Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 60 minutes
Age requirements: 11+
Set-up time: 10 min

Dungeon Twister Rules Description:

Dungeon Twister is a 2-player game with a lot of strategy. The first player to score 5 victory points wins. You score by either killing the other player’s characters or getting your characters out of the dungeon. The twist is the rooms…literally…each room is a mini-maze and can be rotated by you or your opponent.

The dungeon is made up of eight 5-square by 5-square tiles that are randomly placed face-down on the table. Each player starts Dungeon Twister with the same eight characters and six items. You choose four characters to place in your starting area and the other four are placed on the dungeon tiles with your items. In each room is a square in which you can rotate the room. There is also a number printed on the square. When in that space you may rotate the room you are in or another room in the dungeon with a matching number.

When a character moves next to a face-down room it is revealed. After flipping over a tile all the characters and items on that tile are placed in that room. The person who revealed the room places all characters and then each player places their opponent’s items.

Each player also starts Dungeon Twister with the same set of action cards numbered 1-5. These numbers determine how many actions you may take on the current turn. Once both players have played all their action cards they take them back and may play them again. The actions you may take are: move, attack, reveal or rotate a room, or use an object or a special ability.

Your characters have two attributes Speed and Strength. Different characters have different values based on their class. When you take a Move action you move your character up to their Speed value.

You may attack any character you are next to. When you attack each player secretly plays a combat card. These cards add their value (between 0-6) to your characters Strength value. Once played these cards are used up for the game. The only combat card you may play more than once is the +0 combat card. If your character’s total combat value is greater than the foes Combat value are wounded. Ties result in neither character becoming wounded. One more hit while being wounded eliminates the character and scores you a VP.

The items in Dungeon Twister help your characters move faster, attack and defend better or even score more points. The thing to remember is that you can pick up your opponent’s items and vice-versa. Another thing to keep in mind is that when a room is revealed the person revealing the room places all characters and the opponent’s items.

Characters have different special abilities based on their class. For example: the thief can open and close gates or the cleric can heal a wounded character.

When one of your characters exits the starting area of the opponent you score a VP. Once a player scores five VPs they win and the game is over.

A Quick Review of Dungeon Twister:

I really need to play Dungeon Twister more. It is a lot of fun and highly strategic. You and your opponent both start with the same exact set up. The only random part of the game is the placement of the dungeon tiles. So this game requires lots logic and strategy. The game can be a little complex but once you see it in action it is pretty easy to play. I really enjoy the thought this game takes and think the theme fits the mechanics very well.

The only bad side of Dungeon Twister is that new players will not compete as well against someone who has played a lot. Thankfully the creators knew this and there is a Handicap chart in the rulebook that shows you how to adjust your teams based on different skill levels.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 5 out of 6
Luck 1 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6