Drinking Quest: Review

Well, Drinking Quest didn’t make it in time for the trip to VisionCon. It was sitting in my mailbox when I returned home. Ah well, it will be used in a few months during the fall. Anyway, onto details of the game.

The Contents

Drinking Quest comes in a single box containing the rules, 3 green “pub” dice, a booklet of character sheets and the cards. The box itself features cool art and was shrink-wrapped. The shrink wrap is a nice detail since the game was exposed to the weather a bit over the weekend when I wasn’t home. The game is comprised 62 cards — 4 Quests featuring 12 cards each along with an overview, the four heroes plus a special ability card for each, a store card, and cheat sheet card.

The Rules

The rules for Drinking Quest are quite simple. They span only a single duplex page. Each of the 2-4 players selects a hero card and the associated special ability card. The individual quests are then divided and shuffled. Quests are designed to be played in order. The objective is to be the player with the most XP at the end of the game.

Selection of the starting hero is done by rolling d6′s for the highest score. That hero begins the game by reading the Quest summary card and then taking the initial turn. Turns are composed of visiting the shop to purchase weapons or armor. Then drawing a card from the quest stack. Quest cards can either be an enemy or an event.

Enemy Cards

Enemies are fought death match style. The player to the right of the drawer rolls for the enemy. Initiative goes to the high roll (ties go to the hero). The combat metric is Damage = Attacker’s Roll (+ bonuses) – Defenders Defence Rating. Simple and easy to remember. Combat continues until either the hero or monster is dead. If the hero is victorious, he collects the loot and XP specified on the card. Should he fall in battle, the player must chug his beverage. Chugs are also recorded on the character sheet. If the hero has died already, the punishment is only a few swigs, thus avoiding the unfortunate “It’s Only Vodka” moments. If chugging is completed, the hero will be brought back to life and continue to play.

Alternatively, if the hero has a Bellow Ale, it can be used at the time of death to restore 1d6 HP.

Event Cards

Event cards require a saving throw against one of the four attributes of the hero: Quickness, Tolerance, Sexual Prowess, and Smarts. Saving throws are determined by rolling all 3 six siders. Success is a score equal to or below the attribute. Depending on the outcome of the rolls, the Hero either gets the benefit or is subjected to the failure results noted on the card.

Quests

Four quests are included in the game: Lolevel Forest, Mount Icefist, Booze Cruise, and Zombie Attack!. Each involves a number of different enemies and events. You’ll have to buy the game to figure out the details.

Drinking Quest

Sundry

The cards are printed in color on the front and black and white on the back. The overall quality is good. The minor flaw is the retention of small nubs in the middle of the long edges during the printing process.

Hat tip to Ryan Jovian of Troll in the Corner for the review that lead me to the game.

Drinking Quest is available at drinkingquest.com for $25.