Dangerous Space delivers a compelling, but extremely abstract, dungeon crawl experience set in futuristic starships. Dangerous Space adds a few things to the Dungeon Pages formula that I think improve the game in some ways. The game’s puzzle-optimizing challenges, combined with a hero tech tree, keep the experience fresh and exciting, encouraging strategic planning and quick thinking. The concept of receiving a new adventure sheet every Friday throughout the year significantly enhances its replayability and keeps the game dynamic.

The new methods to attack and defend give the player a bit more agency and more of a puzzle to consider. Upgrades feel a bit more complex since their improvements are tired to the extra actions. In addition, the introduction of mandatory missions improves the formula entirely since you aren’t just “escaping the dungeon” each time.

The threat system, which seems to replace the random “Wandering Monsters” mechanic are much more predictable, although, some are even harder then the original mechanic and require a bit of planning to deal with.

Overall game retains it’s simplicity factor while somehow maintaining a slight creep up in complexity (especially in learning the rules the first time). While slightly less zen-like than the original Dungeon Pages, it’s still a very streamlined and simple puzzle to play and great for any board game collection.

I really enjoyed Dungeon Pages. If you don’t know what Dungeon Pages is… well… go check that out first. If you are too lazy to do that… well.. then I guess I’ll summarize a bit to catch you up!

Dangerous Space (and older sibling Dungeon Pages) are two print-and-play tactical roll-and-write games that are published on pnparcade… whose thematic intentions are to combine dungeon crawling with a sodoku-like puzzle. With just a pencil (or pen!) (or crayon!) (or a tablet!), some dice, and a single sheet of paper, as a solo player, you navigate through dangerous corridors and rooms, managing dice rolls to advance your character, dodge enemy attacks, and confront deep space terrors in an abstract maze of rooms and enemies.

Both games share similar DNA. The goal revolves around the mechanic of making a path of sequential digits (pulled from your dice rolls) to connect a path from point A to point B while avoiding all kinds of Hazards. This can be trickier than it sounds! While Dungeon Pages has a bunch of tiny puzzles to interact with, Dangerous Space connects them all into one large spaceship that makes for a slightly meatier experience and keeps the game flow moving.

The goal is simple. Make a path of digits from your dice rolls connecting the entrance of each dungeon to the exit before dying. Repeat this until the final dungeon where the only additional requirement is also defeat the final boss awaiting you.

The core loop is in Dangerous space has been simplified into 3 steps but remains mostly the same as Dungeon Pages:

• Roll your dice (white dice are “good” dice and black dice are “evil” dice)
• Check to see if active threats attack by comparing your roll value on evil dice to their threat trigger.
• Mark your dice rolls to move or attack, which are now separate actions you can take with the dice
• Stay alive, make it out fast enough, hit all the checkpoints and this time there is always a mission you have to complete as well!

This simple loop is enough game to tie the theme well enough to the actions you are doing. While you, in practice, are only rolling some dice and placing numbers on a grid… somehow the game still evokes the science fiction spacefaring notes that the single-page game is aiming for. Your character feels like they are exploring, growing, and ultimately powering up to complete their mission. Since the map is now one big interconnected area, the exploration feels a bit more tactical and meaningful. Threats now have positional alerts (that replace the doubles mechanic of Dungeon Pages) that you can strategically deal with, especially now that defense is another skill you can build up for your hero.

The addition of missions makes the game feel more complete as well. In Dungeon Pages, you were just trying to escape the dungeon (which required killing a boss), but in Dangerous Space, you now not only have to explore everything and connect all the checkpoints, but there is usually a secondary win condition such as rescuing all the crewmates or finding quest items before you are allowed to even attempt escaping. The game adds a timer as well which forces you to think more optimally. You can’t waste as much time but you also aren’t forced to explore every single square on the map now.

The new rules take a little bit to internalize and I think anyone starting with Dangerous Space will find it a bit harder to grasp compared to the easier ruleset of Dungeon Pages. Neither game is complex but Dangerous Space has a little more going for it that requires some extra thinking and considerations.

Overall, the game is both a step up and a step down in different ways from the original.

The slightly more complex ruleset can feel a little harder to master. Some of the naming conventions and logic to them can be hard to master without a few plays. I’ve seen quite a few “new players” to the system feel lost from just reading the rulebook alone. (If you want to learn more how to play, I have some videos up that can help!)

I am not sure how I feel about the checkpoint system being a mandatory requirement, especially when there are also mandatory missions. I actually misplayed this my first game until I re-read the rules and I feel like the checkpoint system (like the better XP system before it) should be more of a push your luck sort of thing, because you are guaranteed every game all of the upgrades (or you lose). In Dungeon Pages, the xp system meant that upgrades were not guaranteed and could lead to dicier situations.

I think I prefer the fantasy theme slightly more but that is just personal preference.

I don’t think the timer adds much to the game, or at least, so far in my plays, it hasn’t really added much.

While Dangerous Space offers an innovative take on the solo board game genre, its print-and-play format might not appeal to everyone, especially for those who prefer physical components without the need for printing. Additionally, the game might benefit from more varied artwork, a campaign of some sort, and even story expansions to explore new themes or introduce some sort multiplayer options (although as a solo player, I’m happy if they do not do this).

Wakasm's Report Card of Arbitrary Values for Dangerous Space