5 Minute Dungeon Review - Box feature

5 Minute Dungeon Review, Strategy Tips & FAQ

Play Time: 5-10 Min / Players: 2-5 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ / Publisher: Spin Master / Designer: Connor Reid

5 Minute Dungeon Ratings and Summary

BoardgamingParent.com

Kids Rating
Teen Rating
Parent Rating

Summary

Kids rating from our daughters (7 &10).
Teen rating from our son (13).

Kids view: “One of my favourite games. Different bosses offer new challenges.”
Teen view: “This game is a blast to play but needs really good teamwork.”
Parent view: “Great to have a short game we can play that’s so much fun.”

4.8

Pros

  • Packs a lot of fun into 5 minutes
  • Good variety of 10 heroes chose from
  • Each of the five bosses poses a different level of difficulty to keep you challenged
  • The app is well done but doesn’t distract from the game
  • The artwork and component quality are very good.

Cons

  • Some younger kids will struggle with the frantic pace
  • Not a huge amount of depth or strategy here so replay value will be limited.

What You Will Find in Our 5 Minute Dungeon Review


Today we are reviewing 5 Minute Dungeon, a quick-fire cooperative game for 2-5 players. Before I tried 5 Minute Dungeon, I was sceptical that a game this short would have enough to keep us engaged. How much can you possibly cram into a 5-minute game to keep things interesting? I have to say up front that my scepticism vanished after a few games. Without totally spoiling my review, I can say this game is a very worthwhile addition to our collection and fills a neat spot for when we don’t have a lot of time on our hands but still want to enjoy a game together.

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How to play 5 Minute Dungeon

Objective

The object of 5 Minute Dungeon is to defeat the dungeon boss within 5 minutes. There are 5 bosses, each with a different level of difficulty which determines the number of door cards you must defeat in the dungeon. The harder the boss the more door cards that make up the dungeon deck which means you need to defeat more cards to get to the boss.

5 Minute Dungeon review - Box and setup
5 Minute Dungeon set up and ready to go!

Set Up

To set up 5 Minute Dungeon you will select a boss board and set up the dungeon according to the number of players and the number of door cards stated for that boss. Each player will also choose a hero from the 10 heroes on offer and a deck of cards which match the colour of their hero. Players will start with four cards in their hand and the timer is then set, you can use the app for the timer which also comes with some entertaining voices.

Defeating the Dungeon Deck

Once the timer starts you flip over the first door card and players will work together to defeat the card. Door cards come in four different types, people, monsters, obstacles and mini bosses. Players can defeat a door card by playing cards that match the icons illustrated on the card. There are five different coloured hero cards that match these icons. There are scrolls (blue), shields (yellow), arrows (green) swords (red) and jumps (purple). You can also defeat these cards with your hero ability or one of the action cards that allow you to defeat certain card types, we’ll cover these off below in the hero section.

There are no turns in 5 Minute Dungeon, it’s a free for all where you are all frantically playing cards to defeat door cards as quickly as possible. Be prepared for cards to go flying and a bit of a mess to clean up at the end, it’s all part of the fun.

Once you have defeated the dungeon deck you must play cards that match the icons on the boss board to win the game. The rules are very easy to learn, and you can be up and running with new players in no time.

The heroes of 5 Minute Dungeon

There are 5 double sided hero boards for a total of 10 heroes to choose from. The trick is picking the right hero combination that gives you a good spread of options when it comes to special abilities. Special abilities are triggered by discarding three cards. I’ll briefly run through the heroes below:

5 Minute Dungeon review - Hero boards
The heroes have unique powers and special powers to suit their character.
  • Yellow heroes (Valkyrie/Paladin) – These heroes have more shields in their deck and their special cards include a card that pauses time and allows players to draw a card, a card that instantly defeats a door card, a card that allows one player to put their discard pile back on top of their deck and a card that allows all players to recover three cards from their discard pile. The Valkyries special ability allows each other player to draw two cards and the Paladin’s special ability allows him to defeat a monster
  • Red heroes (Gladiator/Barbarian) – These heroes have more swords in their deck, and they have special card allows two players to draw three cards. The Barbarian’s special ability allows them to defeat a monster and the Gladiators special ability them to defeat a person
  • Purple heroes (Ninja/Thief) – These heroes have more jumps in their deck and include special cards that enable you to donate your hand to another player and a card that allows you to steal a hand from another player. The Ninja’s special ability allows them to defeat an obstacle and the Thief’s special ability allows them to draw five cards
  • Green heroes (Huntress/Ranger) – These heroes have more arrows in their deck and include special wild cards and healing cards that allow a player to recover four cards from their discard pile. The Ranger’s special ability allows them to defeat a person and the Huntress special ability allows her to choose another player to draw four cards
  • Blue heroes (Sorceress/Wizard) – These heroes have more scrolls in their deck and have two special cards that enable them to cancel an event and gain one of each symbol. The Wizard’s special ability stops time and the Sorceress special ability allows her to defeat an obstacle.

Gameplay: Quick thinking and good communication are a must in 5 Minute Dungeon

Let me start by saying that our first few games of 5 Minute Dungeon felt like a disaster. We were soundly beaten by the easiest boss and felt totally overwhelmed! This game is a lot more challenging than it looks. It puts you under a lot of time pressure to make decisions quickly. There are a few things that helped us improve that I’ll share a little further down but first let’s talk about the gameplay.

5 Minute Dungeon packs a lot of fun into a very short timeframe. I don’t think we have any other game that is as enjoyable in this time bracket. The great thing is we can fit in a quick game just about any time. We have recently introduced this game to my 10-year-old, and she loves playing a quick game or two before bedtime. Although we need to make sure she has some time to wind down after the excitement!

5 Minute Dungeon review - Boss boards
There are 5 bosses each represents a different level of difficulty.

There is some nice variety in the hero cards to keep things interesting. Each hero board has two sides with male and female version which I think is a great idea and it’s nice for our kids to be able to choose. The abilities are well considered, and you really must be careful picking hero combinations to give you a range of options during the game.

The game feels frantic and encourages good communication. This leads to lots of fun and some good laughs as well. Over several games my kids have really started to coordinate and communicate better during the game. It’s been really cool to watch them working together and planning collaboratively to try to beat the next boss. It really has been a nice bonding experience for them and it’s surprising that a game this short has been able to achieve that.

I think this game would be beneficial for kids that struggle with making decisions. It’s a safe way to help them practice this skillset. My advice though would be to ease younger kids into this. My 10-year-old is fine with the pace, but I think a lot of younger kids would find there is too much going on and may get overwhelmed. To help with this, you can have a few games with a bigger time limit (say 10 minutes) until they get more confident and then gradually reduce the time down.

5 Minute Dungeons strength is that it packs a simple but fun game into a very short timeframe. The downside is that once you have beaten the 5 bosses with a group, they probably won’t want to go back to it often, if at all. In saying that, this is still a great intro or filler game you can bring out with new groups and have a blast.

Components: The cards are well illustrated and hilarious, but you might not notice them

If you dive straight into 5 Minute Dungeon you might not notice the attention to detail and humour in the door cards. You see them so briefly during the game that they seem like a blur as you’re playing. If you take a closer look though they are very well illustrated and there’s are some good laughs to be had just examining the different cards. My kids and I only really noticed them after playing several games and they were a crack up. When you do take a look you will notice a gaggle of screaming children, a very long loading screen and a definitely not booby-trapped chest to name a few.

5 Minute Dungeon review - Dungeon cards
The dungeon cards are hilarious, but you may not notice them during the game with it’s frantic pace.

The artwork on the player boards and boss matts is very nicely done. The card is nice and thick too. Having five double sided here boards provide some good choice.

The only thing we have noticed with the components is that the cards are getting some minor wear on the edges. This is to be expected given the punishment they get during a game with cards flying everywhere as you frantically try to move through the dungeon deck. This doesn’t affect gameplay in any way though so you may not even notice.

Theme: The artwork and the app support the dungeon theme nicely but there isn’t a lot of depth to the theme

Given the game only lasts for about 5 minutes you can’t reasonably expect to be immersed in a deep theme. However, the artwork and the app do a really good job of supporting the dungeon theme. I especially like the light-hearted illustrations on the door cards.

The app takes care of the timer but also provides 5 different voices to choose from. It would be great to have more options for the voices, but the 5 included are nicely done.

Final Thoughts: 5 Minute Dungeon is frantic fun in a short timeframe and we love it!

The fun factor to time investment here is exceptional. To have a game you can play in as little as 5 minutes that’s this fun is a huge bonus. It comes in very handy when we would like to play a game with the kids not long before bedtime, you can squeeze in a quick game of 5-Minute dungeon without trouble. They just might need a few minutes to relax after the excitement!

If you want some other options for cooperative games, in particular for teens, we have our favourite teen cooperative games list which will give you some more ideas.

Is 5 Minute Dungeon easy to learn? Yes, not hard to pick up at all. Some younger kids are likely to struggle keeping pace in the short time frame. The box says 8 years and over, but we think some 8-year-olds may struggle keeping up unless you adjust the time limit. The rules won’t be a problem though.

What age is appropriate for 5 Minute Dungeon? We think the age rating of 8+ is about right for this game if you play with the 5 minute time limit. Younger kids can easily play as the rules are very easy to understand, but will likely need the time limit extended so they don’t feel overwhelmed.

What will 5 Minute Dungeon teach my kids? This could help more timid kids come out of their shell a bit as the game does encourage good communication, you might assign them a role to call out the door card types as they are flipped for example to help with this. It will also teach quick thinking for those kids that struggle to make decisions.  

Does 5 Minute Dungeon have good replay value? This is a great filler game either to break the ice for new players or to cram a lot of fun in when you don’t have much time on your hands. It can become repetitive after you have played a few games in a night. But it is a heap of fun to come back to after a while or with a new group. 

We hope you enjoyed our 5 Minute Dungeon review. If you have any more questions or just want to share your thoughts on this game please leave a comment below, or get in touch through our contact page.

About the Authors

We are parents who love board gaming. We have three children and have been enjoying board games as a family ever since we had our first child. We share our real unbiased experiences and opinions on board games so you can decide if they are right for your family. We also write guides and articles to help you get the most out of your family game time. If you enjoy our content and want to support us you can do that through our Ko-fi page by clicking on the button below.

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Other Games to Consider

If you are looking in to 5 Minute Dungeon, you might be interested in some other good introductions to cooperative board games. Here are some ideas worth exploring below:

  • Castle Panic (review): If you have younger kids to accommodate then something simple like Castle Panic could be a good option. Castle Panic is a cooperative tower defence game that is great for younger kids aged between 6 and 10, unlike 5 Minute Dungeon there is no time limit so it isn’t as tense. To win you must defend your castle from rampaging orcs, trolls, goblins and a range of boss monsters. If the monsters reach the castle walls, they will begin to destroy them, if you lose all 6 castle towers you lose the game. The choices here are very straight forward and mean that young kids can play confidently without much help once they have a game or two under their belt.  
  • Forbidden Island (review): Forbidden Island is another great intro to cooperative games and is suitable for newbies and younger players. Like 5 Minute Dungeon you have different characters to choose from which keeps things interesting. In Forbidden Island you must work with your fellow adventurers to seek out four treasures, retrieve them and escape the Island before it sinks.  
  • Forbidden Desert (review): If you are after something a little more challenging you could check out Forbidden Desert. Forbidden Desert shares some similarities with Forbidden Island but adds an interesting sand storm mechanic that shifts the tiles around the board and causes the tiles to accumulate sand that hinders the players. It’s another great instalment in the Forbidden series of cooperative games. Unlike 5 Minute Dungeon the challenge isn’t in the form of a time limit but the unpredictability of the sand storm shifting and dumping sand which hinders your progress.
  • Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game (review): If you happen to be a Marvel fan this game is a great option for a fun and easy to learn cooperative game. This one is a slight step up in complexity, unlike 5 Minute Dungeon this game involves deck building. In Legendary Marvel, you will use your team of heroes to defeat an evil mastermind and his villains. The game play is very solid so if you don’t like the Marvel theme, there are a wide range of other themes on offer. To name a few, Legendary has created games for the following popular themes, James Bond, Aliens, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I don’t have the cards I need to defeat a Dungeon Card can I play cards that don’t match and gain more cards?

Yes, you can do this. You can play cards that don’t match the symbol on the Dungeon Card and then replenish your hand in the hope that you will get the cards you need. Beware because these will count as played cards, they do not go into your discard pile and cannot be recovered by healing cards or abilities. You can’t do this when facing the boss.

Can you refill your hand even if the Dungeon Card is not defeated?

Yes, the rules state you should refill your hand anytime you play or discard cards. This does not require you to have defeated a dungeon card first.

What is the difference between a Magic Bomb card and a Wild card?

A magic bomb provides one of each type of symbol when played, a wild card only provides one symbol when played.

Can you refill your hand when the timer is paused?

Yes, the only thing that will restart the timer when it is paused by a card effect is playing another card.

Can I use the Huntress’ Animal Companion ability on myself to draw more cards?

No, the rules state it must be another player.

Do played cards go in my discard pile?

No, any played cards must go in the middle of the table and are then removed from the game. Only cards played to trigger abilities go in your discard pile or cards discarded due to an Event card. This is important as there are some cards that allow you to retrieve cards from your discard pile when played.

When the timer is paused can I use a hero’s abilities multiple times without restarting the timer?

Yes, the rules allow you to use hero abilities without restarting the timer when the timer is paused. There is no limit to how many times you can use a hero’s ability but beware this also reduces the cards available in your deck for defeating dungeon cards.

When facing the boss can you play cards that don’t match any of the required symbols to replace them in your hand?

No, the rules state that when facing the boss, you cannot play cards that do not match any of the required symbols on the boss card. Wild cards and magic bombs can always be played.

Strategy Tips

I promised you some tips if you do get 5 Minute Dungeon and end up struggling a bit. So here are some things that really helped us:

  • Make sure you pick a good range of abilities with your heroes. We have found that including a hero that allows other players to draw more cards is very useful as is one that can pause the clock
  • Make sure you arrange yourselves so that everyone is within easy distance to the dungeon deck and leave some space next to it so you can just fire any played cards away from the play area unobstructed
  • Make sure you know the difference between cards that go to your discard pile and the ones that go out of play. Any cards used for you abilities will go into your discard pile, so make sure you remember that. This will be important if you use abilities that enable you to recover cards from your discard pile
  • Assign someone to pull each door card and call out what sort of card it is, person, monster, obstacle, or mini boss. This is important because if anyone has an ability or card, they can use against that type of door card, they will be reminded to use it
  • Assign someone to call out the symbols required to defeat each door card out loud. That will speed things up and get players looking for those cards quicker.
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