Last Friday, tabletop gaming website Dicebreaker confirmed that a new Dungeons & Dragons board game was in the works. Set to release later this year, Asmodee UK's stand at the Toy Fair trade show expo featured a mockup box art depicting a dwarf, magician, and archer. Touting itself as "Your quick start, quick play entry into the world of D&D," one potential title is Adventurer's Gate.
Though unconfirmed by Hasbro, a similar-looking game with similar-looking artwork, Adventure Begins, appears to be in the same vein as Adventurer's Gate. Whether they represent the same product at different points in development or different products entirely is unclear. Both box arts cover the same idea, that of an easy entry from board games into tabletop RPGs. Adventure Begins appeared in Asmodee UK's catalogue of this year's releases, further muddying the waters.
Both titles appear to contain simplified rules for playing a trimmed-down version of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. The Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Begins blurb in the Asmodee UK catalogue suggests 2-4 players and ages 10 and up. The description also seems to indicate it's similar to a classic dungeon crawler such as Hero Quest or Descent. Players cooperate to collect items, battle monsters, and survive to the end of a quest.
A Wizards of the Coast representative reached out to Dicebreaker and verified that neither Adventure Begins nor Adventurer's Gate represented the final retail titles or artwork of any games in development. According to Dicebreaker, Hasbro did not confirm whether the titles belonged to the same or different products.
As much of the information regarding Adventure Begins and Adventurer's Gate represent unreleased products, information is subject to change. Be sure to check back with TechRaptor for future information regarding any upcoming Dungeons & Dragons board games.
Quick Take
The success of D&D Next continues to impress me. This seems like a great idea for people who aren't quite ready to make the leap from board games to full-on tabletop RPGs. Lots of us take the intuitive simplicity of D&D Next for granted. It's still probably the best d20 system to ease people into the hobby.
