- BGG rating
- 6.9
Dungeon Lords: Minions Bearing Gifts
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 3.7/5
- 2011
- BGG rank
- BGG #453
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Dungeon Lords
2009
Rules assistance for Dungeon Lords
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.6/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Dungeon Lords
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Dungeon Lords is a board game released in 2009 for 2–4 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Vlaada Chvátil and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Tile Placement, and Simultaneous Action Selection.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Dungeon Lords: Festival Season
- 2–4 players
- 120 min
- Complexity 3.8/5
- 2012
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Dungeon Lords: The New Paladins
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 3.4/5
- 2012
- BGG rating
- 8.1
Dungeon Lords: Dungeon-Setup Tiles
- 2–4 players
- Complexity 3.6/5
- 2014
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Dungeon Lords: Kickstarter Expansion Pack
- 2–4 players
- Complexity 3.6/5
- 2014
Similar games
- BGG rank
- BGG #387
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Dungeon Petz
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- Complexity 3.6/5
- 2011
- BGG rank
- BGG #393
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Space Alert
- 1–5 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2008
- BGG rating
- 8.8
Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition
- 1–5 players
- 150 min
- Complexity 4.7/5
- 2018
- BGG rank
- BGG #148
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Mombasa
- 2–4 players
- 75–150 min
- Complexity 3.9/5
- 2015
- BGG rank
- BGG #554
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Skymines
- 1–4 players
- 75–150 min
- Complexity 3.9/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,785
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Eketorp
- 3–6 players
- 45–60 min
- Complexity 2.1/5
- 2003
- BGG rank
- BGG #1,529
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Caylus Magna Carta
- 2–4 players
- 45–75 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2007
- BGG rank
- BGG #39
- BGG rating
- 8.1
Mage Knight Board Game
- 1–4 players
- 60–240 min
- Complexity 4.4/5
- 2011
- BGG rank
- BGG #894
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends
- 2–4 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 2.8/5
- 2013
- BGG rank
- BGG #825
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Feudum
- 2–5 players
- 80–180 min
- Complexity 4.6/5
- 2018
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,258
- BGG rating
- 8.5
Gloomhaven (Second Edition)
- 1–4 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 3.7/5
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,629
- BGG rating
- 6.6
Dead Man's Doubloons
- 2–6 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 2.6/5
- 2018
About the game
In Dungeon Lords, you are an evil dungeonlord who is trying to build the best dungeon out there. You hire monsters, build rooms, buy traps and defeat the do-gooders who wish to bring you down. From the publisher's webpage: Have you ever ventured with party of heroes to conquer dungeons, gain pride, experiences and of course rich treasure? And has it ever occurred to you how hard it actually is to build and manage such underground complex filled with corridors and creatures? No? Well now you can try. Put yourself in role of the master of underground, summon your servants, dig complex of tunnels and rooms, set traps, hire creatures and try to stop filthy heroes from conquering and plundering your precious creation. We can guarantee you will look on dark corners, lairs and their inhabitant from completely different perspective! Each turn, players use a hand of cards to choose where to place their worker. Actions vary from mining gold, hiring monsters, buying traps etc. Each action has three spots available - with each spot having different effects (e.g. mining gold lets you mine more gold in each spot). When using the cards, two cards will become locked and will not be able to be used next turn. There are 4 turns to place actions for each game "year" and two game years in a whole game. Each turn is identified as a "season". Each season, players will get to see the heroes and events to come in the following season. Thus allowing them to prepare. At the end of each season (after the first), heroes will be allocated to each player according to their level of evil. Heroes range from mighty heroes to sneaky thieves. Each hero has their own power for which the player needs to prepare for. Finally, at the end of each year, the heroes will travel down into the dungeon to fight. Scoring in the game is based upon what you have built, the monsters you have hired and the heroes you have captured.
Designers
Publishers
- Hobby Japan
- Rebel Sp. z o.o.
- Heidelberger Spieleverlag
- Giochi Uniti
- MINDOK
- HomoLudicus
- Stratelibri
- Z-Man Games
- IELLO
- Czech Games Edition (CGE)
- One Moment Games
Questions and answers
Dungeon Lords supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Dungeon Lords is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Dungeon Lords for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Dungeon Lords has a complexity rating of 3.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Dungeon Lords belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Humor. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Tile Placement, and Simultaneous Action Selection. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Dungeon Lords are: Vlaada Chvátil. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Dungeon Lords as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.