Dungeon Brawler (2019)

About this game

Dungeon Brawler takes the dungeon crawl game genre and mashes it with side-scrolling beat 'em up brawler arcade games from the 80's and 90's. Players each control a hero, arrange them in a formation, and prepare for the oncoming waves of monsters, traps, treasure, etc. If they can survive this automatically-advancing onslaught, then they win as a team. This is not your father's "move-and-attack" dungeon crawler: by combining deck-building elements with a blazingly fast "conveyor belt" mechanic, this game has deep tactics, but plays incredibly quickly. Each player controls one hero. Each hero represents a different theme: chaos, order, harmony, or discipline. Their hero choice decides their starting deck of cards. Each different theme has a different playstyle, but also informs what future cards they can add to their deck. But, the players are not locked into these themes - they can combine others into their decks to create new twists and combinations on classic fantasy characters. These heroes line up in a row, with the “marching order” formation extremely tactically important. Don’t worry, they can (and will) rearrange throughout the game. Across from the party line-up is the deadly dungeon itself. Whenever a card is removed from the dungeon, be it by killing a monster, overcoming a challenge, or taking some treasure, the dungeon automatically shifts towards the players and refills the missing card. This way, the game is incredibly fast-paced: no moving, exploring, or down-time. This dungeon is coming at you full-speed! Fighting is resolved by playing unique combinations of cards, but be careful! Your hand of cards is also your lifebar! Overextend and you’ll leave yourself vulnerable. —description from the publisher

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 1 to 4. It has a designed solo mode.
• Rules load. At 1.8/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 13 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.