Dungeons, Dice & Danger
Dungeons, Dice & Danger Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Players use dice to travel through Dungeons, fighting Monsters and collecting Treasure on their way to Victory.
The player with the most Victory points wins.
Game Contents
- 200 Adventure Sheets (50 per Adventure type)
- 5 Dice (4 White, 1 Black)
- 4 Pencils
How to Play
The Adventures
There are 4 different adventures.
- Annoyed Animals (Novice)
- Clumsy Cultists (Easy)
- Puzzled Pyramid (Standard)
- Defiant Dinosaurs (Expert)
Adventure Sheet Layout
The Dungeon map features numbered spaces and Monster rooms. Numbered spaces include Start spaces (green), Regular spaces (white), Activating spaces (grey) and Special spaces (symbols).
Monster rooms contain boxes representing the Life points of the Monster.
The player's Life tracker, Special abilities chart, and Start ability area (3 Black die symbols) are located at the side of the Dungeon map.
The bottom of the Adventure sheet has an area for Achievements, Gold, and Gems.
Game Setup
- Players decide together which Dungeon to explore. Each player takes the appropriate Adventure sheet and a pencil. Novices should start with the Annoyed Animals Adventure.
- Play moves clockwise. The player who most recently defeated a Monster (inner demons count!) is designated as the first Active player and takes all 5 dice.
Playing the Game
The Active player starts the round by rolling all 5 dice. The dice remain in the middle of the table for all players to see. Each player builds 2 pairs of dice combinations from the 4 rolled White dice. Players calculate the total value of each pair of their dice.
Unless a Passive player chooses to play a Black Dice ability, the Active player alone may choose to use the rolled Black die as part of a pair. This allows the Active player more possible number combinations.
Example: The Active player rolls two White dice showing 2, one White die showing 4, one White die showing 5, and the Black die showing 1.
There are 9 possible combinations of dice pairs and dice pair values:
Combinations available only to the Active player, or to a Passive player using a Black Dice ability:
- = 3 and 6
- = 3 and 7
- = 3 and 9
- = 5 and 4
- = 5 and 7
- = 6 and 4
- = 6 and 6
Combinations available to any player (Active or Passive):
- = 4 and 9
- = 6 and 7
Only the Active player or a Passive player using a Black Dice ability may form all 9 combinations. Other players are limited to the last 2 combinations (4 and 9; 6 and 7). A Passive player using the Black Dice ability must cross out 1 of 3 Black die symbols on their Adventure sheet.
Once players have calculated the value of each pair, they cross out 2 corresponding numbered spaces on their Dungeon maps. These spaces are counted as visited and cannot be visited again during the game.
Players may only visit Regular spaces adjacent to an already visited space or any Start space.
Note: Start spaces do not need to be connected to each other or to a visited space.
A player wishing to deal Damage to a Monster or cross out a Monster's Life point boxes must access the Monster's room via a path of visited spaces.
A player may only gain access to spaces beyond a Monster's room if they have defeated the Monster by crossing out all the Life point boxes in its room. Refer to Fighting Monsters below for further information.
As mentioned above, the Active player may replace 1 White die with the Black die to form a pair. A Passive player who wants to use the Black die must cross out a Black die symbol in their Start ability area. If a player has crossed out all their Black die symbols, they cannot use the Black die until they are the Active player. (Exception: See Treasure Chests below.)
A player must cross out 2 items (any combination of available numbered spaces and dealt Damage) on the Adventure sheet during each round. A player who cannot cross out 2 items must take away a Life point from the top of their Life tracker for each unused pair of dice.
A player who loses their last Life point on the Life tracker dies and leaves the game.
At the end of the game, players subtract the value of their topmost available Life tracker spaces from their Victory points.
Treasure!
When a player visits a space with a Gold symbol or a Gem symbol, they gain 1 Gold reward or 1 Gem reward. A player who gains a Gold reward checks off 1 small box in the corresponding area at the bottom of the Adventure sheet. A player who gains a Gem reward checks off 1 box. At the end of the game, each Gold reward is worth 2 Victory points, and each Gem reward is worth 3 Victory points.
Fighting Monsters
Players gain Victory points for defeating Monsters. To deal Damage to a Monster, a player must play 1 dice pair corresponding to 1 of the Monster's room numbers. Black numbers in the room can be played immediately. Players unlock the other numbers by visiting the gray space adjacent to the Monster room (or Claw spaces in the Defiant Dinosaurs Adventure).
When a player visits an adjacent space, they color in the corresponding Monster room number. It is now unlocked and can be used just like a Black number.
Players defeat a Monster by dealing Lethal Damage, meaning all its Life point boxes have been crossed out. The first player to defeat a specific Monster announces the defeat to the other players once the round has ended. This player gains the higher Gem reward. The other players cross out the higher Gem reward to indicate that it has been claimed. They gain the lower Gem reward when they defeat the Monster.
If multiple players are first to defeat the Monster during the same round, all gain the higher Gem reward.
When a Monster is defeated for the first time, the remaining players may deal 1 Damage to the Monster (even players who have not accessed the Monster's room yet). No matter how many players defeat a Monster at one time, only 1 point of Damage is dealt.
The first player to defeat a Monster with skull-and-crossbones symbols loses a corresponding number of Life points and records it on the Life tracker. Any other player defeating the Monster in the same round loses the same number of Life points.
Players defeating the Monster in subsequent rounds do not lose Life points. As a reminder, cross out the Monster's Life point symbols when it is first defeated.
Treasure Chests
A player who visits a Treasure chest space may choose 1 of 3 Special abilities. Treasure chest rewards can be found next to the Dungeon map. The player checks off the reward they choose.
- Extra Life: The player gains 3 additional Life points. A player with extra Life points crosses out a green box instead of a Life point from the Life tracker. This reward also grants 1 Gem for an extra 3 Victory points.
- Torch: The Torch allows the player to cross out any space on the Dungeon map adjacent to a previously visited space. The player may use both Torches in the same round. Players use Torches in addition to their dice pairs, in any order. The Torch may also be used to deal Damage to a Monster. The player crosses them out after use.
- Extra Black Dice ability: The player may use the Black die an additional 3 times and crosses them out after use.
End of the Game
The game ends when the first player defeats their last Monster. Players finish the current round, then proceed to scoring. The first player to finish is not necessarily the winner.
IMPORTANT: Players who have not defeated their boss Monster by the time the game ends gain 3 Victory points for every 3 Damage they have dealt it.
Example: At the end of the game, a player who has dealt 6 Damage to an undefeated boss Monster would gain 6 Victory points.
Players total all Victory points (including points from Gold and Gems). Players subtract any Life points lost from their Victory points. The player with the most Victory points wins the game. In case players tie, the player who crossed out more Life points on the Life tracker wins. If the tie remains, players share the Victory.
The Dungeons
Annoyed Animals
A pair of doubles is required to visit a space with a Fist symbol. For example, a player needs a pair of 2s to cross out a number 4 Fist space. Players track these by checking off the equivalent symbol in the bottom left Bonus point area. Players who visit a Fist space also deal 1 Damage to each Monster on their Dungeon map, including those who players have not reached it yet.
When a player checks off the 5th of the 6 Fist spaces, they gain a bonus Gem reward. The first player to do this gains 3 bonus Gems. All subsequent players gain only 1 bonus Gem.
Note: This rule applies to all other bonus Achievements in all Adventures!
Players gain the Gem reward when they connect the left and right Start spaces with a continuous path of visited spaces and rooms.
Clumsy Cultists
Players gain the Gem reward when they defeat both the Pastry Mancer and the Necro Mancer.
To visit a Rubble space, players must cross out both boxes in that space.
Players gain the Gem reward after crossing out the 6th of 7 Rubble spaces.
Puzzled Pyramid
At the beginning of the Adventure, players write the numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 in any order in the empty Cloud spaces.
After visiting a Cloud space on the Dungeon map, the player crosses out the corresponding Cloud space at the bottom left of the Adventure sheet. The player gains the Gem reward after crossing out the 8th Cloud space.
When a player visits the number 11 Cloud space, the player also checks off the blank Cloud space at the right of the Dungeon map. The player can now access this side of the Dungeon map. These spaces cannot be unlocked from the opposite direction because the blank Cloud space has no assigned number.
When a player defeats 1 of 3 Worm spaces, they deal 3 Damage to Sandy the boss Monster. Players gain the Gem reward after defeating all 3 Worm spaces.
Defiant Dinosaurs
A player who crosses out a Claw space unlocks the Monster's room by checking off the corresponding White number. This is true even when the player has not accessed the room yet.
To deal Damage to an Armored Dinosaur, a player must use both dice pairs, meaning that the player either deals 2 Damage or 0 Damage. This means that a player cannot deal Damage to an Armored Dinosaur if another player defeats it first.
A player gains the Gem reward after defeating their 3rd Armored Dinosaur.
A player gains the Gem reward after crossing out the 6th of 7 Claw spaces.
Solo Game Option
A Solo player rolls all 5 dice but always acts as a Passive player. The player may only use the Black Dice ability by taking 1 Black die from their Start ability area or 1 Black die from their Treasure chest. The Solo player always gains the higher Gem reward after defeating a Monster.
The player loses 1 Life point if they do not deal at least 1 Damage to a Monster during each round—even if they use both dice pairs elsewhere.
IMPORTANT: The Solo player may forfeit the 2nd dice pair during a round without losing a Life point as long as they deal Damage to a Monster. Use this option wisely!
The Solo player still loses Life points for every skull-and-crossbones symbol they suffer when defeating a Monster. The Solo player does not lose Victory points due to lost Life points at the end of the game. However, the Solo player still dies after crossing out the skull symbol at the bottom of the Life tracker.
How did you do? Refer to this table to check the success of your Dungeon Adventure:
| Score | Result |
|---|---|
| 0 - 9 | It seems you didn't find the entrance to the Dungeon. Don't be afraid—try again! |
| 10 - 24 | The idea was to kill Monsters, not cuddle them! The flowers you picked were nice, though. |
| 25 - 39 | This is not paint-by-numbers. And don't worry, the Monsters aren't real! |
| 40 - 54 | Not bad! But next time you meet the boss Monster, hit harder! |
| 55 - 69 | You are a true hero! |
| 70 - 84 | Did you teach Indiana Jones his moves? |
| 85 - 99 | Wondrous tales of your adventures will be told for centuries! |
| 100 and more! | Behold, the DUNGEON MASTER is here!!! |