TOPIC: True Dungeon … meh

Our group ran through the puzzle session in the Underdark today.

Our consensus is that True Dungeon is no longer worth the money. It used to be one of the highlights of GenCon. Year after year we had stories about TD. We still talk about the anvil puzzle from a couple years ago. But that's pretty much the last memorable run we had. Last year we were mildly disappointed. But we tried again this year. This may have been it for us. And you're talking a party of eight. The story has become lame. The parties are too big. The puzzles aren't related to the adventure. And even the puzzles were disappointing.

What happened? Has TD gotten too big? We don't blame all the volunteers; they're doing their job. We blame the designers. We had a combat followed by another lame room with a combat. And this was a puzzle run? No! That was the last straw for us. And now while we sit talking about the day, we're bitching about True Dungeon. That's never happened. Never.

We don't want enhanced sound systems that really aren't needed for the acoustics of the room. And while the environment and scenery is nice, the puzzles need to come up in quality. At this point, we're not ready to put $52+ into next year's run. We'd really like to see our True Dungeon legacy not come to an end.

sorry to hear you didnt enjoy it...all i can say is good luck and good bye then

Speaking of the volunteers doing their jobs - Thanks!

David Jacobson wrote: Our consensus is that True Dungeon is no longer worth the money. It used to be one of the highlights of GenCon. Year after year we had stories about TD. We still talk about the anvil puzzle from a couple years ago. But that's pretty much the last memorable run we had. Last year we were mildly disappointed. But we tried again this year. This may have been it for us. And you're talking a party of eight. The story has become lame. The parties are too big. The puzzles aren't related to the adventure. And even the puzzles were disappointing.

Which adventure did you do?

What happened? Has TD gotten too big? We don't blame all the volunteers; they're doing their job. We blame the designers. We had a combat followed by another lame room with a combat. And this was a puzzle run? No! That was the last straw for us. And now while we sit talking about the day, we're bitching about True Dungeon. That's never happened. Never.

FYI: Traditionally puzzle and combat only differ by 2 (of the 7) rooms. So 5 rooms are going to be the same, and so a Combat->Combat scenario is actually quite likely.

I think the point being made by the first post is that TD has been migrating for years toward an overemphasis on tokens and an underemphasis on story and immersion. I will say the storyscape is cool this year, if a little thin on tables and chairs.

I think I understand the poster's interpretation although we have every intention of continuing our long standing involvement in TD.

Telling people good luck and goodbye is simply juvenile.

Disbeeleaf wrote: I think the point being made by the first post is that TD has been migrating for years toward an overemphasis on tokens and an underemphasis on story and immersion. I will say the storyscape is cool this year, if a little thin on tables and chairs.

I think I understand the poster's interpretation although we have every intention of continuing our long standing involvement in TD.

Telling people good luck and goodbye is simply juvenile.

Thank you. And when I say we year after year, I mean that we've done at least one TD run each year and sometimes two since TD started. We've watched the party size and TD expand. We were skeptical about the party size increase. We were annoyed that emphasis on selling tokens grew yet the usefulness of common items shrank.

We've spent a lot of money on TD over the years. Like I said, it is a highlight (usually) of GenCon. So when I say that a party of 8 all said that we were disappointed in the run, it is criticism meant for the owners of TD. We guess that the price will increase again probably and for the first time we are talking about not doing it next year. TD should understand that this is not bitterness. We want TD to be fun again. We'll be willing to try again. But two years of disappointment leaves a bad taste for a group that has been a big supporter.

Disbeeleaf wrote: I think the point being made by the first post is that TD has been migrating for years toward an overemphasis on tokens and an underemphasis on story and immersion. I will say the storyscape is cool this year, if a little thin on tables and chairs.

I think I understand the poster's interpretation although we have every intention of continuing our long standing involvement in TD.

Telling people good luck and goodbye is simply juvenile.

To me it sounded like the persons mind was already made up. I wasn't being mean or anything. I was wishing them the best

I was sorry to hear that you have been disappointed. The puzzles have changed,but there are positives also. Puzzles now are commonly about party cooperation where everyone has to be involved. It was too easy in early years for a couple people to dominate puzzles making it fun for some, less so for others. Now everyone has to be involved to solve it. I found most of this year's puzzles to be very good.

I hope you will continue with True Dungeon, but either way the point is to have fun, and I hope do enjoy yourself at future events.

What were your favorite puzzles this year?

I ask what were the puzzles you did enjoy... respectfully!

I also think that the "Goodbye and Good luck" comment and attitude is wrong...

This person has some very valuable comments and points he is sharing. If you are developing something of this nature like TD It is wise to listen to all comments.. Not just the ones that pat you on the back.

I agree to a certain point that TD is focusing big time on the token market.. Most likely it is their real bread and butter..You are getting a big return on basically plastic as someone mentioned. That is neither here nor there though... If it was not for the live TD events at GENCON the whole cookie could crumble. I agree that more emphasis and attention to detail and money should be invested in the Dungeon. I think that I read somewhere that the developer had a failed Kickstarter and a family member passed recently before the CON.. It must have been a very hard year for them.. So I think we can all agree that under those circumstances to deliver an event as they did shows the true character and integrity of True Dungeon. Thank You True Dungeon for making life a little more enjoyable.

First off I'm going to say that this is the first year out of the three years of playing true dungeon where true dungeon hasn't made me cry at some point and consider not playing next year (due to cranky dm's or other players not listening to my input in dungeons). This year was a great year for me as a true dungeon player! But that being said I wasn't a fan of this year's story development since the names for each side of the runs got released... I didn't really like that they had two combats in a row on the puzzle side either, and the room with the grubs and spiders seemed pointless (like filler, as did the extra combat). The other two years of this story arch have been great! And I'm REALLY excited to see what the next one is going to be. But all in all this year was a bit underwhelming but not so bad that I felt like I wasn't going to continue next year.... In fact I'm thinking about getting a t-shirt and cape that says "super druid" on it...

Arthur wrote: I think that I read somewhere that the developer had a failed Kickstarter and a family member passed recently before the CON. It must have been a very hard year for them.

For the record:

• Jeff's father passed away on May 28 .
• The Kickstarter didn't fail, it was cancelled .
• TD also lost a very important member of its "family" this year, Stu Bernard .