I picked up the Dungeons and Dragons Heroscape Master Set: Battle for the Underdark not long ago and finally had a chance to play with my son.I was surprised to find a game that we both enjoyed and has my friends (which are my age) scrambling to buy their own sets.
The basic game comes with different setup designs for a campaign type adventure, but we had more fun just picking up tiles and setting them up as we went. We then picked our teams. My six year old played the heroes that had a friendly troll at their side and I played the Drow of the Underdark with pet dragon.
There is two different types of play, an advanced and a basic. The basic game is understandable by anyone who can count to ten and read those same numbers. Each figure has a card which has a number of steps that character can take and how many dice are rolled to attack and how many are rolled to defend. The dice have red skulls, blue shields and a blank “wild” side. If the attacker rolls more skulls than the defender roll shields, then the defender is out (dead). My six year old had no trouble with the concept.
The advanced side of the game is a bit more difficult, but would definitely be more fun for older gamers. It incorporates origins of line of sight, spells, abilities, hit points and even healing.
Finally, the other great reason to pick this line of products, as I alluded to in the first paragraph, is they can be incorporated into your regular RPG game. The figures are heavy duty plastic and already painted. The tiles can be used to create some great elevations to add that third dimension to you regular boring table-top game. Heroscape sets and expansion packs can be picked up at most major retailers. Here is a link to the main Heroscape page and here is the link to the D&D branded.
Box art from Wizards of the Coast, game photos by T.Sims.
