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A fun tile-laying deduction game for 1-2 players.
I love board gaming and when a board game comes to Android or iOS, I get excited. Well today I am going to cover Michael Coe’s Dungeon Hereos the Board Game. As I dove into the game I decided to do some background research into the game and how it became digital. To that end, I reached out to Michael and had a great chat with him about the game and mobile gaming in general. Look for that interview in a couple of days, but for now, my game review.
Dungeon Heroes is a fun game that is very true its physical board game roots. The game is universal and plays in portrati mode only. There are a few spots where the game could be improved and Michael tells me that an update is in the works.
Dungeon Heroes is described as a tile-laying deduction game for 1-2 players. As a two player game, one person is the hero and the other the dungeon master. The goal of the hero is to collect all 4 treasures. He has 4 different heroes at his disposal: warrior, wizard, cleric, and rogue. Each has its own abilities and strengths/weaknesses. Now the dungeon master is there to stop them. To do this he lays traps and monsters across the board. The problem is that the hero cannot see where anything is at, the only way he can find out is to go to that spot (unless you are a wizard).
Each player takes his turn: the dungeon master laying his tiles face down and then the hero moving his men, revealing one tile at a time trying to survive and find the treasures. Now each hero has a special ability to aid you on your quest. There are also some bonus items on the board to help the heroes out. When all of the heros are dead, you lose.
The app comes with local and online play. For local play, there is a single player game and the classic two player game via pass and play. Most of my games has been the single player variety. The game controls are very straight forward and the graphics and great.
I enjoy the game very much. The single player games go rather quickly so it is easy to get a game in whenever. A two player game will definitely take a little longer.
As I mentioned earlier, there are a few areas where the game could improve:
- Rules/Tutorial. For the casual/new user, they might have hard time figuring out the game and the interface. I took me a few times to find out how to do things.
- Difficulty-Playing against the AI in the single player mode is tough and there are no difficulty settings.
After asking Michael about these items, he has told me that both are being worked on. Overall though, Dungeon Heroes is a fun game and another great addition to the digital board game world. I can easily recommend it.
[UPDATE: Just as I posted this, the update to the game came out- what timing! Now there is a difficulty setting for the single player arcade game and some more info on how to play. I definitely like the updates. Regarding the difficulty settings, heroes are given either 2, 1, or 0 artifacts to begin with. These artifacts are a big help!]
For more info on Dungeon Hereos and other games from Michael, check out Gamelyn Games.
