Game Review: Wrath of Ashardalon

Greetings troops,

This evening I was able to meet with Steve and Dirty Jon of the WWPD cast; along with wives Lydia and Stephanie to get some game time in with D&D's Wrath of Ashardalon.

Wrath of Ashardalon is a board game produced by Wizards of the Coast.  It was released in February of 2011.  The game contains 42 plastic heroes and monsters, 13 dungeon tiles, 200 encounter and treasure cards, rulebook, scenario book and a 20 sided die.

The figures are molded in different colors.  The heroes are molded in a dark blue while monsters and bosses are either red or gray.  I will say that the molds are clean and look great.  They look good unpainted and will be excellent looking on the game board once painted.

The dungeon tiles are of heavy cardboard and well made to last during numerous game plays.  You have your various long hallways, t sections and corners.  The set also has 5 (correct number may be 4 or 6 as well) chamber tiles for the final boss or event for the adventures to find.

Encounter cards produce nasty little events for either one or all in the party depending on locations or other bonuses or effects.  It adds a sense of "What else can happen" during the adventure.  It ranges from traps, magic or unseen attacks that can take place.  Treasure cards are received by the adventure whom takes out a monster.  It can range from protective items, bonuses on attacks or armor class or movement bonuses.  Some are able to be used all game while other treasures must be discarded after use.

The rules are fairly simple and one can grasp the basics after a couple of rounds.  There is also a scenario book to allow for campaigns of your brave party or single run missions.

I was able to get two games in one sitting.  The first was 5 people playing and total game time was approximately 2 hours.  Steve and I played another game with 2 characters and ran a game in just short of 1 hour.

I am sure you will see some AARs out of this board game in the future.  The tiles allow for you to use D&D minis or other after market minis with no issues.  The replay value is high.  I give this game 4.5 treasure cards out of 5 !

Be safe .... Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling ....

Mezz