Tower of the Ice Lich and The Castle of Sanguine Blight - Big Adventure, Small Decks

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[@chrisdonovan8795]

I feel like some people, myself included, look for a perfect game with endless replay value. There's a lot to be said for a fun little game that may not hold your attention for years, but entertains for a while. Plus, there's nothing stopping you from giving it to a friend when you're done.

[@svenmencke9]

Nice Video, Looks Like a fun Game. I really liked the greetings words "i Hope you are well and If Not, i Hope you are soon."❤

[@Cyxos]

Hey! Thank you so much for your review of my games! I’m so bad at marketing them, as I’m probably too shy, but I am so happy to see that they have a life of their own and that you like them. Sorry for the grammar mistakes. It’s one of my first games in English, and I will try to fix those irritating errors when time and finance can afford it. Curse you, Swedish education! I’m doing some larger RPG projects but will return to making these solo dungeon pixel games with replenished vigor afterward! Great video, and keep up the good work! :D

[@Naruga]

What could work well with this sort of style game (but would be harder to balance etc) is to release say 5 boxes. Each one would be a different area/terrain type (swamp, forest, mountain etc) that could be played on its own, with its own objective. Or you could use them all together to create a video game style world where you travel to the different regions and beat every area to then face the ultimate evil. Btw thank you very much for your effort, the games look very fun and I will buy (also English is tough yes lol)

[@Cyxos]

@@Naruga Thank you for your suggestions! In the beginning, I was thinking along the same lines that you would have a selection of adventures/terrains/dungeons and could play with the same characters in all of them. That there even would be an element of character progression. But along the way, I got infatuated with each story, so I decided to let each idea stand independently and have the characters derived from that specific context. That there was a clear connection to the place or boss. Either way is fine. For me, it’s a choice between designing broadly and losing some narrative depth or making a smaller game with more story depth. If you want to force it into a manageable publication, that is… That pesky English grammar! Though I regularly use English in my everyday job, speaking and writing, there are still new things to stumble upon. And even native speakers make mistakes when editing tons of text. Thank the Gods for Grammarly! I wish I had known about it when I made these two games.

[@ernestosoto7616]

Que Chimba de juego, lo acabo de comprar!! Thanks to Daniel for the review, and to You for that great game!! And my english grammar is very awful hahaha...

[@kasparbaktat964]

Nice little games! Not necessarily for me, but a fun video to watch. It is always impressive how much atmosphere you can create with just a couple of words, when you have the skill to find the right ones!

[@PrincessPheej]

While the game itself might be just a tad too simple for me, it does provide a nice foundation and some great inspiration for creating some of my own dungeon-crawling board and card games. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[@Rich_H_1972]

Love your videos Daniel, whatever the subject. You have a really nice approach and style to what you say and how you offer your opinions. Keep up the great work!

[@TheDungeonDive]

Thank you!

[@golgothika]

I hadn’t heard of these before. Easy is fine by me as long the game is fun,and these look awesome. Heavy on theme is always a plus for me. I’m going to order both. Thanks for the excellent video.

[@bradleydenny3888]

The Dungeon Dive is the coolest! Daniel always conducts the best reviews!

[@TheDungeonDive]

Thank you!

[@shevek8]

I played this with my daughter a few times and we had a great time with it. I agree completely that the text is so well written, creates a great dungeon atmosphere. Great to see it reviewed on your channel.

[@jean-sebastienh.8789]

So cool!! Insta buy for me! Really love the Mini Rogue vibe with the nice addition of narrative text! Thanks for bringin it to my attention and for the review!!

[@TheDungeonDive]

I think you will enjoy it.

[@jacksprat232]

Neat find!

[@JevousGaming]

High on theme, low on complexity, perfect Dungeon Dive game. Added to my wishlist.

[@greendiode5522]

I just picked these up on a whim recently. Totally agree they are great at setting the mood and are fun and portable. Love the artwork and flavor text. Both are winners!

[@tabletopmischief]

was JUST looking at Tower of the ice lich on the game crafter. After seeing this vid I am sold. Love your videos. Great work

[@jameswoodard4304]

Who got the Hanged Man allusion? ... It's Odin. An old man, with one eye, with his two ravens, and who is said to have (in some mysterious sense) died by hanging himself from the World Tree. What he's doing in some arctic lich's tower is anyone's guess.

[@Mind_of_MATT]

These are pretty cool. I wish there was cool artwork on the cards (something like escape the dark castle) instead of pixel art but I get what they were going for. They could even expand them by making a sort of hex crawl deck to explore beyond dungeons. It's not a card game but have you looked at Sword & Backpack? You may have because it's been out there for years. I've been playing around with it recently. It's a simple way to play fantasy RPGs. I've also used it to play in a Mad Max type world we call Wasteland Warriors. It's very simple so once you get the idea you can run with it & do what you want with it.

[@TheDungeonDive]

I have not heard of Sword & Backpack. Sounds interesting. Thanks!

[@Naruga]

I have taken a real shine to these sorts of games over the last few years. Love to keep one in my bag and take it out at my local coffee shop or when going on a trip and have some time before the connecting train etc. Sure I could play or browse on my phone but the tactile feel of cards and their visual look and even smell to an extent are key for me.

[@lakemonster_5551]

Great video! Just found your channel and I am really enjoying it.

[@TheDungeonDive]

Thanks! Enjoy. There is a lot here. I post 3 videos a week. :)

[@lakemonster_5551]

@@TheDungeonDive Awesome! I'm actually a new board game creator making a dungeon crawler game. Hoping to get it to you for a review someday.

[@davidwillems9904]

I've played these with my 7 year old and she loves them. I love that there are just flavor cards.

[@TheDungeonDive]

The flavor cards are so cool.

[@acornsoak8288]

Wow, I imagine the old man lost an eye to one of the ravens! Hopefully he was already dead…

[@miked5394]

There's a lot to be said about a lite game that has a small footprint and travels easy! Deck Box Dungeons is still my favorite, but to be fair it is quite different than this game or Mini Rogue. Hadn't heard of this one at all; your point about it being a potential aid for solo role playing wasn't something I would have considered. Great stuff - the flavor text does seem to be very well done, that's usually something that's lacking and probably what helps it potentially work as a solo RPG aid.

[@lone_adventurer]

I bought the print and play version of these a few months back but have got them printed out yet. Long (and boring) version - I want to get them professionally printed, but the pdfs don't include multiple card-backs, so I'm gonna have to pull the pdfs apart and separate the card backs so I can get multiple copies of them printed. Effort! Anyhoo - thanks for the review. The writing on the cards is suprisingly decent and I'm looking forward to trying these games out!

[@p0ck3tp3ar]

Looks pretty interesting. I'll probably try this. Thank you. And btw what are your three pillars of dungeon crawls? Combat/Exploration/Choice?

[@TheDungeonDive]

I like exploration, luck, and character progression.

[@p0ck3tp3ar]

@@TheDungeonDive Interesting. Does character progression have to include stats and abilities or is equipment enough? :)

[@TheDungeonDive]

Any.

[@baroldalt312]

Solo Escape the Dark Castle.

[@Mawa5000]

what games 1-2 levels more complex than this would you recommend which have a similar style? these look awesome dont get me wrong, but they are a tad too simple :D

[@TheDungeonDive]

Probably something like Iron Helm or Rogue Dungeon.

[@BenjaminMarra]

These sound great. They piqued my interest when I saw them on the Geek Gamers channel, but now I think I definitely have to get them.

[@The_Invisible_Man]

Shame it’s not possible to get these in Europe

[@carlwoods4564]

It's strange how often apparently simple games are the best at creating a mood and experience. I do often wonder what actually creates a good game? I mean despite the rules and setting. Art definitely plays a role as do the components. Personally for me, miniatures dont, yet its something most games companies are for some reason fixated on. Minatures do not make a game. The lyrical style of the descriptive text do make a difference. However im curious as to what contributes most to a games success. Creating a mood and experience is the most important. But what contributes most to that I'm unsure. It certainly isn't miniatures. Whats your view Daniel?

[@TheDungeonDive]

I don't like minis at all, so I'm there with you. I think a good game is one that offers me a great sense of fun and adventure, without a lot of rules and stuff to get in the way. Every component should add to the fun. I prefer things that are easy to set up, store, and take down. Of course there are exceptions to every rule.

[@carlwoods4564]

@@TheDungeonDive I agree. It just annoys me that game producers seem to think bigger, brasher and more miniatures are the answer to a successful game. They're not at all. Id rather have cool art and a well developed setting that creates atmosphere. You don't need minis for that.

[@DigitalinDaniel]

Is there any problem with just combining everything together? Other than aesthetics*

[@TheDungeonDive]

It’d completely break the game thematically, and all it has going for it is it’s thematic qualities so I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.

[@medievalwizard352]

Thses games look fun, but I can't get into the pixel art. I'd like to see them made with more eye catching art work