Dungeon Tryouts: The Party Game of Fantasy Misadventure
Created by Peter Chiykowski
Adventure fantasy meets unhinged all-ages party game! Pitch wannabe heroes for hilarious quests to make your friends laugh and win!
The premise? You run an adventuring agency where you try to find quests for wannabe adventurers.
The problem? The heroes in your roster all have "quirks" that make them hard to hire. They aren't exactly the cream of the crop–and neither are the gigs you have for them.
Dungeon Tryouts is designed for 3-6 players of all ages (or up to 10 players with the Big Jobs Expansion).
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Surveys Sent + Pre-orders Open + BackerKit Holiday Market
11 months ago
– Mon, Nov 17, 2025 at 12:56:51 PM
The project surveys are away!
The smoke test we mentioned in our last update went smoothly, so we went ahead and sent reward surveys to all primary backers!
This is your chance to upgrade your pledge and grab any add-ons you may have missed the first time around (you can only upgrade your pledge using the survey until November 30, but you'll still be able to upgrade after that date if you reach out to our team directly). You can also provide your shipping information, which you'll need to do if you want to get your rewards.
If you're not sure how to find your survey link, you can recover it by entering your backer email here. Late Pledges will get their surveys on December 1, two weeks after the regular surveys go out.
In the meantime, we have a few more updates to share!
Pre-orders are Open
Know someone who missed our campaign? Our BackerKit pre-order store is open, and we're now accepting pre-orders for Dungeon Tryouts at www.storyenginedeck.com/dungeontryouts.
The BackerKit Holiday Market is here
Want to get one of our other decks of storytelling prompts?
The Story Engine will soon be available as part of the BackerKit Holiday Market, which kicks off tomorrow (November 18)! The Market features finished projects from 150+ BackerKit creators, covering everything from games to pins to our own Lore Master's Deck.
Our storytelling prompts won't be available as add-ons through the Dungeon Tryouts Pledge Manager. Some of you asked during the campaign, and while we did look into the possibility, it was a little too complicated to be feasible.
However, the Holiday Market is the next best place to get them, with the added benefit that you won't have to wait until 2027 to get your decks. We'll be ready to charge cards and start shipping when the Market closes at the beginning of December, so head on over to get your holiday shopping done early!
Production Progress
Our guest writers have submitted hundreds of Quests and Adventurers, and we're going through every single one to avoid any overlap, and to ensure that only the funniest heroes make it into our game. We're also balancing the cards as we go to ensure we have a diverse array of Quests that create opportunities for different kind of heroes.
Dungeon Tryouts is funny. But we also want it to be fun to play, and that's why we'll be playtesting at every step of the process.
In the meantime, AC Stuart is flying through the art for pitches that have already been green lit. You can even get a sneak peak at some of them in this post!
Who, exactly, are these B-list heroes? Reply in the comments to give us your best guess for any of the Adventurers in this post!
We'll have more details in the months ahead, as we get closer to the release of the beta PDFs.
Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to reach out with any questions you may have!
The Pledge Manager smoke test is live!
11 months ago
– Thu, Nov 13, 2025 at 09:14:32 AM
Hello fellow dungeoneers!
We're thrilled to announce that the Pledge Manager smoke test went live today!
The smoke test is a trial period where we send reward surveys to roughly 5% of backers to make sure our configurations are all correct. This lets us triple-check for errors, inconsistencies, issues, and points of confusion in the survey before sending out mass invitations.
Assuming the test goes well, we'll follow up by sending the reward surveys to the remaining 95% of initial backers within the next 48 hours. Late pledges will get their surveys two weeks after that, on December 1. For now, check your email to see if you're part of the smoke test. You can complete your survey early, and do us a huge favor by helping us catch any issues!
The surveys themselves are sent through Backerkit, which we're using for Pledge Manager and our pre-order store.
Here are some common questions we get during the pledge manager release:
Will my early bird bonus/returning backer incentives show up in my rewards?
Yes! If your original pledge qualified you for any of our three incentive pins (for early birds, returning backers, and large pledges), they will appear in your rewards by the end of this survey. However, if you make a change to your pledge that affects which pins you qualify for, you may not see that change reflected immediately. We'll be doing another pass in Pledge Manager prior to shipping rewards.
When will you charge my credit card for any balance owing?
We plan to charge credit cards in BackerKit for any add-ons in mid 2026 when final PDFs are delivered. We will post an update before we do so you can double-check any charges.
Are shipping/tax charges final?
We refined shipping estimates further and the shipping costs provided in the pledge manager are now close to final. If any regional shipping costs go significantly down in the coming months, we will decrease charges accordingly, but otherwise, assume the figures in BackerKit are final.
Can I update my reward survey after I complete it?
Yes! We will not be locking surveys until we deliver PDFs in spring/summer of 2026. Until then, you can always edit and update your reward survey (and add or remove add-ons) via the survey link you were originally sent. If you want to change your initial pledge level, you can do that using your survey link until November 30, 2025. After that, you'll need to reach out to our team directly.
Does X pledge level or add-on include Y reward? Are PDFs included?
If you have any questions about your reward survey, check out the BackerKit FAQ and the project FAQ. In the Backerkit FAQ you can find links to contact BackerKit customer support (if you have questions about the platform). You can also contact The Story Engine team at [email protected] if you have questions about the project. Both teams are here to support you and answer questions throughout the survey process and beyond!
Thanks so much, and as always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have!
Art Livestream + Thank you for voting!
12 months ago
– Tue, Oct 14, 2025 at 11:51:33 AM
Want an inside look at the Dungeon Tryouts development process?
Along the way, we'll share some updates on the project, along with some insights from our design team. What makes an Adventurer a good fit for Dungeon Tryouts - and why do some hilarious heroes get left on the cutting room floor?
Join us on October 16 to find out!
The final penguin has been chosen
The results of our final vote are in, and as always, the polls went down to the wire. In fact, our last vote was too close to call. We tallied our third tie, with Bubbles and Sparkle picking up the same number of votes from our community.
That means both names will be going to penguins when we complete the adoption through SANCCOB. Thanks again to SANCCOB, and to everyone who voted and supported Dungeon Tryouts!
NEW ART + Penguin Winners + Penguin Names: The Final Vote 🐧 🐧🐧
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Oct 08, 2025 at 12:40:18 PM
The results are in!
After a week of voting, we've tallied all the ballots and declared the winners of our Dungeon Tryouts penguin naming polls. Scroll down for the full list of winners, and to get the details for our FINAL RUNOFF VOTE!
But first...
We do more than penguins
Yes, we've been having fun with our penguin-related shenanigans. But Dungeon Tryouts is first and foremost a fantasy-themed party game, and our team has been hard at work writing new cards and playtesting and tweaking old ones to make Dungeon Tryouts as funny and as much fun as possible.
Meanwhile, AC Stuart has been hard at work drawing the hundreds of Adventurers who will appear in the game - and we can even share a few of them with you now!
This batch includes a treefolk arsonist and an existential zombie:
While the next one includes a dark elf with some questionable fashion choices:
How well will these adventurers perform on their Quests?
That's for you to decide! Stay tuned for more Adventurers, more Quests, and a Pledge Manager update in the weeks ahead.
Art livestream next week
Want to see how an Adventurer gets created? We'll be hosting a live-drawing livestream Thursday, October 16 at 3pm ET on YouTube. Tune in to see AC Stuart bring some new characters to life!
Now, on with the penguins!
A huge thank you to everyone who voted - and an even bigger thanks to SANCCOB for their incredible conservation efforts!
Some of the decisions were romps (Aurora beat Avalanche by, well, an avalanche). Others came right down to the wire (Marshmallow needed a last minute-surge to get past Muffin). Still others were tied, in which case both names went through.
Each one of the names below will be given to one of the 60 real-life penguins we adopt through SANCCOB. You may not have been voting for the Penguin President, but your votes really WILL have a huge impact on penguin welfare!
The winning penguins
Puffle (Tie)
Fidget (Tie)
Nat 20
Aurora
Marshmallow
Pistachio
Duke
Tuxedo
Empoleon
Snooter
Fiona (Tie)
Morgan (Tie)
Boris
Pebble
Puddles
Pen the Mighty
Penny
Karl
Fairbanks
Disco Waddler
The final penguin
We couldn't wrap things up without giving you one last chance to name a penguin. Reply in the comments to cast a vote in our runoff election:
Bubbles
Petal
Pixie
Sparkle
About SANCCOB
SANCCOB is a South African non-profit that works to conserve the local seabird population. Its primary focus is on the rescue and rehabilitation of the critically endangered African penguin (you can adopt and name your own penguin here), in addition to cormorants and other sea birds.
SANCCOB also spearheads broader conservation efforts through a range of education, research, and advocacy programs. Most notably, it teaches people how to adopt more sustainable practices, and raises community preparedness for oil spills and other ecological disasters.
Visit SANCCOB's website to learn more about its efforts to maintain biodiversity and bring balance to the oceans of southern Africa!
Penguin Names: Part 2 🐧 🐧
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Oct 03, 2025 at 12:31:36 PM
We're back for round two of our penguin naming bonanza!
We still need to name the 60 penguins you adopted through Dungeon Tryouts stretch goals, and we can't get through them without your help!
That's why were heading back to the polls. All of the names below are based on your recommendations. The winning name in each poll will be given to a real penguin adopted through SANCCOB!
Name this penguin!
Today's penguin is particularly daring and adventurous. Reply in the comments to let us know which one of these four D&D-themed names fits best:
G-Cube
Nat 20
Dice
Bard
Don't forget to vote on social media
This update isn't the only penguin polling station. We're holding votes across all of our social media channels, and there's still plenty of time to weigh in!
For instance, you can visit Bluesky to name this penguin:
SANCCOB is a South African non-profit that works to conserve the local seabird population. Its primary focus is on the rescue and rehabilitation of the critically endangered African penguin (you can adopt and name your own penguin here), in addition to cormorants and other sea birds.
SANCCOB also spearheads broader conservation efforts through a range of education, research, and advocacy programs. Most notably, it teaches people how to adopt more sustainable practices, and raises community preparedness for oil spills and other ecological disasters.
Visit SANCCOB's website to learn more about its efforts to maintain biodiversity and bring balance to the oceans of southern Africa!
We use essential cookies and our own first-party analytics to run BackerKit. With your consent, we also use cookies to measure our marketing and share data with advertising partners to show you relevant ads. Accept to allow all cookies, or reject to turn off the optional ones.
Read our cookie policy.
