Dungeoneer: Call of the Lich Lord Review
By Ian Strelec, Staff Reviewer
Initiative Round
“The dark god of death and magic has raised his most faithful servant – the Lich Lord – back to undeath! Heroes who survived the Tomb of the Lich Lord have been called back, along with daring new allies, to destroy the Lich Lord forever. But this new crypt is more dangerous, his minions more powerful, and the Lich Lord himself more terrible now that he possesses the dark god’s sinister gift.” – the Scepter of the Shadow Plague.
Call of the Lich Lord is a two- to four-player Dungeoneer card game from Atlas Games.
Best I can tell as this is my first experience with this game, this is actually more of a new version of an older game, hence the background. The box itself is labeled as “Epic Dungeoneer” as well. But on to the game.
You start out with a character card, complete with statistics and abilities unique to that character. The goal is to make your way through the dungeon, gaining experience to improve your abilities and loot and equipment to aid you, and ultimately waste the Lich Lord. The first player to complete three Quests or defeat his opponents wins.
Play proceeds in a unique fashion, with players keeping track of Peril tokens (which can be kept or used to power cards and items) and each getting a turn as the Dungeonlord to attempt to thwart his opponents’ quests.
Critical Hit
The game is unique and of high-quality make, as well as entertaining. The cards have great artwork, and the interesting play style and randomness of creating a new map every time through use of the map cards makes it easy to play multiple times.
Critical Fumble
Unfortunately, there is a flaw in this game; primarily, its rules. The folded page of rules can be somewhat daunting and complicated, with a lot of small print and odd diagrams. It will likely take actually trying to play through at the same time as reading the rules to get a full grasp of it.
Also, this is something of a niche game, fitting nicely for fans of fantasy roleplaying or fantasy literature, but may prove less compelling for those who don’t enjoy Lord of the Rings.
Coup de Grace
We have an excellent, if complicated, fantasy game, complete with strong artwork and a unique system of play. Go for it.
Final Grade: A-
