♬ Ooooohhhhhhhh… ♬
♬ This a review that I am engineering ♬
♬ about a game they call Guild of Dungeoneering. ♬
♬ Though this song may be misunderstood, ♬
♬ I'll tell you a tale of a game that’s really… ♬
♬ really… ♬
♬ good! ♬

Yeah, if you watched the game trailer, that’s my lyrical parody and for those of you that have yet to play this game, beware that this type of pirate-ish folk song occurs through the whole game! I've been playing it so much that this rhythmic pattern runs through my head all day long and now has assimilated itself in my everyday life!

Like on my way to work:

♬ Ohhh… ♬
♬ This is the way I drive to work. ♬
♬ This guy cut me off, so flip off the jerk. ♬
♬ He’s coming to fast, he’s ramming my car! ♬
♬ Now it’s in pieces, and I know it won’t get me no… ♬
♬ far… ♬
 
And at work:
 
♬ Ohhh… ♬
♬ This is the way I do my job, ♬
♬ If I don’t get more pay, I might have to rob ♬
♬ The cat got hair, all over my shirt ♬
♬ There are so many obscenities, I would just love to… ♬
♬ Blurt! ♬
 
Yeah, it’s pretty safe to say that this game gave me one massive earworm. If want to know more about earworms, you can learn about them from your creepy “uncle” Stephen King here:
http://ew.com/article/2009/04/17/stephen-king-songs-stick-your-head/
 
But there is only one way to get rid of this earworm!
 
♬ Sooo… ♬
( sing with me )
♬ This song keeps circling in my head ♬
♬ Even when I’m asleep, and in my bed ♬
♬ I’m going to scream, and I’m going to shout ♬
♬ It’s eating my brains, so I might as well blow them.. ♬
♬ Out… ♬
 
 

I picked this one up during the free weekend and was hooked instantly. As an Analyst in my day job and a “numbers guy” in general, I am thoroughly enjoying this one. It’s a very well balanced casual, play at your own pace, build your own fate with what your dealt, typical card based game. At 11 hours of playtime, I’m almost through the third world. At this point, I can’t tell how many worlds there are (based on the size of the board I’m assuming 4), but the worlds consist of 5 or 6 levels and within those levels are 1 to 3 missions with different objectives.
 
Every time you start a dungeon, your character starts from level one. This forces you to fight more enemies in a single mission to level up your character and stack your deck with better cards. You have numerous deck enhancements and new character decks that are available for upgrade that you can earn between missions.  I hear a lot of complaining that the game is “luck based”. Some aspects are but in general this is not true, if you analyze your enemy/objectives, you can easily figure out statically which deck will work best to beat the level. Yes, the method does require some trial and error and sometimes it does come down to the luck of the draw but that need for luck can be minimized if you know your character decks. Besides, anyone who’s been to Vegas or did a little gambling knows that half the fun is in the luck of the draw!
 
There were a couple of things that upset me about this game, but the more I play it and get used to the mechanics, these issues became less of an issue and made a little more sense to me. Like the Dungeoneer movement. You have little control of where the character moves and there are times when important to get your Dungeoneer to certain space on the board within a certain amount of moves. IMO this is where the game really comes down to the luck of the draw as there are no upgrades that affect your corridor pieces, fountain pieces, loot pieces, or enemy pieces. If you do not draw the dungeon building cards you need, you are screwed! My other gripe is that I wish the characters, enemies, and fountains specific effects were more visible. As of this current version, you have to hover over the effect names, cards, characters and enemies, just to figure out what is going to do what! I dunno, maybe just part of the challenge...
 
In all, considering the earworms and little gripes (-2), I’d give this a solid 8/10 for its insanely addicting gameplay and challenges. Guild of Dungeoneering is absolute nostalgia for any fan of DnD, Magic, or Hero's Quest! On the other hand, if you are not into the casual, card based, boardgame RPG type gameplay, this is one you should avoid!!