D&D Lords of Waterdeep

If you can handle the mobile-inspired interface and lacking set of options, D&D Lords of Waterdeep offers a compelling experience for those who enjoy board games.

91%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

stability, optimization

94% User Score Based on 2,406 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 1 reviews

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About

D&D Lords of Waterdeep is a single player and multiplayer casual strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Playdek, Inc. and was released on September 1, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

"D&D Lords of Waterdeep is a strategy board game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, where players take on the role of masked Lords regulating the city of Waterdeep. The objective is to gain power and complete missions by recruiting adventurers and controlling locations. However, the single-player experience may be marred by bugs, affecting overall gameplay."

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94%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,406 reviews

story8 positive mentions

stability34 negative mentions

Faithful adaptation of the board game with smooth gameplay and intuitive interface.
Great for both solo play against AI and multiplayer with friends, offering a fun and strategic experience.
Expansions add significant depth and variety, enhancing replayability.

User interface can be clunky and not optimized for PC, leading to confusion during gameplay.
AI can be predictable and not challenging enough at lower difficulty levels.
Online multiplayer suffers from a lack of players and issues with matchmaking, making it hard to find games.

story
178 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
93%
3%
The game's story revolves around players taking on the roles of masked lords, sending agents to complete various quests and schemes for victory points. While the quests offer a mix of strategic depth and replayability, some players find the mandatory quests frustrating and the quest requirements can be overly complex, leading to a sense of randomness in gameplay. Overall, the narrative elements enhance the experience, but inconsistencies in quest mechanics and AI behavior can detract from the enjoyment.
- “It's a game that feels different every time, based on what 'lord' you are and what plot quests you get.”
- “You take the role of a mysterious and wealthy lord, sending your minions to the dark corners of the city, to gather adventurers to your banner, to complete fantastic quests that meet your goals.”
- “Fun game to scheme and plot against your friends in a D&D atmosphere.”
- “Triggers don't correspond to the written text (seem to have hidden extra restrictions) and progress quests like playing lords and all the base game quests don't show which ones are missing.”
- “Mandatory quests must be completed before any other quest and are generally a waste of time and resources.”
- “Its a must to do at least 8 non-mandatory quests or you lose.”
gameplay
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
58%
7%
The gameplay is characterized by its solid mechanics, primarily focusing on resource management and worker placement, which many players find engaging and easy to learn. While the game offers endless replayability and is well-adapted from its board game origins, some users note issues with balance, particularly in two-player modes, and minor bugs during worker placement. Expansions like Skullport and Undermountain significantly enhance the gameplay experience, introducing new mechanics and strategies that keep the game fresh and interesting.
- “The gameplay is smooth and there is a dedicated community of regular players.”
- “Excellent structure, fun graphics and hours of gameplay make this a keeper!”
- “The gameplay and interface is solid and runs very smooth.”
- “Horrible game mechanics and stupid developers who couldn't see this... do not buy this game.”
- “So despite the solid gameplay, don't bother with this game as a single player game.”
- “True to the boardgame, the multiplayer single-device gameplay is kind of annoying that you can't disable the turn recap as it prolongs the game considerably.”
graphics
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
42%
5%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their smoothness, detailed artwork, and faithful representation of the original board game, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience. However, some users report issues such as graphical bugs, elements becoming obscured, and navigation difficulties on the map. Overall, while the visuals are considered excellent and contribute positively to gameplay, there are notable concerns that could affect user experience.
- “The great artwork from the board game continues here with some fun background and character animations to bring the game to life.”
- “Excellent graphics and intuitive interface.”
- “The graphics are nice and clear and the cards are easy to read since you can zoom into any space or card by just clicking on it.”
- “Seriously, what is up with these graphics?”
- “For the downside, the map graphics are kind of weird; it seems like it could have been better as it's not easy to navigate around the board to see all the things in play.”
- “Elements (buildings, pawns) often become obscured by graphics they should be placed on top of, or seem to disappear from the screen entirely.”
replayability
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
26%
6%
The game is widely praised for its high replayability, with many players noting the variety introduced by different characters, quests, and expansions. The base game alone offers significant replay value, and the addition of expansions enhances the strategic depth and diversity of gameplay. While single-player modes may lack some engagement, the overall consensus is that the game remains fun and engaging across multiple playthroughs.
- “The expansions really add variety to an already highly replayable game.”
- “Excellent adaptation of an amazing board game with tons of replayability due to the variance of cards, quests, buildings, and lords available.”
- “There is tons of replayability in the base game alone, as you can configure each game to your liking -- which opponents you'll be playing with, their individual intelligence, and so on.”
- “Faithful recreation of the board game, achievements are a bit buggy, not a lot of online play which is unfortunate as single player loses replay value fast.”
- “Single player doesn't offer any kind of campaign, just straight up games against the AI, but there's enough replay value here that if you like the game that shouldn't be too big a drawback.”
- “It doesn't quite have the creative engine-building satisfaction as something like Race for the Galaxy, but I can see I'm going to get a lot of replay value out of it.”
stability
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
77%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting various bugs, particularly related to achievements and online account creation. While some players found the adaptation to be relatively bug-free and user-friendly, others experienced significant glitches that affected gameplay. Overall, the game is functional but has notable stability issues that may detract from the experience for some users.
- “Faithful to the board game, and bug free, what more could you ask for.”
- “Very nice bug free app of a nice board game, pick it up, worth the price.”
- “The implementation is clean and bug free as far as anyone can tell.”
- “The main reason for the down vote: super buggy and annoying achievements.”
- “The skullport expansion is buggy and I could not find a way to report bugs.”
- “Game is very buggy.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
42%
12%
The music in the game is generally described as generic and mediocre, often leading players to mute it in favor of their own soundtracks. While some find the sound effects and music to be fun and engaging, others criticize them as cheap and unremarkable, reminiscent of older shareware games. Overall, the audio experience does not stand out compared to other digital tabletop games.
- “Fun and engaging, nice background music.”
- “An excellent adaptation of a great board game - the addition of sounds, music, and auto point tracking is really nice.”
- “Build on very solid mechanics, offering multiple strategies, very pretty (or should I say 'elegant') and music is pleasant too.”
- “I still find the music grating, so I usually just turn it off and listen to something else in the background.”
- “The music is very generic fantasy music that you'll probably mute and replace with your own pretty quickly, but the sound effects sound quite cheap, especially some of the AI thinking effects that suddenly cut in with a background hubbub then cut out just as quickly, reminding me of the kind of clips you'd find in old shareware games.”
- “-- the music and sound are generally displeasing enough that I turned them off.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The game effectively captures the Dungeons & Dragons atmosphere of Waterdeep, immersing players in a world of scheming and strategy. While the design may be simple, the card art, audio, and animation contribute to a rich atmosphere that enhances the overall experience, making it ideal for relaxed, contemplative play. Players appreciate the tactile nature of physical gameplay, which further enriches the game's ambiance.
- “A fun game that nicely portrays the D&D atmosphere of Waterdeep.”
- “The atmosphere, tone, and pacing make it a brilliant game for quietly pondering with a cup of tea or glass of wine, in the slower moments of the day, or after everyone else has gone to bed.”
- “Mimicking the atmosphere of a board game session is up to the player and their mates, and I'd always recommend physical over digital due to tactility.”
- “The game drips with atmosphere, and after a few minutes you really feel drawn into the world of scheming and backstage maneuvering that characterizes Waterdeep in the many Forgotten Realms novels it appears in.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some users report smooth performance and a well-designed UI, others criticize it for feeling like a poorly optimized mobile port, particularly in the electronic version for PC.
- “While it still feels like a mobile port on the edges, the UI is quite well done and performance is strong.”
- “Runs smoothly.”
- “The electronic version is not optimized for PC.”
- “Extremely poorly optimized.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized as funny and irreverent, often leaning towards a nasty edge. Players appreciate its comedic elements, especially in comparison to the original board game experience.
- “Funny, irreverent, and sometimes... very nasty.”
- “The funny thing is, a few hours before I saw this on Steam, I had just played the actual board game with a couple of friends.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat confusing, particularly regarding AI difficulty levels and how they change with the number of players. Despite this, many are focused on achievement farming, indicating that grinding is a significant part of their gameplay experience.
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game to be highly engaging and enjoyable, offering a profound emotional experience that enhances their overall enjoyment.
- “It's great fun, totally absorbing, and provides a rich emotional experience in the gameplay.”

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75%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

D&D Lords of Waterdeep Review - Casting Dice And Breaking Bones
If you can handle the mobile-inspired interface and lacking set of options, D&D Lords of Waterdeep offers a compelling experience for those who enjoy board games.
Techraptor.net
75%

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43h Median play time

66h Average play time

5-150h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

D&D Lords of Waterdeep is a casual strategy game with fantasy theme.

D&D Lords of Waterdeep is available on PC, Mac OS, Phone, iPad and others.

On average players spend around 66 hours playing D&D Lords of Waterdeep.

D&D Lords of Waterdeep was released on September 1, 2017.

D&D Lords of Waterdeep was developed by Playdek, Inc..

D&D Lords of Waterdeep has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

D&D Lords of Waterdeep is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Ticket To Ride, Carcassonne: Tiles & Tactics, Scythe, Small World, Through the Ages and others.

D&D Lords of Waterdeep

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