Dungeon Encounters
Playing Dungeon Encounters, we find ourselves thinking of Gunpei Yokoi; chiefly, his oft-quoted maxim of “lateral thinking with seasoned technology” – familiar, reliable parts used in inventive new ways. That approach informs this enthralling RPG from veteran designer Hiroyuki Ito. Stripped to the bone, it harks back to the tabletop origins of dungeon crawlers – you’re offered the barest whisper of story before being invited to navigate a labyrinth that’s nothing more than a flat arrangement of squares on crumpled paper. Enemies, vendors, treasures, riddles and more are represented by hexadecimal numerals. Your job is simply to advance and descend, mapping out the place by colouring each square. Your imagination follows suit, filling in gaps as you go.