Back to basics dungeon crawling
KARAK
Designer: Petr Miksa & Roman Hladik | Publisher: Kosmos
PLAYED
In school I wasn’t particularly fond of maths and was commonly found scrawling dungeon maps across graph paper instead of algebra. Today I will maintain that this is the best use for these gridded columns and rows – transforming a space typically reserved for objective precision into a two-dimensional world of wonder. Games such as Four Against Darkness demonstrate the simple allure of basic dungeon doodling exceptionally, and even games utilising more traditional, tile-based dungeon construction occasionally possess a simplicity designed to stir the imagination. Karak is one such game whose aesthetic simplicity lies only just beyond the most basic graph paper scrawlings – but for its modern, young target audience, is that enough?