Dungeon Kings Preview: Dice Driven Exploration and Character Abilities

Dungeon Kings makes a familiar print and play formula more interesting by asking players to weigh movement, risk and scoring against a tight turn limit. Its foundation will feel recognizable to fans of solo dungeon crawlers, but changing maps and characters give each run its own priorities. The strongest early sign is the rulebook: clear instructions matter in a game whose dice can change what a turn allows.

Designed by Denis Kurdiukov, who publishes under the name NukaZombee, Dungeon Kings has players explore a gridded map, collect treasure and work around obstacles. Dice determine how movement unfolds, while a limit of 40 turns puts a clock on the expedition. At the end, players compare their score against a chart to see how the run went.

Movement with a little uncertainty

The basic loop is easy to grasp: move through the map, look for valuable finds and make the most of the turns available. The wrinkle is that rolling doubles can trigger special events. Some help, such as opening a locked door; others restrict movement by leaving the player with only one die instead of two. Those results can change the route a player takes or make a promising turn less predictable.

That uncertainty gives routine movement decisions more weight. A player may be weighing a direct path to treasure against the chance that an unexpected result will make the next stretch harder. Torches offer one way to manage that tension: using one grants a free turn with three movement dice. In the preview, Bitter Bill could reuse torches, making that character especially well suited to routes with several treasures close together.

Choosing when to use an item looks like part of the game’s appeal. A free turn can help clear a busy section, while extra movement dice give players more room to plan their steps. The preview also points to a tradeoff: taking an extra turn this way can help avoid the possibility of a doubles result and its accompanying effect. The precise value of that choice will depend on the map and character in play.

Maps and characters shape the route

Before exploring, players choose a map and a character. The maps bring different layouts and challenges, while characters have individual abilities and scoring rules. That combination gives players a reason to adjust their approach rather than treat every treasure as an automatic priority.

Bitter Bill, the character used in the preview, earns a victory point for each pair of jewelry pieces and can reuse torches. Ferran instead earns a coin now and then for finding pairs. The jewels themselves also have different point values. Together, these rules make a character choice more than a small bonus: it can change which objects are worth pursuing and how carefully a player needs to plan a route.

This is where Dungeon Kings seems likely to find much of its replay value. A new map changes the paths and obstacles to navigate; a different character changes the reward for what players find along the way. Mix and match those choices, and the same core rules can ask players to make different decisions from one session to the next. The preview specifically points to additional combinations among the higher pledge levels.

Players who enjoy optimizing a short solo run may find that combination appealing. Scoring rules encourage attention to the character’s goals, while doubles keep movement from feeling entirely scripted. There’s a useful tension between pursuing a planned set of items and reacting to the dice. How well that balance holds across the available maps will be clearer once players can try the full set.

A familiar foundation with room to grow

Dungeon Kings shares ground with Dungeon Pages and other print and play games from the same designer. That history makes the question of what’s new a fair one. The preview’s answer is a set of character powers and scoring approaches that can make familiar exploration feel different, alongside the choice of maps and the doubles effects. It doesn’t present the game as a radical break from the format; its appeal rests on how those pieces work together.

The previewer saw some additional characters, but didn’t get to try the new maps. Those characters bring distinct powers and result text that adds personality after a run. Their scoring approaches also appear more involved, encouraging players to think about what to collect instead of simply sweeping up everything in sight. That shift could give experienced players more to consider as they learn each map.

More maps could build on the game’s core without changing its basic rhythm. Each scenario can put different routes, obstacles and treasures in front of players, while the turn limit keeps the focus on making efficient choices. The preview suggests confidence in those foundational rules, though the new scenarios weren’t available for a hands-on look.

What the preview makes clear

The most concrete strengths so far are the readable rules, a brisk 40-turn structure and ways for characters to change scoring priorities. The doubles effects add an element of risk to movement, and the mix of maps and abilities gives players a reason to revisit the same system with a different plan. Whether the added characters and scenarios make each run feel distinct will depend on the finished set, especially for players already familiar with Kurdiukov’s other dungeon crawlers.

The previewer expects a polished, well-tested final game, based on NukaZombee’s prior work, but that remains an expectation rather than a report on the finished product. The Dungeon Kings page on Kickstarter is open through July 13, 2026. For players considering it, the key questions are how many map and character combinations their pledge includes and whether the scoring twists offer enough variety for another trip through the dungeon.