The only good thing about this damn quarantine is that it’s given me time to design this fun little card game with my kids. If you’re looking for something to pass the time, give Dungeon Stacks a try and let me know how it goes!

Dungeon Stacks

A Print-and-Play Card Game for 2 or More Players

(Art from the Fifth Edition Monster Manual © Wizards of the Coast LLC)

Game Setup

• Print four copies of the cards and cut them out. (I sleeve them with cardboard backs, but that’s optional.)
• Shuffle the cards into a draw pile within reach of all players.
• Each player draws a starting hand of 4 cards.
• Each player reveals a card from the draw pile. The player who reveals the highest-level card goes first. Put all the revealed cards into a trash pile.

Game Play

On your turn, you MUST do the following in order:

• Draw a card.
• Play a card from your hand by placing it face-up in front of you (in your “play area”). If you don’t already have a copy of that card in play, you’ve started a stack! Otherwise, add the card to the existing stack.
• Follow directions on the card, unless playing the card completes your stack (see ENDING THE GAME).

If you can’t do any of the above (for example, if a card tells you to discard when you have no cards in hand), follow instructions to the best of your ability.

When you’ve completed the above steps, your turn ends and the turn of the player to your left begins.

Ending the Game

If at any time you have four cards in one of your stacks, remove those cards from the game and earn points equal to the stack’s level. (If you complete a stack by playing a card, don’t follow the instructions on that card — just complete the stack.)

The game ends as soon as any player finishes their third stack. When the game ends, the player who earned the most points from completed stacks wins. (NOTE: The player with the most points may not be the player who ended the game!)