Dungeons & Dragons: Lords of Waterdeep Board Game for Ages 12+, Black

I ordered this game after reading all the reviews I could find, still I was surprised. We played two games so far and plan on playing many more. Here the breakdown:1) Components 5/5Everything is high quality. The box looks great, everything fits well together on the inside... easy to transport without creating a chaos, cards are easy to take out of the box. So far the best layout of any box I saw. Neat and tidy.2) Setting 3/5AD&D, Faerun, Waterdeep... so far so good. Decent art, nice flavor text, the whole game fits nicely into the setting. Still, we call the purple cubes "purple cubes" and not "Wizards". While everything is perfectly faerun-ish, it simply does not matter. They are cubes as in resources and you never see them as Rogues or Priests. The setting is there, but does not matter. Even the quests simply turn into "I need 2 white and 5 orange to get 9 victory points" without even a hint of "I send my adventurer on a quest!"3) Game Setup 5/5This is awesome. Setup for a new game takes about a minute alone, then you are good to go. After the game it takes slightly longer to put everything back in... but in comparison to your average game, still very fast.4) Gameplay 4/5As all the reviews will tell you: It is a very "simple" worker placement games with no fancy rules. There is nothing new or innovative in there which makes it stand out. However, this is exactly what makes it stand out. After reading the manual, it took me about two minutes to explain it (literally!) and we could start playing.I have to remove 1 point here, because of how streamlined gameplay is. I reckon after a dozen games or in a more competitive environment, you want this to be more complex than it is. You look at the game and you see so many possibilities to expand it... yet there is nothing. Don't get me wrong, this is the weak spot and the strength of the game. It works great with very very simple rules.Overall the game has some luck (starting cards you draw), but the gameplay itself never feels like you are taking a gamble. It plays fast, everybody is either planning his next move or executing it. No boredom.The end is also very open and you usually don't know who wins until the last turn.Bonus: It plays very well with 2 players, but I suggest having 3 or 4.5) Fun / SummaryI can only recommend this game to anyone who likes board games. Quick setup, easy to learn - Good for a quick game that is not going to on for hours. High quality components alone are worth the money.

Waterdeep is a perfectly balanced game, quick and easy to learn, yet with plenty of depth to keep you coming back for more.The overall look and feel of the game is fantastic, the artwork is great and the board itself is a thing of beauty. The D&D theme is well developed but not to the extent that it would put off those who aren't into fantasy gaming and the ability to buy buildings and bring them into play helps keep it fresh every time.The use of intrigue cards offers additional subtlety to the play mechanic increasing the level of strategy and replay ability. You should expect a game to last around 1 hour, but you should expect to spend any hours playing as it will keep you coming back for more. The box suggests an age of twelve+ but I've played several games with my children 12, 10 and 7 and none of them find it too difficult.The only gripes I have are with the colored cubes, they don't represent their classes very effectively. You find yourself collecting a purple cube to get points rather than recruiting a wizard to complete a quest. Secondly one of the buildings in the builders hall has some bad damage to the face of the card. It's still useable, but a bit of a shame.All in all water deep is the best board game I've played in years. Plenty of fun, tons of replay value, great game overall.

Excellent Gateway game.Pros1 Very versatile game:Can be played with hardcore gamers and casual players at the same table and both will have fun. Easy enough to grasp for the beginner and enough depth for the more experienced gamer.Appeals to a wide age range of players. The box says 12+ but I would say a bright 8 year old would enjoy it too, and all ages right up to adult. Could be played by a family at Christmas or by adults after a dinner party.Plays with a wide range of numbers players. This game is for 2-5 players but unlike a lot of other games, it is good no matter how many are playing, although probably best with 3-4.2 The box inlay design is excellent – every component fits snugly in so you don’t have to buy boxes/bags etc to organise everything.3 Good theme and artwork.Cons1 Probably not the choice for a hardcore strategy gaming group. If this game is ONLY going to be played by the more complex strategy game enthusiasts, then it would lack depth to keep players interested for long. I have not played the expansion, which does create more depth. This may well make the game interesting those that like a more complex challenge.2 The little cubes that represent the different people required for a quest really detract from the theme.