Claustrophobia 1643

Humans against an endless demon horde in the catacombs, with miniatures, dice and asymmetric sides.

Designers: Laurent Pouchain, Croc
Published by: Monolith Board Games

Claustrophobia 1643 (here the 2019 edition) is a duel in the catacombs. One player leads a small band of tough human fighters, the other an almost endless horde of demons. Humans are stronger, demons are more numerous, so each side plays very differently. You roll dice and allocate them to actions, play cards and special abilities, and fight with more dice. The rules are fairly short, a game takes about an hour, and the decisions come from what to spend your dice on and how to read your opponent. It uses miniatures on big modular dungeon tiles, so it also looks the part. Two players only.

One strong human squad, one endless demon armyRoll dice, then allocate them to actionsModular dungeon tiles and miniatures

Who it's for

You want a two-player, dice-driven dungeon duel with very different sides and a short rulebook.

Not for you if…

You need a co-op or a game for more than two. This is strictly a head-to-head.

Vibe's take

Tense and one-sided in a good way. The human player sweats every wound while the demon player enjoys the swarm, and then roles reverse the next game.