Review Dungeon Petz

 Dungeon Petz is a Euro based worker placement mechanic. Unlike most Euros, Dungeon Petz, like other games from Vladi Khvatil, is very thematic. So get ready to learn a lot of small rules that a Euro player may consider poorly integrated into the game engine and do not improve the gameplay. But the rule book perfectly proves all these nuances for thematic reasons. Additionally, the game has plenty of icons to remind you of these minor rules, and eventually most players get used to them. However, Dungeon Petz cannot be called a game suitable for beginners or fans of slick, elegant mechanics.

GAME PROCESS

 Despite the many nuances, the essence of the gameplay is simple: you, the owner of a pet store that sells pets to dungeon lords, during 5-6 rounds, you send your imps into the city for shopping. At the beginning of the round, each player secretly divides his goblins into groups, distributes gold and places them at the exits of his cave.

 After all the groups are revealed, they go into the city, starting with the largest (in terms of total goblins and gold). When a group occupies a free space on the main field, the player immediately takes the corresponding action.

 After the end of purchases and business comes the phase of caring for pets. This is the most important component of Dungeon Petz, a kind of mini-puzzle. Each pet has its own counter that shows which cards you draw for it (depending on its size).

 For example, for an adult hellrabbit, you need to draw three red cards (they usually mean that the animal goes into a rage), two yellow (the animal becomes playful) and two green (starves or defecates). The trick is that the presence of a corresponding need is determined by the symbol on the card, and you do not know in advance exactly which symbols you will encounter (although the distribution of symbols for cards of each suit is printed on the tablet). Therefore, your pets will behave a little unpredictably. Needs are important to satisfy, because otherwise the pet will suffer (and ultimately die, or escape, or be teleported to another dimension) and because the value of pets, which is determined by exhibitions (appearing from the second turn) and customers (from the third move) ), depends on their needs, and the value of pets depends on your reputation points.

 For example, this client gives you two points for each aggression requirement, one point for each magic requirement, and minus one point for each game requirement and for each suffering token on the pet you sell him.

 But there is good news: this randomness can be controlled. First, you draw cards of needs for all pets at once and distribute them as you wish. Secondly, at the start you have one "extra" card of each color, and during the game you can buy additional ones, which gives you room for maneuver. Thirdly, even if a symbol that is not typical for this suit is on the card, it can be played as a double need: the first corresponds to the symbol on the card, the second to the color of the card.

 Yes, all yellow cards can be played as "needs of the game", even if the main symbol on the card is not a ball.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE GAME

 As you've probably guessed, Dungeon Petz is a non-stop, full of surprise battle against adverse circumstances and competitors. You never know exactly how your pets and other players will behave. More often than not, a competitor will get their paws on the cage you really wanted to tame a troublesome Fire Fairy, or Bubble will suddenly want to play when you've run out of imps to keep him entertained. Animals require constant care, but at the same time, you need free imps to buy new pets, sell to customers and win over judges. All this is not easy - probably more intense than harvesting in "Agricola" - and every round is repeated. Dungeon Petz is not suitable for casuals, but boasts very intense gameplay; I rarely find myself so deeply involved in the game and biting my lip as I anxiously wait to see if everything goes well this round.

Dungeon Petz is very much a puzzle game, as each round you have to work your brains out, figuring out how many imps to send where, how to distribute pet needs, etc. There's a bit of multiplayer solitaire here, but at least this solitaire is very well done; you think a lot, but the downtime is small, because thanks to the original interpretation of the mechanics of placing workers, everyone plans their actions simultaneously and in advance. The result is quite a lot of interaction by Euro standards, with quite a few action slots, with only one or two slots per action, so you'll have to be quick if you want to get what you want. And if you don't buy it, you'll have to somehow do without this action for the whole round.

 If someone has stolen a pet you wanted, feel free to steal the cell or cell mod you need to properly care for that pet. It is also useful to keep an eye on competitors' shops and how well they score at trade shows. Dungeon Petz is a rare beast: unmistakably Euro, but more themed than many amerithrash games, with randomness that forces you to bet and hope for the best while preparing for the worst, but with tools to control that randomness. The fosters feel very much alive, and running a business with imps is like taking turns stabbing each other in the back.

CONCLUSIONS

Briefly by points:

• A very, very themed game.
• Medium difficulty.
• Very puzzling.
• Tense parties.
• You plan actions 2 (maximum 3) rounds ahead.
• A lot of randomness for the Euro middleweight, but there are enough tools to control it.
• Scales well; works best with 4 participants and is good with 3.
• Quite a lot of all kinds of rules.
• The game punishes mistakes (but not as harshly as Dungeon Lords)
• There isn't a lot of interaction between the players, but it's very intense.

USEFUL LINKS

Dungeon Petz on the BGG portal

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/97207/dungeon-petz

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