In Dungeons & Dragons: Long Rest Tavern, you’ll run a tavern where heroes come to rest after their adventures

I have a somewhat unsavory reputation because I often attend trade shows and conferences and break games. Not intentionally (not always), but when you try out unfinished versions, you occasionally do something the developers didn’t account for and break the game. I was gentler at this Gamescom, though, and broke only two games. In the new Crazy Taxi, restarting the dev kit was enough, but in Dungeons & Dragons: Long Rest Tavern, the situation was worse, and two people immediately started trying to figure out what was actually happening.

That isn’t important, though; it only explains why my experience with the game was so incredibly short. I would have liked to spend more time in the D&D universe, and this game looks like a nice new perspective with classic elements. You just won’t be a fearless hero. What will you be? A tavern keeper. You’ll take over an old, dusty tavern haunted by the ghost of its previous owner. But don’t worry, you won’t need to call an exorcist. The ghost of William Oldfather will be your guide, teaching you everything a proper tavern keeper needs to know.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, you have to create your character. It’s not just about their face, skin color, or hairstyle. You also choose one of 6 traditional D&D races and one of 7 classic classes. So you could be an orc bard, but still a tavern keeper. Name your tavern and get to work! First, you have to clean everything, arrange the furniture, stock provisions for arriving adventurers, and hire employees.

Does that sound a little too ordinary? But this is D&D, so there will be adventure, as well as traditional character stats, for example when hiring new employees. Dice will also play a role, because it wouldn’t be the same without them. I also have to praise the storytelling. It’s almost soothing how classic it feels in the D&D style. The story progresses through text, so you have to read it, but it feels as though it’s being narrated by a Dungeon Master. It describes the environments and so on.

We’ll see what ultimately comes of it. There’s potential for an interesting game, so I just hope I won’t break it quite so badly the next time I play it.