The perfect game for a cool October evening!

I want to learn more about this.

I have a special fondness for Ravenloft.

With an August release, I wonder if it will be available at GenCon. I hope so. That way I can drop the 65 bucks on it and not feel so guilty. Hey, its GenCon after all.

Any previews of the miniatures or the game itself to be found anywhere on the web?

Any previews of the miniatures or the game itself to be found anywhere on the web?

Here ya go. link Scroll down a little.

While it wasn't available at GenCon for purchase, it was available for play.

My gaming group loves boardgames, and while I dislike 4e D&D, I think I may have to get that. We love gothic horror/fantasy, and I think I could use those dungeons tiles for some fun, random Pathfinder adventures.

One good thing is that they are saying that the game only takes up to an hour and half or less.

We had a 2 hour spot at GenCon to play the game and it filled the block. That time also included punching the tiles, opening the bags of minis, and reading the rules.

I got a chance to watch the Mike Mearles game demo where he opens up the box and lets you look at all the pieces. Geez I dunno'. I was really excited about this, but the minis are really so-so (some are really terrible--the rat swarms, ghouls, werewolf and spiders are particularly bad) and the maps just feel like pretty bland gray granite block hallways with a few statues and things. There's random treasure cards, trap cards, monster cards, and power cards for the pregen characters (which likewise are pretty cheap recasts of some not-great PC minis of the past). All of it just looks really bland and not worth getting. I'm not sure I couldn't just pick up most of the minis as singles (okay so not the dracolich...) and a pack of dungeon tiles and an old copy of the original Ravenloft adventure and get a much better game for half the cost.

Not too impressive, which is a real shame because I was SO pumped about this one. Ugh.

(edited)
Hmm. A lot of things Dhampire mentions in his review remind me of the third edition D&D board game: Different coloured monsters in broad 'types', piles of treasure cards, a book with scenarios...
Granted this seems to be slightly more random and looser a game from Dhampire's description than the third edition game - which needed a GM to set up rooms as per the scenario as the party explored, and to place and run the monsters.

I was really hoping the game would include maps of the actual Castle Ravenloft. Alas, this is not to be.

It is still a fairly fun and easy game to play if you are just wanting to do something with your friends.

has anyone tried add the other WoTC Dungeon tiles into the mix?

I notice that they have another version of the board game coming out in November. Has anything been said as to wether or not it will be another complete version of the game or will be an expansion to Ravenloft.

I notice that they have another version of the board game coming out in November. Has anything been said as to wether or not it will be another complete version of the game or will be an expansion to Ravenloft.

The other one is stand-alone, but the two will be compatible.

EDIT: You can check out more details here.

I picked this up today and am happy I did! I'm a huge nerd when it comes to games that have lots of tokens and minis and different decks of cards. I love the varying gameplay from day to day. It seems like a solidly designed game with good production values and I'm already geeking out over the upcoming expansion/compatible standalone!

That said, I am disappointed that the rules aren't more thorough or better organized. For example, they continually say to discard cards, but I'm not clear on how that works. Are discarded cards removed from the game entirely, etc? Also, there are a lot of tokens and markers that aren't described, so I've got a ton of pieces here and only a vague idea of how to put them together. Admittedly, I haven't looked online for any clarification on either WotC's site or BGG, but it would have been nice not to need to.

hmm may have to think about this. I have a few of players that love older settings. So this may be something fun to run on off game days. Though I may get it for the figs themselves. Have a thing for dracoliches.

One thing... Tell me that ugly pink skinned thing on the box isn't supposed to be Count Strahd...

This is Strahd, or THIS (favorite)! Not that thing though

Also, there are a lot of tokens and markers that aren't described, so I've got a ton of pieces here and only a vague idea of how to put them together.

I had this same problem. I looked around on BGG for awhile though and apparently most of those tokens are for different missions. For example the monster tokens are for an adventure that randomizes the number of monsters you encounter in each tile. I agree though, they really should have made that clear in the rulebook. I tried the solo mission first and it took me way longer to set-up because I thought I was missing what to do with all of those extra tokens.

Also, I thought we had seen the last of the Yoda alias now that you're all official and stuff.

The review states that this is a cooperative game; that either all the players win, or all the players lose.

How does that work for players who get their characters killed during the game?

Do they get some posthumous Pyhhric victory?

The review states that this is a cooperative game; that either all the players win, or all the players lose.

How does that work for players who get their characters killed during the game?

Do they get some posthumous Pyhhric victory?

If one character dies, it's game over. However, there are healing surge tokens that you can spend to let you go to like half or quarter HP once you've reached zero. You start off with two tokens and I think you can earn more somehow throughout the game.

Right; I was thinking there may be the possibility of a character sacrificing themselves for the overall team victory, something I'm very used to seeing in games like Space Hulk, where you can win some scenarios, even if everybody dies!
I've seen a few games of GW/Fantasy Flight 'Fury of Dracula' that went that way, too.

After running through the solo adventure last night, I found a few more spots where the rules could be a bit more robust, such as describing how monsters move from tile to tile. Do they move to any square on that tile or the bone pile? if you're adjacent to a monster that's on a different tile, can you not affect it with "on the same tile" powers?

These issues aside, I think I like this better than I liked 4e (despite the similarities in mechanics) because this one admits its a board game and takes the simplification attempted by the rpg to its logical conclusion instead of stopping somewhere between. I'm still eager for the expansions, though I'm more eager for an FAQ.

And I'm using my yoda handle because this is a product discussion and I'm participating in it as a gamer, not in an official Paizo employee capacity.

Mine shipped yesterday so I hope to play this soon myself. Personally I am going to treat this like I treat my RPG games, I'll house rule in anything I think makes the game better. People in the conventions around here house rule the heck out of games like DOOM! and Descent, so its not like I am starting a new movement among board gamers by doing so.

Interesting. Amazon is still slow on getting these out, but I appreciate the heads-ups for when it arrives and I start reading through.

Mine shipped yesterday so I hope to play this soon myself. Personally I am going to treat this like I treat my RPG games, I'll house rule in anything I think makes the game better. People in the conventions around here house rule the heck out of games like DOOM! and Descent, so its not like I am starting a new movement among board gamers by doing so.

I don't think house ruling in this game will be a big deal at all. The rules just aren't complex enough to make it a problem. If you were able to house rule Descent without running into unforeseen problems then you shouldn't have any issues customizing this game.

We played the game this weekend and enjoyed it.
Have a question though. Does anyone know what the skulls on some of the tiles represent ? I do not remember seeing anything in the rules book. Have not read the whole adventure book yet so they may be mentioned there.

Thanks
Stanc

If you dislike the 4E ruleset will you dislike this game as well?

Or are the rules for the game not like the 4E rules?

Or something else?

If you dislike the 4E ruleset will you dislike this game as well?

Or are the rules for the game not like the 4E rules?

Or something else?

Kind of a more simplified version, yeah. Honestly though, it works really well for a board game.

On Free RPG Day, I like to try to buy something for at least a couple bucks when I get the freebies at the local game store.

This year, I completely went overboard because I found they had Castle Ravenloft Board Game in stock and I purchased it on the spot for $62 after tax.

I love Ravenloft. I hope it's fun as a board game. I haven't played it yet.

I'm tempted to paint the unpainted plastic miniatures it came with.