D&D Adventure Begins continues in the tradition of Wizards Of The Coast producing shorter Dungeons & Dragons based experiences for younger audiences. This new cooperative game is going to be available at the start of the October and pre-orders are open for it now.

D&D Adventure Begins // Wizards Of The Coast

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This version of Dungeons & Dragons is a cooperative affair for between two and four players. Unlike in a normal game of D&D, one person isn't the sole Dungeon Master (DM) that plays against the heroes. Instead, in Adventure Begins you switch who is DM between rounds so everyone takes control of the story at some point and controls what happens on the story cards within the game and how the monsters attack.

D&D Adventure Begins Components // Wizards Of The Coast

A lot of the additional details within this game have been simplified to make it perfect for introducing younger players to the idea of tabletop roleplaying and dungeon delving. The d20 is still at the heart of the game and a lot of the hero Classes and Races will be familiar to those who dive into this game. Equally, the setting of the Forgotten Realms and the Monsters are also those which appear in the Monster Manual and such.

• QUICK ENTRY TO DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Step into the exciting world of D&D with the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Begins board game. Designed for 2-4 players, ages 10 and up.
• COOPERATIVE FANTASY GAME: This fantasy board game is a portal to the monsters, magic, and heroes of Dungeons & Dragons. Players work together as they journey through the lands of Neverwinter.
• QUICK GAMEPLAY: Players can choose and customize their heroes, battle iconic D&D monsters, and experience a new adventure every time. So, step forward, brave heroes; adventure awaits!
• CHOOSE A JOURNEY FOR YOUR PARTY: Choose a journey and which Boss your party of heroes will fight in the end. Choose from Felbris (Beholder), Orn (Fire Giant), Deathsleep (Green Dragon), and the Kraken.
• D&D MINIATURE FIGURES: The game includes 4 plastic mini-figures that correspond with the heroes featured in gameplay.

Whilst the jump from this to actual Dungeons & Dragons might involve a lot of maths, this does seem like a good way to get younger gamers into the idea of working together, doing a bit of roleplaying and also exploring the concepts that they'll need to understand in D&D proper. If you're interested in how the game works, you can watch their introductory video below...

Learn To Play: D&D Adventure Begins

The game seems to have a fair bit of replay value built into it with a good deck of cards to read from, a modular set up based on the boss monster that you'll be facing and also different cards to choose from when making your hero.

In addition to that, I do like that they introduced the idea of the DM passing between all the players at the table. It removes the idea of "ganging up" on one person but also means that everyone gets a try and being the monsters and pushing the story forward, as well as setting the challenges for others (like dancing around the table etc).

Maybe this could be a good option for those wanting to get young'uns interested in D&D?