23.7.2012

Who am I:Middle aged married guy who loves Sci fi, video games and fantasy novels. Used to play D&D and then AD&D around twenty years ago. Haven't been involved with any serious groups since then so I have no experience with any editions of D&D that cause such a rift in the community. This means that I am not hopelessly in love with any specific Edition of D&D.-Note for various D&D Edition FanGirls and FanBoys- If you are a 4th Edition Hater and can't get past that, you most likely will not enjoy these games as they are based, in general, on the 4th Edition rule set. If you don't know what that statement means, or if you are capable of enjoying what each Edition has to offer,you should have no problems.Why I love the D&D Adventure Systems:Castle Ravenloft(CR), Wrath of Ashardalon(WoA) and Legend of Drizzt(LoD): They work as a stand alone product and offer a dungeon crawling, limited leveling, monster slaying experience with no previous knowledge of how D&D works. And all in sessions that can be finished in an hour or two. The minimal time commitment involved is fantastic.Or, if you find yourself filled with nostalgia and desire a fuller, longer campaign with further leveling options or new characters, these games can be tweaked to allow for that. Especially with some of the user created content online, the photoshop templates on boardgamegeek.com in particular are wonderful. Also this [....]address has a plethora of new content. The extra leveling options are definitely my favorite. The truth is that I screamed in happiness when I ran across them. I sounded like a ten year old girl getting a pony. A unicorn pony. with wings. A Unicorn Pegasus Pony that appeared in a shimmer of rainbow colors. And now I am deeply ashamed...........*sigh* I am such a nerd.The game system totally allows for expandability in many ways. It's kind of a gateway drug for D&D honestly. I find myself consistently wanting just a bit more of the actual RPG experience. We tweak the game a bit and suddenly our experience is just a bit fuller and more satisfying. Not nearly as detailed and time intensive as an actual D&D or Pathfinder game though. Such a great balance for us.They don't have to be expanded upon though, to be immensely enjoyable. Any of the three games are enough in and of themselves to be hugely gratifying and offer much re-playability. The expandability is just something that makes them extra cool and versatile in my opinion.All three systems use totally interchangeable materials. Some of the cards may be context sensitive and not seem to fit in a particular environment but other than that you can use everything in each of the games. This provides Awesomeness Bonus of +2.The map tiles and figurines both are an unbeatable value and can be easily incorporated into a "real" D&D session.Everything in the box, other than the manuals, is of superb quality. The figurines alone would easily cost you double what you pay for the set here. And if you paint figurines, which I do, you will have just gained around forty new minis to paint. Joy in and of itself there.Possible Cons:I saw in the review for one of the three games that some dude was just totally disgusted with how these games "punish" the players for almost every activity they engage in. The guy was totally a Hater. However, he wasn't necessarily wrong. The game does seem to be constantly throwing things at you that often don't feel fair. Notably, the Encounter cards. Which brings me to the next con and a solution to the "punishment" issue....The instruction manual will not answer every question that will come up. It is left up to the players to decide how certain things should work. Which is how a "real" D&D game works. Your group plays the game the way they want to play it. If you simply cannot function without every rule spelled out for you, this may be a problem. Otherwise you'll be fine. And in terms of rule tweaking and the punishment issue- we decided to change how often we draw encounter cards as well as a couple other minor aspects of the game. This has served to make our sessions a lot more fun. Don't be afraid to tweak the rules in order to play the game how you want to play it.The manuals are pretty cheaply put together. They may not hold up well to use by younger players or spilled drinks. I took ours apart and put the pages in plastic binder inserts. We now have all the material for all the games in a single, sturdy, custom decorated notebook. Which is awesome btw. (Disclaimer for claim of awesomeness: I created the custom artwork:)Space. With all the cards and map tiles and bags of monsters and tokens that get used in a typical session, you may find you need a bit more space than an average board game. All of the aforementioned items can quickly end up being a mess. As a solution we have everything securely contained in varying sizes of ziplock bags. Including the map tiles in a 1 Gallon size bag. Perfect for storage and during play.There is no actual role playing or in town scenarios. If you want to get into a brawl over the serving wench's honor at The Yawning Portal Inn in the city of Waterdeep, then you should just find a gaming group and play Pathfinder or D&D(any Edition). Or perhaps, after stumbling into a gathering of Dirty Orcs in the Gloomy Forest of Gloom and Terror, you want to attempt to use an illusion to convince them you are a deity and sell them into slavery in the Land of Thay. As opposed to just killing them. Again, just go find a full-on game of D&D. These systems can be worked to allow for things like that to some degree, but they aren't designed to be open world or allow for anything other than a dungeon crawl with combat and a final, combat based, objective.So:If you want "real" D&D, then you may be more satisfied finding a group and getting involved.If you want a game that allows you to engage in D20 based combat, with figurines, that represent a character with minimal leveling capacity. And that can be played by anyone. These systems may be just the thing for you.Also of note: The Dungeon Command games have interchangeable map tiles, monster cards and figurines that can be used seamlessly with the Adventure Systems. I love this as it ads even more expansion options.

18.10.2010

This is what fourth edition DND is about - if it were fit into a self-contained, sufficient box without any extra sourcebooks to read, rulebooks to peruse, or additional props to buy, like miniatures or tiles. Wizards hits this one out of the park.Inside the box, thirteen adventures await. At least two are solo adventures: one at the beginning to serve as a tutorial, and another about midway through the book. Each adventure has a goal, and employs a special mechanic or boss. This keeps the hack-and-slash experience fresh. One adventure has the party acquiring an artifact; another has the party raiding Strahd's treasure hoard! Thirteen in all.With two players (cleric and fighter),we find ourselves challenged to nearly overwhelmed. We've gone through seven adventures so far, and we've lived to tell it. The balance in the game is very good. The mechanic of this board game is that monsters spawn virtually every turn in some fashion; coupled with the random encounter cards, the characters are guaranteed to get regularly damaged. Let's just say the healing surges - two by default - have been used up in a few adventures! The cleric "carries" (wins in a pinch) often. :)(I imagine it's even more difficult with four people, as random events and "target nearest hero" rules cause the party wizard to spend all the surges!)The level cap is two, though with house-ruling you can extend it to three or even four. From one to the other, you gain +2 hp, +1 AC, and so forth, so you can extrapolate. No need to dig out your 4e PHB. :PThe deck of monster cards contains the "AI" that a specific monster will use. Just follow the directions, and kobold skirmishers will be hurling javelins at your heroes in no time. The game is cooperative, so your friend can make the to-hit roll on your guy.The miniatures are color-coded according to type, like undead (bone beige), powerful undead (transparent blue plastic!) or monstrous/vermin (maroon). Heroes are dark blue. I like the solid coloring rather than individual paint schemes because the miniatures can be easily retrieved from a pile and placed onto a tile.The tiles are heavy cardboard stock, much like the Dungeon Tiles series. They interlock in only one way and are very durable. You'll wonder how other game companies can get away with more flimsy stock. Wizards doesn't fool around here.The rules are simple and you will learn it in no time. There are no rules for flanking or cover, but you can easily house-rule it.I pre-ordered Ashardalon's Wrath on the strength of Castle Ravenloft.I like to think this is how 4e DND was ideally meant to be played, with clear objectives, original adventures, miniatures and tiles. There's no character development or role-playing; often, what we enjoy most is surviving to move our figures another day. :) For a game to do that without a DM is impressive.I have rated "Educational Value" as five stars because the game uses a specific sequence of "phases" during each player's turn, and tracking what's been done while resolving an encounter card, and remembering that some effect ends at the end of a hero's action phase, while also thinking about how you're going to survive with your dailies gone, requires memory and attention.

23.10.2010

This board game is a great experience for any fan of role playing games. You don't need to buy any Dungeons and Dragons rule books or think hard about creating a character for a tabletop gaming experience. I like to refer to Castle Ravenloft as "D&D Light". I would also refer to it as a great introduction to the world of Dungeons and Dragons. The campaigns and scenarios that come with the game are very fun and make full use of all the components. The real fun comes when you choose to use your included tools to create your own version of the game. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from adding your own created items, stipulations, encounters, cards, or specific rules for a scenario.There is nothing forcing you to do so either. The game can be easy or extremely hard depending on your luck with dice roles or monsters/encounters drawn, as well as the number of players. In fact, you might want to add stipulations requiring additional monster draws if you have a full party, otherwise the game is rather easy. A randomized tile drawing system ensures that your dungeon is never the same, even if you play through the same scenario. It also includes a fog-of-war element that is well conceived. For players of Dungeons and Dragons, or other board games of this nature, Castle Ravenloft is a little different in the fact that there is no single player driving the nemesis/dungeon master/enemy mechanics. Every player's turn also governs the intelligence of the monsters that came into play on their previous turns. The monsters themselves come with their behavior rules listed on the cards, giving you the directions of how they move, when they attack, what attack they use, etc. The game pieces themselves are of good quality. Only the skeleton warriors are somewhat frail (I recommend keeping them in the plastic moldings when not in use), though many of the tokens have weapons or features that are prone to bending, but not breaking. Sometimes the rules can be a little vague in reference to specifics. This FAQ is fan created, but set's a good standard for questions that might arise with no official answer.-- [...] -- This game revolves heavily around dice rolls and random card draws. It is fun, but can seem a bit boring to people with short attention spans or those without imagination or an interest in fantasy settings. I don't think younger children would enjoy it all that much, but that would depend on each individual.Regardless, it is a fun game with very well done mechanics and the ability to be tweaked or changed to any owner's desire. If you've always wondered what Dungeons and Dragons was all about, or if you would ever like it, this board game is a good starting point. It's also just a pretty darn good board game, period.

14.8.2012

Dungeons and Dragons has been around for years. They have had multiple rule updates, and this game is based off of the more recent changes. It plays as a simplified version that is perfect for introducing new players to the series and game play style. My wife who would have never dreamed she would enjoy something Dungeon and Dragons related actually really enjoys this game.It has 13 different scenarios which are like individual games within it. They all come together to form a complete story. You and your band of heroes are trying to protect the town of Bavoria and defeat the lord vampire Strahd. The game is played on a board that grows as you journey the dungeon and is randomized so even playing the same scenario should provide a different experience.In a regular turn you move,

4.5.2014

I'm a 25 year old geek who has plenty of experience with card games, tabletop games, and RPGs. First off, I love this game. I rarely take time to review anything. In this case, I have seen a number of reviewers who were a little harsh based on their expectations. So, I wanted to add my two cents.What is Castle Ravenloft? This game is not the D&D most people are used to. D&D lite is a pretty good way of describing it and that's what I love about it. Castle Ravenloft is a much more accessible form of D&D for geeks and nongeeks alike. It's like some other reviewers have mentioned, it's a great game to sit down and play for an hour or two and is simple enough for people who have never touched this kind of stuff to pick up and learn pretty quickly.

29.11.2010

Castle Ravenloft lets up to five different heroes loose in a randomly generated dungeon to battle evil and save the world, and it pretty much garuntees an exciting adventure every time. There are 13 adventures to choose from, each dictating win and lose conditions as well as special events and monsters to keep things interesting. As your heroes set off on their adventures they explore the dungeon's random layout, fight random monsters, pick up random treasure and fall foul of a series of random events. The set up is just complex enough to keep the game different and exciting every time, and simple enough that you can pick up the rules fairly quickly, with Sequence of Play cards keeping everyone on track.This game is cooperative.

29.12.2012

I grew up playing D&D quite a bit with my friends. As we got older and made families we just didn't have the time to play anymore. This board game is great on so many levels. It is great for people like me who would like to feel like they are playing D&D and need to do it in an hour and a half. It is great intro for people who are curious about D&D but have never played before. They won't get very deep into the D&D rule set but will get an introduction to HP, AC, movement, classes and other basic concepts. It is also great for anyone who just wants to play an adventure game and doesn't care what world it is set in.The game comes with a bunch of highly detailed miniatures that are begging to be painted but are wonderful as they are.

5.6.2013

In the spirit of full disclosure I am a HUGE Ravenloft fanatic. I have the original D&D Module, the box sets (TWO of them!) I have read the book (I, Strahd : The Memoirs of a Vampire) and spent countless hours playing through (and dying in) Count Strahd's castle and lands. I love this whole series.So, I now have a son who is interested in D&D. Mainly because he knows how much I enjoyed it "back in the day" and having seen the guys on Big Bang Theory playing it recently. Searching the internet for an easy way to break in to D&D brings me to the board game Dungeons and Dragons Wrath of Ashardalon. As I read the description (or maybe it was a review) I notice that there is a Ravenloft version!

26.9.2010

I got this game as a present for my husband since we had been talking about trying to play D & D together but just didn't have the time or the crew to start a real, full-length adventure. He was already familiar with the series, but we were both beginners at the rules and nitty-gritty logistics.We have really enjoyed the game thus far. We have both been surprised by how engaging the play is. Waiting to see where the next tile will lead us and what the next card will bring is a lot of fun, and I think that this introduction has whetted our appetites for dungeon crawling; we already have plans to expand our collection and have found additional adventures to use when we've successfully completed the enclosed adventure pack.My one major complaint about the game is that,

3.3.2011

There's a lot of this game. Everything the rule-book or adventures book refers to has a token or a tile. Every monster has a miniature. The tiles and tokens are surprisingly durable for cardboard, and the tiles link together easily and securely. The miniatures are unpainted, but well-detailed.Each time you play this game, you pick an adventure. The adventure sets the special rules, starting setup and win/lose conditions for the group. It's an entirely co-operative game. All players either win together, or lose together. As you play, you explore the dungeon, revealing random tiles. This makes the layout different every time. Every tile revealed has a random monster on it,

3.8.2014

I have been playing D&D games for years, and this captures the fun of a cooperative dungeon crawl without the need for a DM. This game maintains all the essential elements of D&D with monsters, heroes, traps, treasures and classic quests, but in a tight package that keeps things fresh. The Dungeons and Dragons Adventure series games include highly detailed miniatures, dungeon tiles, treasure and Encounter cards. The latter (Encounter Cards) provide the same level of "surprise" elements of a traditional game like when your DM gets that evil smile before drawing in a long breath and tells you that your party just stumbled onto a hive of Beholders. There are several adventures in the stock game,

2.3.2011

I think there is an argument that can be made for buying this game makes a better introduction to D&D than the D&D Red Box Starter Set and it is a better bang for your buck. I know that seems unlikely, but hear me out. The D&D Red Box Starter Set is focused mostly on developing an abbreviated character, and once you have worked through the module there is no use for the module ever again. It is one shot and then it is over. Not only that, but the next step is to purchase Heroes of the Fallen Lands, which will tell you to take your abbreviated character and rework it from scratch. To be quite frank, Heroes of the Fallen Lands does a very good job walking you through the process of creating a complete character from scratch,

1.9.2011

(I bought this one for my 11 year old nephew, who loves it. I already have it)I grew up playing D&D in the 70's. I have a lot of fond memories of it. I don't have the time to learn the new rules and get together with a lot of people to play it like I used to. I had heard about this from a friend and immediately got it. It's not a full-blown D&D adventure but a very good 1-2 hour game that you can play by yourself or with friends. My friend plays D&D and he liked this game. It's quick and if you have a good group there are many strategy decisions to be made. the game is varied enough for replay value plus they have a couple other similar games (Wrath of Ashardalon, Legend of Drizzt) that can be combined.

22.8.2020

I just recently got into these games and after playing them all Castle Ravenloft is by far the best of the bunch. The problem with the other games is that every new game that came out thereafter started adding new game elements and tricks to it. I understand that the designers have to keep the system fresh to older players but things started getting much more confusing. Ravenloft plays smooth and easy, especially for younger players. I've noticed all the other elements that newer games brought just slowed the game down and muddied up gameplay. This always becomes a problem when a great game system is made, the designers always want to improve on it and they end up convoluting it with too many new ideas.

26.2.2012

I purchased this game after reading and watching several reviews online. Neither my wife nor I has ever played a table-top RPG game, though I am somewhat familiar with the world of D&D from a handful of the novels that I've read, the toys I had as a kid and the 80s cartoon. That was about the extent of my D&D experience and my wife didn't even have that much.To make it short, we love the game! We played it nearly every night for about a month and our lack of experience with D&D gaming was not an issue at all. We loved it so much I bought the sequel game Wrath of Ashardalon and we started playing it last night.It's a brutal game and we lose a lot, but that's what makes the victories worthwhile.

Dungeons & Dragons Castle Ravenloft Board Game - Reviews

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