Depths Of Durangrar Is A Board Game Played In Total Darkness

It wasn’t hard to figure out which table in the Indie Megabooth’s cramped Indie Minibooth area was my destination. The black sheer curtains draped together to form a small tent could only be for the “board game played in the dark” I was seeing.

Creative Core Games has developed a quick-playing game that is designed to capture the feeling of being an explorer in a dark dungeon. Explorers must find a certain amount of gold and race to the exit, competing against one another. The catch is that you can only see what is illuminated by the flickering LED in the figure’s base.

Oh, and there’s a monster. One player stalks the players in the dungeon with the aid of a night-vision scope that ships with the game. It has no light on its base, meaning it can sneak up on the explorers.

You are likely wondering the same things I did before playing, namely about light leakage and eyes adjusting to the dark. Both are mitigated with the power of science.

Depths of Durangrar ships with clip lights for the dice box and each of the screens placed in front of players. The tent I was in certainly didn’t block out all light, and the clip lamps in my field of view prevented my eyes from ever adjusting.

Designer Jack Poon explains that he also used a color palette that is harder to discern without light directly on it. Players are allotted movement points for each round which can be used to advance a space around the modular map, rotate to get a better view of the surroundings, or pick up gold on the ground.

I stumbled upon the monster (one of three that ship with the game) and a chase ensued. Explorers aren’t helpless, as they can roll defense dice and even attack the monster on their turn. However, the beast has a distinct advantage.

Finding the Thresher monster (which can jump over walls) was startling. The flickering LED effect works extremely well (better than I ever would have imagined). I didn’t see the miniature until I was on the spot next to it. Other monsters can build new walls or lay poison traps.

If not for a potion I had picked up along the way, it would have killed me. Instead, I was able to get enough gold and use my character’s skill to blow up walls to speed to the exit. I barely beat out the monster on my tail and the other player also rushing toward the exit (a friend who had some sharp words for my daring escape).

The other two explorer characters, the speedy scout and the powerful knight each offer bonuses tuned to their archetypes (more movement points and an edge in combat). While we played an abbreviated game for demo purposes, having to collect more gold, which is scattered or strategically placed by the monster before play, means a deeper dive into the dungeon. The modular board and configurable walls mean that each game can be different.

I do have some general reservations about Depths of Durangrar. If you’re interested in the game, which is now on Kickstarter and has raised about 40 percent of its $65,000 goal, make sure you have a place you can darken enough to play. You shouldn’t need blackout curtains, but you will need to ensure that players can’t see beyond the light of the explorer figures.

I’m also hopeful that there will be other play modes developed. I very much enjoyed my demo and would gladly play this again. However, there is always a balance between setup effort and reward. I’m not sure yet whether I want Depths of Durangrar in my board-game library because it’s a darn good novelty to pull out in just the right scenario, or if it’s the kind of game for which I make the appropriate circumstances come about in order to play. I just know that I would be glad to own it.

As mentioned, it’s on Kickstarter right now. For $80 you get the game, clip lights, night-vision goggles, and everything else needed to play out of the box (except blackout shades). There’s also a version that comes with expansion tiles and a $250 collector’s edition that offers painted metal miniatures.

You can check it out for yourself, including playthrough videos, on the Kickstarter page.