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How to Play

The Pieces

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Every part of this game tells a story. Here's what you’ll find inside the box:

Health Countdown Die

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Think of it as your life force. Set it to 20 HP at the start of the game. Each time you take damage, turn it down. If you gain health, turn it up. When it hits zero, your crawl is over.

This die is your heartbeat. Protect it.

Experience Token Pile

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Start by removing all Dragon Tokens Shuffle the dragon tokens and place them face-down. This is your **Experience Token Pile**.

The Dice Token

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If fate draws this token, brace yourself:

1. Finish drawing your hand.
2. Discard *everything*—including what you’re carrying.
3. Roll your Health Countdown die again your new HP.
4. Draw one token from the Experience Pile and discard it to the Graveyard.
5. Discard the Dice Token to the Graveyard.

It’s a reset. But resets come with scars.

Health Tokens

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Health Tokens can be life-saving—but come with rules:

- You may only spend one if your health is low enough.
(e.g., a +5 Health Token only works if you're at 15 or lower).
- You can carry one from room to room.
- You can drop health token at any time.
- Once spent or dropped, it goes to the Graveyard.

Weapons, Monsters & Combat

Combat is the soul of the crawl.

  • A weapon and a monster of the same value cancel each other out.
  • You can carry one weapon between rooms.
  • You may slay monsters in descending order using your carried weapon.
  • Once you slay the lowest double, your weapon is exhausted.
  • Exhausted weapons go to the Graveyard.
  • Weapons may be dropped at any time.

Play bold. But know when to let go.

Running Away (The One-Time Retreat)

Feel overwhelmed? You get one chance to escape.

  • Discard everything—your hand and what you’re carrying.
  • Then, draw four fresh tokens from the Experience Pile.
  • You cannot do this again.

The dungeon doesn’t forgive cowards twice.

Setup & Gameplay

Step 1 – Set Your Health

Start with your Health Countdown die set to 20 HP.

Step 2 – Build Your Dungeon

Create your Experience Pile by removing Dragon Tokens, shuffling the rest in your hand.

Step 3 – Draw Your First Hand (Chamber)

Each hand represents a room or chamber in the dungeon.

  • If you're not carrying a Health Token, draw 4 tokens.
  • If you are carrying a Health Token, draw 3 tokens.

Play the Room

Once you draw, the strategy is up to you:

  • Spend health?
  • Fight first?
  • Take some hits and press on?
  • Drop everything and flee?

Your goal is simple:
Survive the dungeon. One chamber at a time.
Make it through the entire Experience Pile before your health hits zero.

The Graveyard

Use the inside of the box or a separate space to collect discarded and exhausted tokens. This is your Graveyard—where everything you’ve spent, lost, or slain ends up.

Final Words from the Barkeep

"You won’t be the first to fall… but you could be the first to conquer it all."