dungeon solitaire

Bruno’s House Rules!

19 November 2025 Matthew Lowes

Periodically people email me about their Dungeon Solitaire games, sometimes with questions, sometimes with reports of amazing games, and sometimes with their own creations and house rules. It’s always a joy to hear how people are enjoying the game, adapting it, and delving deep into everything Dungeon Solitaire has to offer.

Every once in a while, someone comes along who has delved very deep indeed, and over the last six months or so I’ve had the pleasure of hearing from one such Dungeon Solitaire super player. Bruno, from Quebec, has explored not only Dungeon Solitaire Campaign Mode and the ALL-IN rules using the Devil’s Playground expansion, but he’s developed his own set of house rules for playing massive LoS-DP Campaigns with his own custom-made cards and enviable table setup.

Bruno has graciously provided some notes and references for his house rule to share with you. And while you may find them difficult to immediately interpret if you haven’t delved into the rules as far as Bruno has, it will at least give you some idea just how far you can take this game. And if you’re developing your own set of House Rules for LoS-DP Campaigns, I highly recommend looking into Bruno’s Rules for some great ideas.

Note that Bruno’s original references were all in French, but he’s been kind enough to provide us with English versions. He has made a few corrections or addendums to his rules, and I’m including those as well. You can even download his scoresheet as a printable PDF. Enjoy!

Bruno’s Setup

Here is way too much info about my Dungeon Solitaire world.

Photo 1. My homemade deck.

Photo 2. A table setup.

Bruno’s House Rules Campaign Scoresheet

(PDF Available here)

Bruno’s Notes

Abacus to keep score of 10 HP.
5 tiles that I turn over when 13t or 15t is on the doom track, and 17-18-19t when a heavenly Gem is found (I don’t turn these last 3 often…)
Checkers pieces to keep track of the house rules. Golden spell (natural color) and Dark Spell (dark brown).
1d10 (to roll for 6-7-8m+Full Armor), 1d4 (to roll for spells), and another dice to represent if a class is in play.
One tarot deck for drawing in town (evaluating gems, maintaining party, expenses). Campaign Scoresheet Background info. Mine was mostly in French. I made one in English. English is my second language, so please forgive me if my English is not up to par. As for the Scoresheet itself, it is so packed with stats and info/reminders that it is mostly for personal use. It would be hard for someone else to know how to score his/her game! Still, everything is there and a passionate player could find his way in my dungeon!
It is a double-sided scoresheet to score 40 games (19 on the first page, 21 on page 2).
House rules are at the top of page 1.
Then, the top Gray area would be to register the stats/records after the 40 games played.
Then the scoresheet. I packed info in the header column and here, it gets confusing. Because of lack of space, info not pertaining to the column at hand can appear.
And again, for lack of space, I had to improvise scoring places inside a column for secondary stats (for example, number of Skeins and gems, number of times I scored 4K or 3-Graces, etc.)
Finally, at the bottom of page 2, a reminder of some important rules from the books. So, in the gray area at the top of page 1.
(Arrow and infinity symbol) = Record number of consecutive exits
(Top treasure) = Best single score from the column below
(#3Ge-#3Sk) = Number of times I found all 3 Gems or all 3 Skeins
(#Heavenly : Total Gem) = number of heavenly gems found: total number of gems found. For example: 1:40
(#Skeins); total number of Skeins found
(Top XP): Best single score from the column below
(#2ndQ): Number of times I found a second Queen without effect
(Top Score), for example, C1/45640/4 (Campaign/# of Heavenly Gem found/ best XP Score/Rank.
(Keyhole): Number of times I found 16t-Shifting terrain without effect
(#4K – #3 Graces): Number of times I found all 4K or all 3 Graces
(54 diamond – 54 red shield): Number of times I found all 54 pts diamond or 54 pts red shield
(% Exit): Number of exits divided by 40 games = %
(number of turns total from exits divided by number of exits) = average number of turns per exit
(#Golden spell- #Dark spell) = Number of spells accumulated
(Top Death) = Simply to register your most common death. For example crpt 18% Clarification of the House rules about the Second Queen (Divine Favor) found without effect.
I Turn a Queen, then trap-6. I win the turn, leave the Queen in the turn and pick up a Golden Spell (at the end of the turn) which I can use starting with the next turn or later.
I turn a Queen, then the Dragon, then a second Queen. Here, the second Queen is not without effect. Per book rules, against a Dragon (and Lich, Abomination, Diabolical Machine, Hell Gate), a Divine Favor grants +1. It has an effect, so no Golden Spell in this case. Clarification of my previous email I gave an example to go for a Dark Spell (the missing 3-diamond). I forgot to mention that it was the last treasure missing to have all 54 pts of diamond.

Bruno’s Rules

The game is fantastic, and I tweaked two things that were a bit off.

In LoS Campaign, we could find 110 points of treasure (excluding evaluating gems). In LoS-DP, 240 points! The result is that you have so much money that, in town, it removes all decisions from the game. Do I pay to remove crpt-curses, to maintain party, to recruit? Yes, Yes, Yes. I have so much money. Why not? In LoS Campaigns, I had to borrow a few times to keep going. It was stressful on the next delve to go further, find more treasures to get out of the red. Now, with so much money, that is another facet of the game that is not in play. I would add that in Campaign mode, some expeditions are really short. If I start with a crpt in the first few turns, I do get out quickly, sometimes in 3-5 turns. However, do that too many times, and you won’t have any money left. That is also not in play much because you quickly have so much money.

Solution? I increased all amounts by 50 % (except the Character ranks).

The game is tighter now. You’ve got to be careful with every decision in town (and have to risk more turns to find treasure/gp).

The new character class “Magic User” is too powerful compared to the other classes, so that it renders them useless. Before, it was a tough decision to choose the right one (all classes were pretty even). And at rank4, you can take it a second time to have a total of +4d4 per expedition!

Solution? I removed that class from the game. However, overall, it is a tough game and we need all the help possible. The idea of the +d4 is great, so I included it in a way that brings many tough decisions into play. Hang on!

A. I added 7 ways of gaining a “Golden spell” that grants you each time a +1d4 (against any encounter or to gain 1-4HP).

If you can take into town:

3 gems (0/40)
3 Skeins (0/40)
100 points and more worth of treasure (excluding evaluating gems) (4/40)
4 Kings (0/40)
3 Graces (0/40)
played more than 29 turns (0/40)

and

Got a 2nd queen without effect (my dead card concept) on a turn (Golden spell earned at the end of the turn) (2/40)

I played 40 campaign games per book rules. In parentheses, I noted the number of times that situation could have occurred. So rarely. But now that I added the Golden Spell, there are many fun decisions in play to risk going for spells (and to better those stats).

Do I play a Disarm mechanism (or even a blessing) against an easy 5trap? No. But what if there are the 4th King and the third Gem on the turn? If I get out alive, I will receive 2 Golden spells in town.
Do I drop treasure one of my 4K and risk losing that Golden spell or do I battle to keep that option alive?

etc.

B. I added 7 ways of gaining a “Dark Spell” (remove to the bottom of the deck all of these: 1crpt + curses (Dungeon Plague/Dark Star) + 1 torch + 1 ration + regain all HP)! The jackpot!

Find a Heavenly Gem (1/170)
Have a perfect game: 3 Skeins-3 Gems (Never did it)
54 points (2-10 of diamond) (Never did it in LoS-DP)
54 points (2-10 of red shield) (Never did it in LoS-DP)
Beat my own record of treasure points (100 points min.) (excluding evaluating gems)
Beat my own record of consecutive exits (min. 10)
Beat my own record of turns (min. 29)

So pretty much impossible. Hence, it does not tip the balance of the game. But bliss if you get one. Early on, the Records (5-6-7) will yield a few Dark Spells, but once a good record is set, it will be hard to gain it. Records to beat are set forever.

Again, many fun decisions and more memory will be in play. Let’s say that I missed the 3 of diamond on a previous turn. But I remember where it is and I turn the Portal. Do I go for it (but I still have to exit the dungeon to bring the proof into town) or go for a safer haul of magic items elsewhere that ensures that I will exit the dungeon?

Decisions pop up everywhere! I’ve made a nice detailed scoresheet to record all those stats. Love to get into town, do business, party a bit and register everything.

Finally, I kept my other dead card option from LoS campaign, 16t. If I turn it without effect (no Companions to kill or discards to shuffle), the shifting terrain creates a “keyhole exit”. I take the 16t in hand and I can play it to represent 1 turn for this expedition only. Obviously, it is to play it on the last turn to exit safely when things are tight.

I use nice wooden checker pieces (natural for Golden Spell, dark brown for Dark Spell) that I put on the table to represent what is available.

I think I’ve found the perfect setup. But then again, Dungeon Solitaire keeps expanding in my mind! So who knows! Thanks to you for having created that world.

If it can be useful, I tweaked one rule pertaining to the Dark Spell. Before, #6 was Beat my own record of consecutive exits (min. 10).
I changed it to #5 for Every series of 10 Consecutive Exits.
To be clear, that would be 1 Dark Spell gained after 10 consecutive exits, another one after 20 consecutive exits and so on.

Correction #1

B. I added 7 ways of gaining a “Dark Spell” (remove to the bottom of the deck all of these: 1crpt + curses (Dungeon Plague/Dark Star) + 1 torch + 1 ration + regain all HP)! The jackpot!

Find a Heavenly Gem
Have a perfect game: 3 Skeins-3 Gems
54 points (2-10 of diamond)
54 points (2-10 of red shield)
For every series of 10 consecutive exits
Beat my own record of treasure points (100 points min.) (excluding evaluating gems)
Beat my own record of turns (min. 29)

Correction #2

As mention before, I had increased all amounts by 50 % (except the Character ranks-XP). However, I had forgotten to change the GP of the Noble ranks (castle upkeep).

Scoring Example

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Finally! Tarot-sized Dungeon Solitaire

17 November 2023 Matthew Lowes

It’s been a few years since the Labyrinth of Souls and Devil’s Playground solitaire games launched on Kickstarter. Dungeon Solitaire continues to do well and gain new fans as hapless souls wander into the Dungeon.

With the Kickstarters we stuck to poker-sized cards to keep costs down, but as a tarot game it was always my intention to offer tarot-sized cards as well. It’s taken longer than I expected, but the new cards are now available on DriveThru Cards. I’ve also redesigned the faces to make the art as large as possible on already larger cards. The results are stunning and a fantastic addition to the Dungeon Solitaire line.

Here’s a few cards from the Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls tarot solitaire game:

Tarot-sized cards are also available for Devil’s Playground expansion and stand-alone game:

The larger cards come band-wrapped to keep the price down, but tarot-sized boxes are an easy find. If you’re looking for an update to your Dungeon Solitaire games, look no further. I like the new design and may update the poker-sized cards at some point as well. There may also be an Omnibus Rulebook on the horizon.

If you’re new to Dungeon Solitaire, you should know the cards come with free starter rules and the full rulebooks with many game variations can be purchased separately as PDF on DriveThru Cards or as a paperback on Amazon.

Hope you’re all doing well and enjoying life to the fullest. Once again, thanks to everyone playing Dungeon Solitaire the world! Keep on delving. :)

Dungeon Solitaire: Tomb of Four Kings — Korean Language Edition

4 January 20214 January 2021 Matthew Lowes

Ever since I posted the free print-and-play download for the first Dungeon Solitaire game, the dungeon has been expanding. And it’s been wonderful to hear from fans all over the world. A few fans have even offered translations into other languages. I’m super excited to announce we now have a Korean language edition of Dungeon Solitaire: Tomb of Four Kings. The translation by Dan looks fantastic and is ready for free download, print, and play.

I’m so grateful to Dan for putting in the hard work to make this Tomb of Four Kings translation. It looks fantastic and maintains all the original artwork and formatting. It’s a joy to share this game with others, and I’m so happy to be able to expand the audience with Korean speakers.

Tomb of Four Kings can be played with a regular deck of playing cards, and will always be a free download, no matter what language you speak. English, Spanish, and Korean editions are now available for download on the Games page. See you all in the dungeon! :)

Dungeon Solitaire Retrospective: Part 6/6

21 March 202021 March 2020 Matthew Lowes

Dungeon Solitaire for the Ages

When I first set out to create Dungeon Solitaire, I had in mind to create a kind of classic solitaire game — something that could withstand the test of time. I grew up playing a lot of games. Solitaire and Dungeons & Dragons were around throughout my childhood. In creating Dungeon Solitaire, I can see now I sort of combined what I loved about them both into a single game.

The first few games of Tomb of Four Kings I played were magical. I knew I was onto something, if only for my own enjoyment. Soon I was enjoying the game so much I wanted to share it with others. Since then, it has only gotten bigger and better, and more magical.

As I write this, there is a global pandemic going on. My school job is canceled for now and my martial arts teaching is on hiatus. I’ll be working from home until things get better. I just launched a book and I’ll be working on more writing projects. I’ll be working in my backyard, cooking dinners, and doing what I can to support E. as she works on the front lines of this crisis. Other than that, if I can contribute anything to help the world through this, I will. Maybe playing Dungeon Solitaire will help somebody somewhere pass the time or forget their worries. I hope so. Tomb of Four Kings will always be free and all you need is a deck of ordinary cards to get started.

Dungeon Solitaire phone app design notes

Going forward, I have plans to release an omnibus rulebook, tarot-sized cards, and some t-shirts in the coming year. I have been trying to get a Dungeon Solitaire phone app off the ground for a couple years now, but circumstances have led to various setbacks. I’ll continue to work at getting it done with the help of one or more partners, and hopefully we’ll see that happen at some point.

Labyrinth of Souls rulebook layout concepts

Special thanks to Josephe Vandel for suggesting we collaborate, and for creating the incredible art for Labyrinth of Souls and Devil’s Playground. Thanks to everyone who backed these games on Kickstarter for helping Dungeon Solitaire reach its full potential. Thanks again to Elizabeth Engstrom and Christina Lay for making the Labyrinth of Souls fiction project a reality. And thanks to everyone who has supported these games, posted reviews, and spread the word. It’s been wonderful journey, and I am more than happy to keep it going.

I can only hope that more people discover the magic of Dungeon Solitaire. I don’t know how popular it could become … and it’s not that important. What’s important to me is this: many people have found some joy in it, and in my own estimation — admittedly biased — I think the game succeeds as a classic for the ages. I can’t imagine ever really tiring of this game or not being entertained by picking up again, playing a few games, and delving into the depths of the dungeon.

Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls & Devil’s Playground

Dungeon Solitaire Retrospective: Part 5/6

20 March 202026 March 2020 Matthew Lowes

The Labyrinth of Souls Fiction Project

No retrospective on Dungeon Solitaire would be complete without a discussion of the Labyrinth of Souls Fiction project. We are probably the only independently designed and published game to have its own fiction series, and the Labyrinth of Souls novels stand on their own as an amazing creative body of work.

The LoS Fiction project would not have been possible without my long-time mentor and friend, author Elizabeth Engstrom. When I was putting together the Labyrinth of Souls rulebook, she offered to help with editing. While she was going through the manuscript, she got interested in this idea of dungeon delving. It’s no surprise if you look at her body of work: a collection of horror and dark fantasy novels going back to the 1980s. When we spoke, she said, “You know, I could write a novel about this sort of thing.” She paused for a moment, and then said, “We could all write novels,” referring to our group of writer friends.

Myself, Stephen T. Vessels, and Elizabeth Engstrom at the World Fantasy Convention mass book signing.

My first thought was, That’s nice to say, but nobody is going to want to do that. However, Liz kept bringing it up, and pushed on it until it seemed like a real possibility. She mentioned it to Christina Lay, a fellow writer and editor of ShadowSpinners Press. Eventually, we pitched the idea to bunch of writers in the back room of a brew-pub, and the Labyrinth of Souls Fiction project was born.

For me, the most important thing on my mind was how to pitch dungeon-delving novels to such a diverse group of writers. I didn’t want the books to be shared-world novels exactly. Nor did I want them to be conventional d&d-style fantasy. That wouldn’t do. And I didn’t want to restrict the creativity of the authors we were going to have in the room. What I really wanted was to give them the freedom to create the kind labyrinth story that only they could create. So here’s how we pitched it to them:

Many of LoS Fiction authors were also part of the ShadowSpinners Anthology, *A Collection of Dark Tales* (2015).

“The Labyrinth of Souls Novels will be 35-45,000 word fantasy novels containing a journey into a strange underworld as a central feature of the story. The Labyrinth of Souls is more than an ancient ruin filled with monsters, trapped treasure, and the lost tombs of bygone kings. It is a manifestation of a mythic underworld, existing at a crossroads between people and cultures, between time and space, between the physical world and the deepest reaches of the psyche. It is a dark mirror held up to human experience, in which you may find your dreams … or your doom. Entrances to this realm can appear in any time period, in any location. There are innumerable reasons why a person may enter, but it is a place antagonistic to those who do, a place where monsters dwell, with obstacles and illusions to waylay adventurers, and whose very walls can be a force of corruption. It is a haunted place, ever at the edge of sanity.

“All this is for your imagination to realize within the context of your story. “Fantasy” in this case can mean dark fantasy, high fantasy, historical fantasy, science fantasy, weird fantasy or supernatural horror, but all should be tinged with the darkness that envelopes the vast reaches of the labyrinth. It is suggested that you read the Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls rulebook, look through the artwork, and even play the game for inspiration. But don’t limit your imagination to the scope of the rulebook or a game. Just as in the game, the player must imagine and interpret the various encounters and actions of their adventure, so too you must interpret how the labyrinth manifests itself within your story. Although Dungeon Solitaire is a narrative game, game narratives and fiction narratives differ. For a novel, of course, the usual rules of good fiction should apply.”

Christina Lay, author and Chief Editor of ShadowSpinners Press in the World Fantasy Convention book room.

As you can see, the possibilities are broad, and it’s been an incredible journey to see what each writer has come up with. There are eight book out now and more on the way — and all are very different. There are stories set in modern worlds, medieval worlds, post-apocalyptic worlds, and even the afterlife itself. There is adventure, mystery, noir, comedy, horror, and even talking animals. Whatever you like, you’re sure to find something to enjoy. It’s an eclectic mix, and yet all the stories are united by the overarching theme of the Labyrinth of Souls.

The authors who have contributed are an amazing group, incredible veterans with decades of experience and published works, award-winning writers, and talented first-time novelists. I can’t thank Elizabeth Engstrom and Christina Lay enough for making Labyrinth of Souls Fiction a reality. I could not be more proud to have helped inspire these books … and to have one in the lineup alongside so many writers that admire.

Dungeon Solitaire Retrospective: Part 4/6

19 March 202026 March 2020 Matthew Lowes

The Spiritual Themes of the Game

The safety of the wall is only an illusion.

Whether it is in the form of heavenly gems and divine graces or in flavor text accompanying the illustrations, you may have noticed some spiritual themes in the Dungeon Solitaire games. Of course, this is in keeping with the symbology of the tarot. The arcana are a reflection of the spiritual journey, and I’ve tried to bring that flavor into the games. But there is more to it than that.

I don’t want to go into this too deeply here, but I will say that during the time I was writing the Labyrinth of Souls rulebook, something unexpected and extraordinary happened to me. I had what could only be described as a sudden spiritual awakening, which instantly and profoundly changed my perception of reality. I know this may sound crazy to some people, because I would have been one of those people until this happened. But suddenly I had direct insight into the spiritual journey — beginning, middle, and end — in a way that couldn’t be denied. And some of that insight definitely found its way into the Dungeon Solitaire games.

Lose yourself and you will find the way.

If you’re interested these matters, my just released book, That Which is Before You, provides a detailed account of what happened to me. The book also describes my insights and teachings in light of this awakening, and provides guidance on spiritual practice. It’s notable that the image of a labyrinth find its way into that book as well. In an early section called “Orientation” I describe the spiritual journey this way.

“We can imagine this journey as one in which consciousness itself collapses into a particular point of view, identifies with a mind and body, and loses itself in a kind of dream, in a world of things, and in life and death. Once lost, sensing some lack, it tries to find itself. It looks everywhere but cannot find itself among the world of things. Until one day it just stops looking and, having never been absent, recognizes itself once more.

The wheel offers pleasure and pain, but nothing without suffering.

“The journey is like an adventure into a labyrinth. Within we are confounded by mazes and locked doors, enticed by wondrous treasures, challenged by terrible monsters, and entranced by endless illusions. It can be great fun. But in the midst of the labyrinth, when things get bad, it can get very dark indeed. It can seem as if there is no way out. But when we have exhausted every possibility of escape, and all our efforts come to a grinding halt, it is possible to wake up as if in the midst of a dream, and realize the labyrinth itself — and everything in it — is not actually real in the way we had imagined.

“This is the good news, and although the spiritual journey does not necessarily end there, it is important to say at least that much. It is possible to realize the enlightenment people throughout the ages have attested to. Whatever your true nature is, it already is, and cannot be apart from you.”

In you is hidden the treasure of treasures.

My take these things is not tied to any specific religion or tradition. However: I was a practicing Christian at various points in my life; I have long had a deep interest in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions and practices; I once slept in the tomb of Muslim holy man; and I’ve always been fascinated by shamanism and the full range of religious traditions in general. So while such descriptions reflect my direct experience, they also reflect my background. And this is true in Dungeon Solitaire as well. Look closely and you will see elements and traces from a number of mystic traditions.

The final realization cannot be explained.

From my own experience, I would say we are all on a spiritual journey, whether we know it or not. Of course, if spirituality is not your thing, these elements are easy to ignore within the context of an adventure game. They are easily relegated to the background where they act only on thematic levels. I’m not out to convince anybody of anything. And in any case, true insight doesn’t come from being convinced or not-being convinced of any particular idea or concept.

Delve deep, my friends, and may you find illumination, true happiness, and an end to suffering.

Dungeon Solitaire Retrospective: Part 3/6

18 March 202026 March 2020 Matthew Lowes

Devil’s Playground Design Notes

Devil’s Playground development in progress

It’s been two years since the I designed the Dungeon Solitaire: Devil’s Playground game and expansion rules, as well as the rules for all the variations of Dungeon War included in the Devil’s Playground rulebook. Each game is its own design puzzle, as intricate and vast as the labyrinth itself. Many of the specifics concerning the design decisions are lost in memory, but in revisiting Devil’s Playground here, we will attempt to recover some of them.

Ever since the success of the Labyrinth of Souls game, I had in mind to make some kind of expansion or follow-up game. It took two years before Josephe Vandel and I teamed up again to make Devil’s Playground. With him in Germany and me in the US, our work process was carried out over the internet, in much the same way we did during Labyrinth of Souls development. And thinking back, the main issues we faced with Devil’s Playground — and how we dealt with them — are as follows:

First “All In” game combining DS with LoS

Is it a stand-alone game or an expansion? Why not do both! That alone created a unique design challenge. However I designed the Devil’s Playground stand-alone game, it also had to work as an expansion for Labyrinth of Souls. This was pretty tricky, especially considering the numerous mechanics at play already, the balance of difficulty, and all the possible game variations. The key to this, as with all the Dungeon Solitaire variations, is thinking about the various game components as being modular. Then each step in the design is carefully considered and tested in the stand-alone game and as a modular expansion.

How do we thematically expand Dungeon Solitaire and the Labyrinth of Souls? The dungeon in Labyrinth of Souls is already vast, what new challenges could we add to it, and how would they come together as a stand-alone game? I imagined the Devil’s Playground to represent both the deepest and darkest reaches of the labyrinth and a kind of mystical conflict that permeates not only the entire dungeon but also the souls of adventurers. This sets the stage for the demons, sins, and graces in the primary arcana, as well as the thematic tone of the game. I had only to work out the mechanics, which in this case, took a fair amount of testing and retesting at table.

What should the new suits be in the secondary arcana? I knew I wanted to add two new suits and I kicked around a number of ideas. Eventually, to come up with the idea of a divided house of shields, united by a single ace, a number of factors came into play. Part of that decision was thematic, as it mirrored the overall theme of internal conflict. Part of it was guided by limitations in the numbers of cards in the deck. The color scheme played a role, and even the simple aesthetic of the French suits used in the Labyrinth of Souls deck.

What unique cards can we incorporate into the game? There were a few magic/cursed item and event card ideas I had left over from Labyrinth of Souls development. So I resolved to include cards for Mog’s Sword, Rizar’s Pole, The Dark Star, Portal, and Dungeon Plague. I needed one more for seven sub arcana cards. I was working on a short story about a time-travelling wizard named Malhak, who tries to change the past in order live a life with his first love. I liked the story and I liked this character Malhak, who lived in a tower, on a rocky precipice, at the edge of the Plains of Ektheon, ten-thousand years in the future. Hence was born the idea for Malhak’s Tome and the tone of the “Words of Malhak” that are found at the beginning of the Devil’s Playground rulebook.

How can we explicitly tie the new deck into the LoS deck? When we made the LoS minor arcana, Josephe went ahead and made elevens for all the suits. They weren’t part of the official deck, but they were kind of fun, like a boss card for each suit. So these were a natural fit for DP. I just had to come up with the titles and mechanics. As usual, Josephe did the rest with his incredible artwork. Once all the elements were in place, the remainder of the cards were made into dedicated hit point cards that could be used with DP and LoS.

Regarding the artwork, Josephe and I worked much as we did on LoS. We decided to do full color this time around for something new and to set the expansion cards off from the LoS cards. For most of the cards I just sent Josephe a title and game mechanic. On few card he asked for ideas and on a couple I had specific things in mind. For Goblin Market, I sent him photos of wall street stock traders, gesticulating wildly with contorted faces. From that, he made the post-apocalyptic bank facade artwork. For Oblivion, I sent him a 19th century photo of a woman in an opium den. The Wheel of Chaos was from a sketch I drew during LoS development, and The Watcher was from a terrifying dream I had many years ago. The end results were pure Josephe Vandel, and exceeded my every expectation. All the credit is his for the fantastical mind-blowing art in Devil’s Playground.

Regarding Dungeon War, I have to say this game was so much fun to make. I grew up playing games like chess, checkers, and Stratego. And for a while in the late 90s, I played games like Magic and Legend of the Five Rings. The idea of making a card-based wargame that used the Dungeon Solitaire cards was too tempting to pass up. I initially was aiming at something like the Legend of Five Rings gameplay, but this soon proved unworkable for various reasons. Like Dungeon Solitaire, I wanted the game to be playable with just an ordinary deck of cards at the most basic level. That meant the core game needed pretty simple rules. I took my inspiration from chess, really, and incorporated aspects of the classic card game War for combat resolution. I was and still am as excited about this extra game as I was with the actually game. Honestly, it could have been its own book, so making it a stretch goal added massive value to the Devil’s Playground rulebook.

When I consider the number of Dungeon Solitaire variants possible between the LoS and DP rules, I’m still excited by the unexpected possibilities that turn up in play. The modular nature of these games and the complexity of being able to throw all the cards into the same game or an extended campaign is pretty awesome. I feel like I could play these games my whole life and still be entertained and surprised by them.

Dungeon Solitaire Retrospective: Part 2/6

17 March 202021 March 2020 Matthew Lowes

Labyrinth of Souls Designer’s Notebook

Game design is a wonderful interplay between logical and narrative elements. I really enjoy both aspects of design, and the chance to combine them is one of the reasons why I love making games. This post will cover my thoughts on game design in general and my design notes from Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls. It’s a bit long for a single blog post, so I’m just going share here the PDF Designer’s Notebook I made for the Labyrinth of Souls Kickstarter. Everything is contained within: the origins of Dungeon Solitaire, major influences, design philosophy, testing methods, original images, and thoughts on the various challenges, solutions, and variations that went into Dungeon Solitaire.

Click here or on the title page below to delve in. Download if you want … and enjoy. :)

Dungeon Solitaire Retrospective: Part 1/6

16 March 202012 September 2020 Matthew Lowes

Enter the Dungeon

Back in 2015 I sat down on a bed with deck of playing cards to design a game that involved dungeon delving, exploration, and monster slaying. I never could have imagined where this would lead. In so many ways, this game has exceeded every expectation I had for it, and in some ways, it has really changed the course of my life.

Labyrinth of Souls and Devil’s Playground

Later that year, I teamed up with artist Josephe Vandel to launch a Kickstarter for an expanded tarot version of Dungeon Solitaire. Now, five years later, there are three Dungeon Solitaire games, with a whole bunch of variations, that reach all over the world. With the exception of maybe Antarctica, Dungeon Solitaire has been played on every continent. Please correct me if anybody has delved into the dungeon from the south pole.

A series of Labyrinth of Souls stand-alone novels (nine so far) have been published by ShadowSpinners Press. They feature a host of veteran and award-winning authors, as well as talented newcomers. Everyone has been a delight to read. In all likelihood, this is the only independently designed and published game to have its own fiction series. In October, I’ll be at the World Fantasy convention for the third time to help promote the Labyrinth of Souls novels and all the Dungeon Solitaire games.

Looking ahead, the success of this game helped cement my publishing skills and encouraged me to pursue more game design. I am planning to release more Dungeon Solitaire materials in the future. And in the months and years ahead, I expect you will see releases for games like Weird Roleplaying, Grimstone Fantasy, an expanded edition of Giant, and Warbound.

In addition to my ongoing game design work, the success of Dungeon Solitaire helped along — directly or indirectly — a number of other projects. My novel, The End of All Things, is in the Labyrinth of Souls series of stand-alone novels. My latest book, That Which is Before You, is a work of spiritual non-fiction that has its roots in something extraordinary that happened during the time that I was writing Labyrinth of Souls. And all this has laid the groundwork to publish further works, including a complete trilogy of fantasy novels that I wrote over a period of twelve years, a collection of my short stories, and at least three more spiritual non-fiction books.

So looking back — and ahead — Dungeon Solitaire has had a huge impact on my life and my writing/game design career. I’m very proud of what I’ve been able to put out so far, and there’s a lot of great work yet to do.

Most of the year, I still have a day job, so I just move ahead with the time I have. As a one-man publishing operation, I really enjoy getting to do a bit of everything, from design, writing, and testing, to editing, layout, and proofing. It’s hectic sometimes, but I love having so much control over the vision and execution of each project. I have also been blessed to work with and get feedback from some incredibly talented people. I am so grateful for them and for all the people who have backed the Dungeon Solitaire Kickstarters. You’ve changed my life, and that’s quite wonderful. And I’ve been so happy to be able to share Dungeon Solitaire with gamers around the world.

If I can be shamelessly honest for a moment, I am still a huge fan of this game myself. I think it’s awesome! It is everything I wanted to create in a dungeon-delving card game, and so much more. And it’s just fantastic to see like-minded souls discover its magic.

Dungeon Solitaire: Devil’s Playground Release

2 September 20182 September 2018 Matthew Lowes

The general release is here for the new Dungeon Solitaire game, Devil’s Playground! The new game book includes a stand-alone game, a two-player version, expansion rules for the Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls tarot game, four variants of a new original cardgame called Dungeon War, and guidelines for fortune telling using the Devil’s Playground custom card deck.

Dungeon Solitaire: Devil’s Playground is a fantasy adventure card game. Fight monstrous diabolisms, overcome obstacles, and endure misfortunes as you delve into the darkest dungeon in a quest to defeat three powerful demons. Along the way you will collect treasure and unique magic items, encounter strange locales, and acquire three divine graces. But beware, the dungeon is deep and even if you survive all immediate dangers, a fate worse than death awaits those who linger too long. You may face starvation and insanity, terrible curses and demonic possession, forever haunted, in the darkness of the pit.

Most of the games require the Devil’s Playground cards, available separately. Expansion rules also require the Labyrinth of Souls rulebook and cards. Dungeon Solitaire print rulebooks, PDF rulebooks, and custom card decks are available through the following outlets:

Print Rulebook: Amazon

PDF Rulebook: DriveThru RPG

Deluxe Cards: DriveThru RPG

Standard Cards: Gamecrafter

Learn more about the complete line of Dungeon Solitaire games and stand-alone novels here on the Labyrinth of Souls page. Gameplay videos can be found on my YouTube channel.