DRx.FeelGood

I wrote the review back in 2009 for Amazon. It was the first board game that I bought since I was finally able to pay off all those student loans and go back to collecting board games.

“Recruit A Party. Kill The Monsters. Take Their Stuff!”

SPECIFICS:
2-6 Players
Ages 12+
Playing time 90 mins
Learning Curve 30 mins

PROS:
Fun, fast paced action
Short learning curve
Random yet strategic

CONS:
Though you can play with 2 players, I highly recommend 3 or more

I got together with a couple of buddies to try out a new board game. TOMB is a fantasy board game/RPG where your objective is to “Recruit A Party. Kill The Monsters. Take Their Stuff!” It’s like a cross between Diablo and Dungeons & Dragons on a table top. The objective of the game is to net the most EXP points by clearing traps, killing monsters and finding treasure. The game ends when the entire TOMB has been emptied of its contents.

Setting up the board is simple. You place INN cards in their respective area then everyone takes turns placing TOMB cards face down in the Crypts on the board. Each player then draws 5 HEROES at random then selects a primary HERO. The remaining are placed in a pool and a draft takes place.

There are 4 different HERO classes with each class focusing on a particular trait. Fighters focus on attack, Mages use magic via spells, Clerics are holy beings armed by the strenth of their prayers and Rogues are highly skilled in the arts of theivery and tactics. In addition, each HERO has his own unique special ability. There are multi-class HEROES who can act as swiss army knives, giving you the traits of 2-3 HERO classes.

Players start the game in the inn. They can either draw 2 INN cards, a combination of Spells, Items, Tactics, Prayers to better equip their party. Or they can enter the TOMB and start their adventure.

Once a player is in the TOMB he can move to a crypt and break-in. Depending on the TOMB cards placed in the Crypt, the player can encounter a Trap, Monster or Treasure or a combination thereof. A player must disarm the Trap and kill the monster to recover the treasure. Failure to disable a trap leads to various penalties from losing your turn to getting a character in your party killed.

Monster battles are the meat and bones of the game. You need a well balanced party to handle the mid to high level monsters. Combat is done by rolling a combination of dice, Green, Blue and Red. You receive a number of dice based on you character and the equipment that he has. Scoring a hit means that the monster takes damage. Player and monster take turns attacking each other, with the monster getting the first swing, until one of them is dead. Killing the monster gets you the corresponding EXP. Losing gets your hero killed, he loses everything he has equipped. A new hero spawns in the INN and you have to go back to recruit him. Or you can choose to continue in the TOMB with fewer party members. The player with the most EXP after all the crypts are emptied wins.

It’s been a while since I’ve had this much fun with a board game. I’ve tried most of the new board games out there. World of WarCraft, StarCraft, Descent . . . these games cannot compare to TOMB. If you’re looking for fun with some buddies, break open a box of TOMB!

UPDATE:
I have heard of several issues with the timing/trigger rules of the game. Majority of the players in my group are Magic: The Gathering players and we had very little difficulty resolving the various special abilities of each hero. I strongly suggest that you download the FAQ from the AEG website to better understand how to resolve these conflicts.