I just realised part of the reason I enjoy these videos so much, and why I'm willing to sit and watch people discuss a game I'm unlikely to buy, is because it's just refreshing to me to watch people have a discussion with different views which is respectful. Where people don't end up shouting over each other or it turning into a slanging match. Just sharing views, understanding and respecting each other, giving each person time to share. It's really nice. So thankyou dice tower, you help me relax and unwind! 🤗
One main thing I get out of watching/hearing/reading reviews by multiple people (whether it's a group of people all at once (like in this video) or if I read several reviews on a website), is that I can start to discern what things I have in common with a specific person. For example: Person A says "I really like this game a lot" Person B says "I hate this game" Person C says "I really like this game a lot" The game is also getting a bunch of 9/10 scores. So I buy the game, but I hate it. Maybe I share game interest that are the same as Person B. So even if a game is getting a bunch of 4/10 scores.... if Person B says that they like the game a lot... chances are, I will like it too. And of course this works the other way around as well.
The best part of this game is that you can now play dice throne co-op and solo. Which makes it get to the table more often. Dice throne is a great game and highly recommended, if you want to play solo or have family members who don’t like pvp then adventures is a great add-on.
Overall a good review, but I’m in more of the Mike and Chris camp on this one. This doesn’t replace 1v1 Dice Throne and isn’t better, but I think they did an amazing job of creating a co-op/solo version of Dice Throne. It feels like I’m playing Dice Throne and that’s what I want.
I like Dice Throne a lot, but my partner had problems with the pvp. Coop has solved that issue and allowed us to keep playing! Using our cards to help each other instead of hurt each other is also satisfying. It works well as a simple coop dungeon crawl with the Dice Throne system.
Good review guys. Game looks interesting. The price of this one completely repelled me unfortunately. It's nearly $80 retail, and you don't even get what you need to actually play the game! Insanity. Base game should have come with at least two heroes for the price.
Me and my kids really really like this game. If you have the standee version then you can fit 2 characters in the box if desired. I like that it’s hard and that the score sheet has space for something like 20 games in an 8 game campaign. Getting those upgrades and extra the extra salves that help you in your next scenario, or indeed repeat the previous failed scenario.
Just wrapped a 2 player campaign with my wife. It was a blast working together, learning the pros and cons for our team composition, upgrading our cards, celebrating epic rolls and unlocking some legacy content. I caught on to DT during the Season 2 Kickstarter campaign and then added Season 1 Re-Rolled and Dice Throne Adventures during their latest campaign. We really love this game!
I rate it 8. It's a dice game, so randomness is gonna be part of the play. I didn't find the game too difficult. I purchased the Gunslinger and Samurai and got through the whole campaign with the Samurai without a loss. A few of the battles were extremely close, but was able to pull out wins with dice mitigation with cards that I intentionally kept in my hand for the times when I needed them. The Samurai has pretty good defense, so maybe that's why I faired well. I for one would have liked a more typical dungeon crawl with a story, but the portal crawls were okay.
Interesting Review, I will likely be reviewing it on my channel here in the next few weeks. The only aspect missed is the new game mode of having multi on one with a player being a boss versus the other players. Also Boss VS Boss mode which when you look at it this way it does add 4 new characters and is not mentioned by any of the Dice Tower Reviewers.
Good point. Have you tried out those game modes? They're very fun. I suspect that they're pretty busy reviewing so many games and didn't get to those modes.
All fair points. I didn’t pledge for this in the Kickstarter, but when my Season 1 Rerolled arrived, I showed it to a friend and they suggested we try the DT Adventure game. Pre-ordered and it arrived this week. These scores are about what I expected.
For me, the best things from Adventure is the bosses that can be used in 1 vs many matches, or boss vs boss matches. I.e. it gives you 4 more powerful characters that can be used against each other, or one of them can be used against other players. I also made some home rules for the loot system pretty fast after I played the adventures (solo): - Unidentified loot cards can be revealed for free, but after that they cost as much as the other reward loot cards. - Boss loot rolls (together) can be rerolled until at least one roll is a blue card (or whatever limit you want... at least one roll is a legendary card?) - Deck can be modified by removing and adding any card you want, as long as there is no same name card, and min deck size is 34 and max is 50. I.e. you can remove your "default" cards as well, even if you do not replace it with higher level loot card. - You can "save" the loot cards you do not use and sell them during next boss loot phase. One thing Adventures can do as well is that you can "spice up" the normal character decks with some loot cards, for just normal play. Of course, both decks should then have something extra to keep it somewhat even.
Why did they not mention anything about the head to head boss vs boss battles, this it's in essence 4 new characters for a total of 20 unique characters to play as. Or the other gameplay option for 3 or 4 people play against a 5th person as the boss? Why did you guys not mention those options?
While adding two new heroes would have definitely been nice, you have to remember that the bosses are all able to be used like normal (albeit OP) characters. You can set up boss vs boss battles and boss vs heroes. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing as the bosses in just normal situations with my friends. I guess it was hard for that to be noticed when it was sitting so close to your nose. I hope that in the future we can see champion heroes that rival the base strength of bosses to give this game even more depth but I know that would require a lot of investment and we do already have the perks listed in the legacy decks which does help each hero feel quite a bit more powerful. Again, don't forget the bosses are standalone fighters too, but you will need at least one box hero set to play through the campaign. But that shouldn't matter cuz all the heroes are just so flippin fun.
Great points from everyone. I'm more on Mike's side though. As a solo only player, this is my only way to experience Dice Throne and I love it. It's my favorite game I own right now.
I think this is a fun starter set up for this system that has a load of potential in future expansions. But I can solo this from set up to cleanupin less than 1.25 hours and that is pretty amazing.
I love Dice Throne so much, but I don't get to play it as often as I'd like. So when I got Adventures it was a total revelation to me, that I actually got to play Solo and I do and love it. That's why I'm also super excited for the new Mission game, even though I don't care about the Marvel Universe.
I really enjoyed this 4 square review. I loved the different opinions. I really enjoy DTA. My wife and I have a real good time playing the core game and DTA. I'm going with an 8. It's not a problem for me to carry all 3 Giant beautiful boxes in my game bag. I like that is a bit lighter than most dungeon crawls. I love throwing dice and the press your luck aspect of trying to get and ability or and ultimate. I would highly recommend this game.
8.5 for me, although I'd agree there are some notable issues--you pretty much need at least one defense-oriented character, the box is gigantic and expensive, and the last portal crawl or two can get pretty long. The fun of playing DT a new way after dozens and dozens of plays more than made up for them. We found difficulty to be right on target; we won about 2/3 of our missions, so it took about a dozen sessions to get through the campaign. The high-end cards were impactful, and I certainly felt like I had enough time in both mission types to add plenty of upgrades if I wanted, although upgrades do get noticeably rarer to find as you add more cards to your deck.
Thankfully deck bloat isn't a thing in DTA, as you can always discard a loot card to draw a new card from the deck! It's an incredibly clever mechanic.
The dungeon map you progress along is less like a gloomhaven map where you have to move strategically across the terrain during a single turn. Instead each tile represents a room or area you are in. The movement across the map IS crucial, however. Sometimes you need to go help a friend, whereas other times you have to strike out on your own and tackle a room solo. As well, as a group you have to decide if you should explore the whole map or make a break for the exit -- and areas in between where you're deciding if you want to pick a tougher tile to get more treasure, or take the easy route because you're scared you might die. It can be life or death - high risk, high reward. Their idea of an encounter deck to replace the map is foolish -- it would remove a significant portion of the game's strategy.
This just in, someone who loves a quick head-to-head and has stated how he's grown tired of campaigns is unimpressed by a head-to-head trying to be a campaign. So yea, not sure why people are surprised.
Love Dice Throne 1v1. One of my favs. I've enjoyed playing Adventures, there's been some really fun tense moments (and skin of my teeth victories!) but have only done it solo so far. That said if I didn't get it all in the Kickstarter together, not sure I'd go out and buy Adventures by itself.
I feel like they missed an opportunity to just go with big boss with nice mechanics kind of Aeon's End style. Yeah, they got bosses but they only act like beefed up normal heroes. Why they did not go with different gameplay fights, with maybe with unique components is beyond me. I got strong confirmation bias from Tom on this one. I was so disappointed when the game was on kickstarter; we love our season 2 big box and co-op is one of my favorite mechanisms, but, damn, the dungeon crawling part seems and the character progression looks so dry of choices.
Sounds like Adventures would have been helped if they made the bosses have two decks: one that plays as a regular character, one that overlays their card sheet and makes them a boss. Thus they would play as a boss, but you could defeat them and “unlock” them to play as a regular character. Also, do you get to carry upgrade cards in to regular 1v1? That would be cool if there were character specific cards like that. Then it would promote grinding each fighter through the adventure. Powering up for battles...
I've got some issues with this review. Complaining about the box size and the price, but then wishing it also had two extra characters included. So do you want less content or do you want lower quality components? Another point about the size of the box: people that love this game REGULARLY say that unlike many other games they love, Dice Throne hits the table the most because you can open the box and be PLAYING in less than a minute -- and with DTA as well, it hits the table FASTER than ANY other comparable game by LEAGUES. You get a slightly bigger box, but it's functional size, it's not wasted size. Time is money, and you're saving a lot every time you play this game. Right to the fun. Another point about "luck" in Dice Throne. I think Tom believes that Dice Throne is comparable to King of Tokyo and Yahtzee, and really, it does have a lot of similarities, but having a board of abilities, and a deck of luck-mitigation cards AND ability upgrade cards gives the game a vastly different level of skill-based decision making. That's why Tom found the game hard while other players are regularly beating the game in 8-11 sessions (that's 0-3 losses with 8 wins to beat the campaign). Knowing how to best use your cards to help your teammates is key, and that's where the real meat of DTA lies. Not with luckily rolling ultimates all game long. But skill comes with repeated play, and for reviewers that play the game only a few times before moving on to the hundreds of other games they have to review -- I understand that they haven't fully grasped the depth this game has. But, for those interested in the game, I think they have misrepresented the level of luck -- yes there is some, and that adds to the fun, but skill shines through that luck magnificently. My final point is about them feeling as though their characters don't improve enough as the campaign progressed. By the time my team was facing the Mad King we had such incredibly upgraded decks that we were having incredible turns that were unimaginable earlier in the game. We had 50 cards in our decks each and we could regularly cycle through our decks because you can discard loot cards at any time -- it was a totally different experience from the beginning. I don't want to spoil it, but some of the loot you add to your player is REALLY mind-blowing and fun. This game nails the fun of unlocking cool, unique cards - there are a ton you'll never see even if you play multiple campaigns, because they're difficult to unlock. Despite all my issues with the review, I really enjoyed the group discussion and appreciated that they took the time to talk it over, and give that nice, quick overview of the game as well. Much appreciated.
I do like the game. Some of the points are valid, but some I don't get. 1) I don't think that the game is too hard. However it is sensitive to which characters you play. Thee are some characters in solo mode that I think have no chance of winning, but others are much easier to deal with. 2) Maybe it is just me, but normally I don't spend a lot of time upgrading my character in regular Dice Throne. It is too valuable to save the CP for dice roll changes to get that Ultimate. Now, the "Hand of the King" tokens discourage that in this game. If you like being able to upgrade, there is a variant of the game where you separate the upgrade and oter cards into two piles and then choose which one you want to draw from. That makes upgrading more common. 3) The cost thing is a little misleading, because people are not buying Adventures at the same time as Dice Throne...it is an expansion. Also, Tom has said in the past that cost would not be a driver in his reviews. Of course, he had already decided that he did not like the game. 3) I agree with the point that this isn't really a dungeon crawl. This is a framing device for playing Dice Throne in co-op mode. There are many people that would hate Dice Throne because of its combative nature that I might be able to play this with because now we can work together. 4) I also agree that the sheer size of this game makes it hard to carry around...but I would say that about the base games. I own both Season 1 and 2, and I bought Rerolled. I am thinking about not getting rid of my original Dice Throne because it is so much easier to carry around. All in all, I like this co-op version of the game. It isn't perfect but since Dice Throne is my favorite game, any way to play it solo or with groups that like co-ops is a plus.
One suggestion I have for you is to pick your heroes before you go out. The heroes are in self-contained trays that work like clear-game-boxes on their own. You could slip an elastic band around it if you're worried about it popping open. When taking DTA to a friends house, I brought only the 3 heroes we were using on our campaign, rather than the entire battle chest. It all easily fit in a cloth bag I use for groceries.
We have played once through the campaign and will play second time with different characters. 2p. Also, we keep two characters in the box all the time.
Mike is right, had this come with two (or more) characters in the box, I woulda bought. Maybe characters that were more geared towards healing or assisting?
Why would that be preferable to simply buying one of the 2-hero packs they sell at retail. Those are SMALL boxes and easily pack along with the bigger DTA box. If you make the DTA box bigger it wont' fit in a Kallax. If you make it smaller you're removing content that makes the game as replayable as it is.
Yeah, it's not perfect and I'm not sure where most would say this is a 'Dungeon Crawler'. As most would mention, it's Dice Throne where you can play co-op or solo. That's something I was interested in from the start. My wife plays it occasionally but I wanted to play it more. The concept is great but it has its flaws. I did feel that many times you would likely try and do the same skills over and over. It does get redundant. The loot is cool if you roll high enough for it.. It's always nive to play Dice Throne solo or 2 handed co-op. Still fun
Fun game. Definitely agree with the point of it should have come with 2 new characters to be an all in one pack. The double character packs aren't bad at least for size and price.
Thanks for the review, guys! Exactly my initial thoughts when backing it about a year ago. Super happy with my S1 Rerolled copy and equally happy that i didn’t go all in with DT Adventures.
Couldn’t disagree with Roy’s comment about the fleshing out and upgrading of your character being minimized; you get to really build out almost your entire character in the most robust way - much more than standard DT.
Tom: "Someone in the review comments will say 'Get better at strategy.' Well, I would argue that's more thought than this game deserves." This says a lot about Tom more than anything else. DTA ~is~ a campaign game and like any campaign, pacing yourself in a dungeon crawl vs. boss battle is EVERYTHING. If that situational pacing is a turn off then this and many other games of mitigating attrition (loss of health, negative effects, etc) is probably not your jam.
Really surprised at Tom's score on this one. I personally would give it a 9/10 losing a point only b/c I think it's a valid complaint that the exploration aspect is barely there and it basically does seem like you could replace the dungeon tiles with an event deck. I strongly disagree however with the comments on upgrading your character. I found the dungeon crawls to be much easier to upgrade your character abilities because you are fighting several opponents in succession and your upgrades stay with you throughout, whereas in the head to head, I rarely upgrade more than one or two abilities before the game ends. Also this has one of the best (if not the best) A.I/boss A.I I've ever seen in a board game. There is very little decision making on the part of the player for the A.I and the A.I behaves basically as smart as any human player would.
After playing it, totally agree with Tom on this one. The crux of the issue is that it’s a dungeon crawler retrofitted on to a PvP game. And Roy is right- it’s not an adventure game, it’s just battle harder and harder enemies with your friends. I found the fights to be monotonous after a while. Beautiful components though and love the gametrayz.
I agree that it's fun for what it is, BUT I do think their critique misses the level of decision making you need to make when playing -- when to team up and fight a minion together versus exploring and taking out a minion on your own (it can be a tough call!) AND when to explore every last tile, and collect all the treasure and get as much gold as possible, versus when to focus on just getting the shards and moving on quickly to the next scenario. These are tough choices you make during the portal crawls that an "encounter deck" would never match.
I ended up not backing this and honestly I'm kinda relieved. It seems... I don't wanna say half-baked, but like they knew people were clamoring for an adventure mode or the like and maybe that's not the strong suit of this system after all.
Yes many were asking for a co-op aspect to DT. It was ambitious and I commend their attempt at making a diablo-esque game where you can upgrade your character. I mentioned before, This is a game where you can still get the Dice Throne Feel while playing solo or co-op. I'm anxious to see what they have in store for Season 3. More characters = more variety and keep it fresh.
Thanks for your opinions and experience. I think I will give this a pass and stick with “Elder Sign” incl the “Gates of Arkham” as my coop yazee style game. This one sounds too expensive, too big, too unfocused... But thumbs up for the great review video!
Its way to big an expensive for what it is .... if i were play play an entry level coop dungeon crawler there are dozens of games that u can get for half the cost and space
I feel that the dungeon bit feels very underdeveloped and that it could just have been a box full of cooperative boss fights with increasing difficulty and a progression system for that. No interest in the dungeon crawl but the cooperative boss fights looks interesting, unfortunately they're still tacked onto the dungeon crawl and that progression system. Thankfully it don' gate keep any vs content (no additional exclusive characters).
As someone who has never played a dungeon crawl, it's my favorite part of the game. It's not a lot of discovery, but adding in the loot system really makes it shine. To be fair I have only played solo, which means you start with more HP. Anyway, I completely understand the price issues but as a dice throne fan I find this to be essential to buy. Adds so much to it.
@@megalodon2012 I agree -- the minions are REALLY fun, and a very different experience than taking on a complex boss. As well, there are interesting decisions to make about what direction to take during the portal crawl, when to come and help your teammate, versus when to head off and flip a tile all on your own. When to explore the entire dungeon and get all the treasure, versus focusing in on the shards and escaping as fast as possible. Yes that's not the same dungeon-crawl experience from other games, but that's a good thing that it's unique.
I agree! 8 core game, 3 for this. Lack of strategy and tactics and choices and the multiplayer is just bad vs a great core game. I'd never pick it over the core game
I dont get it ... This is basically an expansion to Dice Throne, not a standalone game. So everybody, who maybe buys this, already has at least two fighters. And size of the box ... you guys sold all your cars for bicycles? And the boxes and inserts are great! I hate empty card boxes where you have to put everything into small bags.... and when you open them .. chaos! This is a fun way to expand your Dice Throne horizon ...
100%. Getting the game to the table fast is WORTH the size of the inserts. My wife and I will regularly say "oh we should play ____" but when push-comes-to-shove we're playing Dice Throne because it's on the table and ready to play FAST.
I trust Roxley games a lot, but this "expansion" was a big no for me. I was hesitant and indecisive for most of the KS Campaign, but ultimately decided that I don't need ANOTHER one of these games in my life, much less a rather subpar looking one.
@@TorIverWilhelmsen Clearly expressed, but weak. I'll give him that the game should have an EASY mode for people who think the game should be as mindless as King of Tokyo. This game has way more depth and strategy than he realizes, for sure.
Feels like a big miss by not including at least 2 characters in the box to make this a stand alone expansion. This game has more appeal than the basic Dice Thrown, but many (myself included) won’t buy the original in order to play this.
There are 8 different 2-hero packs you can buy at retail, and any of those packs is adequate to play DTA in its entirety. The 2-hero boxes are small, too, so they'd be EASILY packed along with the DTA box. It's a good thing for STORING the game that it isn't big enough to hold heroes in the box. Currently it fits neatly in my Kallax shelves, and I'm glad it isn't so big it doesn't fit there.
I just realised part of the reason I enjoy these videos so much, and why I'm willing to sit and watch people discuss a game I'm unlikely to buy, is because it's just refreshing to me to watch people have a discussion with different views which is respectful. Where people don't end up shouting over each other or it turning into a slanging match. Just sharing views, understanding and respecting each other, giving each person time to share. It's really nice. So thankyou dice tower, you help me relax and unwind! 🤗
Yes! Isn't it sad how rare this is these days?
One main thing I get out of watching/hearing/reading reviews by multiple people (whether it's a group of people all at once (like in this video) or if I read several reviews on a website), is that I can start to discern what things I have in common with a specific person.
For example:
Person A says "I really like this game a lot"
Person B says "I hate this game"
Person C says "I really like this game a lot"
The game is also getting a bunch of 9/10 scores. So I buy the game, but I hate it. Maybe I share game interest that are the same as Person B. So even if a game is getting a bunch of 4/10 scores.... if Person B says that they like the game a lot... chances are, I will like it too.
And of course this works the other way around as well.
Chris is a good addition. Well thought out, well spoken, mature, professional ...(and a good radio voice 😂)
The Voice is great. Really liked his insights.
@@johchadow Chris and Eric should do a podcast episode together. Would be pretty sweet.
@@joseg.6187
It would be like listening to smooth jazz, haha.
The best part of this game is that you can now play dice throne co-op and solo. Which makes it get to the table more often. Dice throne is a great game and highly recommended, if you want to play solo or have family members who don’t like pvp then adventures is a great add-on.
Overall a good review, but I’m in more of the Mike and Chris camp on this one. This doesn’t replace 1v1 Dice Throne and isn’t better, but I think they did an amazing job of creating a co-op/solo version of Dice Throne. It feels like I’m playing Dice Throne and that’s what I want.
I like Dice Throne a lot, but my partner had problems with the pvp. Coop has solved that issue and allowed us to keep playing! Using our cards to help each other instead of hurt each other is also satisfying. It works well as a simple coop dungeon crawl with the Dice Throne system.
Good review guys. Game looks interesting. The price of this one completely repelled me unfortunately. It's nearly $80 retail, and you don't even get what you need to actually play the game! Insanity. Base game should have come with at least two heroes for the price.
Dice Throne Adventures isn't actually available at retail. The first and second seasons are sold in 2-hero packs at retail, however.
@@joelface DT Adventure is available on the dice Throne website.
Me and my kids really really like this game.
If you have the standee version then you can fit 2 characters in the box if desired.
I like that it’s hard and that the score sheet has space for something like 20 games in an 8 game campaign.
Getting those upgrades and extra the extra salves that help you in your next scenario, or indeed repeat the previous failed scenario.
Really like the addition of Chris. Great broadcast voice, insightful, and great at explaining
Just wrapped a 2 player campaign with my wife. It was a blast working together, learning the pros and cons for our team composition, upgrading our cards, celebrating epic rolls and unlocking some legacy content. I caught on to DT during the Season 2 Kickstarter campaign and then added Season 1 Re-Rolled and Dice Throne Adventures during their latest campaign. We really love this game!
I rate it 8. It's a dice game, so randomness is gonna be part of the play. I didn't find the game too difficult. I purchased the Gunslinger and Samurai and got through the whole campaign with the Samurai without a loss. A few of the battles were extremely close, but was able to pull out wins with dice mitigation with cards that I intentionally kept in my hand for the times when I needed them. The Samurai has pretty good defense, so maybe that's why I faired well.
I for one would have liked a more typical dungeon crawl with a story, but the portal crawls were okay.
Interesting Review,
I will likely be reviewing it on my channel here in the next few weeks. The only aspect missed is the new game mode of having multi on one with a player being a boss versus the other players. Also Boss VS Boss mode which when you look at it this way it does add 4 new characters and is not mentioned by any of the Dice Tower Reviewers.
Good point. Have you tried out those game modes? They're very fun. I suspect that they're pretty busy reviewing so many games and didn't get to those modes.
Yes those alt modes should have been covered.
All fair points. I didn’t pledge for this in the Kickstarter, but when my Season 1 Rerolled arrived, I showed it to a friend and they suggested we try the DT Adventure game. Pre-ordered and it arrived this week. These scores are about what I expected.
For me, the best things from Adventure is the bosses that can be used in 1 vs many matches, or boss vs boss matches. I.e. it gives you 4 more powerful characters that can be used against each other, or one of them can be used against other players.
I also made some home rules for the loot system pretty fast after I played the adventures (solo):
- Unidentified loot cards can be revealed for free, but after that they cost as much as the other reward loot cards.
- Boss loot rolls (together) can be rerolled until at least one roll is a blue card (or whatever limit you want... at least one roll is a legendary card?)
- Deck can be modified by removing and adding any card you want, as long as there is no same name card, and min deck size is 34 and max is 50. I.e. you can remove your "default" cards as well, even if you do not replace it with higher level loot card.
- You can "save" the loot cards you do not use and sell them during next boss loot phase.
One thing Adventures can do as well is that you can "spice up" the normal character decks with some loot cards, for just normal play. Of course, both decks should then have something extra to keep it somewhat even.
Why did they not mention anything about the head to head boss vs boss battles, this it's in essence 4 new characters for a total of 20 unique characters to play as. Or the other gameplay option for 3 or 4 people play against a 5th person as the boss? Why did you guys not mention those options?
Because this is a review about DTA itself, and not regular DT.
@@ShizeiTigras Well, the option to play as a group against a boss is as far as I understand it, new to DTA.
I love this expansion because I love dice throne but don't always have some one to play with. This scratches the itch very very well
While adding two new heroes would have definitely been nice, you have to remember that the bosses are all able to be used like normal (albeit OP) characters. You can set up boss vs boss battles and boss vs heroes. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing as the bosses in just normal situations with my friends. I guess it was hard for that to be noticed when it was sitting so close to your nose. I hope that in the future we can see champion heroes that rival the base strength of bosses to give this game even more depth but I know that would require a lot of investment and we do already have the perks listed in the legacy decks which does help each hero feel quite a bit more powerful. Again, don't forget the bosses are standalone fighters too, but you will need at least one box hero set to play through the campaign. But that shouldn't matter cuz all the heroes are just so flippin fun.
Where is Zee at? I love me some Mike but I also need my Zee fix.
Thanks for the great review, I really love this format.
Mike always sounds like a news anchor. Back to you, Tom.
Great points from everyone. I'm more on Mike's side though. As a solo only player, this is my only way to experience Dice Throne and I love it. It's my favorite game I own right now.
I think this is a fun starter set up for this system that has a load of potential in future expansions. But I can solo this from set up to cleanupin less than 1.25 hours and that is pretty amazing.
I like the different perspectives. Reviews should be done this way more often. Good review !
I love Dice Throne so much, but I don't get to play it as often as I'd like. So when I got Adventures it was a total revelation to me, that I actually got to play Solo and I do and love it.
That's why I'm also super excited for the new Mission game, even though I don't care about the Marvel Universe.
I really enjoyed this 4 square review. I loved the different opinions. I really enjoy DTA. My wife and I have a real good time playing the core game and DTA. I'm going with an 8. It's not a problem for me to carry all 3 Giant beautiful boxes in my game bag. I like that is a bit lighter than most dungeon crawls. I love throwing dice and the press your luck aspect of trying to get and ability or and ultimate. I would highly recommend this game.
Damn....I didn't expect that! I am a pretty big fan of Dice Throne!
I love Dice Throne Adventures
8.5 for me, although I'd agree there are some notable issues--you pretty much need at least one defense-oriented character, the box is gigantic and expensive, and the last portal crawl or two can get pretty long. The fun of playing DT a new way after dozens and dozens of plays more than made up for them. We found difficulty to be right on target; we won about 2/3 of our missions, so it took about a dozen sessions to get through the campaign. The high-end cards were impactful, and I certainly felt like I had enough time in both mission types to add plenty of upgrades if I wanted, although upgrades do get noticeably rarer to find as you add more cards to your deck.
Thankfully deck bloat isn't a thing in DTA, as you can always discard a loot card to draw a new card from the deck! It's an incredibly clever mechanic.
@@kukurukuru04 Ha, we completely missed that rule. That'll come in handy when we eventually start one at Veteran level, though!
Chris has a good voice and actually explained the game so I could understand it so yay.
I agree. Haven't seen his content before, but he did a great job. And I'll be on the look out now.
Chris’s explanation was great. Love that guy, glad he’s part of the team
Gameplay overview was quite good. Nicely done Chris.
Maybe instead of pushing “dungeon crawl” it should have been more “VS or coop?”
The dungeon map you progress along is less like a gloomhaven map where you have to move strategically across the terrain during a single turn. Instead each tile represents a room or area you are in. The movement across the map IS crucial, however. Sometimes you need to go help a friend, whereas other times you have to strike out on your own and tackle a room solo. As well, as a group you have to decide if you should explore the whole map or make a break for the exit -- and areas in between where you're deciding if you want to pick a tougher tile to get more treasure, or take the easy route because you're scared you might die. It can be life or death - high risk, high reward. Their idea of an encounter deck to replace the map is foolish -- it would remove a significant portion of the game's strategy.
This just in, someone who loves a quick head-to-head and has stated how he's grown tired of campaigns is unimpressed by a head-to-head trying to be a campaign.
So yea, not sure why people are surprised.
Love Dice Throne 1v1. One of my favs. I've enjoyed playing Adventures, there's been some really fun tense moments (and skin of my teeth victories!) but have only done it solo so far. That said if I didn't get it all in the Kickstarter together, not sure I'd go out and buy Adventures by itself.
Just skipped to score because of where I'm at right now, but a 5 Tom? Can't wait to hear the reasons behind that score
He thought it was too hard, too much luck, too big of a box, and too expensive. I happen to disagree on every point, however. :P
Chris is the Vanna White of the Dice Tower group :D Love his voice with his physical descriptive movements. :P
First time I've ever been compared to Vanna White :P That I may look that good at 64 years old!
I feel like they missed an opportunity to just go with big boss with nice mechanics kind of Aeon's End style. Yeah, they got bosses but they only act like beefed up normal heroes. Why they did not go with different gameplay fights, with maybe with unique components is beyond me.
I got strong confirmation bias from Tom on this one. I was so disappointed when the game was on kickstarter; we love our season 2 big box and co-op is one of my favorite mechanisms, but, damn, the dungeon crawling part seems and the character progression looks so dry of choices.
Sounds like Adventures would have been helped if they made the bosses have two decks: one that plays as a regular character, one that overlays their card sheet and makes them a boss. Thus they would play as a boss, but you could defeat them and “unlock” them to play as a regular character. Also, do you get to carry upgrade cards in to regular 1v1? That would be cool if there were character specific cards like that. Then it would promote grinding each fighter through the adventure. Powering up for battles...
I've got some issues with this review. Complaining about the box size and the price, but then wishing it also had two extra characters included. So do you want less content or do you want lower quality components?
Another point about the size of the box: people that love this game REGULARLY say that unlike many other games they love, Dice Throne hits the table the most because you can open the box and be PLAYING in less than a minute -- and with DTA as well, it hits the table FASTER than ANY other comparable game by LEAGUES. You get a slightly bigger box, but it's functional size, it's not wasted size. Time is money, and you're saving a lot every time you play this game. Right to the fun.
Another point about "luck" in Dice Throne. I think Tom believes that Dice Throne is comparable to King of Tokyo and Yahtzee, and really, it does have a lot of similarities, but having a board of abilities, and a deck of luck-mitigation cards AND ability upgrade cards gives the game a vastly different level of skill-based decision making. That's why Tom found the game hard while other players are regularly beating the game in 8-11 sessions (that's 0-3 losses with 8 wins to beat the campaign). Knowing how to best use your cards to help your teammates is key, and that's where the real meat of DTA lies. Not with luckily rolling ultimates all game long. But skill comes with repeated play, and for reviewers that play the game only a few times before moving on to the hundreds of other games they have to review -- I understand that they haven't fully grasped the depth this game has. But, for those interested in the game, I think they have misrepresented the level of luck -- yes there is some, and that adds to the fun, but skill shines through that luck magnificently.
My final point is about them feeling as though their characters don't improve enough as the campaign progressed. By the time my team was facing the Mad King we had such incredibly upgraded decks that we were having incredible turns that were unimaginable earlier in the game. We had 50 cards in our decks each and we could regularly cycle through our decks because you can discard loot cards at any time -- it was a totally different experience from the beginning. I don't want to spoil it, but some of the loot you add to your player is REALLY mind-blowing and fun. This game nails the fun of unlocking cool, unique cards - there are a ton you'll never see even if you play multiple campaigns, because they're difficult to unlock.
Despite all my issues with the review, I really enjoyed the group discussion and appreciated that they took the time to talk it over, and give that nice, quick overview of the game as well. Much appreciated.
I was already planning to buy Russian edition when (if) it's coming out but your comment just simply doubled my desire to do so. :)
It's more of a gauntlet than an adventure.
I do like the game. Some of the points are valid, but some I don't get.
1) I don't think that the game is too hard. However it is sensitive to which characters you play. Thee are some characters in solo mode that I think have no chance of winning, but others are much easier to deal with.
2) Maybe it is just me, but normally I don't spend a lot of time upgrading my character in regular Dice Throne. It is too valuable to save the CP for dice roll changes to get that Ultimate. Now, the "Hand of the King" tokens discourage that in this game. If you like being able to upgrade, there is a variant of the game where you separate the upgrade and oter cards into two piles and then choose which one you want to draw from. That makes upgrading more common.
3) The cost thing is a little misleading, because people are not buying Adventures at the same time as Dice Throne...it is an expansion. Also, Tom has said in the past that cost would not be a driver in his reviews. Of course, he had already decided that he did not like the game.
3) I agree with the point that this isn't really a dungeon crawl. This is a framing device for playing Dice Throne in co-op mode. There are many people that would hate Dice Throne because of its combative nature that I might be able to play this with because now we can work together.
4) I also agree that the sheer size of this game makes it hard to carry around...but I would say that about the base games. I own both Season 1 and 2, and I bought Rerolled. I am thinking about not getting rid of my original Dice Throne because it is so much easier to carry around.
All in all, I like this co-op version of the game. It isn't perfect but since Dice Throne is my favorite game, any way to play it solo or with groups that like co-ops is a plus.
One suggestion I have for you is to pick your heroes before you go out. The heroes are in self-contained trays that work like clear-game-boxes on their own. You could slip an elastic band around it if you're worried about it popping open. When taking DTA to a friends house, I brought only the 3 heroes we were using on our campaign, rather than the entire battle chest. It all easily fit in a cloth bag I use for groceries.
Well said/written.
I wonder how long it will sit on any of their shelfs and how often do will they play it ? 7 is a high score .
We have played once through the campaign and will play second time with different characters. 2p. Also, we keep two characters in the box all the time.
I honestly can’t believe Tom rated this a 5!? After giving such high praise to the S2 and S1 Rerolled. Love love love Dice Throne Adventures
Precisely: He likes the duelling game, this has different gameplay. So it is not that surprising.
@@TorIverWilhelmsen Not only that, I think its low because the co-op gameplay and the dungeons crawling feels weak (at least for him).
Amazing game
Not a good game, just accept it
It's simply not the same game. They Frankensteined it.
Mike is right, had this come with two (or more) characters in the box, I woulda bought. Maybe characters that were more geared towards healing or assisting?
Why would that be preferable to simply buying one of the 2-hero packs they sell at retail. Those are SMALL boxes and easily pack along with the bigger DTA box. If you make the DTA box bigger it wont' fit in a Kallax. If you make it smaller you're removing content that makes the game as replayable as it is.
Really! I always thought that I correlated with Tom, but I was much more aligned with Mike. Mike: new voice of the people?
it is expansion ? Can I play only with the Dice Throne Adventures?
Yeah, it's not perfect and I'm not sure where most would say this is a 'Dungeon Crawler'. As most would mention, it's Dice Throne where you can play co-op or solo. That's something I was interested in from the start. My wife plays it occasionally but I wanted to play it more. The concept is great but it has its flaws. I did feel that many times you would likely try and do the same skills over and over. It does get redundant. The loot is cool if you roll high enough for it.. It's always nive to play Dice Throne solo or 2 handed co-op. Still fun
Fun game. Definitely agree with the point of it should have come with 2 new characters to be an all in one pack. The double character packs aren't bad at least for size and price.
Thanks for the review, guys! Exactly my initial thoughts when backing it about a year ago. Super happy with my S1 Rerolled copy and equally happy that i didn’t go all in with DT Adventures.
Couldn’t disagree with Roy’s comment about the fleshing out and upgrading of your character being minimized; you get to really build out almost your entire character in the most robust way - much more than standard DT.
Do you mean that you couldn't disagree more?
Zee Garcia looks different today
That’s his cousin Yi Garcia.
Zee's half Chinese right? I think that's his half brother.
@@aaronmoore54 lmao
@@LookWhosBlogging the other three guys are white so they must be literally brothers.
Is that vanilla ice?
Tom: "Someone in the review comments will say 'Get better at strategy.' Well, I would argue that's more thought than this game deserves."
This says a lot about Tom more than anything else. DTA ~is~ a campaign game and like any campaign, pacing yourself in a dungeon crawl vs. boss battle is EVERYTHING. If that situational pacing is a turn off then this and many other games of mitigating attrition (loss of health, negative effects, etc) is probably not your jam.
Will it be weird if I play this with Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch
There have been weirder crossovers before and the cool part of Dice Throne is that everything is cross compatible.
Really surprised at Tom's score on this one. I personally would give it a 9/10 losing a point only b/c I think it's a valid complaint that the exploration aspect is barely there and it basically does seem like you could replace the dungeon tiles with an event deck.
I strongly disagree however with the comments on upgrading your character. I found the dungeon crawls to be much easier to upgrade your character abilities because you are fighting several opponents in succession and your upgrades stay with you throughout, whereas in the head to head, I rarely upgrade more than one or two abilities before the game ends.
Also this has one of the best (if not the best) A.I/boss A.I I've ever seen in a board game. There is very little decision making on the part of the player for the A.I and the A.I behaves basically as smart as any human player would.
I very much agree with you. Personally, I loved DTA! So much so, I ended up getting everything for DT just to play it with DTA.
After playing it, totally agree with Tom on this one. The crux of the issue is that it’s a dungeon crawler retrofitted on to a PvP game. And Roy is right- it’s not an adventure game, it’s just battle harder and harder enemies with your friends. I found the fights to be monotonous after a while. Beautiful components though and love the gametrayz.
Fair critique but I think it is great fun for what it is. It’s not an exploration game, it’s pure combat, card play and resource management.
I agree that it's fun for what it is, BUT I do think their critique misses the level of decision making you need to make when playing -- when to team up and fight a minion together versus exploring and taking out a minion on your own (it can be a tough call!) AND when to explore every last tile, and collect all the treasure and get as much gold as possible, versus when to focus on just getting the shards and moving on quickly to the next scenario. These are tough choices you make during the portal crawls that an "encounter deck" would never match.
I ended up not backing this and honestly I'm kinda relieved. It seems... I don't wanna say half-baked, but like they knew people were clamoring for an adventure mode or the like and maybe that's not the strong suit of this system after all.
Yes many were asking for a co-op aspect to DT. It was ambitious and I commend their attempt at making a diablo-esque game where you can upgrade your character. I mentioned before, This is a game where you can still get the Dice Throne Feel while playing solo or co-op. I'm anxious to see what they have in store for Season 3. More characters = more variety and keep it fresh.
Tom nailed it. Sold this game after 4 plays. Not a bad game, just not for me.
New name suggestion from an owner of everything.....Dice Throne Encounters!!!
Great overview!
Thanks for your opinions and experience.
I think I will give this a pass and stick with “Elder Sign” incl the “Gates of Arkham” as my coop yazee style game.
This one sounds too expensive, too big, too unfocused...
But thumbs up for the great review video!
Just the beginning
only just started the vid, you guys play with the marvel characters? lol
Its way to big an expensive for what it is .... if i were play play an entry level coop dungeon crawler there are dozens of games that u can get for half the cost and space
I feel that the dungeon bit feels very underdeveloped and that it could just have been a box full of cooperative boss fights with increasing difficulty and a progression system for that. No interest in the dungeon crawl but the cooperative boss fights looks interesting, unfortunately they're still tacked onto the dungeon crawl and that progression system. Thankfully it don' gate keep any vs content (no additional exclusive characters).
As someone who has never played a dungeon crawl, it's my favorite part of the game. It's not a lot of discovery, but adding in the loot system really makes it shine. To be fair I have only played solo, which means you start with more HP. Anyway, I completely understand the price issues but as a dice throne fan I find this to be essential to buy. Adds so much to it.
@@megalodon2012 I agree -- the minions are REALLY fun, and a very different experience than taking on a complex boss. As well, there are interesting decisions to make about what direction to take during the portal crawl, when to come and help your teammate, versus when to head off and flip a tile all on your own. When to explore the entire dungeon and get all the treasure, versus focusing in on the shards and escaping as fast as possible. Yes that's not the same dungeon-crawl experience from other games, but that's a good thing that it's unique.
I think Tom is missing the whole cooperative nature of DTA. You need to work together, playing cards on each other’s turns.
Fan of DT 1+2. But DTA feels pretty weak by itself. This feels like an expansion/add-on to the previous games. I'd agree with Tom on this one.
It actually is an expansion
I stand corrected on that aspect. I was thinking about the cost and I got lost in my head.
It's all about the coop
Wow, tom pretty much matched my review word for word.
I agree! 8 core game, 3 for this. Lack of strategy and tactics and choices and the multiplayer is just bad vs a great core game. I'd never pick it over the core game
The game has a ton of strategy and tactics. Literally every moment of the game involves making impactful decisions!
UNLEASH THE YI!!
Nice review.
I like Dice Throne as a 1v1 game. The multiplayer modes and this adventure mode just feel very tacked on.
I dont get it ... This is basically an expansion to Dice Throne, not a standalone game. So everybody, who maybe buys this, already has at least two fighters. And size of the box ... you guys sold all your cars for bicycles? And the boxes and inserts are great! I hate empty card boxes where you have to put everything into small bags.... and when you open them .. chaos! This is a fun way to expand your Dice Throne horizon ...
100%. Getting the game to the table fast is WORTH the size of the inserts. My wife and I will regularly say "oh we should play ____" but when push-comes-to-shove we're playing Dice Throne because it's on the table and ready to play FAST.
Anyone else think Chris sounds like Pete Buttigieg?
More Chris Yi, please!
Reminds me too much of D&D boardgames.
I trust Roxley games a lot, but this "expansion" was a big no for me. I was hesitant and indecisive for most of the KS Campaign, but ultimately decided that I don't need ANOTHER one of these games in my life, much less a rather subpar looking one.
Honestly tom. A 5. I am not sure where your coming from outside of original characters needed.
I thought his criticisms were clearly expressed.
@@TorIverWilhelmsen Clearly expressed, but weak. I'll give him that the game should have an EASY mode for people who think the game should be as mindless as King of Tokyo. This game has way more depth and strategy than he realizes, for sure.
Why is Roy always so loud!
Because he knows how the mics work. 😁
He’s not loud, he’s epic 😛
Feels like a big miss by not including at least 2 characters in the box to make this a stand alone expansion. This game has more appeal than the basic Dice Thrown, but many (myself included) won’t buy the original in order to play this.
There are 8 different 2-hero packs you can buy at retail, and any of those packs is adequate to play DTA in its entirety. The 2-hero boxes are small, too, so they'd be EASILY packed along with the DTA box. It's a good thing for STORING the game that it isn't big enough to hold heroes in the box. Currently it fits neatly in my Kallax shelves, and I'm glad it isn't so big it doesn't fit there.
@@joelface Yep, not included and a big miss.
What is this this is not the four squares where is ZEE GARCEE
Luck is heavy... I am out.
Extremely harsh review from Tom. 5/10 ?
First
@@TheDavidPhillips thanks man.
Another KS game that fails due to its own hype. Poor design game is poor, what's news
The game design isn't poor. 0/10 take.