Massive Darkness was the first big board game I introduced to my partner. Before this, we mostly played card games like Sky Team, Ohanami, and Trekkin’ Through History, or roll-and-write games such as Cartographers and Welcome To. Making the jump to a massive dungeon crawl stored in three huge boxes was quite a change, but it quickly became their favorite game.
With the Christmas period approaching, I knew I wanted to end the holidays by playing Massive Darkness. We had already worked through most of the content, including the base game, every campaign, and several one-off missions. However, there were a few boss fights we hadn’t completed yet because we were waiting for their miniatures to be painted.
What Makes Massive Darkness Unique?
Massive Darkness is a dungeon crawl that is fully cooperative, meaning you don’t need a dungeon master to control the game. Instead, the AI on the cards handles each enemy. Unlike other dungeon crawlers, the enemies form mobs, which act like large enemies that get weaker as you kill off individual monsters within the group.
Another unique feature is the class system. Each hero class works slightly differently, featuring their own mini-game that changes how they play. For example, the Berserker class becomes more powerful as they take damage, turning damage into rage which they can spend on abilities depending on their stance. The Paladin creates areas of effect that can boost combat or healing, while the Ranger has a push-your-luck mechanic attempting to achieve a perfect bullseye without overcooking their shot.
We set up to fight the Scorpion King. I took Mist, an air elemental Rogue, while my partner played Victor, a human Paladin that could benefit from my rogue tokens. Our mission was to hunt down and kill several poisoned mobs to unlock the door to the Scorpion King’s desert lair, then take the fight to him.
We quickly found some epic weapons in an early chest, and after that, we were unstoppable. My rogue went from a stealthy killer with a dagger to a nigh-unstoppable killing machine with a golden axe. We tore through the mobs and rushed into the boss fight. The Scorpion King lost half his health to my first attack, retreating through the quicksand, perhaps hoping Victor would go easier on him. But he had no such luck.
With the help of an additional attack from my rogue tokens, Victor made short work of the arachnid. The whole fight took less time than it took me to paint the Scorpion King. Still, we had a great time, and it was nice to feel powerful and crush our enemies with teamwork—the perfect end to the Christmas holidays.
