Dexterity games can come in a few different types of styles-some are simple, some much harder and theme can be spot on or really loose. There are numerous out there, but what if you could find one that had theme that allowed for simple or complex progression of gameplay along with ramped simple to hard challenges? That is what I found when I sat down to play the newest game from WizKids, Fungeon Party!
Components:
Fungeon Party is designed by Brian Lewis, David McGregor, Marissa Misura and Tom Jones. Graphic design by Scott Hartman and Illustration by Malgorzata Kmiec. It plays 2-5 players with an average playtime of 10-15 minutes which can be ramped up or down quite a bit.
The box includes:
-7 sets of 5 colored D6 dice
-1 set of 5 black D6 Monster dice
-31 hit point tokens
-29 Ability tokens
-1 Meeple
-25 XP tokens
-7 Character cards
-66 Quest cards
-4 Magic wands
Gameplay:
Set up for the game consists of each player taking a character card and their respective 6 dice and HP and Ability tokens as shown on each character card. All other components are placed within reach for all characters including the empty box. Take at least 6 quest cards to make your dungeon and set a timer-30 seconds for each quest.
Begin by turning over the first quest card and start the timer-follow the quest description to complete it. The goal is to complete as many quests as you can before time runs out. The quests are all some type of dexterity or math challenge, involving the meeples and “sticks” aka Magic Wands included in the game. Some of them are simple, some more complex but all are stimulating to say the least! I think tossing the meeples and trying to catch them, flicking dice and meeples all over the place in frantic time-based challenges and passing the Magic Wands from forearm to forearm were some of the most enjoyable to do and watch. Balancing meeples on your forehead is a fun challenge as well with often hilarious results!
If you fail a quest, you must take the penalty in HP distributed however you would like among the party. If a character loses his last HP, he dies and the game is over.
Each character has a special ability that you may use as well based on the amount “XP” you have committed to the character to use it or unlock further uses of it. The characters are all your staple Dungeon crawl type of characters each with an ability that gits their troupe and gives you a benefit in the long play of this game over multiples rounds.
Impressions:
What could be better:
Variety. There are a variety of games in here but many are slight adjustments to a basic design. So depending on the shuffle and what you got you may be playing with a lot of the same types of style games which could get repetitive.
Scoring. To be honest, this is a party style game that you really don’t need to keep that close of score or tally on. The activities were fun to do and then you can adjust powers and lives as you see fit if you decide to play it as a straight scoring game with the levels.
What we liked:
Dexterity. I love a good dexterity game but I don’t want to have something that takes too long to set up and play or has tons of pieces when I want a light filler game. Fungeon Party answers that problem, giving us a party dexterity game that is big on fun but small on size!
Laughs. I have to be honest-this game is a blast to play and just as fun to watch played. You will love watching your friends trying to balance dice on their foreheads or catch flying dice over the shoulders along with all sorts of other hilarious challenges. I had a few belly laughs watching the kids play this one.
Speed. As mentioned above, this game can be played as a quick little filler or a longer length game-it is extremely changeable in time. This is super convenient for most groups and allows you to not be stuck in a spot trying to get that quick game in to start the night or end the playgroup session.
Overall:
Fungeon Party brings a unique dexterity game in a small box to the gaming table for all to enjoy. Loads of fun dice and colorful characters highlight the components in this game. The designers really put the focus on the “Fun” in Fungeon for all ages and levels of skill alike! Give this one a try if you love dexterity and dungeon crawls and always wondered what they would look like smashed together!
