Here to Slay DUNGEONS
Customize a hero, combine two Schools of abilities, explore modular dungeons, gather loot and work together to defeat a Dungeon Boss before the party is overwhelmed.
Here to Slay DUNGEONS is Unstable Games’ cooperative dungeon-crawling spin-off from Here to Slay. Instead of competing to assemble a party and slay monsters, two to four players work together through a dungeon, improve customizable heroes, collect items and prepare for a final Dungeon Boss.
The project became one of 2026’s biggest tabletop crowdfunding campaigns, finishing at roughly $6.68 million from 26,986 backers. Unstable Games split the system into three standalone base games so players can buy one entry point or combine all three into a much larger pool of heroes, Schools, bosses, items and dungeons.
Why it stands out
The interesting part is not merely turning Here to Slay into a dungeon crawler. The system is built around modular character construction: heroes combine class identity, two Schools of abilities, loot and mastery progression, while the dungeon itself changes through terrain, obstacles, minions and boss-specific rules.
Why this has strong search potential
Here to Slay already has a large existing audience, while the DUNGEONS campaign attracted nearly 27,000 backers. Search intent now extends beyond crowdfunding into release timing, base-game differences, Deluxe vs standard content, how the three boxes combine, difficulty, bosses, hero classes and whether original Here to Slay content is compatible.
Because fulfillment is approaching, these queries should continue after crowdfunding rather than disappearing when the campaign closes.
Game at a Glance
Customize a Hero
Choose a hero, combine Schools of abilities and shape a build around the rest of the party.
Explore the Dungeon
Move through modular terrain where obstacles, environmental rules and enemies change your route.
Fight & Loot
Roll dice, use abilities, defeat monsters and collect items that strengthen the group.
Slay the Boss
Survive long enough to reach and defeat the Dungeon Boss before the entire party falls.
How Here to Slay DUNGEONS works
Here to Slay DUNGEONS is a cooperative adventure for two to four players. Each player controls a customizable hero and the party explores a modular dungeon together.
Players spend actions to move, interact with the dungeon, fight monsters, use abilities and develop their characters. Dice resolution remains part of the system, preserving a recognizable link to the original Here to Slay while giving the decisions a spatial dungeon-crawl structure.
The overall goal is to survive the dungeon and defeat its Dungeon Boss. If the party collapses before that happens, the group loses together.
Actions, movement and dungeon pressure
BoardGameGeek currently classifies the game around Action Points and Area Movement. That means players have to decide not only what they want to accomplish but how much of their limited turn economy should be spent moving versus fighting, looting or supporting allies.
The dungeon is not passive scenery. Terrain features, monsters and scenario-specific obstacles can force inefficient movement or make a seemingly direct route dangerous.
Editorial strategy principle: the shortest route is not always the best route if it leaves the party underpowered for the boss encounter.
How hero customization works
Each base game includes four playable heroes drawn from different classes.
Heroes can use Schools of Abilities to create different builds. Because abilities can be combined, two players using heroes from the same broad class do not necessarily need to develop in the same way.
The party-building objective is cooperative: covering another hero’s weakness can be more valuable than simply maximizing your own damage.
What are Schools?
Each base game contains six Schools. They function as customizable ability packages that let heroes specialize.
The system is intentionally modular. A hero from one box can use a School from another box once sets are combined, greatly increasing the number of possible builds.
Campaign stretch goals also introduced School Libraries to organize School decks and Mastery tokens during play.
How loot and items work
Loot provides another layer of customization. Item cards can improve heroes or cover weaknesses that the party’s starting abilities do not address.
If multiple base games are owned, Unstable Games explicitly allows the Item cards to be shuffled together into a much larger shared loot deck.
This is one reason the three-box collection scales well: cross-compatibility adds combinations rather than merely giving players three separate campaigns.
Does Here to Slay DUNGEONS have different difficulty levels?
Yes. Unstable Games has demonstrated different challenge levels including Novice and Veteran play.
The company has also published separate playthroughs using those difficulty settings, suggesting that groups are expected to increase challenge once they understand how hero synergies and dungeon pacing work.
This is important for replayability because a cooperative dungeon crawler can become predictable if optimizing the party removes too much danger.
The three Here to Slay DUNGEONS base games
| Base Game | Dungeons | Hero focus |
|---|---|---|
| Molten | Overgrown | Fire-scarred ruins and overgrown terrain | Four heroes and six Schools unique to this box |
| Dreamscape | Nightmare | Dreamlike and horror-themed environments | Fighter, Thief, Druid and Necromancer classes |
| Submerged | Deep Freeze | Water currents and frozen dungeon hazards | Berserker, Squire, Bard and Wizard classes |
Each one is a complete standalone game. You do not need to buy all three to play.
Molten | Overgrown
Molten | Overgrown is the most visually traditional fantasy-adventure entry of the three, using ruined terrain shaped by fire, vegetation and dangerous monsters.
Like every box, it contains two dungeon environments, four heroes, four bosses, six Schools and loot.
It is a sensible starting point if you want to learn the system before deciding whether the larger mix-and-match ecosystem is worthwhile.
Dreamscape | Nightmare
Dreamscape | Nightmare pushes the game toward surreal and horror-themed environments.
Unstable Games identifies its four hero classes as Fighter, Thief, Druid and Necromancer.
Revealed bosses include Moongrin, Sleepwalker, Toxolotl and Bloodwing, each tied to a different part of the Dreamscape/Nightmare environment.
Submerged | Deep Freeze
Submerged | Deep Freeze uses environmental movement more aggressively. Publisher material describes a magical stream running back toward the Dungeon Entrance, creating movement effects that differ from the other sets.
The hero classes in this box are Berserker, Squire, Bard and Wizard.
This makes it attractive to groups that already understand the base system and want environmental rules to become a larger part of route planning.
Can the three base games be mixed together?
Yes. Full cross-compatibility is one of the project’s main design features.
Unstable Games says players can:
- Use a hero from one game with a School from another.
- Use a dungeon from one game with a Dungeon Boss from another.
- Combine Item cards from all three games into one large loot deck.
Minions are the main caveat. Although mixing them is mechanically possible, the publisher recommends keeping Minions paired with their matching Dungeon Boss because the cards are designed around that connection.
How many Dungeon Bosses are included?
Each standalone base game includes four Dungeon Bosses, giving the three-box collection twelve bosses before additional campaign material.
Bosses are not simply larger monsters. Their associated Minions and dungeon interactions help shape the final challenge.
Mixing a boss into another dungeon is officially supported, creating additional scenario combinations.
Is this the same game as the original Here to Slay?
No. It uses the same universe and visual identity, but DUNGEONS is a separate cooperative dungeon-crawling system.
The original Here to Slay is primarily a competitive card-and-dice game. DUNGEONS adds spatial movement, modular environments, cooperative party building and boss-driven dungeon objectives.
Some familiar characters and monsters return, particularly in Submerged | Deep Freeze, but that does not make the two games interchangeable.
Can original Here to Slay cards be used in DUNGEONS?
The new system is not designed around directly importing a normal Here to Slay deck.
Unstable Games has reused characters and themes from the original game and offered nostalgia-focused campaign content, but DUNGEONS uses its own hero, School, loot, terrain and boss structures.
Buyers should therefore treat it as a separate game line rather than an expansion requiring the 2020 base game.
Standard vs Deluxe Edition
The campaign’s Deluxe Edition upgrades components rather than replacing the fundamental rules.
Publisher descriptions highlight premium wooden tokens and a larger exclusive box designed to hold sleeved cards.
The Deluxe versions were the central crowdfunding format, while exact post-fulfillment retail configurations may differ.
How much did Here to Slay DUNGEONS cost?
| Campaign option | Gamefound price | What it contained |
|---|---|---|
| Choose Your Adventure | $39 | Your choice of one Deluxe Edition base game |
| Dungeon Bundle | $109 | All three Deluxe base games in an exclusive slipcase |
| Ultimate Collector’s Set | $319 | All three Deluxe base games plus storage, mats, figures, sleeves, dividers and dice-tower accessories |
These are crowdfunding/pledge-manager prices and should not automatically be treated as future retail prices.
Who is Rain the Unstable?
Rain the Unstable is a campaign-exclusive playable hero created as a callback to the original Here to Slay crowdfunding campaign.
Rain does not have a fixed class and can take any two Schools of Abilities, making the character unusually flexible.
The physical Rain Hero and meeple were campaign content; Unstable Games said the character would remain available online in print-and-play form after the campaign.
What other campaign-exclusive content was added?
The project unlocked thirteen major stretch goals within its first five days, eventually including content such as Piper the Bard and School Libraries.
A Holographic Promo Card Pack adds thirteen exclusive Item cards not found in the regular base games.
These extras are useful for collectors, but the central dungeon-crawl experience does not depend on owning every promotional component.
How successful was the crowdfunding campaign?
Extremely successful. The project had a $50,000 target and finished at approximately $6,684,948 from 26,986 backers.
It crossed $3 million within its first week and unlocked the campaign’s planned stretch-goal ladder unusually early.
Funding success demonstrates demand, but it should not be confused with a post-release quality verdict because physical copies are still moving through production and fulfillment.
When will Here to Slay DUNGEONS release?
BoardGameGeek currently lists the three base games as 2027 releases.
By September 2026, Unstable Games said production was underway and locked shipping addresses on September 29 for the initial fulfillment pass.
The same September update warned that the fulfillment timeline was at risk of being slightly delayed. For that reason, it is safer to treat 2027 as the release window rather than promise a specific arrival month.
Will Here to Slay DUNGEONS be available at retail?
The crowdfunding project repeatedly describes its base games as exclusive editions, so buyers should not assume a later retail release will reproduce the same Deluxe boxes, promos and stretch-goal package.
Unstable Games has a strong retail presence with its other titles, but the exact post-fulfillment retail plan for DUNGEONS should be confirmed once the publisher announces it.
Here to Slay DUNGEONS compared with other cooperative adventures
| Game | Shared appeal | Main difference |
|---|---|---|
| Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion | Cooperative dungeon battles and character development | Gloomhaven is a heavier tactical card puzzle; DUNGEONS is shorter, dice-driven and easier to remix. |
| Slay the Spire: The Board Game | Co-op progression, synergy and escalating encounters | Slay the Spire is deckbuilding; DUNGEONS adds spatial exploration and customizable Schools. |
| Gothic: A Shadow’s Quest | Co-op fantasy adventuring and equipment progression | Gothic emphasizes campaign narrative; DUNGEONS is modular and scenario-driven. |
Who may like Here to Slay DUNGEONS?
It looks best suited to groups that enjoy cooperative adventures but want something lighter and shorter than Gloomhaven-style campaign games.
Fans of the original Here to Slay may particularly enjoy seeing familiar art and characters placed into a more spatial, RPG-like structure.
It may be less suitable if you want deep campaign continuity, low randomness, official solo play or a single compact box containing the entire product line.
Seven things to know before buying
- Each box is standalone. You do not need all three base games.
- The three boxes are fully cross-compatible. Heroes, Schools, dungeons and loot can be mixed.
- Keep Minions with their matching Boss when possible. That is the publisher’s recommended pairing.
- DUNGEONS is not an expansion for the original Here to Slay.
- Deluxe mostly upgrades presentation and storage.
- The crowdfunding prices are not guaranteed retail prices.
- Fulfillment may run slightly late. Production is underway, but the publisher has already flagged schedule risk.
Here to Slay DUNGEONS FAQ
How many players?
2–4 players.
How long does it take?
BoardGameGeek currently lists approximately 60–90 minutes.
Is it cooperative?
Yes. The whole party works together against the dungeon and its boss.
Can it be played solo?
No official one-player mode is currently listed for the three base games.
How many base games are there?
Three: Molten | Overgrown, Dreamscape | Nightmare, and Submerged | Deep Freeze.
Do I need all three?
No. Each is a complete standalone game.
Can the boxes be mixed?
Yes. Heroes, Schools, dungeons, bosses and Items can be mixed across sets, with the publisher recommending that Minions remain paired with their corresponding Boss.
How many bosses are in each box?
Four Dungeon Bosses per base game.
How much was one base game during the campaign?
The Choose Your Adventure pledge was $39 for one Deluxe Edition base game.
How much was the three-game bundle?
The Dungeon Bundle was $109 during the campaign.
When is it expected?
The games are currently listed as 2027 releases. Production is underway, but Unstable Games warned in September 2026 that fulfillment might be slightly delayed.
Sources and scope
- Official Gamefound project: base-game structure, campaign bundles and add-ons
- BoardGameGeek family page: publisher description and system overview
- BoardGameGeek: Molten | Overgrown player count and play time
- Unstable Games: Submerged | Deep Freeze environments, heroes, Schools and bosses
- Unstable Games: cross-compatibility and mix-and-match rules
- Unstable Games: September 2026 production and fulfillment-timeline update
- Tabletop Analytics: final funding and backer totals
Checked October 8, 2026. Here to Slay DUNGEONS has completed crowdfunding and is in production/fulfillment preparation, so retail plans and arrival timing can still change. Gameplay descriptions rely on current publisher rules, official playthrough material and BoardGameGeek listings rather than a final retail copy. Buyer guidance and comparisons are original editorial analysis; no firsthand review or playtest is claimed. Editorial policy and corrections.