5-Minute Dungeon

Today's review is of the 2017 release, 5-Minute Dungeon.  For 2-5 players, it takes 5-25 minutes.

Overview
Venture into the dungeon and face obstacles, people, monsters and mini-bosses on your way to the confronting the final boss.  It won't be easy . . . but you won't be alone.  Each player has a hero board  that gives you a special ability and a unique deck of cards, which you'll need to defeat all you encounter.

hero boards; image from here

At the start, choose a final boss to play and place the indicated number of 'door cards' (obstacles, people, monsters, and mini-bosses) on top of the final baddie.

bosses; image from here

Each player draws 5 cards.  Start the timer- you have 5 minutes to get to and defeat the boss.  Flip over the first door card and note the symbols indicated on the card- you collectively must play cards with matching symbols to defeat it and move to the next.  As soon as your hand drops below 5 cards, draw back up to 5.  Any player(s) can play matching cards to proceed.

door card examples; image from here

cards you play to overcome door cards; image from here

If overcome all door cards and the final boss in under 5 minutes, you win!  Then move on to the next boss- which means more door cards- and see how you do.  Can you get through all 5 bosses?

Review
This is a wonderful game.  Easy to learn and fast to play, it's an enjoyable experience for young and old (my kids love this game).  You can play all 5 bosses (taking 25 minutes) or choose only 1 for a 5-minute encounter.  The bosses increase in difficulty, and the final two can be defeated only (in my experience) when playing with 4 or 5 players. Pick this up if you see it.

Rating: A