Before we even got our badges, a group of bloggers got whisked away to a secret storage room in the Indy Convention Center to play Castle Ravenloft the board game, to be released by Wizards of the Coast in just a couple weeks (8/17/10).
For those unfamiliar, Castle Ravenloft is one of THE most famous vampire adventures ever. Many a D&D player has fond memories of fighting Strahd. If you know Dan from Obsidian Portal, he has an awesome Strahd story that involves a very crafty cleric and a very, very angry DM. Ask him about it sometime.
The Castle Ravenloft board game is the first in a series of new board games by Wizards of the Coast.
At a glance:
- Designed for 1-5 players (yes, you can play alone!)
- Ages 12+ (though younger geeklings could probably handle it, at parents’ discretion of course)
- Cooperative play, all players work toward a common goal
- Multiple adventures & modular board
- Includes everything you need to play, including minis for all adventurers and monsters
What I Liked About Castle Ravenloft the Board Game
D&D Feel, But Rules-Light
It definitely felt like playing D&D. The map, minis, and powers were familiar to me. I got to roll a d20 several times per turn. This was all good. What was great, though, is that all the fiddly little rules of D&D are gone. Your character sheet is streamlined down to a few essential stats. Your powers do a set amount of damage. You don’t have to worry about things like flanking or combat advantage.
If you’re looking to hook a non-gamer spouse into D&D, this is the game to play! There is just enough to do per turn to keep the veterans happy, but it’s simple enough that a non-gamer should easily get the hang of things after a few turns.
Cooperative Play
Players work together toward a common goal. With a full party of five, you have a Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, and Ranger. Each one has skills that can help the party in some way. (But again, it’s very rules-light!)
The other thing that was fun is that every player controls both their own hero and one or more monsters or traps. On my turn, if I had a skeleton that was still alive, I was responsible for that skeleton’s move and attack of one of my party members. Everyone gets to be a DM for a little bit each round.
Everything Included, But You Could Spice It Up
The Castle Ravenloft box is big and comes with everything you need to play the game, including 40 unpainted miniatures. The good news? If you lack the Dracolich mini, you’re getting one with the Castle Ravenloft board game. Woot! The other good news? If you have painted versions of the minis, you can sub them in for the unpainted ones if you want things a bit more colorful. Not a fan of the Strahd mini? Sub him out with another vampire from your collection; it’s all good.
Wannabe game designer types could probably even study the character cards and make new characters of different classes if they wanted to get really crazy. I don’t see the need (since there are choices for character powers – you don’t have to pick the same powers each time you play), but hey… some people like more choices, and I think with some work, you could probably design your own characters for the game.
Never The Same Game Twice
Modular board: The interlocking dungeon tiles get shuffled for each game and depending on where your party decides to explore, could be arranged in hundreds of different layouts. (Also, you could swipe them to use as regular dungeon tiles for your D&D game!)
Scenario book: Choose your scenario and it will determine which special tiles are in your stack and also what your party’s goal for the expedition will be. Again, different scenario = different gameplay experience!
Encounter, Monster, and Treasure cards: 200 in all! There were some encounters that nearly wiped out the party, others that were a nuisance but not deadly, and others that were (due to circumstances on the board) not a threat at all. A great balance! The monsters are your typical ghouls, gargoyles, and undead you’d expect in Castle Ravenloft, including the Burning Skeleton (I nicknamed him “Flaming Boner”). Treasure cards are drawn each time you kill a monster and can be extended use items or expendable.
In Our Game…
We had a lot of fun! At our table: me, DaveTheGame & Bartoneus of Critical-Hits, Sarah Darkmagic & her husband. Trevor Kidd, Community Manager at Wizards of the Coast, should be thanked for allowing us to play the game early. We love you, Trevor!
Again, if you’re looking for a great board game with lots of D&D flavor but light on the rules and fiddly bits, Castle Ravenloft is a must-buy. Ditto if you’re looking to recruit non-RPG folks into your D&D game. I know I’m looking forward to having a copy of this for our weekly board game nights!
Click to (pre)-order the Castle Ravenloft board game from Amazon.com.
UPDATE (8/7/10):
Here’s a video of Castle Ravenloft being unboxed with commentary by Trevor Kidd of Wizards of the Coast and DaveTheGame and Bartoneus of Critical-Hits.
About e
WANT!
Many thanks for taking time to write this up. Definitely one for my wishlist. Do you know if there are plans for any expansion sets?
I’m torn between writhing in jealousy at the folks who have made it to GenCon and appreciating all the information and cool stuff they’re sharing
So here I am. Writhing in appreciation.
Thanks for the preview/review! Might have to move this game up the priority list a few notches. Good to hear some Gen Con news right out of the gate!
Thanks for the tasty info. Looks awesome!
Awesome review. Now I’m going to have to get this. I’ve tried to get my daughters to play full on D&D, but they prefer Munchkin. This may bridge the gap.
As far as expansion sets, it looks like they have another board game slated for December (http://www.amazon.com/Wrath-Ashardalon-Boardgame-Peter-Lee/dp/0786955708).
Thanks for this preview. Been looking at getting this to play with the wife for some time now. She’s new to D&D and I think this will get her involved in the main game. Also I get a Dracolich!
Nice report! I’m very much looking forward to this game… although storing it somewhere is going to be a challenge to my already overstretched shelf space!
Cheers,
Merric
Great review of a really expected board game this year.
I want a copy for my own RIGHT NOW! But oh well, maybe later this year
Thanks a lot for the review, now I know I’ll be buying this set as soon as I can get the money
Greywulf, there are no expansion sets planned as such, but there is a second game planned with compatible bits.
Mike said in an interview:
“We’ve given some thought to expansions, but right now we need to see how the first two games go. When I was a freelance RPG designer, I was always suspicious of a new company that announced 10 titles before shipping their first one. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking about what you want to do, and in so doing lose sight of what you can actually do. Since this is new ground for D&D, it’s important that we take things slowly and see what people want before we go ahead and make any concrete plans.
“So, as of now there isn’t anything to report beyond the two games. That said, we’re always brainstorming where we think the games can go. We’ll just have to wait and see how things play out before taking a definitive next steps.”
– http://boardgamenews.com/columns/matt-j-carlson-designer-interview-%E2%80%93-mike-mearls-castle-ravenloft-boardgame
I’m so excited for this… I can’t wait to play it! I have it pre ordered… Oh 17th come one… 1 day before my Birthday.. So It’s a BDAY GIFT To myself!!!!
Thanks For The Post!!!!
Cannot wait for this to arrive on the doorsteps in a couple weeks. It looks superfun, and perfect for scratching the itch that Warhammer Quest has left unscratched for too long.
Ack! Gameboard envy!
Looks great. I wish they would post the rules online though.
BTW folks commenting – I’m still at GenCon and can’t approve new commenters from my phone… so I apologize for the delay if your comment is in the moderation queue. I’m usually back at my hotel once sometime mid-day to approve new faces.
Thanks for stopping by! *waves to BoardGameGeek folks and other new-to-us-people*
@Karazax: Rules have been posted. You can download the rulebook from the WOTC D&D website, under Game Products. I can’t wait for this. This will be a good fiiler for me until the days where I play real D&D.
Very nice review! Pretty cool website too! A dating service for geeks? Clever idea. I got Castle Ravenloft for my wife for Christmas. She’s tried playing the D&D RPG with me but found the rules to be too confusing. She enjoys playing the D&D strategy game with me (DDM Guild) though. One of the variants of DDM is the Dungeon Run which is a co-op/competitive treasure hunting and monster slaying dungeon game. She loves board game in general so I think she’ll really like this game. Thanks for the great review.
I’m already married, but if I wasn’t, I’d totally look into trying out the dating side of this site! I just got lucky meeting someone who shares many of my interests and hobbies. We were introduced by mutual friends five years ago. Got set up on a blind date by them.