Coraquest

“Cora Quest” has been mentioned quite a bit recently and often comes up when people ask for recommendations for either cooperative board games or introductory games into the world of dungeon crawlers or RPGs. I have recommended “Cora Quest” multiple times recently but realised that my review of it is over a year old now, and it’s probably worth revisiting as it’s mentioned so often.

Therefore, Game 29 of the “Bailey Family Summer 2023 Board Game Bonanza” is “Cora Quest,” played by Toby (5) and myself.

“Cora Quest” is a cooperative story-driven tile-laying dungeon crawler created by Dan Hughes and his daughter Cora. It draws a lot of inspiration from adult dungeon crawlers such as “Descent” and “HeroQuest,” but with simplified rules (but I must stress not simple rules) and a cute art style that makes it very approachable for children.

You start by picking a character or creating your own (the game comes with the tools to customize everything from characters to monsters to quests and an excellent web app to make them into cards).

Then, you set up the deck of cards with random cards and story cards, and off you go. On your turn, you can take 2 actions (move, attack, search, trade, etc.) and any number of free actions (use items). This allows you to explore the dungeon, fight monsters, and win treasure. When you encounter certain tiles, it triggers a story event that you read the narration from the “Story Book” and do the next thing. I have included a sample of this as a video below.

The randomly generated tiles work well, although I would have liked to see a few more of them for variety. You continue to work through the dungeon until either one of you dies or you achieve the goal.

Combat works well with the use of dice to check for hits and gaining “determination” if you miss (gaining extra dice) to help mitigate continued failure. Without revealing too much, as you progress through the game, there are other more varied tasks you need to do that fit well with the story. Each character also has a special ability that is then placed on cooldown after use, as well as a fun mechanic that releases spiders if you stand still for too long and do not reveal a tile often enough. The writing in the game is superb and spot-on.

My kids absolutely adore it and find it fun to listen to the stories unfolding (there is also narration and a soundtrack available on the website). Its actually one of the few games like this with kids or adults where I have completed every scenario and are desperate for more…

The scenario we played was “The Curious Incident of the Tortoise at Dinner Time,” which features a lighthearted story of the wizard’s tortoise going missing, and us, as a group of adventurers, going into the dungeon to find it. This scenario also includes a fun dexterity element and role-playing-type antics.

Component quality is fairly simple but high, printed on good quality cardstock, and it comes in a lovely small box (there is a good 3D print insert on BGG, and if you have the means, I would recommend it). Artwork is where it shines. The designs in the game have all been submitted by children and brought to life by the artist. It’s charming and has a very distinctive look that the kids adore.

The only thing I would note, which isn’t a real negative, is that the game says suitable for 6 plus on the box. While yes, you can definitely play this with a six-year-old (Toby is 5 after all), this is very much assuming you are playing with a six-year-old alongside someone else to run the game. Whenever we play this game, I generally make sure everything ticks along and all of the background mechanics are working, and even Jack(8.) would struggle to keep track of all of the mechanics going on in the background.

“Cora Quest” is by far the best dungeon crawl game available for children. It’s fun, imaginative, and hits all the right notes. It is also flexible enough that you can use the engine to make your own quests, characters, and monsters. It provides an avenue to games like “Descent”, “Heroquest”, “Massive Darkness” and “Gloomhaven” (which I have played with my kids). I could also see this being used as a first step into being a Dungeon Master for a roleplaying game.

There are a number of other free quests available on the website, which I will also link to below, and there is a new expansion coming out called “Cora Quest: Keep on Questing.” Due to arrive later this year, we are all waiting for it with baited breath and will review it here as soon as my Kickstarter arrives. It is still up currently on Gamefound, along with the base game, and can be pledged for now, although I am unsure exactly when the pledge manager is closing. Dan Hughes, please correct me if any of this is wrong and I will change it.

The base game is pretty widely available.

I probably recommend “Cora Quest” on a weekly basis, and in this instance, it’s going to be no exception. “Cora Quest” is a delightful, well-made, and excellent dungeon crawler that takes the essence of what makes adult dungeon crawlers fun and strips away just enough so that it is still engaging for adults as well as being a lot more approachable for children. Equally, as an adult, picking up something like “Descent” or “Gloomhaven” is a pretty daunting task if you do not have experience with these types of games. As such, “Cora Quest” is a great first step for adults as well.