Let's say
someone is spotted taking the Dragon Spear and removing it from the
round; which at first glance hints that they've placed the Dragon in the
dungeon and want you to go in completely un-armed against the fire
breathing monster. Or have they? Maybe they think you'll think that and
have instead taken the dragon out and made the dungeon easier for
themselves to overcome as everyone else is going to go in expecting a
Dragon.
Each of the characters feel different and while it's a
shame that some pieces of equipment are repeated, the strategies you
will be using to succeed as The Barbarian will vary greatly to those
used by The Rouge. One character in particular that offers loads of
variety is The Mage and I'm a big fan of their Omnipotence ability which
allows them to win if every monster in the dungeon is different
regardless of the damage they take.
No matter which character
you're playing as the game feels balanced as every decision is linked
and has multiple potential ramifications. To remove a piece of
equipment, you have to spend a turn not placing a monster in the dungeon
which limits your knowledge of what to expect.
Likewise if you
want to look at a monster that could end up in the dungeon you have to
wait before your next turn before announcing to the room that you don't
wish to enter the dungeon which could be far too late if every other
player decides to retreat one after the other.
This
snowball effect of players seeing another player doesn't wish to enter,
assuming it's an absolute deathtrap and bailing out themselves is often
one of Dungeon's greatest moments as the remaining player who is forced
to then enter the dungeon is often bewildered at the sheer speed of
cowardice of their fellow players and how quickly the situation
escalated - especially if they then go on to humorously overcome the
dungeon.
Speaking of satisfying moments as the polar opposite of
the previous example, it's hard to beat witnessing someones cocky grin
turn to fear as they realise they will be forced to enter the near
impossible deadly dungeon they have spent the previous rounds creating
becuase they waited one turn to long to pull out.
Dungeon is also
the perfect travel game, requiring very few components to play and
arriving in a pocket sized box that will give similar portable bluffing
games such as Skull and Love Letter a run for their money.
Conclusion
So
if I have any real criticism of Welcome to the Dungeon, it's frankly
that I've played it a little bit too much and would like some fresh
characters and monsters to add some unpredictability to my games as I
don't think four characters is quite enough. But even then, perhaps the
charm of Dungeon is it's simplicity in that it's a game you can learn
and attempt to master but will always be unpredictable due to the
evolving strategies and playstyles of the players you play with.
Similarly
at Dungeon's very affordable price - it's very difficult to feel short
changed by what's included (especially as the original Japanese edition
of the game initially only included one playable character). While the
game does feature player elimination, I’ve never found this to be too
much of any issue as rounds are short and often Dungeon is just as funny
to watch as it is to play.
Final Thoughts
So,
it's a brilliant portable party game that is easy to learn and teach
featuring a bunch of hidden depth due to the likely second guessing
you'll be doing when players become more familiar with the game. It's
incredibly more-ish and if you like it as much as I do, it's very easy
to get into that "one more round" mentality that makes bluffing games
like this so special.