The Lords of Underearth, subtitled Adventure in a Dwarven Labyrinth, is a fantasy board game designed by Keith Gross and published by Metagaming Concepts in 1981 as part of the company's pocket-sized MicroGame line. It pits factions of dwarves, orcs, humans and other creatures against one another in combat set within a subterranean labyrinth, giving players a tactical dungeon-warfare experience rather than a real-world historical setting. The box included four separate scenarios covering different factional conflicts within the labyrinth, letting players explore several tactical situations without needing additional expansions, and it carried integration rules connecting it to Metagaming's own The Fantasy Trip role-playing system so owners of both products could combine the tactical board combat with that system's character-based play. As a MicroGame, it followed the line's format of compact components and rulebooks aimed at a lower price point than SPI's larger folio wargames, while still delivering a full hex-and-counter tactical combat experience within a fantasy rather than historical framework.
Facts
Playing Time Game Category Game Category Game Category Game Mechanic Game Mechanic Game Mechanic Game Mechanic Game Mechanic Game MechanicRatio / Combat Results Table 3 Game MechanicScenario / Mission / Campaign Game 3 Game Mechanic Minimum Players Maximum Players Classification
Player CountSmall Group (3-6 Players) 1 Sport
Game Type (category) Sources
1. Board Game Matcher: The Lords of Underearth
2. The Lords of Underearth (Wikipedia)
Introduction
The Lords of Underearth, subtitled "Adventure in a Dwarven Labyrinth", is a board game published by Metagaming Concepts in 1981 as part of its MicroGame line that involves fantasy combat.
Infobox, year published
1981
View the Source3. The Lords of Underearth (BoardGameGeek)
- Playing Time: 60
- Designer: Keith Gross
- Publisher: Hobby Japan
- Publisher: Metagaming
- Game Category: Adventure
- Game Category: Fantasy
- Game Category: Wargame
- Game Mechanic: Dice Rolling
- Game Mechanic: Grid Movement
- Game Mechanic: Hexagon Grid
- Game Mechanic: Modular Board
- Game Mechanic: Movement Points
- Game Mechanic: Ratio / Combat Results Table
- Game Mechanic: Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game
- Game Mechanic: Simulation
- Minimum Players: 1
- Maximum Players: 3
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