Dungeon Mayhem | A Review by Tabletop Meeple

 Dungeon Mayhem

a review by Tabletop Meeple


Info:

  • For 2-4 players
  • For ages 8 and up
  • 10 minutes to play
  • BGG Weight: 1.12

Game Overview

    In today's review, I figured I would review a very simple little card game. In this review I will be reviewing Dungeon Mayhem, designed by Jordan Comar and Roscoe Wetlaufer, and published by Wizards of the Coast. In Dungeon Mayhem, you play as a variety of different characters based on different character archetypes and monsters from the hit RPG game Dungeons & Dragons. However, there are no dice involved in this game, instead, it is a player-vs.-player card-based combat game. Let's get into this game.


This is the Monster Madness version, which plays up to 6.

Theme

    There is a theme here, obviously. The playable characters are all based on archetypes from Dungeons & Dragons. However, it isn't a very enthralling theme. I think it would be a much better fitting description if I were to say this: Dungeon Mayhem is a simple card-driven competitive combat game with some D&D branding layered over top.

TM Score: 11/20

So many different characters to play, all with different abilities and different callbacks to D&D.


Components

    Components in Dungeon Mayhem are your typical combat card game fare. The cards are of a decent quality and the tokens are all small cardboard. There really isn't anything here that sings, but it definitely works for what it was assigned to do, even if it doesn't get any extra marks in the premium component department. 

TM Score: 10/20

Nothing too special in the components department, but everything works the way it is supposed to.

Gameplay

    The gameplay is very simple. On your turn, you pick a card from your 3-card hand. Depending on the effects on said card, you can damage your opponents, heal your own damages, play shields to help blunt future attacks from opponents, or they allow you to play another card free-of-charge. There are also special abilities assigned to each character which helps keep the game fresh. 

    The game is also very accessible to the youth, as there are few symbols to memorize and the words that are on the cards are basically just there for humor purposes. The combos and special effects you can play feel quite satisfying, and that really helps this game along. Even if the combos may seem shallow, they are definitely there and are most definitely the best part of this game. 

    My final note is that sometimes the characters in the game feel more powerful than others, but that is obviously to be expected since all characters have their strengths and weaknesses.

TM Score: 14/20

A really close 1 v 1 battle in Dungeon Mayhem.



Overall

    Dungeon Mayhem, on the face of it, seems to be an inoffensive combat card game. And the game doesn't do all that much to combat that. It is certainly a solid game and it is very, very easy to get to the table, but it doesn't innovate all that much, and for that very reason, I would have to say this game is only mildly above mediocre. It works, it really does, but to say anything more about it would be to defy the game's strongest point, the fact that it is accessible. It isn't a bad time though, by any means.

FINAL TM SCORE: 11.6/20

That's it for today's review. I hope to come back with something else soon, but, for now, that'll be it for the Tabletop Meeple review blog. 

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