Solo Chronicles – Dungeon Academy

Roll-and-write style games have come a really long way over the past couple years. In the olden days we had Yahtzee, and that satisfied us. But then designers began dusting off that olde mechanic and breathing new life into it. While roll-and-write may never become my favorite mechanic, I am starting to appreciate the good ones more and more each time I play them. Dungeon Academy is one of these good games.

In Dungeon Academy players are taking the roles of students attempting their finals to become graduated warriors and mages in the land. They must pass their tests though, and that entails surviving through the dreaded Dungeon four times and surpassing all opponents to receive their degree.

DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS.  -T

To setup a solo game of Dungeon Academy, assemble the Dungeon component per the instructions. The player is dealt a character card with a special ability and markers to track Health and Mana throughout the game. Pile the Health and Mana tokens on the table, shuffle the Loot cards into a deck, and place the Teacher pawn nearby. Grab the pad of paper and pen and you are ready to begin.

Each attempt in the Dungeon will require the 16 Base Dice to be rolled and set inside the Dungeon. It is then flipped upside down when the timer begins and the mad dash to the Exit commences. As the player marks a line through every “room” (each die is considered a “room” in the Dungeon) they create a path to be checked at the end of the round. Once the player has made it through the Dungeon satisfactorily the Teacher will check the path.

The Teacher pawn is now used to track movement in the Dungeon. As the player tracks the path they drew on the paper, the Teacher is moved through the rooms. In each room (each die face) will be one of these possible encounters: a Mana potion to refill an empty Mana space on the character card, a Health potion, a small red Blob, a small blue Ghost, a large red Colossus, or a large blue Reaper. Each small foe encountered will be overtaken by spending one Health or Mana token from the character card. Each potion will restore spent Health or Mana. Each large foe encountered will require two Health or Mana to be spent. As the Teacher follows the path set by the player, Health and Mana will be spent and replenished on the character card, and foes defeated tracked on the sheet.

Once complete, the player will add up all the points from defeated foes (1VP per foe) and any VP from special character abilities or Loot cards. Additionally, the player will choose one of the four Quests at the bottom of the sheet to score each round for extra VP. They write these numbers on the sheet and prepare for the next level. After four total levels the game ends and the total is compared to a scale in the rulebook.

Multiplayer Dungeon Academy works the exact same way except once a player exits the Dungeon, they must grab the lowest-numbered Exit card as representation of the place finished in the Dungeon (so the first one out grabs the 1 card, etc.). The other difference from solo play is that players all compare total VP at the game end to determine the winner.

Components. This game has a large scorepad of 150 double-sided sheets, a bunch of cards for Hero characters, Loot, and Exits, as well as 18 total dice, about a trillion double-sided Health/Mana tokens and an impressive cardboard Dungeon. Everything is of wonderful Matagot quality… except for the Duneon. In my copy the Dungeon does not stay together very well. I may attempt some glue to keep the parts down that need to stay down, but it is still functional and a great design. The art style across the game is cute and fun, and I like the muted bright color scheme. That feels so weird to say/type, but the colors are vibrant hues, but muted so they stay out of the way. It’s strange and I love it.

Speaking of I love it, I love this game! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite roll-and-write games, and I can play it solo. In about 15 minutes. These are all positives, and I haven’t even really touched on the gameplay. Being able to get through a light solo game in 15 minutes while having a great time throughout is an achievement, and one I would like to applaud here. I wasn’t really sure going into this if I was going to enjoy it, but it has blown me away. Trying to evaluate the best path through the Dungeon while keeping track of how the Health and Mana is always in flux gives my brain a welcomed workout that is just a breath of fresh air for me. I love the art style and the theme, and the simple but easy to understand iconography on the dice is much appreciated.

I think that if you are looking for or lacking a similar type game in your collection you should do yourself a favor and check out Dungeon Academy. It is super quick, easy to grasp and play, requires little table space, and is simply a great time alone or with your gamer friends and family. I know I am going to be tracking lots of plays with this one. I am going to have to find a place on my shelves at eye-level because I don’t want it to be overshadowed down at foot-level.

If you already enjoy roll-and-write games and want something a little different with a great theme, or you don’t have any roll-and-writes and want to check one out for the first time, or you simply cannot get enough games featuring great art about wizards in school check this one out. I recommend it.