Stats:
No. of players: 3-6
Amount of time to play: 60-120 min
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: minimal

In Ring of Chaos, players lead a party of four adventurers to claim the legendary Ring of Chaos. This artifact grants its wielder immense power, capable of summoning the Chaos Gods to reshape the world. To claim the Ring, players must confront rival adventurers and survive encounters with formidable guardians.

Ring of Chaos Rules Description:

To begin Ring of Chaos you select your adventuring party. There are eight to choose from and each has a unique special ability. Then you set the heroes on your player mat, place one of your standees on a starting space on the map and the other on the summoning track, and draw four cards. To win the game you must gain 11 summoning points or be the last party standing.

On your turn you draw three cards one at a time. If you draw a Temple Guardian it should be resolved immediately. Temple Guardians attack every party, but each player decides which of their four heroes take the attack. This attack may be avoided by discarding any playable Attack or Counter action card. After resolving the Temple Guardian you continue drawing cards until you have three new cards in your hand.

Next you may take one Move, one Attack, and one Bonus action in any order. Move actions include, play a Move action card or move up to two spaces on the board. Landing on an occupied space allows you to push that party to an empty space. Attack actions let you either play an Attack action card or draw a card from the deck. Bonus actions are, play a Bonus action card, pick up the Ring of Chaos (if it is in your space), or steal the ring from an adjacent party. At the end of your turn you must discard down to five cards.

Attacks come in two types: melee and ranged. Melee attacks must be against a party adjacent to you and Ranged attacks can only be against a party not adjacent to you. A few Attack cards are labeled Any and may be used as either type and Attacks cards labeled All impact all parties but the current player’s. Attackers target a specific Hero and the defender must play an appropriate Counter card or take damage. The first time your hero takes damage their card is flipped over to the wounded side. The second time they are dead. Wounded heroes cannot defend. Some attacks are color coded and may only be played if the associated hero is still alive.

Picking up or stealing the Ring of Chaos gets you one summoning point. Possessing it at the beginning of your turn gets you three more. Eliminating an opposing party lets you take all their summoning points. But you can only score your 11th and final summoning point by wearing or stealing the ring.

Quick Review of Ring of Chaos:

Ring of Chaos is aptly named. It is a chaotic board game full of action and “take that”. It is easy to learn and teach. You can play this with gamers and non-gamers and everyone should enjoy it. Unless they are not a fan of “take that” board games and player elimination.

The components for this game are well made. I do not have the platinum edition but the standees in the retail version look good. The art is well done and the rules are well-written. Here is an excellent how to play video.

Ring of Chaos has simple mechanics, has multiple ways to win and is fast-paced. Though more casual, this game is easy to get to the table.

There are eight unique adventuring parties with different abilities. You will want to try them all and they add a wrinkle to each game. You draft them at the beginning of the game so you should get a chance to try them all out.

This game supports three to six players. That means it is not great for couples. But finding decent board games for six or more players can be tough. It is nice that it goes above the usual four or five players.

Some things to be aware of in Ring of Chaos. Obviously the “take that” mechanic. But also it is optimal to kill your opponent’s cleric first. This will remove their ability to resurrect a Hero. That is unless their party is the Dread Legion. Then they can use cards from eliminated classes.

That leads to another thing. I am not sure the abilities are balanced. The Brute Squad and Dread Legion are pretty powerful. I explained the Dread Leagion’s ability above. The Brute’s melee attacks count as two hits if successful. That means in melee they one-shot your heroes.

Lastly there is player elimination. Once your heroes are all dead you have to sit and watch your friends play the game. Depending how long you wait this might bother you more.

If you are looking for a lighter, casual, “take that” board game, give Ring of Chaos a try.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 6 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 2 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6