2013
Once upon a time, the world needed heroes. Brave souls seeking fortune and glory in the name of all that's good. Eventually, they gained whatever it was they sought and have retired. Too bad evil didn't do the same. Thus quests and monsters grew in number until, finally, Percival Thistlewood invented 2 foot tall wooden golems which, when clothed, took on the role of whatever garmets they wore. Initially designed for utility, the popularity of these Dungeoneering Dolls quickly spread throughout the kingdom and now you are one of many collectors attempting to create the best collection of Dungeoneering Dolls.
As a simple card game, Dungeoneering Dolls has two types of cards. The first is the quests, which occur at the end of the game, but the most cards are actually the Dolls. Dolls come in six classes and each class contains dolls numbered 1-8. These dolls are all worth a set number of positive or negative points. When you play them, you will stack like classed dolls on top of other like classed dolls. So any new Ranger goes on top of a previous Ranger, if applicable. There are also eight Limited Edition Dolls which may be played at any time and act as "rule breakers."
When someone plays a card, there is a chance for another player to steal it. To do this, they need to play a card of the superior class in an equal or higher level. So Berserkers beat Thieves beat Rangers beat Wizards beat Knights beat Clerics beat Berserkers. If a card is used to steal a card, they discard the card used and instead, claim the card they are stealing for their collection.
The game continues this way until the first quest is revealed in the draw pile. Then players resolve each quest one by one until the game is over. Quests will make demands like having the strongest Ranger. You'll discard the Doll which fulfills the quest to claim it and in the end, the player with the most points wins.
Each hand takes 9-12 minutes to play and a longer game may be desired, in which case, play to a set number of points. Percival Thistlewood's Incredible Dungeoneering Dolls was initially released on The Game Crafter in both Poker Sized and Tarot Sized card formats. It became a part of The Game Crafter's Village in a Box Kickstarter as one of the Microgames.
