So, I thought I would review a game I first played at a party about 4 years ago, then couldn't remember the name for about two years.

The name itself sums up the nature and the fan base for this game. Dungeoneer, clearly caters to technically minded macro-managing nerds, and primarily is about being both DM and player.

I have tried to teach this game to normal people. They don't get it, they do badly at it, and flee back to their checker boards because the range of options and objectives fill them with terror.

The simple summation of the game is this, a canned DnD game in card form. That is it. If you have played the game more than twice you will know every character, room, monster, and item. But the order in which they appear will throw you for a loop every time.

If you play this with RPG fans, you will have fun, lots of fun. In fact, if your GM calls in sick or lazy Dungeoneer might just be the fix for your jonesing.

That is all you really need to know to get the point. You complete objectives, level up, power up, and generally act like a jerk to the other players. So pretty much just like an RPG.

Now consider that this game costs 20 dollars retail, fits inside a standard deck holder with dice, and can entrain 4 people for around 2 hours. Is this not a game worth trying?

It doesn't even matter what version you buy, they are all similar enough to get the point across. And if you find the game getting easy, 20 bucks more and you have another completely different adventure.

Did I mention that the games can stack together and you can create massive dungeons to help screw over your opponents.

Now, go to your local games store, tell them that you need this game and that they need to order it for you from Atlas games. I assure you that your nerd skill will go up by at least 2.

If you are torn and can't decide which version to buy I suggest "Vault of the Fiends". I say that because it is possible to complete all your objectives in a single turn near the end, and everyone will hate you for it.