Caves have a primal allure. Yawning in the rough stone of a hillside, even the most claustrophobic person might pause to wonder what’s inside and just how far they go. Perhaps it's something instinctual about seeking shelter. Either way, imagine how much more alluring - and claustrophobic - it might be if that cave was in a fantastical realm filled with all manner of equally fantastic possibilities.
‘It's an easy dopamine hit,’ enthuses James M. Hewitt of Needy Cat Games. You might not know his name but you’ll likely recognise many of his games from his time as a design staffer at Games Workshop, such as Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower, or his later freelance work on titles like Mantic’s Hellboy: The Boardgame.
‘People love games with exploration and character development,’ he continues. ‘Reveal new cards! See what's in the next room! Get a new ability!’
Once they’ve lured you in, however, dungeon crawl games can reveal surprising complexity. ‘They give players the chance to get clever and use a variety of items and abilities in cunning combinations to great effect,’ Hewitt tells me. ‘There's also the general sense of heroism, where your small group of heroes takes on wave after wave of enemies.’
Much like their role-playing cousins, dungeon crawl board games began life in the 1970s at TSR. First off the blocks was the oft-derided Dungeons & Dragons spinoff Dungeon! that despite, or perhaps because of, its randomness still makes for a good family game with plenty of variety and excitement. Other iconic titles soon followed in its footsteps, including The Sorcerer's Cave from 1978 and 1985’s DungeonQuest, itself an Anglicised version of the Swedish game, Drakborgen.
Still, these titles remained relatively niche, more often than not seen as an adjunct to role-playing, a side serving for those already in the hobby. It would be another game, some fifteen years later, that would bring the joy of dungeoneering to the masses and, in a story that will be familiar to many late eighties children, get Hewitt into fantasy gaming.
‘The first one I owned was HeroQuest,’ Hewitt reveals. ‘My dad got it for my birthday and then staunchly refused to play with me until I finally wore him down. It didn't matter, though, it fired my imagination all the same.’
That same iconic title also served as the gateway game for Dan Hughes, the co-designer of recent Kickstarter success CoraQuest with his eight year old daughter, Cora. ‘I remember playing it with friends after school on my bedroom floor,’ he fondly recalls.
Released by Milton Bradley Games in partnership with Games Workshop HeroQuest went to some lengths to mimic the genre’s inspiration in role-playing, casting one of the players as a games master who revealed the labyrinth to the other players and played the monsters. That gave it the familiarity of a board game combined with the mysteries of a role-playing game, a combination that was key to its success.
But it begs another question: why not just role-play instead?
‘A dungeon crawl is invaluable for taking the burden of preparation from a games master,’ Hughes opines. ‘It can often be more relaxing and “beer and pretzels” than an RPG. It also requires less commitment from everyone round the table and can be embarked upon more spontaneously. It’s usually more visually and tactically satisfying too, as the components are tailor made to fit the game rather than cobbled together.’
Hewitt has a different take. ‘Why not play both,’ he quips. ‘Seriously though, to me, the biggest difference is that while an RPG is great for a freeform experience, with a GM who acts as narrator and arbiter, a dungeon board game has a lot more constraint, and can be a lot more focused.’
This gets to the heart of what dungeon board games are often missing, the sense of creativity and imagination that comes from having someone run the game. The fact HeroQuest asked someone to step into that role is part of what made it special. Yet, at the same time, many players are reluctant to take the helm, preferring instead to roll with the excitement of the unknown. It’s a split that’s plagued the genre throughout its development.
