What Are Dungeon Crawler Board Games?
There isn’t an official definition for “dungeon crawler board games,” which has caused lots of confusion across board gaming communities. Everyone has their own idea of what the term entails.
Here are the elements I personally consider to be core to the dungeon crawler board game experience:
Agreatdungeon crawler brings all of these elements together in a way that emphasizes a kill-loot-explore game loop while forcing the party to delve deeper into the environment and take greater risks.
Any board game that meets these criteria is a dungeon crawler in my eyes, even if it doesn’t explicitly have a dungeon-based theme, even if it has a strong emphasis on other gameplay mechanics.
With that said, here are my recommendations for the best dungeon crawler board games and why each one is worth playing!
15. One Deck Dungeon
One Deck Dungeonis a great introductory dungeon crawler for those who don’t want to invest in heavier board games with lots of moving pieces, tons of complicated rules, and game sessions that run for hours.
One Deck Dungeonpacks a lot of fun into a single deck of cards. As you explore the dungeon in the role of a unique hero, you roll dice to defeat monsters. Defeated monsters turn into experience or loot, which serve to grow your character via new abilities and improvements.
With a single box,One Deck Dungeoncan be played solo or with two players (cooperative). With theForest of Shadowsexpansion,One Deck Dungeonsupports up to four players.
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14. Mice and Mystics
InMice and Mystics, players take on the roles of characters who have been turned into mice and must now work together to reach the king and warn him of the dangerous Vanestra and her minions.
Mice and Mysticsis comprised of 13 scenarios (called chapters) that each have their own unique board setups, challenges, and objectives. The goal is to achieve the objectives before time runs out.
Every mouse hero has their own stats and abilities, and you’ll acquire new items over the course of play. The board tiles are also interactive—like water that pushes you downstream—which makes the world feel alive.
Mice and Mysticsis decently complex, making it an excellent transition game between lightweight dungeon crawlers likeOne Deck Dungeonand heavier dungeon crawlers likeToo Many Bones.
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13. Deck Box Dungeons
LikeOne Deck Dungeon,Deck Box Dungeonsis a fantastic lightweight dungeon crawler that’s comprised of a single deck of cards.
Played using a companion mobile app,Deck Box Dungeonstakes you through different scenarios full of monsters, encounters, and loot, with each scenario having its own unique goal to achieve.
The genius ofDeck Box Dungeonsis how much gameplay value comes from its character, equipment, and ability cards that fit together like puzzle pieces for varied results.
WhileDeck Box Dungeonssupports solo play and two player cooperative play right out of the box, two sets ofDeck Box Dungeonscan be combined together to support up to four players.
Related:The Best Single-Player Card Games That Aren’t Solitaire
12. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion
If you know anything aboutGloomhaven, you might be surprised to see it ranked so low on this list given how popular it is. In fact, mostGloomhavenfans would crucify me for this ranking!
To be clear, I’m not sayingGloomhavenis a bad game—it’s actually quite good—but it’s not exactly representative of the dungeon crawling experience. It’s more of a puzzle game with dungeon crawling features.
Gloomhavenis a complex, cooperative game that involves a heroic campaign across multiple sessions. But the hand management mechanic is so important that it doesn’tfeellike a dungeon crawl.
All that said, if you’re interested in jumping intoGloomhaven, I highly recommend starting withGloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion. This is a simplified, streamlined version of the game that’s much easier to get into.
If you’re looking for a dungeon crawler board game that plays like an optimization puzzle, then you’ll love this one. If you want more of a hack-and-slash experience, it will disappoint.
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11. Minotaur
Minotauris a fantastic gateway board game for the dungeon crawler genre because it’s more complex than the single-deck dungeon crawlers mentioned above but easy enough to learn with a single playthrough.
You can play solo or cooperatively with up to four players, with each player taking the role of a special class with unique abilities.
As you explore the Labyrinth, you’ll encounter monsters and hazards that impede your progress, as well as items that can aid you. The Minotaur may also appear, which you can defeat—but will return again and again.
Minotaurfeatures a map exploration system where moving off the map reveals new room tiles, but also removes room tiles from the opposite side of the map. You can also go down stairs to entirely new, deeper levels.
Find all the shattered Medallion pieces to seal away the Minotaur once and for all before the Minotaur’s minions take down your party!
Related:The Best Board Games for Three Players, Ranked
10. Stuffed Fables
Stuffed Fablesis one of the best dungeon crawler board games of our time, primarily for its unique theme, streamlined mechanics, layered complexity, and captivating narrative.
Players assume the role of stuffed animals as they help their owner—a young girl—navigate various childhood experiences. WhileStuffed Fablesmay seem like a children’s game, it’s just as wonderful for adults.
As a group, play your way through numerous stories that each take place across multiple maps, each one full of narrative twists and turns, with an epic overarching storyline that unfolds before you.
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9. Betrayal at House on the Hill (3rd Edition)
Betrayal at House on the Hillis the modern classic board game where players cooperatively explore a haunted mansion, revealing one tile at a time as they explore the darkness.
But beware! As you encounter omens, you’ll eventually trigger one of the many different Haunt scenarios, which causes one unsuspecting player to betray the rest. Every Haunt scenario has its own unique setup and victory conditions, leading to a different game every time.
Betrayal at House on the Hillwas recently revamped with a third edition in 2022, which comes with new player boards, character miniatures, streamlined rules, and other improvements.
As far as I’m concerned, the third edition ofBetrayal at House on the Hillis the definitive way to play. Not only is it a cleaner experience overall, but it’s far more accessible to those who don’t normally play board games.
Related:The Best Board Games Like Betrayal at House on the Hill
8. Sword & Sorcery
If you’re looking for themostcomplicated,mostdemanding,mostinvolved dungeon crawler board game, this is it.
Sword & Sorceryhas an unforgiving ruleset with a steep learning curve, lots of setup time, lots of cards and moving pieces, and heavy emphasis on phases, cycles, and strategic planning.
It’s the kind of game that’s designed for the most enthusiastic of board gamers, ones who are willing to digest labyrinthine gameplay and try the game multiple times in order for it to finally click.
But once it does click,Sword & Sorceryoffers one of the deepest dungeon crawling experiences of any board game.
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7. Star Wars: Imperial Assault
Star Wars: Imperial Assaultstands out among dungeon crawler board games for several reasons, but most of all for its departure from the usual fantasy adventure theme that’s so pervasive in the genre.
Another interesting aspect ofStar Wars: Imperial Assaultis that it has two game modes: the one-versus-all campaign mode and the one-versus-one skirmish mode. (Only the campaign mode is a dungeon crawl.)
In the campaign mode, one player controls the Galactic Empire’s units while the remain players are heroes of the Rebel Alliance. Both sides gain experience and new abilities over the course of the campaign.
Whether you’re looking for a mid-heavy dungeon crawler, a fantastic one-versus-all game, or simply just a fan of the franchise,Star Wars: Imperial Assaultis a best-in-class, must-play experience.
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6. Adventure Tactics: Domianne’s Tower
If you’ve ever wanted to playFinal Fantasy Tacticsin board game form, thenAdventure Tactics: Domianne’s Toweris the game for you.
Every player controls their own unique hero, which starts as one of the five basic classes: Archer, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, or Wizard. As you progress through the campaign, characters level up and can combine multiple classes to unlock Elite Classes.
Your character is represented by your own personal deck of ability cards. As you level up, you’ll acquire new cards to add to your deck, which can be played in future encounters.
In addition to each class’s unique abilities and stat progressions, you’ll also loot equipment along the way. All of this will come in handy as you try to slay the monsters in each encounter, which all have their own unique behaviors and challenges.
Adventure Tactics: Domianne’s Toweris a brilliant cooperative dungeon crawler where leveling up and building your character is as fun as playing the game itself.
Related:The Best Cooperative Board Games of All Time, Ranked
5. Tales From the Red Dragon Inn
Tales From the Red Dragon Innis a cooperative dungeon crawler based on the characters from theRed Dragon Innseries of board games.
Each player takes the role of one character, and the whole squad plays through a campaign of scenarios that involve fighting monsters, navigating the map, solving puzzles, and acquiring loot. If you like tactical combat, you’ll love this one.
The game is played on various map layouts using personal decks of cards that represent your abilities and equipment. Between the six unique heroes—each with their own miniature—there’s a lot of fun replayability as you try to synergize with each other.
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4. Clank! Catacombs
Clank! Catacombsis a tactical board game that plays like a hybrid between a traditional dungeon crawler and a competitive deckbuilder.
Players are in a race against each other to steal Artifacts from the Dragon’s lair, and they must escape intact without dying to the Dragon’s attacks. But the longer you stay in the lair, the more noise you make—and the more noise you make, the more enraged the Dragon becomes.
Along the way, you’ll acquire new cards to add to your personal deck, which influences how each player approaches their time spent in the lair.
Clank! Catacombsimproves upon the originalClank!in many ways, primarily by ditching the preset map boards and using tiles that unfold to reveal a unique dungeon layout every time.
While most dungeon crawlers are cooperative,Clank! Catacombsis indirectly competitive, with players never attacking each other and simply seeing who can successfully escape with the most valuable treasures.
Clank! Catacombsis a great dungeon crawler for groups who prefer one-shot sessions rather than long-running campaigns. With the free companion mobile app, you can also play solo!
Related:The Best Deckbuilding Board Games and Card Games, Ranked
3. Too Many Bones
Did you know that dice used to be called “bones” back in the day? From that, you should get a sense of whatToo Many Bonesis about—it’s a self-described dice-builder RPG with over 100 unique dice included.
If you’re a fan of roguelike video games, then you’ll have a blast with this epic board game that uses dice for nearlyeverything—combat, events, and more—as you play through the campaign.
Nearly everything is randomized to some degree, so between the many encounters, items, and complex hero characters, the replay value is pretty much infinite. It’s dungeon crawling refined to the next level.
Too Many Bonesis playable solo and as a group, but it tends to play better with fewer players (unless long turns aren’t an issue for you).
Related:The Best Dice Games to Add to Your Board Game Collection
2. The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth
The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earthis an incredible experience that’s elevated by its companion mobile app, which acts as the game master and streamlines most of its complexity.
Players assume the roles of Middle-Earth heroes (e.g. Bilbo Baggins) and cooperatively explore the world while vanquishing the dark forces that threaten to overtake the world.
Each session is its own adventure, but they all come together to form a long-running campaign with an epic story to tell. That said, you can replay adventures and they’ll always unfold differently!
The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earthis one of the most epic dungeon crawlers and it’s especially good for couples!
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1. Shadows of Brimstone
Shadows of Brimstoneis up there as one of the ultimate dungeon crawling experiences in board games, not to mention its incredible theme of Old West meets Lovecraftian horror.
Form a party of Western heroes to venture into the unknown, take down demons and terrors, acquire hard-earned loot, and gain experience to level up and unlock special class-specific abilities.
Play out an entire campaign of horrifying adventures that involve lots of dice rolling, tactical decision making, and card-driven exploration. The complex mechanics reward those who take the time to learn them.
Note:Shadows of Brimstoneis available as two separate standalone Core Sets:City of the AncientsandSwamps of Death. They feature different campaigns, but you can play one without the other. You can also combine both to play with up to six players!
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