We purchased Descent: Journey into the Dark as a family game, and so far its has been a great success. It has similar mechanics to Hero Quest or if you are unfamiliar with that, its a fantasy based RPG board game with simplified game play mechanics and little character development intended to make it accessible. The kids aged 10, 11 and 12 love the Miniatures, dungeon setting, and team play required for the Heroes to be successful. Be warned though the learning curve is steep, where Hero Quest was simple to the point of allowing any skilled players to walk all over their nemesis “the Over Lord” (the player who controls the creatures encountered by the heroes in the game) Descent has a few extra layers of complexity which while satisfying add considerably to the initial game learning time. The Over Lord is still at a slight disadvantage unless luck is in his or her favor. So the Good guys seem to save the day. There is plenty of room for devious tactics which can turn the tables. In later expansions on the base game the rules have been modified and added to as well as additional of creatures and Traps etc. the Overlord gets a lot more scope for mischief. There is also an expansion catering to Character development and placing the fate of the game world in the heroes hands in a campaign setting intended to run over many play sessions.
