Dungeon crawl board games are a classic board game experience. Whether you’re using dice, cards or a combination of the two, you’ll scratch your itch for tactical strategic thinking.
Traditionally, dungeon crawlers have been about the fun of working together to navigate dungeons, loot treasure, solve treasures and fight enemies. Nowadays, there are a lot more options than just straight-up co-operative games. There are still plenty of co-op games, but you can also play competitively, solo, or asymmetrically – where each player has a completely different skill set.
With so many new dungeon crawlers being released, there is something for everyone. There are a wide range of games available to play, with a variety of fun themes and mechanics. You can try your hand at playing a cave, exploring an epic catacomb, fighting bravely for your king as field mice or navigating a classic dungeon crawling board game. Even if you haven’t played a dungeon crawler, you’ll enjoy reading about the best dungeon crawler board games!
Since this genre is saturated with overwhelming choices, we sifted through the options for you to present our list of (arguably) the best dungeon crawl board games.
Our Top Picks – Best Dungeon Crawl Board Games
Best Dungeon Crawler Overall: Gloomhaven
There are tons of dungeons to explore in this epic dungeon crawler! This game provides role-playing cooperative campaign play over 95 sessions.
Players: 1-4 // Game time: 60 - 120 minutes // Age: 14+ // Difficulty: Advanced
Best Dungeon Crawler to Play With Kids: Mice and Mystics
One of the best story-driven campaign games out there. Kids and anyone not attracted to the typical blood and gore in dungeon crawler themes will love playing against all odds as field mice.
Players: 1-4 // Game time: 60-90 minutes // Age: 7+ // Difficulty: Medium
Most Underrated Dungeon Crawler: Vast: The Crystal Caverns
Where else do you get to play as a cave, a knight, the dragon, a thief or a horde of Goblins? Our brave knight has searched high and far for the dragon’s cave. But she doesn’t quite know what kind of dark forces she will awaken.
Players: 2-4 // Game time: 60 minutes // Age: 13+ // Difficulty: Medium
Best Classic Dungeon Crawler: Descent: Journeys in the Dark – Second Edition
At its core, this game is a tactical miniatures game. Players of all skill levels will enjoy playing this classic dungeon crawler, where you can fight as an all-powerful Overlord.
Players: 1-5 // Game time: 120 minutes // Age: 14+ // Difficulty: Advanced
Best Light Dungeon Crawler: Arcadia Quest
The fun, whimsical anime-inspired theme and good, engaging gameplay make this a light and entertaining game for players of all abilities.
Players: 2-4 // Game time: 60 minutes // Age: 13+ // Difficulty: Medium
Table of Contents
Best Dungeon Crawler Games
Adventure, Exploration & Fantasy
Players: 2-5 // Game time: 75 minutes // Age: 12+ // Difficulty: Advanced
Publisher: Leder Games
Welcome to the dragon’s lair! After searching high and far, our brave knight has succeeded where many others have failed. She enters the cave with the goal of eradicating the Dragon, the last major threat to her kingdom. But she doesn’t know quite what she will awaken in the shadows of the dungeon.
Vast: The Crystal Caverns has a strong theme presented through the artwork and the board game components. Vast is a competitive game that takes the asymmetric mechanic to a whole new level! An asymmetric game is one where the gameplay for each character varies significantly- the experience differs from player to player.
In Vast: The Crystal Caverns, the playable characters are not similar at all. You are not part of a merry band of adventurers warding off evil. You can choose between five different characters with vastly different goals and abilities: the knight, the Goblin horde, the greedy Dragon, a thief, or even the cave. Each role has a different path to victory!
While luck plays a prominent role through dice rolls, card draws, and so on, you still have a number of decisions that you can make at every turn. That’s how this game successfully balances luck with strategy.
Why This is Fun
It’s fun to learn to master and play as five different characters. Replayability is high, as you can play a great many combos before you’ve tried everything in the game. And each game will still vary based on the unique combination of players and characters in each game.
Who This Game is For
People who aren’t fazed by learning and teaching complicated games. People who like asymmetric games like War of the Ring. Women and girls who like the idea of playing a strong female character that isn’t scantily clad.
Buy Vast: The Crystal Caverns at Leder Games
Pros
- High quality components
- Amazing artwork and theme
- Unique asymmetrical gameplay
- High replayability
Cons
- Gameplay can be longer than advertised
- There is a steep learning curve
- Can be tough to teach 5 different character rules
The Miniatures Board Game Expansion for Vast: The Crystal Caverns will elevate your game.
Vast: the Mysterious Manor is a standalone game that integrates with Vast: The Crystal Caverns.
Though Vast: The Crystal Caverns can be difficult, there are a lot of great resources and tutorials out there, including this great YouTube tutorial by LonelyMan BGs that covers the initial rules. Board Game Geek is another great free resource – after logging in, you can download condensed one-page rules summaries for each playable character, a comprehensive Q & A, and many more.
Western Horror and Fantasy, Adventure & Exploration
Players: 1-4 // Game time: 120 minutes // Age: 12+ // Difficulty: Advanced
Publisher: Flying Frog Productions
Your stomping grounds in the Old West are becoming overrun by monsters from another world. Along with your adventuring posse, you bravely head into the dark mines – who knows, you might even find portals to the otherworld on the Plains of Targa!
In Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients, you get to take on the role of one of four characters of the Wild West: the Outlaw, Law Man, Gunslinger and Saloon Girl. As part of the campaign play, you’ll build up your characters and bust through saloon doors in different towns between adventures. This game is one of the best dungeon crawl exploring board games out there!
While there is no pre-written narrative aside from the events in this cooperative game, the game features a very rich and immersive theme that pulls you into the story. The game relies on a LOT of dice rolls, and is thus less about strategy and more about the going-in-with-guns-blazing approach- which feels apropos for the setting.
Why This is Fun
You get to dive into this weird and quirky horror / Wild West setting and battle strange otherworldly creatures. The town stays are especially fun elements of the game! Shadows of the Brimstone: City of the Ancients is thematically rich and draws you into this unique world. The sheer number of expansions and integrations increase the already-great replayability of this game.
Who This Game is For
People who love horror and / or the Old West will enjoy Shadows of the Brimstone: City of the Ancients. Anyone looking for a thematically rich game. Miniature fans will also enjoy the infinite upgrade options for this game!
Buy Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients on Amazon
Pros
- Quirky and immersive theme
- Town stays are fun
- Lots of available expansions
Cons
- Large footprint
- Long set-up times
- Assembly and gluing of miniatures required
- Many rules to remember in battle
This game is great as a standalone game, but also integrates with all of the other Wild West / horror-themed Shadows of Brimstone games. These games include Shadows of Brimstone: Swamps of Death and Shadows of Brimstone: Forbidden Fortress. Pro Tip: If you integrate City of the Ancients with Swamps of Death, you’ll increase the maximum number of players from 4 to 6.
There are also a LOT of expansions, which provides you with new game components, miniatures and enhanced gameplay. Our favorite is the Frontier Town Expansion, which makes the town part even more fun with new ranged enemies, extra locations to visit, items to buy and entertaining things to do. As an added element, you can even buy official painting kits with colors configured specifically for certain types of characters, and you can paint your heroes with this kit. The possibilities are endless!
Fantasy deck-builder
Players: 2-4 // Game time: 60-90 minutes // Age: 10+ // Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
You are a villager defending your beloved Barrowsdale. Protect your lands against the Doom Knights alongside with your fellow men-and-women-in-arms. Your goal? Find and claim the newly-appeared Thunderstone, a powerful ancient relic. The catch? Spooky Doom Knights are looking for it, too. You bravely venture out to prevent the Doom Knights from corrupting the lands by gathering all remaining Thunderstones.
At the start of the game, each player manages a team of six adventurers- fighters, rogues, wizards, and clerics among them. Start with a basic deck of cards that you use to purchase, or upgrade to, increasingly powerful cards. As the game progresses, you add new characters, magic spells and other items to your deck.
The game gives you five suggested set-ups for campaign play, with a light story for your adventures. Thunderstone Quest is not a co-op game, and not quite a competitive game. Without expansions, you and your fellow players are playing your own game at your own speed with little interaction, which means you get to focus on getting your deck where you want it to be, and enter dungeons at your own pace.
Why This is Fun
Your deck builds up quickly as you evolve from Level 0 Adventurers to mighty heroes in no time. There are a lot of fun strategic elements in the game, including capitalizing on synergies between characters, equipment, enemies and dungeon locations.
Who This Game is For
Anyone who enjoys fantasy-themed dungeon dives and also likes deck-builders – this should be right up your alley! Players who enjoy playing games at their own pace with more than one player may enjoy this game. If you’re looking for more player interaction, the expansion provides cooperative play – see below for more information.
Buy Thunderstone Quest on Amazon
Pros
- No wasted rounds when out of resources
- Levelling up your adventurers is fun
- Improves on previous Thunderstone releases
- Solo and co-op play possible with expansion
Cons
- Lengthy set-up
- Little player interaction
- Costly compared to other Thunderstone games
- No solo or co-op play without expansion
Thunderstone Quest is just one part of the fantasy deck-building Thunderstone family. You can also enjoy other games like the original Thunderstone and Thunderstone Advance: Towers of Ruin.
The Thunderstone Quest: Barricades Mode expansion allows you to play Thunderstone Quest with 1-6 players, compared to 2-4 for the base game. This expansion also includes a cooperative mode where you and your fellow champions work together as you navigate the game.
Fantasy, adventure and exploration
Players: 1-4 // Game time: 60-90 minutes // Age: 7+ // Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
You and your fellow players, including Prince Collin, have been transfigured into mice by the kingdom’s mortal enemy. Vanestra and her minions will stop at nothing to invade your kingdom. Ever loyal to the king, you bravely work together with your fellow mice to save your kingdom, even if everything in the castle is 20 times bigger! Each player has a different skillset and unique role in warning the king and defeating Vanestra, braving all sorts of danger during each round of the campaign.
Mice and Mystics features a rich theme that captures the epic weight of your dire circumstances. As you progress through the game, you are fully aware of being a tiny mouse in a terrifying world where danger lurks in every corner.
The gameplay is simple and easy for beginners and kids to pick up. Movement and fighting occurs through dice rolls. You share cheese wedges with your teammates, use special abilities and level up with even more cheese. The caveat? Enemies can also gobble up cheese, which propagates fast-paced gameplay. Pro tip – the rules can be a little confusing. Be sure to read up and try a few test games before bringing in the kiddos. In addition, splitting each scenario in half can help with shortening the length of play.
Why This is Fun
The strength of Mice and Mystics lies in its excellent theme and capacity for stellar role playing. The more engaged you and your fellow players are in your mice and the story, the more fun your experience will be.
Who This Game is For
Anyone looking for a great story-based game to play with newbie gamers and children. Anyone who loves the fantasy mouse theme will enjoy role playing as a beleaguered whiskered mouse.
Buy Mice and Mystics on Amazon
Pros
- Great artwork and miniatures
- Rich theme and role playing
- More story than most dungeon crawlers
- Fun to play with kids and newbies
Cons
- Lack of enemy variety
- Gameplay becomes repetitive quickly
- Sessions can run long for kids
- Can seem light to experienced board gamers
You can build on your copy of Mice and Mystics by purchasing the following expansions:
Mice and Mystics: Downwood Tales – This expansion includes multiple playable characters, new villains and minions, tiles, new gameplay mechanics, equipment, story elements, and more.
Mice and Mystics: Heart of Glorm – The story in this expansion starts right after the events in the original Mice and Mystics. To help enhance your next journey with your buddies, you get a new companion, new plastic figures, cards, counters, and a series of chapters.
Fantasy Adventure
Players: 2-4 // Game time: 60 minutes // Age: 13+ // Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: CMON
You are the leader of a trio of talented and brave heroes. Reclaim the kingdom for your illustrious guild! But there’s always a catch, isn’t there? You’ll have to compete against other guilds while fending off otherworldly monsters to capture your victory.
Arcadia Quest is an incredibly thematic game that features simple but super entertaining game mechanics, where you use dice for both combat and movement.
The finely detailed miniatures, well-made components and gorgeous anime-style artwork set the stage for your adventures. The game comes with 11 scenarios, and you take your pick of six scenarios for a full campaign. With your choice of heroes, scenarios, quests, guilds and a full armory of equipment, each game you play will be unique. Because of this, the replayability factor for Arcadia Quest is off the charts.
Why This is Fun
The fun, whimsical anime-inspired theme and good, engaging gameplay make this a light and entertaining game for board gamers of all abilities.
Who This Game is For
Anyone who wants to play a fun light dungeon crawler with experts or newbies.
Buy Arcadia Quest on Amazon
Pros
- Gorgeous anime-style art and miniatures
- Rules are straightforward
- Easy to learn and teach
- Highly replayable
Cons
- Set-up is involved
- Large game footprint
- Luck is a major factor
- Can be fiddly
You can build on your copy of Arcadia Quest is just one of many games in the Arcadia Quest family. You can pick up other standalone games like Arcadia Quest: Inferno. The Beyond the Grave expansion will give you a brand-new campaign, new tiles, new cards, a new game mechanic, two new heroes and 22 new monsters!
A group of valiant heroes work together to survive difficult challenges and quests, racing against the clock. As a hero, you navigate hostile environments like ruins, caves, cursed forests and dungeons during your journey to defeat the Overlord.
But there is another much more insidious choice available to you.
As the Overlord, you lay down dungeon traps, throw complex puzzles and sic monsters squarely in the path of the heroes via card-based combat. If you prefer to play with dice instead of cards, play on the side of light. Control your heroes via your ever-growing dice pool, all of which have unique skills that level up throughout campaign play.
Right out of the box, you can play Descent: Journeys in the Dark – Second Edition with all players (heroes) versus one player (the Overlord) with individual missions or in campaign mode. With the free Road to Legend companion app on Steam, iOS and Android, the app effectively becomes the Overlord, you get access to additional campaigns and gain the ability to play solo or fully co-op.
In a nutshell, Descent: Journeys in the Dark – Second Edition is an objective-based tactical skirmish game that features a grand overarching story that unfolds throughout the campaign.
Why This is Fun
Playing against a human instead of AI-run monsters ups the difficulty level. Add the turn-based time limits, and you’ll race across the grid-based map to level up and collect monsters.
Who This Game is For
Board gamers of all skill levels looking for a classic dungeon crawl experience. This game is a great starting point to the world of dungeon crawler board games for newbies, while also remaining challenging and fun enough for casual or hard-core gamers.
Buy Descent: Journeys in the Dark – Second Edition on Amazon
Pros
- Top-notch components
- Character advancement is fun
- Co-op and solo play with app
- Highly replayable
Cons
- Large footprint
- Lengthy set-up
- Can be fiddly
The Second Edition improves on the First Edition in many ways, including making setup faster, reducing super-long play times and providing an out-of-the-box campaign system. There’s even an Automated Overlord Variant (RAOV) and Automated Monster Variant (RAMV), which players can use to enhance their game experience.
There are also a seemingly infinite number of expansions for Descent: Journeys in the Dark – 2nd Edition. Delven Deep is a fan-generated pure hack ‘n slash dungeon crawl expansion designed for the RAOV and RAMV. This free expansion includes new rules and a 176 card set that you can print and use. Yeow!
There are a number of official expansions, such as Lair of the Wyrm, Well of Darkness, The Trollfens, Forgotten Souls, Manor of Ravens, Mists of Bilehall and Nature’s Ire.
You can also buy miniature packs such as the Verminous Lieutenant, Kyndrithul Lieutenant, Rylan Olliven Lieutenant and Eliza Farrow. These miniature packs allow you to replace the game’s lieutenant tokens with miniatures that represent real, more powerful enemies or allies.
Fantasy Adventure
Players: 1-5 // Game time: 60 - 120 minutes // Age: 10+ // Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Welcome to Middle-Earth.
As part of a merry band of colorful characters, you travel through the lands of Middle-Earth in order to save the lands from impending doom!
You’ll play as one of six characters that come with the base game: Bilbo, Beravor, Gimli, Aragorn, Legolas and Elena. Your tribe of seasoned warriors will explore Middle-Earth on a journey map made up of different terrain tiles and hexes, then fight enemies on a fixed-grid battle map. But it’s not all about travelling and fighting together! You’ll have plenty of other things to do, from making critical decisions in the storyline to interacting with characters that you meet on your journey.
Journeys in Middle-Earth features unique character progression, as you can choose to change your character’s role throughout the journey. This gives you access to new skills and cards. One of the more fun things of the game is that you can customize your character to your heart’s content and make it your own. Even if it is a standard character like Gimli or Legolas!
The required companion app for Steam, iOS or Android will guide you through the base game’s scenarios and narrative. The narrative is a step above most dungeon crawlers, and perfectly in keeping with the Lord of the Rings theme. Just like a choose-your-adventure story, it unfolds slowly at first. Stick around and you’ll find yourself in an immersive story.
The intuitive cardplay with individual character decks is deceptively simple. This requires carefully planning and strategic use of your cards- things aren’t left to a random roll of dice.
Why This is Fun
The artwork and components are high-quality and thematically rich. That, coupled with the story, will pull you into the beautiful and dangerous world of Middle-Earth. You’ll need to make strategic choices at every turn!
Who This Game is For
Lord of the Rings fans of all ages and levels! Anyone looking for a game with an immersive storyline. This game is great to play with kids, newbies and experienced board gamers alike.
Buy The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth on Amazon
Pros
- Quick and easy to set up
- Beautiful artwork and components
- Rich and immersive theme and story
- Easy to learn and teach
Cons
- No standalone adventures
- App-based games aren’t for everyone
- Can’t undo mistakes in app
- Can be a slow burn
The Shadowed Paths Expansion for Journeys in Middle-Earth gives you five new heroes (including Arwen and Gandalf), five new roles, a new campaign with 13 scenarios and new journey map tiles and terrain.
Figure packs such as The Villains of Eriador will give you new villains (and figures) and new trinket and title cards.
Fantasy Horror Murder-Mystery Adventure & Exploration
Players: 1-5 // Game time: 120 - 180 minutes // Age: 14+ // Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
The wind howls. The leaves tremble. The streets are eerily empty.
You’re one of eight investigators standing on a cracked sidewalk in the streets of Innsmouth. You’re working up the courage to enter the haunted halls of the huge, imposing mansion that lies in front of you. Be careful, you could become insane. Or worse…
Mansions of Madness – 2nd Edition is a game of wits- and your sanity is in danger. Get ready for some insane cooperative puzzle-solving (pun intended)! The required companion app for Steam, iOS or Android will guide you through the base game’s four scenarios. You’ll encounter well-written descriptive text and story tidbits through the app, game board and in-game cards to help your group get into the mood. The app cleverly randomizes your map and encounters, improving replayability.
At its base, Mansions of Madness – 2nd Edition is a luck-based dice roller. Every roll of the dice determines whether your action is successful. This is part of what makes it so fun for players of all experience levels.
Here are a few tips for getting the most out of this game:
- Have fun. Ensure your group knows that playing isn’t about being the best, but enjoying your journey and surviving.
- Set the scene. Dim the lights. Light the candles. Set some mood music or light strobes.
- Stay focused. Be super-focused. Distractions and delays can mess with your momentum and immersion, making the game less fun.
- Consider setting a time limit. The scenarios run long. It can feel like a grind if you play it continuously. Depending on your group, it may be a good idea to split each scenario into at least two sessions.
Why This is Fun
The rules are easy to pick up, the gameplay fun, and the haunted thematic elements are spot-on. This translates to a fun game that both casual and non-casual gamers can play.
Who This Game is For
Cthulu or horror fans will enjoy this game, whether you are a casual or serious gamer.
Buy Mansions of Madness: Second Edition on Amazon
Pros
- Easy to learn and teach
- Rich and immersive theme
- Great app manages the game
- Fun to play solo
Cons
- Very long scenarios
- Large footprint
Many expansions have been released for Mansions of Madness – 2nd Edition. However, they can sell out so we recommend that you shop around to find your preferred expansion. Here are a few of our recommended expansions:
Beyond the Threshold – Introduces two new investigators, a new creature, and a number of additional components.
Streets of Arkham – Unlocks three new digital scenarios, new events and a puzzle. Introduces a new card type and token type, and includes new tiles, monsters, investigators and cards.
Sanctum of Twilight – Introduces two new investigators and two exciting scenarios. Includes new spells, items, mechanics, and a monster.
Space Tactics
Players: 1-5 // Game time: 60 - 120 minutes // Age: 12+ // Difficulty: Advanced
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
In Star Wars: Imperial Assault, the Rebel Alliance’s destruction of the Death Star pushed the conflict to full-out Galactic Civil War. You are right in the middle of the Civil War and the Rebel Alliance is desperately fighting to hold off the Empire’s seemingly unlimited resources.
There are two game modes in Imperial Assault. In Skirmish mode, you and one other player can face off in standalone battles. The campaign mode features the “many versus one” combat style of Descent: Journeys in the Dark – Second Edition. You can play as the ruthless Empire, commanding the army. Or you can play as part of the tenacious Rebel Alliance, working together to defeat the Empire. As members of the Alliance, you’ll get your pick of six new characters developed specifically for the game, including Gaarkhan the Wookie and Jyn Odan, often heralded as the female Han Solo.
Speaking of Solo, the battle mode can be played solo! In addition, the Imperial Assault companion app for Steam, iOS or Android serves as the Empire and allows you to play the campaign solo or as part of a fully co-operative experience.
Why This is Fun
The thematic artwork and story elements create a fun experience for Star Wars fans. Imperial Assault is a good marriage of strategic / tactical depth and light-hearted adventure set in the Star Wars universe. While the theme is the main draw, you’ll still have fun strategizing your next step and making tactical decisions with every roll of your customized dice.
Who This Game is For
This game is for Star Wars fans looking for a fun, strategic dungeon crawler with tons of expansions!
Buy Star Wars: Imperial Assault on Amazon
Pros
- Beautiful artwork and theme
- Great production quality
- Interesting characters
- Two game modes
Cons
- Can be unbalanced at times
- Don’t play as original characters
- Lengthy set-up
- Game can be fiddly
There are a lot of expansions and figure packs for Star Wars: Imperial Assault. Here are just a few of your options:
Twin Shadows – Han Solo has disappeared in Mos Eisley. The expansion comes with a mini-campaign, 10 figurines and new map tiles and cards.
Return to Hoth – The Empire has discovered the Rebels’ base on Hoth! You get a new full-length campaign, new rules for four-player skirmish games, and new figurines, terrain tiles and cards for campaign and skirmish mode.
Jabba’s Realm – You’ve been shot down in Tatooine, where Jabba the Hutt reigns, while attempting to get refugees under safe cover. The expansion comes with new map tiles, new cards, a new full-length campaign and 16 new figures (including Jabba the Hutt and Luke Skywalker)!
There are also a LOT of figure packs for the game, including the R2-D2 and C3PO Ally Pack, the Han Solo (Scoundrel) Ally Pack and the Leia Organa Ally Pack.
Adventure and Fantasy
Players: 1-4 // Game time: 60 - 120 minutes // Age: 14+ // Difficulty: Advanced
Publisher: Cephalofair Games
You are a member of a group of wandering adventurers working together to clear out dungeons and explore the lands in your travels. While Gloomhaven is a co-op game, each of you has a different character with different objectives. There’s a competitive aspect to this – you’ll be able to work to achieve your goals, even if they’re at the expense of other players.
There are hours of gameplay in this massive dungeon crawler, which has 95+ scenarios. Just don’t expect to play every scenario during your first campaign. Or even your second. Every decision you make has permanent implications on your party’s path in Gloomhaven’s branching storyline. You will determine your own fate and feel the weight of your decisions. The storyline features mini story arcs and flavor text that are fun and help keep the feel of progression and change throughout the game. That’s why this game is one of the best dungeon crawl board games out there.
In each dungeon, you will battle tough monsters with a deck of battle cards and a deck of attack modifier cards (instead of dice). Outside of battle, you will go shopping for items and upgrades in Gloomhaven, visit the sanctuary, and activate unique city and road events that are full of surprises. Of course, there’s much more to this great dungeon crawler than that but you need to discover this for yourself!
Why This is Fun
The tactics and strategy involved in defeating each challenging dungeon is lots of fun. But one of the most fun aspects of Gloomhaven is levelling up and retiring characters, and unlocking new characters.
Who This Game is For
Gloomhaven is for anyone looking for a strategic and tactical Euro-style dungeon crawler board game. You need to be willing to invest a lot of hours in this game to discover the secrets of Gloomhaven!
Buy Gloomhaven on Amazon
Pros
- Innovative battle decks
- Unlocking and levelling up characters is fun
- Great for solo play
- Infinitely replayable
Cons
- Requires an organization plan
- Lengthy set-up
- A lot of rules to digest
If you love the idea of Gloomhaven but it seems like a lot to wrap your head around, we recommend starting your Gloomhaven journey with Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. This game is a prequel to the events in Gloomhaven, and does a good job of introducing you to Gloomhaven’s rules and mechanics- without scratching your head, playing rules wrong for a few scenarios or scrolling through Board Game Geek forums to figure out a rule. Some other expansions are:
Gloomhaven: Forgotten Circles – The first expansion. Includes 20 scenarios.
Founders of Gloomhaven – A City-building prequel to Gloomhaven.
Frosthaven (April 2021) – Standalone game with a new 100-scenario campaign.
You can build on your copy of Arcadia Quest is just one of many games in the Arcadia Quest family. You can pick up other standalone games like Arcadia Quest: Inferno. The Beyond the Grave expansion will give you a brand-new campaign, new tiles, new cards, a new game mechanic, two new heroes and 22 new monsters!
That’s a Wrap!
The best dungeon crawler for you is out there! We want you to spend your hard-earned money on games you will actually enjoy. We know from experience – buying an expensive game that you think you will love and ending up disliking is no fun!
We encourage you to ask yourself the following when picking your next dungeon crawl board game:
- What game mechanics and level of strategy do you enjoy (dice or cards, tactics or strategy)?
- Are you looking for a light or heavy ruleset and gameplay?
- How many players will be playing?
- Is good solo play also important?
- How much time do you have to play each session?
- Do you want something with co-op, competitive or semi-competitive gameplay?
- What themes do you enjoy (i.e. horror, Western horror, fantasy)?
- Do you have enough space to spread out your game on?
- How much time do you want to spend setting up and fiddling with components?
- Do you want to progress through multiple sessions in a campaign or play standalone games (or both)?
If you think you’ve found a dungeon crawler board game that ticks all of your boxes, the next step is to watch some YouTube videos. Trust us – even a game that seems like the perfect fit can end up being a bore. We learned that the hard way! Game-specific reviews and especially video playthroughs will help you better determine if a game is for you.
There is something for everyone in our top 10 best dungeon crawl board games. Whether you are looking for a classic dungeon crawler experience (Descent: Journeys in the Dark – Second Edition), a dungeon crawl board game with a rich theme and story (that’s Mice and Mystics for you!), a fantasy horror murder-mystery dungeon crawl exploring board game (Mansions of Madness – 2nd Edition) or a game that’s good for solo play (Gloomhaven, Mansions of Madness – 2nd Edition, Star Wars: Imperial Assault).
There are a few other good dungeon crawler board games worth mentioning:
Honorable Mentions – Great Dungeon Crawler Board Games For All Levels
Dungeons & Dragons Dungeons! Fantasy Board Game – This classic is one of the best dungeon crawler board games for kids!
Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Mayhem: Monster Madness – Another great way to get your kids to jump on a good dungeon crawling board game!
Welcome to the Dungeon – A fun game for the family, with short 30-minute sessions. Kids and adults will enjoy betting and bluffing their way through the dungeon.
One Deck Dungeon – Designed for 1-2 players, this game moves quickly. You’ll finish this great dungeon crawl in 30-45 minutes.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle – Have fun playing as Hermoine, Ron and Harry in the wizarding world!
Stuffed Fables – You and your family will take on the role of brave, stuffed animals in this fun narrative-driven game.
Honorable Mentions – Great Dungeon Crawlers For Advanced Players
Doom: The Board Game, 2nd Edition – A classic dungeon crawling experience based on the classic Doom computer game.
The Lord of the Rings Card Game – Designed for 1-2 players with a shorter playing time – play as one of 12 classic Lord of the Rings characters.
Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated – This fantasy adventure brings a sarcastic, humorous approach that will have your group laughing and having fun in no time.
Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress – Work with your fellow adventurers to search the Fortress for long-lost technology that may turn the tide of war in this futuristic post-apocalyptic dungeon crawler.
Galaxy Defenders – Dungeon crawl your heart out. In space! You’ll fight together against an alien menace in this sci-fi tactical battle game.
Sword & Sorcery – Play as resurrected legendary heroes and watch your soul and powers regenerate as you fight against the forces of evil.
There are so many great dungeon crawlers out there! Just take a breath, think about what you’re looking for (see our tips above), and watch some video playthroughs. Once you make your pick, you’ll be discovering new realms and dungeons in no time!
Header Photo Credit: Thanks, Vitvalecka Skyrim! cc
