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on May 4, 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. The best way to play this game is have a few beers, joke around about how screwed you are (the game is actually very difficult, especially if your Dragonborn fighter can't seem to kill anything), and just roll with it.
There really isn't any role playing involved (unless your gaming crew decides to add it in). It's all about the D20 combat system (based around 4th edition rules) and quite a bit of luck as well. You slowly reveal the dungeon, battle monsters, get treasure, and work on accomplishing whatever goal you have to to win the game. It's a relatively quick and fun way to get into the D&D universe without having to commit hours and hours like you would with a normal D&D adventure.
There are a couple of other things worth mentioning. For the price, you get quite a few miniatures. They aren't painted, but they would still make excellent figures for a DM to use in a regular campaign. If you're into painting, there isn't anything stopping you from painting them as well. The artwork and quality of the pieces is fantastic. The board, tokens, and most of the figures are sturdy and with proper care, should last a long time.
Why didn't I give it a perfect score?
-I would have liked to see more monster variety. Although, you can mix the contents of this D&D board game with the two others that are out to give you more variety of monsters and heroes.
-There are a few figures that are a bit flimsy and could easily be broken if you don't store it right or you allow younger children to play.
Overall, the game is well worth the price and I promise you if you go into it with a few friends, an open mind, and not expecting a full fledged D&D session, you will have a lot of fun with this!
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. The best way to play this game is have a few beers, joke around about how screwed you are (the game is actually very difficult, especially if your Dragonborn fighter can't seem to kill anything), and just roll with it.
There really isn't any role playing involved (unless your gaming crew decides to add it in). It's all about the D20 combat system (based around 4th edition rules) and quite a bit of luck as well. You slowly reveal the dungeon, battle monsters, get treasure, and work on accomplishing whatever goal you have to to win the game. It's a relatively quick and fun way to get into the D&D universe without having to commit hours and hours like you would with a normal D&D adventure.
There are a couple of other things worth mentioning. For the price, you get quite a few miniatures. They aren't painted, but they would still make excellent figures for a DM to use in a regular campaign. If you're into painting, there isn't anything stopping you from painting them as well. The artwork and quality of the pieces is fantastic. The board, tokens, and most of the figures are sturdy and with proper care, should last a long time.
Why didn't I give it a perfect score?
-I would have liked to see more monster variety. Although, you can mix the contents of this D&D board game with the two others that are out to give you more variety of monsters and heroes.
-There are a few figures that are a bit flimsy and could easily be broken if you don't store it right or you allow younger children to play.
Overall, the game is well worth the price and I promise you if you go into it with a few friends, an open mind, and not expecting a full fledged D&D session, you will have a lot of fun with this!
on December 5, 2016
We have collected all of the D&D board games, and this is among our favorites. Stand alone games can be a few hours or you can do campaign mode which can last several sessions, much like a standard D&D campaign. Highly recommend for groups who never seem to want to DM but still want to play. The minis can be painted or left plain. They are excellently detailed, as are the player cards and other components. There are so many components we ended up having to use ziploc bags to keep everything organized. Great addition to a group who doesn't mind long winded games like Risk. We did end up having to implement our own house rules for things like traps which can sometimes bring the game to a grinding hault. Groups who are used to house rules will have no problem adapting the game to fit their group dynamic.
on July 18, 2014
This a phenomenal board game. Yes, it can be a little intimidating and you need to play a few adventures to get the hang of it. But the depth and replayability of the game is to be applauded. Fighting monsters is fun, but the encounter cards make the game tough at times. My kids and I have played ~12 games and lost twice. An element that makes this game amazing is the player created content. Players have created new adventures, monsters, campaign rules, and have share the templates so you can create your own content. I just ordered the 2nd version, Wrath of Ashardalon to expand the types of monsters and villains and look forward to playing this for years to come. Truly a great game.
on June 16, 2014
In a nutshell, it is 4th edition DnD with tabletop miniatures and maps included. it has the "core rules" incorporated for a board game edition of DnD and allows for mixing and matching between this game and the other two titles of this genre. I have a few friends over once in a while to play, and it's nice because we can geek out without having to go through all the headaches of keeping up with full blown DnD "stuff" (character sheets, and special rules, and new books, and edition changes, etc).
Not quite as much fun as I used to have playing first edition rules when I was a kid, but it fits the bill for what I need at this age.
Not quite as much fun as I used to have playing first edition rules when I was a kid, but it fits the bill for what I need at this age.
Enthusiast: Board Gameson December 28, 2016
A streamlined, lightweight, scenario-based take on the D&D experience. A great way to bring together old-school D&D fans with their kids or more casual gamers. Choose your scenario based upon the interests of the players collected.
on February 23, 2014
I bought this for my son after he told me he had played once at his friend's house. It is a great game from what he tells me. This game comes with a lot of different pieces:
5 different characters to play as. Each one has its unique ability and stats.
Figures for characters and monsters. The figures are not cheap pieces of plastic that will break easily. They are sturdy and are very similar to the images on the cards. They even have a special skeleton dragon, which is pretty big.
Cards. There are character cards, which have their different powers. There are encounter cards, which could bring you good luck, or doom you all on your quest. There are monster cards, with descriptions of their attacks and movement. There are treasure cards too, which help a lot on these quests.
Multiple quests. There are different quests at different difficulties. The easy ones are quick and easy, but the harder ones take up some time, as you struggle to stay alive and complete the mission.
Lots of board pieces. There are a lot of tiles, which are added on as the game progresses. Some are standard, and the same, but others are unique. They might be used only for certain quests, or may something mysterious.
Tokens for just about everything. There are some for icons, health, statuses, traps, and items.
The instructions are easy to read, and the game is easy to learn. I recommend this if you want an alternative to video game and still have good fun with friends.
5 different characters to play as. Each one has its unique ability and stats.
Figures for characters and monsters. The figures are not cheap pieces of plastic that will break easily. They are sturdy and are very similar to the images on the cards. They even have a special skeleton dragon, which is pretty big.
Cards. There are character cards, which have their different powers. There are encounter cards, which could bring you good luck, or doom you all on your quest. There are monster cards, with descriptions of their attacks and movement. There are treasure cards too, which help a lot on these quests.
Multiple quests. There are different quests at different difficulties. The easy ones are quick and easy, but the harder ones take up some time, as you struggle to stay alive and complete the mission.
Lots of board pieces. There are a lot of tiles, which are added on as the game progresses. Some are standard, and the same, but others are unique. They might be used only for certain quests, or may something mysterious.
Tokens for just about everything. There are some for icons, health, statuses, traps, and items.
The instructions are easy to read, and the game is easy to learn. I recommend this if you want an alternative to video game and still have good fun with friends.
on August 11, 2014
A wonderful addition to a game collection for a big D&D nerd like myself, however at the original price of this game i really have a hard time saying that it is completely worth it.
The game scenario booklet is great, the pieces are nicely sculpted, but they are only painted in a solid color. You get 4 colors of pieces,which look nice, however for the price i really expected better quality. The other disappointment i had was the board, yes it looks neat when you can connect the tiles together, but there was only 1 side to it. Other D&D games i have purchased had 2 sided boards to add to the excitement.
All in all, i love the game and i'm glad i got it, but i would not recommend it all full price to anyone.
The game scenario booklet is great, the pieces are nicely sculpted, but they are only painted in a solid color. You get 4 colors of pieces,which look nice, however for the price i really expected better quality. The other disappointment i had was the board, yes it looks neat when you can connect the tiles together, but there was only 1 side to it. Other D&D games i have purchased had 2 sided boards to add to the excitement.
All in all, i love the game and i'm glad i got it, but i would not recommend it all full price to anyone.
on September 26, 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, in condensing the rules to fit into a one-hour game, the creators may have over-simplified the rule book itself, leading to a lot of confusion for us. Since we are not learning D & D from an experienced player, we are completely reliant on the rule book to explain even simple things like which hero is attacked if a monster is equidistant from them or whether experience is shared by the group or only held by specific players. Our first game in particular was very frustrating because we had to constantly check the rules to explain a certain action or situation, and we were usually left with an incomplete picture of the right way to play. Most of the online help that we found said that, in the case of ambiguity, set your own house rules and always abide by them, but since we were new to the game, we didn't really want to have to do that often (since we don't know what makes a good house rule or a fair one).
All in all, we are well pleased and are getting a lot of good use out of the game already (the replay value really is incredible - I can't imagine getting bored with this game quickly). But I recommend having an on-line guide ready if you are a beginner to the series.
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, in condensing the rules to fit into a one-hour game, the creators may have over-simplified the rule book itself, leading to a lot of confusion for us. Since we are not learning D & D from an experienced player, we are completely reliant on the rule book to explain even simple things like which hero is attacked if a monster is equidistant from them or whether experience is shared by the group or only held by specific players. Our first game in particular was very frustrating because we had to constantly check the rules to explain a certain action or situation, and we were usually left with an incomplete picture of the right way to play. Most of the online help that we found said that, in the case of ambiguity, set your own house rules and always abide by them, but since we were new to the game, we didn't really want to have to do that often (since we don't know what makes a good house rule or a fair one).
All in all, we are well pleased and are getting a lot of good use out of the game already (the replay value really is incredible - I can't imagine getting bored with this game quickly). But I recommend having an on-line guide ready if you are a beginner to the series.
on February 23, 2015
Being new to tabletop RPGS, I find this game to be a good starting place for those not familiar with RPG basics. Its basically D&D Light, with no role playing, just combat. Predetermined characters make for a quicker experience so you don't get bogged down with character creation. I had a lot of fun playing this by myself and it can get really challenging which brings up my two gripes with the game. First, the rules are atrociously written. They're confusing to understand and it will take you a couple playthroughs to really nail down how the game is supposed to be played. However ambiguous rules does make room for "house rules", so you could hypothetically change some rules to your liking. My 2nd gripe is the game itself: its very much luck based. You get some unlucky dice and roll poorly, that can definitely mean game over. I know the same can be said for most RPGs but its never more crucial than in RavenLoft. However, it truly is a fun tabletop adventure, definitely for newbies like me.
