Escape the Dark Castle is a simple, fantasy adventure game for 1-4 players, with a focus on storytelling, atmosphere and player cooperation – perfect for newcomers to tabletop gaming. It takes 2 minutes to set up, lasts around 30 minutes, and no two games are ever the same.

Players take the roles of prisoners and must work together using custom dice and item cards to overcome the castle’s many horrors, traps and challenges - each of which is represented by a large, beautifully illustrated chapter card. As these immersive chapter cards are revealed one by one, the game takes on the form of a shared storytelling experience, with the players making decisions about what to do each chapter as they embark on a desperate quest to escape.

Staff Recommendation

"My pick is Escape the Dark Castle. Moody, dark, and atmospheric, this dice-based adventure game is my favorite of its kind. Take control of a varied cast of prisoners as you attempt to escape from the depths of a vile dungeon. Each turn you'll move to a new area and use your specific character's skills to overcome the monsters and traps therein. You and the other players must work together to eacape the foul castle, for if one of you dies, everyone must start over from the beginning. This RPG is difficult yet infinitely replayable, with each pass through the castle offering different rooms, monsters, and bosses to challenge; and with three different expansion packs, no attempt will ever be the same. Keep your wits about you, brave escapees! 

Even though the game is dice based, it takes a more storytelling-heavy approach in creating its world. No knowledge of dice systems or strategy is required.

Who is it for? People looking for a more story-telling oriented experience. If you are interested in making your way through a story driven game fueled by your choices and some mild dice-based action, then this is the game for you. 

Who is it not for? If you really like number crunching roleplaying experiences maybe look instead at something like Eclipse Phase or games in the FATE system, though those rpgs are not immediately play-ready, since they are constructed less like a board game than Escape the Dark Castle and may require Game Masters. However, Escape the Dark Castle is still immensely fun even without a lot of data crunch."