Review
Lairs
Lairs is a quick, clever two-player game of dungeons, monsters and loot, with no interest in taking itself too seriously. The base box welcomes younger players; any expansion gives the grown-ups a little more bite.
- Published
- 2026
- Designer
- Josh Cappel, Christopher Westmaas
- Publisher
- KTBG, DSV Games
- Players
- 2
- Playing time
- 60 min
Lairs feels a bit like Battleships, except the fleet has been replaced by dungeons, monsters and loot. It does not ask you to treat it like an exam. It asks you to enjoy the moment your tidy little plan becomes somebody else’s problem.
Each player builds a dungeon in secret behind a screen. That is the first neat pleasure: you shape a route, place your obstacles, and try to give the place enough personality that it is more than a corridor waiting for a visitor.
This is where the interaction properly begins: you built the dungeon, your opponent tries to read it and survive it, and you get to watch them find the little trap you placed for exactly that purpose.
TheCuttlefish
Then the screens come down, and each of you takes paper and pencil into the other player’s creation. This is where the interaction properly begins: you built the dungeon, your opponent tries to read it and survive it, and you get to watch them find the little trap you placed for exactly that purpose. The rulebook gets a brisk pass mark.
The base box works nicely with younger players, while any expansion gives Lairs enough teeth for an older group. It is quick, fresh, and rather more enjoyable than it seems determined to look: a two-player game I would recommend without hesitation.
It is quick, fresh, and rather more enjoyable than it seems determined to look: a two-player game I would recommend without hesitation.
TheCuttlefish
Source: BoardGameGeek
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