the center of the castle by navigating a labyrinth of ruins leading to it. After locating the treasure room, players collect as much treasure as possible, and then attempt to escape before time runs out.

Play is centered around the game board. Dungeonquest is unusual in that the game board is only revealed as play progresses. The board begins blank except for a grid pattern and the treasure at the center. A set of "room tiles" are arranged randomly near the board, face down. Play progresses in turns as each player, controlling an adventurer, selects a tile at random and sets it down on a grid space on the board. Each tile represents a space and may be one of several different configurations. The space may be a room with several doorways, it may be a turn, a hallway, a dead end, a bottomless pit, a rotating room or several other spaces. In all, the game contains 115 room tiles.

Players may experience cave-ins or encounters with monsters during their quest, which hinders their progress. Since each player begins at a different edge of the board, each player's passageways will be different as well (with interaction between players generally being indirect).

[edit] Expansions

Two expansions were released for the game. The first, Heroes for Dungeonquest (1987), adds twelve new heroes and a handful of other additional cards and tokens. The new heroes feature new mechanics and special abilities.

The second expansion, Dungeonquest Catacombs (1988), was originally released as Drakborgen II (also by Alga AB), as an expansion for Drakborgen. It added another 20 room tiles, as well as other cards for monsters, encounters and objects. In all, it contained an additional 28 cards for the game. This expansion also added the ability for players to travel underneath the main game board, albeit without any accompanying catacombs game board.

The Games Workshop versions included plastic Citadel Miniatures for characters.

[edit] See also

The Sorcerer's Cave, another game where the game map is randomly generated during play.
Talisman, a game where the game board itself is fixed, but contents are revealed during play.