I bought the Escape the Dark Castle game shortly before the lockdowns, as it promised an easy to learn and quick to set up game that can be played both solo or in a team. The price tag was convincing, and the cover art faintly reminded me of the classic Fighting Fantasy artworks, so I bought it without hesitation.
The contents of the box:
- 6 character cards
- 1 start card
- 45 chapter cards
- 3 boss cards
- 35 item cards
- 6 character dice (white)
- 9 chapter dice (black)
- 4 black pencils and 1 scorecard
The last two items felt a bit unnecessary to me: any kind of writing instrument and piece of paper is perfectly suitable. Sure, they look nice but that’s all. The look and feel of the items is very consistent, the black and white design adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game, so do the unusually large character cards (10,5x15cm!) and dice (2cm!). Using them feels like performing some sort of a ritual.
Whether you play solo or with a group, every playable character comes with a card that shows the character’s perks – Might, Cunning and Wisdom – and a unique character die. There are no special abilities and level-ups, which is probably the price to pay for the simplicity of the gameplay but it matches the dark, low fantasy ambience of the game: you are not heroes, but innocent prisoners who try to escape from this dark castle.
During the game, you have to overcome the traps, challenges and horrors represented by a random set of 15 chapter cards and finally, a boss card. Every chapter card is a mini-game, which might be a battle or a skill test, but sometimes it’s more complex and the players have different options to solve it, or just to avoid it. When failed, one or more characters gets damage, but on success, they might find items that help them survive.
The players have to work together: they have to make their decisions together, roll their dice to achieve the right combination of perks, fight together or let one of them have a rest to regain health points. If any character dies, they all fail so they are forced to a cooperative play and reaching the team decision when solving a chapter’s challenge is probably the most interesting part of the game. This leads to two weaknesses:
- In solo games, this team interaction is missing. All you have is a simplified gamebook-like experience, without the real complexity and storyline of those books.
- A skilled group of players will know how to cooperate: they will choose their characters in a way that the combination of the perks is more or less optimal, they will distribute the items to maximize the efficiency of the group, etc… If they are used to work as a team, there won’t be too many challenges for them.
Both the solo and the group play use the same mechanics, the more characters are in the game, the fewer health points they start with and their opponents can use more dice in the battles. This is simple, quick and elegant. Completing the game with one single character is difficult, a good amount of luck is needed but with two or more characters it gets significantly easier. The game is for up to four players or characters, which is ideal because they are able to cover all the three perks – Might, Cunning and Wisdom – while letting one of them take a rest and regain health points.
Every card has a sombre, retro-style line art graphic. The character cards are well made, but the chapter cards seem to have received less attention, some of them look simply disappointing.
Escape the Dark Castle does have a few strong points: it’s easy to learn and to play and it’s beginner-friendly. It’s also a fairly quick game, it takes approximately 30 minutes and it doesn’t take much time to prepare or to set up a game. With the 45 chapter cards and the 3 boss cards, no two castles and no two games will be the same. The atmosphere is spot on.
What are the weak points of the game? The replayability has some limits: once you have seen every card two-three times, it won’t be too exciting anymore. Currently, there are three expansions available – Cult of the Death Knight, Scourge of the Undead Queen and Blight of the Plague Lord – each of these come with one new boss, three new characters and fifteen chapter cards. These adventure packs do extend the replayability, but when all are purchased, the total cost will be over £70 and frankly, there are better alternatives available at that price. Some of the cards would also massively benefit from nicer, more detailed graphics.
So, do I regret buying Escape the Dark Castle? Does it deliver what it promised? Yes, it does what it is supposed to do, it works both for groups or as a solo game, it’s quick and simple, it’s fun and though I find the three expansions expensive, the core set is worth its price. It’s beginner-friendly, casual and can work as a team-building exercise too. However, the simplicity comes with limitations: it won’t be too engaging for experienced players and it won’t be the main game of a gaming session either. The bottom line is that I don’t regret buying it, I had several hours of fun with it, but after completing it a couple of times, its magic was just gone.