Super Dungeon Explore (SDE) is a dungeon crawler inspired by old Japanese console RPGs. The 52 included miniatures are done in a cute / chibi / super-deformed style, which means the head is roughly the same size as the rest of the body.
One to five players take the role of classic fantasy heroes like the human paladin, a dwarf fighter, or an elf ranger. One player is the "Dark Consul" who controls the monsters of the dungeon. Every hero/monster has a character card that details the stats for movement, attack, armor, willpower, dexterity, action points and hearts (= life points). Additional information may include special abilities / actions / attacks and potions.
The game is played on modular dungeon boards. During a round of play, the game passes back and forth between single heroes and the monsters, but the exact order may change from round to round. The characters use the stats from their character card, special dice (with hearts, potions and stars) are only used for combat and checks. If the heroes wound the opponent, they may draw loot cards to improve their stats. There is also the possibility to open treasure chests to find even more powerful things. The monsters have no possibility to "level up" apart from a single late game upgrade but the Dark Consul has an unlimited number of them.
To win the game, the Dark Consul must defeat all heroes in his dungeon. The heroes must spawn the dungeon boss by killing monsters or destroying all spawning points (= entry points for new monsters). The heroes must then kill the dungeon boss to be victorious.
UPC 817009010004
- Engaging dungeon-crawl concept with popular appeal
- Company leadership and project management concerns raised in the update
- Arcade-inspired, cooperative dungeon exploration with fantasy visuals
- Dungeon-crawl fantasy adventure
- Narrative-driven dungeon crawl atmosphere
- Robotech Tactics RPG
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown — Details not provided in transcript.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- 2000ad is one hell of a sandbox to play in; it's super freaking and that too-cool-for-school underground comix nihilistic sort of way.
- it sounds kind of Awesome
- there's been a pre announcement leak that Osprey games it's making a judge dredd or 2000ad themed wildlands game
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- this is a project with 1.5 million dollars to make some board games could have been handled much better
- these narrative puzzle adventure thingies
- it's continuing the narrative that was found within the first one
- the river the new game by Days of Wonder
References (from this video)
- Thematic dungeon-crawl experience with visual appeal
- May rely on luck in combat resolution
- HeroQuest
- Monopoly
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Miniature tactical combat with dungeon crawl elements — Team-based dungeon exploration with combat resolved by dice and card play.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Dice are not the answer in a first-time design.
- They are toxic. They destroy your first designs.
- Meaningful interesting decisions… the decisions have to mean something.
- Even if you have all sorts of other unique stuff going on in your game that roll for combat just overwhelms it.
- Monopoly has a bit of both, chaotic, entertaining momentarily but ultimately frustrating.
- Event decks can be devastating to your design if they wipe out progress or resources.
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Twilight Struggle is one of my all-time favorite games.
- Tabletop Simulator is one of the best ways to be able to play a whole bunch of board games on your computer.
- Terraforming Mars is my evening unwind game.
- Slay the Spire is a really clever deck-building dungeon-crawler.
References (from this video)
- strong visuals and theme
- engaging for fans of dungeon crawls
- theatrical, chibi-style visuals
- fantasy dungeon crawl with miniatures
- lighthearted, colorful
- HeroQuest
- Star Wars Imperial Assault
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- miniature-based dungeon crawl — story-driven adventures with plastic minis and thematic tiles
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I love the thirsty meatballs gaming library is wonderful to be able to go there and play all sorts of different games
- UK Games Expo I always think about the newcomer to the hobby what are they going to find when they go there
- the Kickstarter's up there people are pledging and now he starts to test and starts to design that game
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- Roll for the Galaxy is a fantastic euro game
- it's a speed game if you think of Jungle Speed