So I said I was going to do some Top 5 lists when I did my differences on a dungeon crawlers versus a boss battler versus an adventure game. You can read that here. I’m not convinced I can do a boss battler list. Even dungeon crawler is going to be hard. But let’s see what I can come up with in the dungeon crawler category and if I can make it not just Gloomhaven variants.

Top 5 Dungeon Crawlers

5. Star Wars Imperial Assault

Let’s start out with a big one from Fantasy Flight. This is one that hung around the bottom of my Top 100 for a while but it hasn’t been on there for a few years. Star Wars Imperial Assault is going to be one of two space or sci-fi dungeon crawlers on my list. And it is very much that.

And I really like the game with the app integration or someone running it. But with the app integration it can be fully cooperative which is nice. You go into rooms or new areas of the board that open up and you need to deal with whatever threat it coming at you. And it has the Star Wars theme on it. Now it’s not like you’re playing Luke or Vader, but it’s adjacent to that which is fun as you see recognizable characters in the game.

4. Clank! In! Space!

Now the other space game is Clank! In! Space! this one is going to be a bit less of a traditional dungeon crawler. But it is going to have some elements of it. You are going across an alien space ship. While you don’t kick down doors in quite the same way, you are dealing with threats on the board and in the buy pile as you go. And if you don’t, that is going to speed up how fast the big bad guy is going to start messing with you.

I like this one for the push your luck element. It isn’t just go into the dungeon and complete a scenario. It is go into the dungeon (space ship) and then get back out. Because if you don’t get out before your health bar is full, well, you are knocked out and you can’t win the game. But if you just make it out you got a shot. If you make it to an escape pod, well, that’s a bunch of extra points.

3. Paper Dungeons – Dungeon Scrawler

Now to another one that people probably wouldn’t consider as traditional. But Paper Dungeons is a roll and write dungeon crawler. You level up your adventuring party, you fight monsters, and you face off against boss monsters. You might do it solo against the game or competitively against other players but it is fun either way.

I love the puzzle of figuring out how to traverse the dungeon part of the game. It is made so that it benefits the other elements of your roll and write sheet. But it isn’t just that, you can’t ignore leveling up your heroes and crafting weapons or other items. That is important if you want a shot at beating the boss monsters and collecting those points as well. It’s a thinkier roll and write game which I enjoy as a different feeling experience.

2. Mansions of Madness

Let’s move to a dungeon crawler set in the 1920’s with Mansions of Madness. This one really is so clearly a dungeon crawl game as you open up doors and you don’t know what you’re going to find. It might be a room with a cult preparing to start a ritual. Or it might be a puzzle that is going to give you a clue on how to stop that ritual, or it might just be a normal person who is worried about everything that is going on, which is really a fun element of the game.

And I also appreciate that while the scenarios don’t change massively they do vary some they do change each time that you play them. The app can integrate what you own of the game which means that the map can be different each time. So while I might know I need to find the study, I won’t know where it is in the house every time that I play it.

1. Frosthaven/Gloomhaven

I said that Gloomhaven would be on the list. But this listing is for Gloomhaven and Frosthaven, and Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lions. All of them are the same game, though I will say, I like Frosthaven the best because you get an extra piece of the game. It isn’t just the dungeon crawl experience, it is also the town building and that adds to the game. You feel like you have more control over what is going on.

But this game has amazing card play as you play out two cards, one is going to give your initiative as part of playing it. But then you pick the two cards so that you can use the top action on one and the bottom action on the other. That can change depending on what the enemies and your teammates are doing. But you can’t discuss it too much, as you wouldn’t be able to in a real battle (and to keep the game harder). So it’s good to pick flexibility, but also not at the same time sacrificing a big hit that you might need to have as well.

Final Thoughts

There are a few other games that I could have put on the list for dungeon crawlers. And while I own a lot of dungeon crawlers, there are a number that I need to play. Darkest Dungeon, Solomon Kane, Nemsis, Middara, Shadows of Brimstone, Nova Aetas and Agemonia all come to mind and I’m sure there are more as well. But it’s a genre of game that I do like well, but I want more than just dice chucking. The one that just missed the list was Sword and Sorcery, one that I do like, but it dropped because the story isn’t as good and a lot of what you do just feels standard.

What are your favorite dungeon crawlers?

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