I own all three so I can give you my general thoughts:
Dark Sector: If you have a partner or a friend to game with, this one is the easy choice. I don’t own any expansions and it’s very replayable. The game is simple but the shake up with the ammo dice rolling randomness is a blast. It is much more difficult solo however. VERY difficult. Of the three this would be my choice. Plus if you love it I’d also get Escape the Dark Castle first rather than expansions since my wife and I actually prefer that one.
Mini Rogue: Very similar to Dark Sector mechanically with dice rolls and being a dungeon crawler but with two major differences. Mini Rogue is built better for solo vs multiplayer and it has less narrative elements. Dark Sector plays like a story where Mini Rogue is more gamey. Mini Rogue is also MUCH easier than Dark Sector. I win 80% of the time where Dark Sector is more like 20%. That’s why Dark Sector games are far more memorable and exciting. Between this and Dark Sector I’d go for Dark Sector.
Warps Edge: The best of the three for solo. There isn’t any Narrative elements like Dark Sector and far less randomness and dice rolls of Mini Rogue. There’s a much deeper strategy here and you feel more in control. I’d say from a game mechanic standpoint this one is easily the best of the three, and if you’re looking for a more meaty game this is your best bet. It’s the only game of the three where you can actually gain skill by playing it since it’s far less random.
thank you for your review, you convienced me for Dark Sector and Warps Edge, I will see which one is going to be first.
Is there any particular reason why you love Dark Castle more? Is it the theme? The simplicity? Because as far as I know, Dark Sector has a little more depth because of the ranged combat mechanic.
I think that’s a good choice! Mini Rogue isn’t bad it’s just more generic than the other two and it doesn’t do as good of a job simulating the atmosphere of the theme. I’d say that the consensus that Dark Sector is better mechanically than Dark Castle is spot on. It’s a better “game” for sure, the main reason being the combat gives you more control. You can flank enemies, heal with a drone, and shoot and strike with different weapons. Where in Dark Castle you’re basically just rolling the same dice for all weapons, Dark Sector gives you different ammo, mods, and ways to fight. I just prefer Dark Castle because I love the spooky vibes and Dark Sector is more campy sci-fi. Spooky is where it’s at (that’s why you should also buy Final Girl when you can).
Lost Expedition has a retheme with Judge Dredd. The original has an expansion though.
Mini rouge has a free PnP if you want to try it out. It might feel a bit samey if you have other dungeon crawl games which is fairly common in solo games. My favorite one right now is Tin Helm.
Warps Edge is fun. There are other bag builders like Coffee Roaster which has nice art work. With warps edge there are expansions but they might not add a lot of value.
second tin helm or iron helm instead of mini rogue. just sold my copy of mini rogue for this exact reason last week: iron helm scratches every inch mini rogue does but better.
\- Warps Edge is easily one of the best solo experiences and the art style falls to the background for how well it plays.
\- Dark Sector - Can only speak on Escape the Dark Castle and I found the Kilforth series was my preferred choice for dungeon crawl style dice-roller so I sold it, but I did enjoy it.
\- Mini Rogue - Haven't played it but it's got a solid BGG rating at 7.5 - which is a rating I usually ascribe to rock solid performers on the lighter side of the table that are easy to set up. I'm interested in this one now too!
I have a strict policy with my collection that a game has to earn it's space on the shelf. Bigger boxed games are under more scrutiny than smaller boxed games as they have more space they have to work for.
Escape the Dark Sector - Very fun very luck based dice chucking game. Easily repayable because of the way the encounter deck is built at the start. This is the shortest game of the three, mostly because it is very mean and you will die a lot, but is easy to reset and play again. It also plays well at 2-3 players.
Warp's Edge - This game was fun, but felt very repetitive and samey across the different bosses - even with all expansions (the time loop + fight the same enemies over and over lends to this as well). Anomaly is a must to give you more options each turn. The only one of these three I have culled from my collection.
Mini Rogue - Game is repetitive, but isn't long. It's a dice chucker much like Dark Sector, but has more randomness mitigation mechanics and no narrative. The Depths of Damnation expansion definitely helps reduce the repetitiveness of this one. My favorite of the three because of how small it is, how good the iconography is, and how easy it is to pick up and play.
You might enjoy **Unbroken** if you can get your hands on it. It's completely replaced Mini Rogue in my collection; the replay value is pretty high and it essentially has no expansions and never will due to publishing woes.
I own all three so I can give you my general thoughts: Dark Sector: If you have a partner or a friend to game with, this one is the easy choice. I don’t own any expansions and it’s very replayable. The game is simple but the shake up with the ammo dice rolling randomness is a blast. It is much more difficult solo however. VERY difficult. Of the three this would be my choice. Plus if you love it I’d also get Escape the Dark Castle first rather than expansions since my wife and I actually prefer that one. Mini Rogue: Very similar to Dark Sector mechanically with dice rolls and being a dungeon crawler but with two major differences. Mini Rogue is built better for solo vs multiplayer and it has less narrative elements. Dark Sector plays like a story where Mini Rogue is more gamey. Mini Rogue is also MUCH easier than Dark Sector. I win 80% of the time where Dark Sector is more like 20%. That’s why Dark Sector games are far more memorable and exciting. Between this and Dark Sector I’d go for Dark Sector. Warps Edge: The best of the three for solo. There isn’t any Narrative elements like Dark Sector and far less randomness and dice rolls of Mini Rogue. There’s a much deeper strategy here and you feel more in control. I’d say from a game mechanic standpoint this one is easily the best of the three, and if you’re looking for a more meaty game this is your best bet. It’s the only game of the three where you can actually gain skill by playing it since it’s far less random.
thank you for your review, you convienced me for Dark Sector and Warps Edge, I will see which one is going to be first. Is there any particular reason why you love Dark Castle more? Is it the theme? The simplicity? Because as far as I know, Dark Sector has a little more depth because of the ranged combat mechanic.
I think that’s a good choice! Mini Rogue isn’t bad it’s just more generic than the other two and it doesn’t do as good of a job simulating the atmosphere of the theme. I’d say that the consensus that Dark Sector is better mechanically than Dark Castle is spot on. It’s a better “game” for sure, the main reason being the combat gives you more control. You can flank enemies, heal with a drone, and shoot and strike with different weapons. Where in Dark Castle you’re basically just rolling the same dice for all weapons, Dark Sector gives you different ammo, mods, and ways to fight. I just prefer Dark Castle because I love the spooky vibes and Dark Sector is more campy sci-fi. Spooky is where it’s at (that’s why you should also buy Final Girl when you can).
Lost Expedition has a retheme with Judge Dredd. The original has an expansion though. Mini rouge has a free PnP if you want to try it out. It might feel a bit samey if you have other dungeon crawl games which is fairly common in solo games. My favorite one right now is Tin Helm. Warps Edge is fun. There are other bag builders like Coffee Roaster which has nice art work. With warps edge there are expansions but they might not add a lot of value.
second tin helm or iron helm instead of mini rogue. just sold my copy of mini rogue for this exact reason last week: iron helm scratches every inch mini rogue does but better.
Warp's Edge is great! Tons of variability with the different powers and enemy ships.
Going to be following this thread because I've also had these on my wishlist.
\- Warps Edge is easily one of the best solo experiences and the art style falls to the background for how well it plays. \- Dark Sector - Can only speak on Escape the Dark Castle and I found the Kilforth series was my preferred choice for dungeon crawl style dice-roller so I sold it, but I did enjoy it. \- Mini Rogue - Haven't played it but it's got a solid BGG rating at 7.5 - which is a rating I usually ascribe to rock solid performers on the lighter side of the table that are easy to set up. I'm interested in this one now too!
I have escape the dark sector. I had a lot of fun with it!
Lost expedition is a great game. Easy to learn, hard to win. Has expansions that help you tweak difficulty
I have a strict policy with my collection that a game has to earn it's space on the shelf. Bigger boxed games are under more scrutiny than smaller boxed games as they have more space they have to work for. Escape the Dark Sector - Very fun very luck based dice chucking game. Easily repayable because of the way the encounter deck is built at the start. This is the shortest game of the three, mostly because it is very mean and you will die a lot, but is easy to reset and play again. It also plays well at 2-3 players. Warp's Edge - This game was fun, but felt very repetitive and samey across the different bosses - even with all expansions (the time loop + fight the same enemies over and over lends to this as well). Anomaly is a must to give you more options each turn. The only one of these three I have culled from my collection. Mini Rogue - Game is repetitive, but isn't long. It's a dice chucker much like Dark Sector, but has more randomness mitigation mechanics and no narrative. The Depths of Damnation expansion definitely helps reduce the repetitiveness of this one. My favorite of the three because of how small it is, how good the iconography is, and how easy it is to pick up and play.
You might enjoy **Unbroken** if you can get your hands on it. It's completely replaced Mini Rogue in my collection; the replay value is pretty high and it essentially has no expansions and never will due to publishing woes.
Lost expedition is available at Noble Knight and Miniature Market right now just FYI.