Castle Ravenloft (board game)

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Castle Ravenloft Board Game is a board game published in 2010 by Wizards of the Coast. It was the first game released in the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System board game series. [1]

Contents

Overview

In Castle Ravenloft Board Game, the players control Heroes who have come to Barovia to discover the secrets of Castle Ravenloft, and must work as a team to succeed in the adventures within the castle. It features multiple scenarios and quests. [2]

Gameplay

Castle Ravenloft Board Game is a co-operative game for 1-5 players. Each player selects a Hero, and can choose from the Dragonborn Fighter, Human Rogue, Dwarf Cleric, Eladrin Wizard, and Human Ranger.

Contents

Castle Ravenloft Board Game includes 40 plastic heroes and monsters, 13 sheets of interlocking cardstock dungeon tiles, 200 encounter and treasure cards, a rulebook, a scenario book, and a 20-sided die.

Reception

David M. Ewalt of Forbes comments: "Count Strahd von Zarovich and Castle Ravenloft — stars of a beloved Dungeons & Dragons setting — make their board game debut. It's like playing fourth edition D&D, but without a dungeon master or most of the rules. Anyone can play, even if they don't know D&D. It's cooperative, challenging and fun". [3]

Scott Taylor of Black Gate comments: "I have to give the designs props for creating a fresh version of an old concept and if you're looking to have a few hours of fun on a weekend night". [4]

Castle Ravenloft won the Origins Award for Best Board Game of 2010. [5]

Castle Ravenloft Boardgame received the gold ENnie Award for Best RPG Related Product. [6]

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Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension or demiplane, called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called "domains", brought together by a mysterious force known only as the Dark Powers. Each domain is tailored to and mystically ruled by a being called a Darklord who is forever trapped and surrounded by magical mists surrounding the domain. Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire in the original AD&DRavenloft I6 module released in 1983, became the first Darklord, both ruler and prisoner of his own personal domain of Barovia. The story of how Count von Zarovich became Darklord of Barovia was detailed in the 1993 novel I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire. As originally established in the Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set known as "the Black Box" released in 1990, the Ravenloft campaign setting was located in the Ethereal Plane. As a physical manifestation of that plane, lands, monsters and even people were created out of the mysterious mists, and the realm acted as a prison where one could enter or be transported, but means of escape were few. Other Ravenloft Domains and Darklords were eventually added in various AD&D 2nd edition products establishing a core continent attached around Barovia which could be traveled to by others if their respective lords allowed entering or leaving their borders; while some Domains remained isolated in the mists and were referred to as Islands.

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References

  1. "Dungeons and Dragons Adventure System Board Games | Family | BoardGameGeek". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
  2. "Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Product (Castle Ravenloft Board Game)". Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  3. Ewalt, David M. "Take A Dungeon Crawl With The Castle Ravenloft Board Game". Forbes.
  4. "Game Review: Castle Ravenloft – Black Gate".
  5. "37th Origins Awards". Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
  6. "2011 Noms and Winners". July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.