Top 10 Dungeon Crawlers - TWO LISTS for the price of one!

[@RobertRothermel]

We used to play Betrayal at House on the Hill at my friend Chris's house every Halloween, in the dark, with candles, across all three floors of the house. Yelling downstairs to the basement about fire bats was all kinds of fun.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Haha that sounds awesome, and EXACTLY what that game is for :) three floors! So the map tiles would go to their respective floor?? That sounds amazing!

[@RobertRothermel]

@@RoomandBoardReviews Yep, exactly :-p And the basement was semi-dungeon-ey, which worked great for the ambiance.

[@anonymousbosch9265]

We do the same with “Cthulhu death may die” but the candle were smoky and I bought modern camping butane lanterns

[@jamesalexander8908]

Etherfields is so amazing! The more I play, the more I am stunned by the depth of creativity. SOOO much like real dreams, and slipping from one dream to another almost feels like rolling into a new game each time, without the pressure of learning too many new and complicated mechanics.

[@Blooagentx]

Thanks Chris for making the list. Both you and Tom Vasel got me hooked on Massive Darkness 2.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Amazing! I'm glad you're enjoying it! Tom and I had a crossover, both our number 7 game of all time:)

[@Blooagentx]

Never realized that! Pretty cool

[@bogmire3000]

I think an awesome dungeon crawler that always gets overlooked is Hellboy. I love its evolving story mechanic and the theme is great.

[@SpoonyBard88]

Everything is random in that game. Input and output. And there is basically one enemy type in the whole game.

[@bogmire3000]

@@SpoonyBard88 I like the randomness of dice chuckers. You can increase your odds at least. With expansion, especially the BPRD, it opens things up to a lot of options and replayability.

[@SpoonyBard88]

@@bogmire3000 the dice are fine with the exception of the stupid blue die that makes planning impossible and the fact that the degrading dice system means that mistakes make it even harder for you to succeed at the dice aspect. Combine that with the fact that there is no way to reroll dice, and it starts to become frustrating. TMNT Adventures similarly uses a lot of dice to determine success and actions, but it is designed in such a way that getting a good roll feels like a bonus vs getting a bad roll means you completely wasted your turn, and getting rerolls is a built-in aspect of each character.

[@bogmire3000]

Each to their own I guess. I can see your point. I never had a problem with it. I just took it as a difficult battle. Some days you blitz it, other days you barely scrape through and it makes it all the more tense

[@JumpmanJRH]

Massive Darkness 2 is so so so good! We are enjoying a Heavenfall campaign right now. I am a tinkerer, and we have a Necromancer and a Druid, super fun.

[@denisloebner4882]

my problem with these community lists is that there are soo many DCs out there and only the popular get highlighted again and again (irrespective to how good they actually are). So some of the best get left out which saddens me a bit. is a galaxy defenders too old to be recognized? machina arcana? middara too hard to get? are street masters, darkest dungeon, solomon cane worse games cos their developers are financially challenged?

[@JonBck]

I'll join you in praising Massive Darkness 2. Started to paint and mod mine. The more I work on it, the more fun playing becomes!

[@noid3571]

Wasn't expecting Tiny Epic Dungeons to be mentioned at all. It's such a nice little gem, especially if you don't have a lot of money to spend. The expansion makes it truly shine with more heroes, enemies, equipment and tiles while also adding 2 new mechanics: sidequests and a multi-level dungeon.

[@SoggyTreks]

Are you going to Pax Unplugged in Philly this weekend. Great gaming con!

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

@@SoggyTreks unfortunately I can't make it, I'm doing a production of miracle on 34th Street but hope you have a good time

[@billybirdy9507]

Shadows of Brimstone is the best dungeon crawler I’ve ever played.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Nice, yeah I've seen it mentioned a few times. What aspects of it make it really stand out/pop for you?

[@Crypticovercast]

I honestly enjoy the quick play ones. My friend and I play bag of dungeons 1&2 like every Sunday. My kid and I play Catacombs of Karok like every night haha.

[@jtms1200]

mage knight might seem intimidating, but it is not that hard to learn... its got a great solo tutorial scenario and then there are numerous great videos on here. Learning it was fun!

[@doktorgriff]

The Sorcerer's Cave was a big fave in my youth. Likely one of the first DCs.

[@wiktormonfilsgustafsson56]

Do not judge someone before You crawled their dungeon! Dungeon alliance and Machina arcana are some good ones as well.

[@patriziopastore9895]

I'm with you both great games in my top ten

[@casey5542]

Machina Arcana is such a great crawl!

[@nydaloth]

For me the term "dungeon crawler" refers to underground or site-based fantasy adventure with monsters, loot, traps etc. Nowadays the term is used outside fantasy setting. It's like 4x games that are usually identified with space sci Fi setting, although it's also used for civilization type games with historical settings.

[@Gamebent1]

Nowadays, "Dungeon Crawler" refers more to the style of gameplay than the location/setting/era.

[@jareduxr]

It started that way but it would be hard to keep it that specific. I mean if you are navigating to different rooms, battling monsters, and collecting stuff... I suppose we could say space dungeon crawl, like mint tea or plum wine. Deal?

[@denisloebner4882]

@@Gamebent1 not only nowadays. space crusade and space hulk have been historically labeled dungeon crawlers and are some of the oldest in the genre.

[@nydaloth]

@@denisloebner4882 yes today they are labeled dungeon crawler, but back in the 90s no one that I remembered called space hulk a dungeon crawler.

[@Dstinct]

Original Warhammer Quest is great because it has been around for a long time and has a huge amount of fan created content. A main FB group does a printing of custom cards, tiles, and books.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Oh that's awesome :)

[@board_with_games]

Descent or Imperial Assault didn't make it?

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Descent was 10. Surprised imperial assault didn't make it though yeah!

[@ytc0m]

Hey, great Vid. What do you think is the best player count for Massive Darkness 2 and does it play good solo?

[@jcapo5]

Glad to see etherfields getting some respect. I think this game is F@#$ing phenomenal . This game makes you think and reflect about life

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

That's incredible. I'm excited to play more of it. I think it's one of those games that attempts to take board gaming to an art form, it's just so beautifully made.

[@jamesalexander8908]

YES! I completely agree!

[@jcapo5]

@@RoomandBoardReviews it was the train level that did it for me. It was a cool puzzle but mostly an allegory on life and holding on to too many things

[@harrisonhughes1402]

I love Catacombs! One of my first experiences with designer board games and had so much fun with my friends

[@AceSpec]

I’m sorry, but it’s hard for me to take any top 10 dungeon crawler list seriously that doesn’t include Heroquest. At the very least as an honourable mention…. I mean, who created these lists, a bunch of barbarians?! Chris, as a young Canadian growing up, did you not have a chance to play this beloved game? I myself, a Canadian…. Only got to play it a couple of times at a friend’s house, but it stuck with me. When it finally got rereleased a few years back I of course had to get it myself to make good memories with my kids now. It easily makes my top 3. Consider that my contribution.

[@Eyusdorus]

Middara so low 😮, I guess not enough people have played it.. Also, no Sword & Sorcery? And never played it myself, but Descent? Great video!

[@jimalexander687]

Star Wars Imperial Assault

[@vincentgaliano]

I'm not a big fan of dungeon crawlers, probably because I've played enough similar video games, but I have to admit that Gloomhaven JOTL is an absolute gem. It's great.

[@anonymousbosch9265]

I’m intending on playing Tales from the Red Dragon Inn today. Massive Darkness 2 may be a game I’m going to pick up with my in store consignment cash at my local friendly game store

[@Allthesmallteas]

Is MD2 a good solo game?

[@frankn4576]

Dungeon Degenerates Hand of Doom does not seem to be mentioned enough and I don't think that your video mentions this little gem. (unless I missed it) Enjoyed watching, Cheers

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Good shout-out! Yeah nobody had mentioned it so I'm glad you did.

[@OrangEEverything9822]

No Star Wars Imperial Assault!?

[@dhkdeoen]

Not sure it's Dungeon Crawlers, but I got LOTR: Journey in the Middle Earth. I'm liking it, and I got Gloomhaven recently. I think I may even get Mageknight.

[@mrsuitcase9799]

For Arkham 2nd Ed, do you need expansions? I just got a used copy and wondering if I should be on the lookout for expansions if they come up cheap.

[@jamesalexander8908]

If you really enjoy the base game, get the expansions. I loved it and got it all. It is still one of my favorites!

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Yeah the expansions likely won't be cheap since they're mostly out of print. I am fine with the base game but if you ever see them for cheap I'd scoop them up. My friend Matt who likes Arkham Horror more than me and introduced me has been looking for more for ages but can never find them for a good price. I'm fine with or without them though, I only have the base version

[@realdealastrology9]

They certainly won't be cheap. I own them all, including some fan-made expansions in physical form. I ordered those directly from a European company/seller. Unbelievably amazing.

[@raphaelperry8159]

It's a real shame we don't really have a decent "Fantasy Spacehulk". Everything tries to be Heroquest but something much closer to Space Hulk could be interesting if done in a fantasy setting. I suppose we do have Claustrophobia (which came pretty close top being Fantasy Space Hulk but didn't quite nail the tense feel).

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Yeah that's pretty true. I feel like heroquest set the mold and games feel like they use that as a starting point for sure. I've got to try claustrophobia, I think it looks really cool (and a bit scary haha)

[@Gamebent1]

Love the mustache, good sir!

[@sattm8230]

Shadows of Brimstone is arguably the greatest dungeon crawler ever made - it's the successor of Warhammer Quest.

[@darrenwoodman6656]

Disappointed that you didn't include tainted grail kings of ruin. I understand that it isn't out yet but would love to hear how you felt after so many people criticised fall of avalon. Cheers

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

I wasn't one of the few who got their hands on the prototype, and honestly wouldn't have been clamoring to get one since I have Tainted Grail and rarely feel like diving back into it. It didn't hit that well for me, but also my girlfriend and I were at odds for what we wanted to do with it in terms of playstyle so I'm sure that impacted my opinion of it. I thought the combat system was neat but she preferred the choose your own adventure.

[@ulf-nicklassdegenhardt-mei3121]

Love Mice and Mystics, Betrayal Legacy, Arkham Horror (a little bit), Gloomhaven an Frosthaven! I think I am a dungeon crawler....

[@Avaniar]

Loved the list. I love DCs and I must say I am disappointed to not see Dungeon Universalis (or League of Dungeoneers), Middara and Chronicles of drunagor, but seeing games that really have nothing to do with DC like Arkham Horror (LCG and otherwise), Nemesis and Betrayal. Myth and Altar Quest are also very nice (and somewhat misunderstood). Let's go for deckbuilders :) I just skimmed through the list, but will watch it closely later tonight

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Middara did get mentioned on I believe one person's list at their #2, I just think enough people don't have it. I'm also very surprised chronicles of drunagor didn't make an appearance as well, that's one I'd like to try someday, I like the doors revealing each room even if I fear that would make the setup a bit tedious at times.

[@ChadHensley]

Lots of great games on this list. My current favorite is Cthulhu Death May Die. I backed the recent campaign for $1 and then got a killer deal on Season 1 so picked it up and cannot get enough of it! I'm hoping to pick up Season 2 and went all in on the gameplay content from my $1 pledge of the recent campaign. Massive Darkness 2 is probably my second favorite and I really wish I had bought it. My friend got it and even though he and I enjoyed it greatly the other guy in our gaming group didn't care for it. I have been thinking about purchasing it from him because I know it would get played with my other gaming groups since the friend that owns it only games with the single group. BTW, that same friend purchased Etherfields too so hopefully we get to play it soon. You should definitely try Mice & Mystics. It is a light fun dungeon crawl with a great story. Nothing groundbreaking per se but worth a runthrough.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Awesome. I'm really excited to get the newest content as well and try it all out. I have a feeling it'll shoot up the charts for me.

[@AlBundy4td]

Just picked up season 2 at Miniature Market - grab it while still there

[@truelazerlight]

Chris saw the bad photoshop jobs in the Game Night thumbnails and said 'Hold my beer!'

[@AlBundy4td]

No love for the OG - HeroQuest!! CMON :)

[@boredboardgamerkramer]

TIL TMB isn't categorized as a dungeon crawler on BGG

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Yeah, I think because it has that consistent fixed map it's more just a skirmish game. It does have character progression and loot, but because the map never changes or things aren't revealed outside of the cards it probably wouldn't have made my list.

[@troyw1011]

Dungeons and Dragons would be my #1 as well, though it is an RPG. I'm surprised that Too Many Bones didn't make the list. That is my number 1 board game.

[@sebastianwilczynski86]

The term dungeon crawler for me takes more incentive on dungeon word. And because I've played lots of MMORPGs on PC, a dungeon's focus is on bosses, not on all sort of smaller enemies refered as "trash", suggesting that this content could be deleted without any lose to the value of the content. Most from the list of features: loot, leveling/progression, puzzle solving as figuring out how to deal with boss mechanics are there. Only thing that is missing is exploration. That's why I would say dungeon crawlers and boss battlers could be added into my list.

[@fy8798]

That is honestly mostly a failure in design of MMORPGS, which are designed for the lowest common denominator, removing everything that isn't mindless power fantasy and any challenge. They represent more a perversion of what dungeon crawler means. It has a reason boss battlers are a wholly different genre.

[@maxducoudray]

Zombicide will never be a dungeon crawler to me, because there’s no exploration. It’s really a wargame, with simplified movement and combat, and objectives to capture.

[@YTEEsenior]

Missed Tanares adventures.

[@Millercando123]

My fav has to be “It Came From the Goblin Cave”

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Awesome, I'll have to check it out!

[@nihlify]

I recently picked up Massive Darkness 2. Do you recommend any of the expansions? So much different things floating around.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

When I backed it, I just got the base on Kickstarter. So this came with the two boxes of extra classes and some extra monsters. I love the extra classes because I love asymmetrical abilities, but I'd say if you're just starting with it and don't know you love it yet, my recommendation is to always hold off on expansions until you're sure you need them/like it enough to warrant them. The best bang for your buck is probably the MD1 upgrade pack. If you don't mind proxying minis (which I certainly don't), it gives you just a heap of cards for both your mobs and your heroes (giving different abilities), and it's pretty cheap. That was probably the best value add-on for me and gives you so much more gameplay variability than you'd get in just a single expansion. That would be my first target. Then any characters you think look cool. And I've stopped there. I've considered the Heavenfall campaign expansion, but I heard it made the leveling up slower and I like MD2 as a one shot because I have too many campaigns already

[@andykaufman7620]

The 19th century called they want their mustache back sir. You need to be a Barkeep. That will require you to learn how to make great spirits and liquor drinks. You can serve your gaming group. They are expected to tip.

[@Nnomadd]

Burncycle is hardly a dungeon crawler, but quite surprised Claustrophobia is not in.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

What happened to Deep Rock Galactic, Chris? I thought that was one of your favorite dungeon crawlers! :-

[@moo2k4]

Given how highly regarded Mage Knight is, I'm kind of shocked it was as low as it was? But I also get it. The game is absurdly dense and makes it really, really hard to get to the table (as well as a cumbersome setup).

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Yeah fair point. I'm excited to make a friend who loves mage Knight haha.

[@icareg]

@@RoomandBoardReviews Every MK player's dream. The cooperative battles look really intense

[@paranoiarisinggames]

Crawl dem dungeons!

[@patriziopastore9895]

You are entering my realms... And... Oh gosh you miss a lot of game and some of them I will not even consider dungeon crawlers... Check Tales from red dragon Inn or League of Dungeoneers or Dungeon universalis. I just received adventure tactics that looks amazing

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Yeah the comments are filled with dungeon universalis suggestions. I'm glad it's a hit. I think I remember seeing it recently on Kickstarter?

[@patriziopastore9895]

@@RoomandBoardReviews yes it was but is an heavy one... Is borderline with an rpg game without a dungeon master

[@spike2439]

Kept waiting for the "Dungeon, Crawler, in, spaaaaaaaace" for Nemesis. But alas.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Haha missed opportunity there!

[@AdamWhitehead111]

The original Warhammer Quest (an absolute classic) is nothing like the newer ones. Descent (2nd edition) deserves to be higher. Imperial Assault is pretty much the same game, just with a Star Wars theme. If you are going to classify all of the zombicides together, then these should certainly be grouped together too. Something having "Family: catagory: dungeon crawler" on BGG is not a good indicator as to whether or not something is a dungeon crawler. It definitely does not mean that the publisher classifies them as such. Anyone can edit it. I could go remove all of your choices. I won't (even though i disagree with many of them). But i could.

[@hueysimon2726]

I hate gloomhaven. Wasn't a fan of massive darkness 2 either. Too many things to fix to make it work smoothly. With all of its warts, Warhammer Quest-95 is still the best dungeon crawl. I really wish someone would do a generic version while fixing some of the issues with that game.

[@rmclean101]

Great list, thank you! I have the original Massive Darkness, but I think it's time to get the new one 🤤

[@vlogospheer]

Claustrophobia 1694 is awesome but two player which could be why it's less popular... Also out of print and used copies are pricey... I'd know 🤑

[@ajmunzi]

I love league of dungeoneers

[@twentysides]

I can't fathom how Arkham Horror (not a dungeon crawl) is on this list while Omega Protocol isn't.

[@twentysides]

And of course Middara, the dungeon crawl masterpiece.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

easy answer, you weren't there to add them!

[@beornthebear9023]

Loving massive darkness two. It’s so plug and play and really easy to adjust the difficulty

[@juliansykes6668]

Not heard of Warhammer Quest. Wow. The original versions are Dungeon Crawler royalty alongside Heroquest. :) Only got to play once and had a lot of fun.

[@crazyvolucris]

Wooot😳 you never heared of Warhammer Quest😳 that’s basically the mother of all DC‘s… 😅 on which many DC‘s are based on 😆

[@hotshot100]

your missing chronicles of drunagor for sure

[@Perchpole]

MD2 at No.1?? I also backed it to the hilt and I think it's a pile of crap! It's a classic CMON example of style over substance. I can't believe this list doesn't include Shadows of Brimstone, Dungeon Universalis, HeroQuest and Sword & Sorcery...? Bizarre. 🤣🤣

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

Haha dang I'm sorry it didn't hit with you. I love everything about it. It reminds me so much of Diablo, and I love how each of the classes has their own minigame. The loot and ability to craft better loot also sings for me so much. It was the surprise of the year for me, I'd play it any time. Definitely agree it's not mechanically dense, but I think what it does it does incredibly well :)

[@kipkulich6042]

WarhammerQuest 1995 shouldn't be lumped in with the more modern iterations. Also putting at #10 makes me question your list entirely :p

[@octavus4858]

Bloodborne, of course

[@Trueflights]

I still don't consider Gloomhaven really a Dungeon Crawl. It is a Tactical Strategy game of Hand Management. So many people go into it expecting a Dungeon Crawl RPG type of game because of how it looks and then they are disappointed.

[@libertyprime9307]

I don't see how it isn't a dungeon crawl. Nearly the whole game is going through dungeons killing enemies. I think you are conflating "dungeon crawl" with things like D&D, and I would definitely agree that a lot of people are disappointed to find out it's really a grid-based card brawler, it has RPG elements but almost all of them are combat related.

[@r0llntider]

I agree. A dungeon crawl you should be able to investigate a dungeon. You don't have time in gloomhaven. It's hand management and tactical combat and get the hell out before tour hand burns down.

[@realdealastrology9]

This list is far from "indisputable" and "definitive". And Arkham Horror is *not* a dungeon crawl by any stretch of the imagination. The huge variety of monsters and visiting various locations do not make it dungeon crawler. It's more appropriately categorized as an RPG. Leveling up gives that away, and you can grind at the same location(s) for items and other bonuses. Yeah...that's an RPG for sure.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

I don't know... I do say the word Definitive in the video.... So it's probably definitive for all of board game kind.

[@Infyra]

Arkham horror 2nd edition is really fun, but its not a dungeon crawler at all :D

[@codingwithculp]

I'm sorry, you can't do a "top 10 dungeon crawlers" list and say you had never heard of Warhammer Quest. You just lost all credibility.... Please note that was said in jest, and I subbed to the channel 😊. Lots of good games on the list!

[@paladinpariah325]

How are you even doing a list of dungeon crawlers and you'd never heard of Warhammer Quest? It's the original dungeon crawler, in many ways it defined the genre and games have been trying to copy it for almost 30 years now. Obviously Heroquest and Advancer Heroquest proceeded it, but the original Warhammer Quest was where many of the attributes of dungeon crawlers were defined and distilled.

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

It's pretty easy, you just don't include the ones that you don't know ;) It's definitely been cool to learn about and investigate a bit though. Lots of love for it in the comments for sure.

[@Tchousssman54]

For me I would say Darkest Dungeon. Just talking about the game here not the company behind it…

[@MrScrawnjuan]

Please shave the beard and leave just the extravagant mustache for twirling

[@nukecorruption6]

Except M&M and MD2, none of the games in your list are dungeon crawlers. No wonder why you have never heard of Warhammer Quest.

[@xSean0607]

Half are a total miss for me and I don't even consider them to be dungeon crawlers. Great dungeon crawlers imo would be dungeon universalis, dungeon crusade, league of dungeoneers, shadows of brimstone, quest for the lost pixel, dungeon degenerates, Warhammer...

[@VaultBoy13]

There was a lot of discussion in the discord about whether certain games would qualify as a dungeon crawler, but there was no policing it. If someone felt a game was a dungeon crawler, then it was counted. I think it's a more interesting list with the diversity represented here than were the list constrained to traditional dungeon crawlers.

[@kajkun1384]

Oh my you created a DC list and you dont know warhammer quest.. then your top 10 is a game you havent played.. oh my..

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

You're right, next time I'll just lie and regurgitate others opinions on the internet instead of having my own and sharing enthusiasm about the hobby with my community. My bad!

[@GORYOUN]

Hmmm - disappointing; no real / traditional dungeon crawlers. Dungeon Universalis, League of Dungeoneers, Dungeon Crusade: Book One Genesis of Evil all have between 500 & 1000 BGG owners so probably not popular enough despite all having BGG ratings of 8.0 or more

[@dilatedbeholder3865]

Bad title. Most of these are 'loose' dungeon crawlers at best.

[@geoffdenham5063]

I gotta say. I love this channel but half the games aren’t even really DCs and as someone else pointed out you leave off the games that are great and actual dungeon crawls: DUN, LOD, Middarra, etc. thumbs down

[@RoomandBoardReviews]

We thought policing everyone's lists in the community would be significantly less fun and promote less discussion, so we didn't and went off BGG and what gave people the feeling of dungeon crawling. And we were right it was significantly more fun :)

[@RedBird77]

It’s so refreshing to see game content without the “hey look at me“blue haired, tattooed people seeking attention. This is great content.!

[@twentysides]

Man what are you even talking about?