Dungeons & Dragons nights rarely start on time. Players are late because they are stuck in traffic or getting food. There’s often some down time while everyone settles in. It’s usually long enough to feel like playing a short game but not long enough to get into anything involved. In 2018, Wizard of the Coast released Dungeon Mayhem as a great “warm up” game to a night of D&D. A small expansion followed last year and next week a large expansion changes the game once again.
Dungeon Mayhem is a short battle card game where players pick up a character deck and throw down with each other. Every deck has the same basic action cards; draw cards, attack opponents, set up defenses, heal and take more actions to play more cards. Each deck is set up a little differently to feel different in play. The barbarian deck is more aggressive with more attack cards with higher values for example, while the wizard deck tends to be more about drawing cards until the player gets what they want in hand. Each deck also comes with some unique cards such as the paladin’s ability to heal themselves and hit another player at the same time. It’s very easy to pick up and play but it also rewards paying attention to a deck and learning how to use it.
Monster Madness adds six more decks to the game, each one with a lot of personality. Lord Cinderpuff is a business dragon who uses the power of his hoard to inflict financial pain on opponents but isn’t afraid to breathe fire when necessary. Blorp is a gelatinous cube who loves to engulf an opponent and then spit their leftover stuff at the others. Mimi LeChaise is a mimic that changes into dozens of items to confuse opponents. Delilah Deathray is a vain beholder who zaps anyone that doesn’t compliment her looks. Dr. Tentaculous is a mind flayer that clearly went to college to get an Evil Psychiatrist Degree. The last addition to the game is also a candidate for one of the greatest Dungeons & Dragons names in the history of the hobby: Hoots McGoots, the circus stunt owlbear.
In addition to more decks, the Monster Madness offers more improvements to the game play experience. The box comes with a slotted and tabbed divider with spaces for the original decks, the Battle for Baldur’s Gate expansion and the monster decks. There’s a tuck box included to store the small health tokens used by everyone and the box is a much sturdier build than the original game and expansion boxes. There’s also an expansion of the rules to fit five and six players now that there are more decks. The expansion rules are quick and easy just like the rest of the game. In larger groups players can only target active players next to them unless they have a powerful card. The other expansion rule keeps eliminated players in the game by letting them whittle down the defenses of the players still in the hunt.
Dungeon Mayhem: Monster Madness will be available on February 28th at local game stores everywhere.
