Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is an accessible dungeon crawler for 1 to 4 players. In this standalone game, players take on the roles of heroes from The Red Dragon Inn series, exploring various maps, solving puzzles, and battling enemies.

Gameplay

Everything about this game screams gateway dungeon crawler. The first scenario starts with simple rules, and as the introductory scenarios progress, more rules are introduced. The walkthrough book is amazing, teaching the game in small chunks after introducing the basics. In the first four scenarios, you alternate between the walkthrough and the scenario book, gradually learning more about the game. The walkthrough covers both the rules and how to use the scenario book. As you play, certain events prompt you to read another section of the walkthrough. This approach makes learning the rules fun and easy and is one of the best teaching systems I’ve seen in games.

Similar to other games of this genre, heroes move around the map, interact with terrain features, and combat enemies. During their turn, heroes can perform two actions and one shenanigan. Each hero has three options on their board and four on their starting cards. These can be any combination of actions and shenanigans, which differ from hero to hero. For example, movement can be an action for one hero and a shenanigan for another. This system of distributing actions has interesting implications. One hero might be able to move and then attack twice, while another can only attack once because movement is an action for them. As the campaign progresses, heroes unlock more abilities that affect these dynamics but optimizing turns based on a hero’s abilities remains an engaging part of this game. Additionally, heroes vary in the complexity of their actions and abilities. Complex heroes require more brainpower and planning, while simple heroes are better for those seeking a straightforward experience. It’s worth noting that regardless of which heroes are present in a scenario, all heroes level up together. This means you can freely swap heroes in and out between scenarios without missing out on new abilities or upgrades.

This game also features a brilliant cooldown system for more powerful abilities. You place a certain number of hourglass tokens on used actions and remove one from each card at the end of every round. Some actions and abilities allow for additional removal of these tokens. You can’t use an ability again until all of its hourglass tokens are gone. This adds another layer of depth to timing and planning actions.

The combat system in this game is simple and straightforward. Abilities dictate how many dice are rolled to deal damage. Some die faces deal critical damage and let you roll that die again for extra hits and other faces let you add epic black dice to a reserved pool for future attacks or defenses. Additionally, heroes or enemies can manipulate how much damage is dealt in each attack using specific powers or by discarding different types of tokens. There’s also no line-of-sight rule in this game. As long as you can track a path to your enemy and they are within range, you can attack them. These elements make combat straightforward while keeping it fun and engaging.

There are no hero or enemy phases in Tales from the Red Dragon Inn. Instead, initiative tokens are drawn randomly from a bag. This random order creates tension and adds an element of randomness to the game. You must finish off as many enemies as possible during combat; otherwise, they could act before the heroes in the next round and cause serious damage! However, at the start of each round, you roll dice for enemies and know exactly what they are going to do that turn, making planning ahead easier.

Both heroes and enemies can move each other during the game, potentially triggering traps or placing each other on map features that cause damage. This adds another layer to combat, allowing heroes to use traps and other map features to their advantage.

The game features three difficulty levels that influence the number and location of enemies spawned. Each time the scenario book instructs players to spawn enemies, a table specifies the type, number, and location based on the player count and chosen difficulty level. Players choose a difficulty level at the beginning of each scenario, which remains consistent throughout that scenario. However, it’s possible to adjust the difficulty level between scenarios.

Scenario Maps

This game adopts an innovative approach to game maps. Instead of using cardboard pieces for map sections that players assemble, it provides large (61×40.7 cm) pre-printed maps. Setting up a scenario is as simple as finding the corresponding map, unfolding it, and placing the figures (heroes and enemies) along with a few tokens. This makes scenario setups quick and effortless. It’s noteworthy that these maps are printed on glossy paper rather than cardboard. With 14 double-sided maps, this is a reasonable and practical approach and we didn’t experience any movement of the maps or other issues during our plays.

Another excellent design decision is that the most crucial information about each scenario is printed directly on the map. This includes details such as the steps for the phases of each round and comprehensive enemy information, including health, abilities, and actions. Having this information readily available keeps gameplay smooth and avoids constant rulebook lookups.

Components and Organization

Tales from the Red Dragon Inn does an excellent job of organizing its content. The game is divided into 5 chapters, each containing 5 scenarios. These chapters are individually packaged, with each package including scenario books, punchboards for tokens and enemies, new heroes, and more. This approach makes it easy to manage components without worrying about organizing everything after unboxing.

The only issue we had with the components was the standee bases—some of their pins tended to cut through the cardboard pieces, damaging the enemy tokens placed inside.

The Story

I have mixed feelings about the story. Fortunately, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of reading, and each scenario effectively creates an atmosphere by integrating elements seen on the map. However, the narrative itself is not particularly strong. While suitable for its target audience, those seeking a deeper story and stronger narrative might find this aspect lacking in the game.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is fantastic! It can appeal to fans of dungeon crawlers and also serve as an excellent introduction to the genre for new players. The game’s simple rules, easy setup, varied hero complexities, straightforward combat system, and gradual introduction of new rules make it one of the best entry points in its category. Whether you’re a parent introducing teenagers to dungeon crawlers or a veteran gamer seeking a more relaxed experience in this genre, this game is an excellent choice.

Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is currently on Kickstarter for its second printing. You can find the campaign here.

Disclosure: We received a review copy of this game. Also, there may be an affiliate link in the links included at the end of this article.