HeroQuest dungeon crawler competitor Maladum is the tabletop game of the moment

As a tabletop writer, I must admit that miniatures games are a bit of a blind spot. Which is why I wasn’t surprised when Maladum: Dungeons of Enveron, the latest big thing in miniatures gaming, seemingly came out of nowhere. All of a sudden, tabletop reviewers from Youtuber Peachy Tips to Polygon contributor Charlie Theel were singing Maladum’s praises, with the former calling it “the ideal form of a dungeon crawler”. With two new expansions recently announced, it seemed like the perfect time to dig into what this game is.

As Theel wrote in his “Best Games of the Year so far” roundup, Maladum is a fantasy adaption of Core Space, a 2019 cyberpunk dungeon crawler by Battle Systems that garnered some acclaim for its intricate tactile elements and tension-filled play. That original system was updated with a fantasy veneer for last year’s release of Maladum, in what Theel described as “one of the most inspiring and creative dungeon crawlers to hit the market in the past decade.” Tabletop gamers seemed to agree, with Maladum’s 2023 Kickstarter raising nearly $1 million and fulfilling to backers earlier this year.

So, what is dungeon crawling? It’s a style of play born out of old school RPGs like D&D, where the goal is to explore the depths of, you guessed it, a dungeon. In whatever form they take, dungeon crawlers ask players solve puzzles, fight monsters in tactical combat, and seek out treasure, while completing heroic missions along the way. What makes Maladum distinct from games in its class like Heroquest or Descent is its unconventional method of tackling these genre staples. “Unlike most dungeon crawlers, the game mimics the structure of extraction shooters like Call of Duty’s DMZ mode or Escape From Tarkov,” wrote Theel in his review on Player Elimination. “Your primary objective is to get in and get out.”

Maladum is played through a series of scenarios, each with its own goals like rescue missions or monster control. The game’s Doom mechanic develops as a session progresses, increasing the difficulty of your escape the further you get into the dungeon as more monsters populate. Though it’s set up for multiple players, Maladum can be played solo, and has the framework for an ongoing campaign where players can maintain the same characters and lose the loot they earned the previous session.

This game isn’t asking you to delve deep into the dungeon for an unspecified amount of time, though with the quality of the game materials, you may want to spend hours of real world time pouring over every detail. In Peachy Tip’s unboxing video, he highlighted the intuitive set up of the miniatures and 3D dungeon settings. The detailing of these cardboard cutouts and the many intricate parts of this dungeon would be the envy of any tabletop gamer, though the patience, organization, and dexterity required to assemble it all reminded me why my games tend to live in the theater of the mind.

Two weeks ago on its YouTube channel, Battle Systems announced two Maladum expansions: Beasts of Enveron and Of Ale and Adventure. Coming out in November, Beasts adds some biodiversity to the dungeons, alongside nine additional event cards and one hidden location. Of Ale and Adventure will be released in December and is a bit more substantial, coming with its own rulebook, printed terrain components, and additional NPCs, side quests, and loot for players to engage with during ongoing campaigns.

Both Beasts of Enveron and Of Ale and Adventure are currently available for preorder.