Descent: Journeys in the Dark is a "one vs. many" game in which up to four players will choose characters with a wide assortment of skills and innate abilities to be the heroes who will explore dungeons in search of treasure and adventure, while one player will take on the role of the Overlord and will control the dungeon's many traps, puzzles, and monsters.
The heroes' goal will be to cooperatively conquer the dungeon, seize its many treasures, and achieve other objectives as set by the scenario. If the heroes cooperate and achieve their goals, they will all win. The Overlord's objective is simply to use all the means at their disposal - from deadly traps to ferocious monsters - to kill the heroes. Each hero has a certain Conquest Point value to the party and if too many Conquest Points are lost through hero death, the party loses and the Overlord wins.
Re-implemented by:
Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) (2012)
- Array
- Fantasy
- Campaign-style missions
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Daniel picked up some new game called gloom Haven that looked interesting to him
- I lent Arkham Horror first edition
- we did call it Shelfs side
- the Dune video got some traction then wingspan
- Battlestar Atlantica
- Suburbia review
References (from this video)
- rich theme
- campaign potential
- complex rules
- older design feel
- hero vs monsters with dice-driven combat
- fantasy dungeon crawling
- campaign-based, thematic
- Chaos in the Old World
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative_play — Players work together or against the board.
- semi_cooperative_campaign — Campaign progression and scenario variety.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- three minute board games is committed to winning this race to the bottom
- i absolutely totally do not understand this game desperately needed testing and editing
References (from this video)
- strong campaign potential
- varied powers and monsters for asymmetry
- potentially steamroller issues when heroes dominate
- heroes vs. overlord with modular dungeon layouts
- fantasy dungeon crawl with a shared dungeon setting
- campaign-driven, story-led adventures with evolving threats
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- asymmetric roles — one player controls monsters/overlord while others play heroes
- asymmetric teams — one player controls monsters/overlord while others play heroes
- cooperative/dark partnership — heroes work together to complete objectives while the overlord counters
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's easy to learn it's fun to play and it's easy to teach
- I can flip up that rulebook in five minutes I'll be caught up like that
- it's my all-time favorite rolling right now
- tell your story as you're doing it so you have your hero cards
- it's one of those games you want to save for Halloween or like a late night
References (from this video)
- immersive/dungeon-crawl experience
- dynamic modular board
- cooperative play against an AI dungeon
- heavy setup
- complex rules and long playtime
- adventure, cooperative exploration against monsters
- fantasy dungeon crawl
- campaign-driven with modular scenarios
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Campaign progression — quest-based advancement across scenarios
- Dice combat — combat uses dice to resolve attacks against monsters
- hand management / action cards — players use action cards to perform moves; not a traditional deckbuilder but card-based actions
- Modular board — tiles create a variable dungeon layout for each scenario
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- redaction is when you mark through something and you say a bad word in a book and you can't read that word
- the four RS are redaction, restriction, relocation and removal
- reading is important to me and reading is important in our society
- embarrassment is extremely important for people who are trying to ban books
- books are incredibly important
- censorship is restricting access to a text
- a proper understanding of reading and interpretation should not be limited by common sense assumptions
- it's not so much that the kids are embarrassed, it's that the parents are embarrassed and not prepared to talk about it
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's the game the most satisfying is rolling a bunch of dice
- the best dexterity game over there
- I wouldn't recommend it though playing with four or maybe even three unless they know the game very well
References (from this video)
- Classic dungeon-crawl feel
- Strategic overlord interactions
- Overlord control and campaign progression
- Fantasy dungeon-crawl
- Cooperative play with a hidden overlord
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Campaign progression — Story-driven campaign that evolves over time.
- overlord and players — One or more players act as the overlord, opposing the heroes.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I am so not handy with anything like I am a computer person by trade so I don't really do building things
- we sleeve all the cards to this game
- Greg was so kind to send this over to us I mean look at how awesome this is
- I like to Dungeon Crawler type video gamer and uh now more recently a board gamer uh totally into that style of game but it brings in the Star Wars Universe which is my love yeah take my money
- we end up raising like over $2,000 for Boston Children's Hospital which is an absolutely terrific hospital
- we're trying to mix up the formula a little bit