Mike Beiter
United States
Tonawanda
New York
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Dante’s inferno is an excellently themed resource management style game that adds a competitive twist to an otherwise simple concept. The cover art of the box immediately caught my eye and drew me in. This is a game of resource gathering and management similar to Settlers of Catan, in where two 6 sided dice are rolled each turn to determine the resources you collect. But this game offers so much more than simple city building and expansion. You have the minions of Hell to worry about at every turn!
You will find that at many points in my review I will compare Settlers to Dante’s Inferno.
OVERVIEW
In this game, you take control of a group of intrepid heroes who are journeying through the 9 levels of Hell to free damned souls and have a showdown with Lucifer himself. Along the way you encounter hordes of demons who are trying to stop you from making your perilous journey. As the game goes on you accumulate more resources in the form of energy from the souls of Hell you free and gather more heroes to your cause as you journey deeper and deeper down the treacherous and horrifying plains of Hell.
This game is based off of the story that shares the same name, so it caries the theme of Hell consisting of 9 different levels, each holding the souls of sinners who are suffering different fates based on their sins in life. They have the souls who are caught in a storm on one level, and souls in a lake of blood on another. So the game does a good job of setting the stage of where your adventurers are traveling. The 1st and deepest level of Hell is reserved for Lucifer himself who awaits you at your journeys end.
GAME COMPONENTS
The game itself is composed of a series of small square tiles that are randomly arranged to recreate the levels of Hell. The art on the tiles is simple yet well done. They have a classic art theme to them similar to paintings of souls trapped in hell.
The game also comes with several figures of heroes in several different colors, and a variety of Demons, including Lucifer. The figures are very well detailed and like other fantasy miniature games are very fun to paint. This brings a great artistic quality to the game.
Each player receives a game reference card to keep track of the 4 recourses you can collect and what you can spend them on each turn. These pieces are simple cardboard and are nothing special. The true beauty is in the board and figures.
You receive a few small squares to keep track or resources, and these are on very cheep cardboard. I would like to see beads or something else to mark your cards with. But this is a minor detail which does not impact the game in any way.
SET UP AND GAME PLAY
The game reminds me a great deal of Settlers of Catan. You set up a board, and on each tile you have a type or resource and numbers that represent your chances of collecting resources of that type. But instead of harvesting Wheat and Ore and Wood, you are harvesting the energy of the sins of Lust, Wrath, and Gluttony etc…
Each tile has a set of numbers on them that can be from 2 through 12.
The board you create starts with an outer ring that covers the 9th and 8th levels of Hell. All players take turns to place their starting figures on squares of their choice on the 9th level. Once all players have placed, the first player begins their turn.
The round begins with the rolling of two 6 sided dice. The number rolled determines which tiles provide resources to the players. If a 9 is rolled and you have a figure on that tile, then you receive the matching colored resource of that tile. Then you have several options ahead of you. Your goal is to travel lower and lower into Hell to reach Lucifer and defeat him. To accomplish this you must use your resources to add new tiles to explore on lower levels. Your resources also allow you to move your heroes around the board to get the desired resources you need and to go lower for more valuable quantities of them.
My favorite aspect of this game is the competitive aspect. You can use your resources to make other tiles not produce resources, or move your opponent’s figures to less desirable spots. There is definitely a more competitive aggressive feel that other games of this type do not possess.
This is the biggest difference between the base game of Settlers and Dante’s Inferno. I like how you can directly try and stop your opponents from occupying prime locations. You can hinder people’s turns a great deal with your own resources, but at a cost of potentially setting back your own plans.
The board is square shaped, and at each corner there are tunnels that go deeper into Hell. The outermost ring representing levels 9 and 8 gives you only 1 resource at a time, but as you go deeper your resources increase. Levels 7 and 6 provide two resources, 5 and 4 give three and 3 and 2 give 4 resources. So there is a great incentive to travel lower and lover. As you go deeper and deeper, the board shrinks in size, so there will not be many spots available on lower levels for people.
Clever resource management is always the key, because descending deeper and adding new tiles to the board all require resources to achieve. When the board is set up, only the outer ring is revealed. You must spend resources to add tiles to the lower levels before you can explore them.
Another great obstacle to overcome is the Demon figures. When a 7 is rolled on the resource dice, the player places a Demon figure on one of the corners of the board and gets to move them towards other people’s heroes. Where Settlers has a lone robber who moves around the board, Dante’s inferno can fill with more demons every turn that remain in play until vanquished by heroes.
On every players turn they can move a demon of their choice. When a player’s hero begins their turn with a Demon on their space, they must fight it in battle or risk being forced farther away from Lucifer’s lowest levels. To battle a demon, you simply roll the 2 dice and most get higher than a certain number. The lower the level of Hell, the higher the difficulty of the demon you are facing. It definitely gets more perilous the lower you go, because when ever a demon defeats you, you must move one level higher.
The Demons add a great level of political competitiveness to the game. Since all players get to move a demon on their turn, other players may move several demons closer to the heroes of the player they feel is winning the game.
At our table, every time a demon appears, we yell out in unison “DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNN!!!” as the figure appears. It adds a comical element to the game.
When you finally reach the bottom level of Hell, you must encounter Lucifer and roll a very high number on the two 6 sided dice. You can use your resources to improve your roll and help assure victory. If you roll high enough and defeat Lucifer, the game is over and you are declared the winner! I can’t think of many more rewarding accomplishments than to defeat the ruler of Hell himself in single combat, can you?
GAME THEME
It is true that this game has a religious and demonic theme to it that some more religious or younger people may not want to play. It does feel kind of creepy to be traveling down into Hell and be rescuing sinner’s souls.
The battles with demons and Lucifer add a great level of strife and accomplishment to the game on a more competitive level. That is why I prefer this game to other resource management games because it is not as passive as others are.
PROS
This game is great for any person who feels basic non threatening resource management games have something missing.
If you are a lover of the divine comedy, you can appreciate this game on its theme as well.
The strategy element on this game is high since you have several options on how to spend your resources each turn, and can stockpile large quantities of them.
It has a good random element with resource collecting and demon battles to keep you on your toes.
CONS
Like a competitive game, if played well it can take a while to play. This game can take a couple hours to play if the players choose to spend all their time handicapping their opponents instead of furthering their own goals. And the demon attacks can slow you down a lot if you roll poorly. So if you like a good power struggle, this will not matter. But if you like a simple non threatening game, this one may not be for you.
CONCLUSION
I personally enjoy this game. It is not amazing and can take a while to finish, but if you are looking for a good balance between strategy and conflict this is a must have. The game gives you a lot of flexibility with what to do each turn and conceptually is put very well together. I give it 7 out of 10. It is a Hellishly good time!
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