Work as a team or die as a team trying to escape the dark castle, do you have what it takes to escape? Well, we did not the first time we played it! The second time though we got out and laughed in the castle face!
Let us get the boring bit out of the way!
Players: 1 - 4
Age: 14+
Time: 30 minutes (to 60 I would say)
What is in this dark ominous box?
Not a lot to be honest but you do not need a lot of components to play this game!
Inside you will get;
4 pencils
1 track pad
3 final boss cards
45 chapter cards
6 character cards
35 item cards
6 character dice
9 chapter dice
1 start card
Okay so while I was writing that out I was thinking that you got more than I realised! I thought there was a lot less than that!
Aim of the game?
To escape the dark castle, you must complete 15 chapter cards and 1 final boss card to escape the dark castle, if at any point a player dies in the group you lose and must start over again!
Setting the game up
The game is very easy to set up and it claims it takes 2 minutes, it is a quick set-up but not 2 minutes!
1: Separate all the different card types and create stacks of each one, then shuffle all of these making sure that each deck is shuffled and now in random order.
2: Either pick a player each that you want to be and take the corresponding dice for that character or deal a random one to each payer and then take that character dice.
3: From the shuffled final boss cards take 1 of them and place it face-down on the table. This is the bottom of the dark castle and the final boss you must defeat to escape!
4: From the shuffled chapter cards take the top 15 (without looking at them) and place them on top of the final boss card, these need to be face-down also.
5: Place the start card on top of this pile and you have now created your castle deck!
6: Place the item and chapter dice near the castle deck for all players to be able to reach.
7: Each player now takes a pencil and a piece of paper from the track pad and makes a note of their starting health. The starting health of each character depends on the number of players;
1 - 2 = 18HP
3 = 14HP
4 = 12HP
This is how much each player will start with, if you ever reach 0 you are dead and the game ends for everyone!
There you go, the game is set up and now you and your friends must try and escape the dark castle, there is a solo version you can play but this will not be covered in this review.
How to play the game
This game is designed to be atmospheric and you need to treat the game this way to set the scene and get the most out of this game.
There is no turn order instead you all decide on each turn who will flip over the top chapter card and be the lead for this turn. You do this for every chapter card so the game never goes clockwise unless you pick to do it that way.
Flip over the top chapter card and place it to the left of the castle deck. The player who flipped it over needs to read out the italic text and set the scene for the team. Then they read out the objective on the chapter card so the team know what they need to do for this card.
In the game, there are different types of chapter cards and some might need you to make combat, some might need you to make a skill roll, some might just hurt you and then give you treasure, some might allow you to try and flee the card and do nothing. They are all different, just make sure that you read the objective and you all understand what needs to be done.
If the card tells you that you have to perform combat then you need to defeat the enemy. Combat in this game is very simple, the card in the lower left-hand corner will show you what chapter dice you will need to place showing the symbols. If it shows a symbol of a player (a person shape) this means all players must roll a chapter dice and add it to the dice pool for the enemy.
For example, if the enemy card shows an eye and fist this means you need to place 2 black dice showing an eye and a fist, there are 3 players so you all take 1 black dice and roll them getting a star, star and another fist, add these to the pool. You now need 1 eye, 2 stars and 2 fists to defeat this enemy.
Now you know what you must roll to defeat the enemy you have to pick 1 of 2 actions;
Fight
Rest
Fight: The players who are in combat this round (not resting) now roll their chapter dice. If you match any symbols on the dice with the black chapter dice under the enemy you score a hit and remove that dice from the enemy, making them weaker.
If you roll a double (symbol with a shield around it) you hit the enemy twice and remove 2 dice with that symbol (if there are two). You also defend yourself and that means on the enemies attack you will not take any damage (unless the chapter card says otherwise).
Rest: 1 player and only 1 on each turn can rest, when resting they do not roll dice, they do not take any damage and they can not use any items they are carrying, instead, they gain 1 hp.
That is the end of your attack and unless you defeated the enemy by removing all of the chapter dice under them, they now get to attack you back!
On the right side of the enemy card, there will be a number in a squiggly circle, this is the enemies attack value, all players (excluding the one player resting and any player who rolled a shield (double symbol)) take that amount in damage and remove it from their HP. If the card shows a 3 this means all attacking players will take 3 damage and lower their HP by this amount. If you were on 12HP you are now on 9HP, if any player hits 0HP the game is over.
Item cards, once you defeat an enemy or a chapter card tells you to ake an item card the active player does so, this means they get the item. Now you can only carry two items and if the item says double-handed you can only carry one. You can trade items to other players but only when they are in your possession. We played that if you draw a card but could not carry it you could not give it to another player because you can not hold it. I believe the rules do state that you can trade this item to another player but we played it differently.
You can never trade an item during a chapter, they can only be traded before or after a chapter. Items can be used at any time unless the item says otherwise.
Combat specials are on some enemy cards and these can break the rules, if they break the rules you need to obey what the chapter card says and ignore the rules, these can make the fight more of a challenge.
Final boss cards do have more dice to defeat and hit harder so make sure you read the rules on the card and obey them.
That is all there is to play the game, you can learn the game within 10 minutes easily!
Final thoughts?
I picked this game because I really like the art style, that was the main reason, to be honest, when I read the back of the box I was a little unsure if this was going to be a good game or not.
I have to say I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this game, it was fun. You do need to play with people who are willing to get involved in the story of the game and play their part. It is all about setting the scene and then working as a team to escape the dark castle.
The artwork is basic but works for the game, I just like how it feels as if I am playing a game from medieval times just based on the artwork alone.
The game is easy to learn and easy to play which means it can be used as a starter game for non-gamers. I think we picked up the rules after the first chapter card. Setting the game up takes no time so it's another game that can be quickly set up and played for those people who hate how long a game takes to set up.
The game just makes sense and at no point are you left scratching your head trying to figure out a rule, you flip a card, you roll dice, you win or die. It is that simple and still you are invested in the game while you play it.
You do get a bit nervous playing and watching your health suffer because you are all rolling bad and you are trying to work as a team to decide who should rest, who should carry what item, who should flip the next card and most of all it is fun.
I would say buy this game or at least go out and play it, you will be shocked with how good of a game it really is.
8/10
