Dice, Decks, and Boards: Dungeon Drop

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Adventurers! Are you ready to explore an ever-changing dungeon? Then you'll love the game Dungeon Drop from designer Scott R. Smith and Artist Marília Nascimento. This game allows you to create the dungeon as you go using small cubes of varying sizes which serve as pillars to form rooms, the monsters guarding the rooms and treasure, as well as treasure of various value. 

What Is the Game Dungeon Drop? 

The game itself is self-contained in a small box, but the playing field will encompass your entire table as you drop the dungeon. One to four players will enjoy three rounds of dropping the dungeon and looting the dungeon over the course of about twenty minutes.

"Venture into an ever-shifting labyrinth teeming with untold treasure. Colorful cubes represent gold, gems, goblins, and more. Raid the rooms that best suit your hero's quest, but stay alert – the dungeon changes with every drop. Grab the most loot and become the Dungeon Drop Master!" (from the box) 

During Dungeon Drop, you assume the role of a brave hero who takes turns with the other players to explore the dungeon. You select your hero by choosing one random Race card and one random Class card. Race cards include humans, Boblins, high elves, dwarves, and others. Classes available include mage, cleric, bard, beastmaster, and more. These cards give you different choices of actions you can make, as well as your initiative score.

One player sets up the game by dropping all of the small cubes (plus the large dragon cube) on the table from about 6 to 12 inches in height. Be careful you don't lose any cubes! This is the dungeon where players will add additional cubes on their turn and then create rooms to loot.

What Do You Get? 

Dungeon Drop includes everything you need to play the game. The box contains the following: 

• Four player aids
• Four turn order markers 
• One score tracker
• Four Meeples
• Four solo tokens
• Four teamwork tokens
• 87 cubes
• Six custom dice 
• Fifteen Race cards
• Fifteen Class cards
• Ten quest cards

How Do You Play Dungeon Drop? 

After the dungeon is set up, initiative (that is, which player goes first) is first determined based on the initiative number on the Race card. In the next round, it will be determined based on the weight carried (how many cubes you have collected during the previous rounds).

During a player's turn, there are three things to do:

1. Explore: Draw cubes from the box without looking at them and drop them into the Dungeon.
2. Act: Use either their Race or Class ability. 
3. Loot: Form a room using the gray, shiny cubes as pillars and collect the cubes. 

The quest card selected helps players determine which cubes they want to try and collect. If they have a quest card where the clear cubes are worth more for scoring, they might want to focus on only collecting those particular cubes. Or perhaps they want to have the fewest number of cubes because they receive extra points for having the lightest weight. 

Players play three rounds and then everyone counts up their score based on their quest card and the scoring information in the ruler booklet. The player with the most points wins. 

What Do We Think? 

This is an easy game to set up (as long as you don't lose any cubes off the table) and clean up. As long as you have a large, flat surface, you can play this game almost anywhere. The box itself is rather small, which means it can fit in between your larger game boxes and tuck neatly in a bag to take with you. 

We haven't played the Heroic "Teamwork" Game Mode or Solo Spelunker versions yet, so I can only speak to the basic game. In general, I think this is an enjoyable game. There is competition, but it is not "in your face" and the points can fluctuate depending on which new cubes are adding to the dungeon or if any of the pillars are moved.

Our daughter who does not enjoy competitive games played this one rather readily without any tears. She and I played as a team (there were five of us at the table), and even though we went last, she was very patient. Each players' turn can take a while as they try to line up the pillars to create rooms in the form of triangles. Everyone definitely wants to see if they can collect the cubes most important to their quest. Sometimes, players get to flick cubes around the table in attempts to better their loot scoring!

Overall, I think this is a very fun game and I would recommend it. Is it educational? Well, any game helps you work on compassion, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. This one definitely helps you think about triangles as that is how you form rooms with the pillars. There is also some arithmetic involved on a few of the quest cards due to varying gem cube bonuses and values. Beyond that...I think it is just a fun game to bring families and friends together.

Interested in More Game Reviews? 

We play a lot of games in our family. Some are ones that I have reviewed in the past for Timberdoodle such as Penguins Huddle Up™ or for HomeschoolingFinds.com such as Math Sprint while others are ones we have picked up over the years. Here are a few favorites:

• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Mermaid Island
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: The Oregon Trail ®
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Raccoon Rumpus
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Tenzi Game and Tenzi Card Deck

Dice, Decks, and Boards: SmartGames IQ Waves

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Amazon Vine Program. I was not required to write a review on A Mom's Quest to Teach. This post contains affiliate links. 

IQ Waves from SmartGames is a fun, one-player logic game for ages 6 to adult. It is compact and easy to learn. SmartGames offer a variety of fun and educational games that help stimulate cognitive skills, such as: 

• Problem solving 
• Spatial insight
• Flexible thinking
• Memory
• And more! 

About IQ Waves 

This one-player game contains 120 challenges with five levels: 

• Starter
• Junior
• Expert
• Master
• Wizard 

The first starter challenges are the easiest, where the challenge position has the majority of the puzzle pieces laid out for you. As you move through the 120 challenges, you will be adding fewer and fewer pieces, per the booklet. By the time you reach the wizard level, you are only putting in one piece before you attempt the challenge. 

Playing the game is simple. You place the pieces as shown in the challenge booklet. Then, you place the remaining pieces on the board. There is only one solution for each challenge. If you struggle, you can find the answers in the back of the booklet. 

What Do You Get? 

There is one game board fitted into a self-closing container. One booklet with 120 challenges and solutions is provided, as well as the 8 puzzle pieces. The puzzle pieces are in different colors and shapes. 

Our Thoughts 

As we have played other logic games from SmartGames, we knew we were in for a treat. This is a great puzzle for travel and the home. Because everything fits together, you can stow it in a bag to take to a restaurant or office for those times when you and your children must wait. 

IQ Waves is great whether you homeschool or not! But it is especially great for a homeschooling family. While one child finishes an assignment with you, your other child could complete a challenge or two.

If you purchase more than one set, you could set up logic contests. Who can solve the most puzzles in five minutes? Or who can solve the first ten challenges first? There are a lot of fun ways to use IQ Waves in your homeschool. 

Other SmartGames Reviews 

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Challenge Your Mind With Horse Academy

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Navigate the High Seas through Critical Thinking

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Zig Zag Puzzler Review

Dice, Decks, and Boards: Penguins Huddle Up™ Game