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:
WE UNLOCKED MORE STRETCH GOALS + Pledge Manager + Payment Updates
7 months ago
– Fri, Sep 05, 2025 at 10:01:51 AM
Hope you enjoyed the last few weeks of summer!
We've got some important details to share about the next steps for Dungeon Tryouts, including:
What happens next, Pledge Manager, and the current timeline
How to resolve payment issues
Now accepting late pledges
STRETCH GOALS ARE STILL OPEN
What do you want to see from us?
Pledge Manager is on the way
We expect Pledge Manager to open sometime around November or December. That's when we’ll send out a backer reward survey that you’ll need to fill out to tell us the exact rewards you want, and where we should send those rewards during fulfillment.
In Pledge Manager, you'll be able to add items to your pledge and see the expected shipping charges and taxes for your region (if any). You'll also be able to update your address and shipping details as often as you need until we lock addresses just before fulfillment. Our current schedule is to deliver digital rewards by August of 2026, and physical rewards by April 2027.
We’ll announce the release of the reward survey and Pledge Manager through through a future Kickstarter update, as well as our social channels (Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, Twitter). If you lose your survey link, you'll be able to request another one by entering the email associated with your pledge on a special form on BackerKit.
What do I do if I have a payment issue?
Kickstarter has finished charging cards, so your pledge should now be fully paid for.
If your payment didn't get processed for whatever reason, Kickstarter will try again periodically. Make sure you check your statement to see if it goes through.
If you're still experiencing issues, don't fret. You will still receive an invitation to the reward survey and Pledge Manager, where you will have a chance to update your payment info. You don’t need to worry about losing your pledge tier or the rewards that go with it. We'll be able to adjust pledges and address payment issues on a case-by-case basis in Pledge Manager, and we encourage you to reach out at that time.
Late Pledges are open
The official campaign is over - but if your friends have FOMO, they still have a chance to back Dungeon Tryouts. We're currently accepting late pledges, and have even pushed the total number of backers to 2,800+ (and counting)!
The prices for late pledges are higher than the prices for the original campaign, so if you pledged during that first month, you picked up Dungeon Tryouts at the lowest price it will ever be. However, the late pledge prices are still lower than the prices you'll see at retail.
The late pledge window is also your last chance to pick up the limited Gold Box Edition of Dungeon Tryouts. The Kickstarter exclusive won't be available once we shift to Pledge Manager, so it's still great time to grab this collectible.
Let's unlock more stretch goals
Late pledges WILL count toward our stretch goals, which means we still have time to add a few more improvements to the deck!
We've already unlocked the Too Silly to Print PDF expansion and adopted 10 more penguins since the campaign wrapped. Now we're less than $10,000 away from our final guest card (from War and Peas). That stretch goal will bring our guest art booster pack to an even 18 cards.
Go ahead and tell your friends to help us complete the set!
What do you want to see from us?
We'll be releasing regular updates throughout production to keep you up to date on our progress - but we want those updates to be more than just logistics.
Do you want more livestreams, more development diaries, more video content, more art drops, or something else we haven't thought of? Leave a comment to let us know what you want to see. We'll collect the feedback and you'll see the results in future updates!
Thank You!
8 months ago
– Sat, Aug 16, 2025 at 08:16:09 AM
A huge thank you to the 2,717 fantasy and party game enthusiasts who backed Dungeon Tryouts! We raised $208,224 (just shy of 600% of our initial goal) and unlocked almost every stretch goal we set for ourselves along the way!
Thanks to you, the Dungeon Tryouts main deck will have 500 fully illustrated cards. It will also be released alongside a full set of three expansions, three wacky enamel pins, and a 17-card Guest Art Booster Pack with fantastic entries from so many incredible guest artists!
None of this happens without your support, and we can't tell you how much it means to have you in our corner. As far as we're concerned, every single one of you has the heart of a champion!
Speaking of champions...
These penguins need names
Your support allowed us to adopt 50 endangered sea birds through SANCCOB. That's a huge win for penguin conservation.
But there's one problem...
We need names for 50 penguins.
We'll open up formal submissions and voting at some point in the future. But 50 penguins is a LOT of penguins so we might as well start the process now. Sound off in the comments below to give us your best penguin names, and one of them could end up with a real-life penguin when the adoption goes through!
What's Next?
Whatever payment method you submitted will be charged today (and may have already been charged in some cases). Once it’s processed, you’ll receive a confirmation email that lets you know your pledge has gone through. You'll have a chance to update payment info if there are any issues, so you don’t need to worry about losing your pledge tier and the rewards that go with it. We’ll spend the next couple of weeks making sure everyone gets squared away.
Stay tuned for another update in the near future (after our weary Story Engine Adventurer team takes a bit of a rest) for details about when Pledge Manager will open, and how to go about it if it's your first time.
Thanks Again
For now, we’re going to raise a glass and set up camp for a long rest. Tomorrow, we'll venture further into the dungeon. We've still got a big stack of quests that need doing, and we couldn't be more excited to have you with us in our party!
12 HOURS LEFT + New Guest Artist (and Guest Art) + $190,000 and counting
8 months ago
– Fri, Aug 15, 2025 at 08:46:13 AM
It's the LAST DAY of our Kickstarter campaign - but we've still got plenty of awesome news to share in our latest update. Today we have:
A new guest artist reveal
A new guest card reveal
A livestream reminder
Even MORE ridiculous D&D character ideas
$190,000 (and counting)
This is your LAST CHANCE to share the active Kickstarter link if you want to tell a friend about the game and help us hit a few more stretch goals. Don't forget that the Gold Box Edition of Dungeon Tryouts is also a Kickstarter exclusive, so it won't be around much longer if you want to upgrade to shiny loot!
Meet the final boss
A new guest artist appeared!
We unveiled six new stretch goals earlier this week, one of which was a guest art card from a MYSTERY ARTIST. We're now thrilled to reveal that that mystery artist is none other than War & Peas!
At $230,000, this card is basically the final boss of Dungeon Tryouts stretch goals. We've only got 12 hours to get there, so visit our Kickstarter page to help us take down the big bad of our campaign!
Happiness is new guest art
We just got back the guest art card from Rob DenBleyker (Cyanide & Happiness), and we think this one speaks for itself.
They're not trapped in a glass case of emotion with you. You're trapped in a glass case of emotion with them!
Our mime's forcefields are felt but not seen. This monk's attacks are seen but not felt.
They're also drawn by Dungeon Tryouts guest artist and graphic designer Zach Schuster, whose art really packs a punch. Even when the character doesn't.
Wrap party tonight @ 10:30pmET
Our Dungeon Tryouts wrap party kicks off at 10:30pmET tonight!
Join us on YouTube as we count down the last hour of the campaign, play a few rounds of Dungeon Tryouts, and celebrate a successful launch with special guests Zach and Dungeon Tryouts artist AC Stuart.
Worst. RPG Party. Ever.
The Dungeon Tryouts main deck will ship with 500 cards - and every single Adventurer has their own ridiculous story to tell!
Here are more hilarious RPG character ideas!
$190,000 (and counting)
Dungeon Tryouts is at 2,500 backers and $190,000, which means we're already crossing bonus stretch goals off the list.
We're thisclose to $200,000 and a guest card from Emory Kjelsberg, and less than $20,000 away from our Too Silly to Print outtakes expansion.
Spread the word to help us close out our Kickstarter campaign in style!
36 HOURS LEFT + Sarah's Scribble unlocked + Livestream Reminder + MORE Terrible RPG Characters
8 months ago
– Thu, Aug 14, 2025 at 09:09:20 AM
The Dungeon Tryouts Kickstarter campaign ends in just 36 hours, at 11:59pm ET on August 15. That's still an eternity in crowdfunding time! In this update, we have:
The realm needs saving and your only hope is... a witch who constantly has to take her familiar to the vet?
You just unlocked card #16 for the Dungeon Tryouts guest art booster, and we can already show you what Sarah Andersen (aka Sarah's Scribbles) drew for the game!
We absolutely love a witch who has her pet priorities in order - along with these other cards from our esteemed guest artists:
Another witch!
The soup in this drawing from Lar DeSouza may look appetizing. But it's probably best to avoid any soup that gets served to you from a sentient cauldron.
This bard from Denaseey has his own agenda, but we'll allow it for someone with this much sparkle energy ✨✨✨
We also ❤️❤️❤️ the detail of the little fairy holding the tour poster!
Stttrrreeetttccchhhing for the finish line
Sarah Andersen's card was originally our final stretch goal, but we've been doing so well that we had to add a few more!
The new stretch goals can bring the the guest art booster pack to 18 cards with pieces from Emory Kjelsberg and War & Peas, and get us an outtakes deck full of non-illustrated cards that were too silly for the main game.
Let's see how many goals can we unlock before time runs out!
Special guests are coming to our wrap party
Don't forget that we'll be counting down the last hour of our campaign on a wrap party livestream tomorrow night.
The livestream begins Friday at 10:30pmET on YouTube. Tune in for a few rounds of Dungeon Tryouts with our special guests, artist AC Stuart and guest artist and graphic designer Zach Schuster!
More terrible...er, AMAZING character ideas
Pizza Time isn't just a meal schedule. It's also a state of mind - and a kobold with some sick skateboarding tricks!
Here are some more ridiculous characters you can find in Dungeon Tryouts!
Wrap Livestream + Interview Questions Unlocked + Terrible RPG Character Ideas + A project we love: Cube Creatures
8 months ago
– Wed, Aug 13, 2025 at 08:59:34 AM
There's so much happening in the last few days of our Kickstarter campaign! In this update, we have:
The Dungeon Tryouts Kickstarter wraps up Friday, August 15 at 11:59pm ET, and we'll be hosting a wrap party to count down the last few minutes of the campaign.
The livestream begins at 10:30pmET. We'll be talking about the game, the next steps for the campaign, and playing a few rounds of Dungeon Tryouts with our friends.
Tune in on YouTube to join the festivities and help us celebrate a successful campaign!
What's your greatest strength?
Don't know what to ask during the job interview?
We've got you covered with our $170,000 stretch goal! You unlocked a bonus PDF full of interview questions that quest givers will be able to ask while playing Dungeon Tryouts.
Use these questions to keep your friends off balance. Just make sure you remind them to pledge so we can reach our next stretch goal - a guest art card from the one and only Sarah Andersen!
A project we love: Cube Creatures
Cube Creatures is a battle trading card game for players of all ages - and they really do mean all ages. The game is developed by DJ Burdick and his 7-year-old son Porter, and is already a hit with adults and players as young as 5!
The creature designs in Cube Creatures come straight from Porter's imagination, while DJ is responsible for the gameplay and behind-the-scenes production. The game itself can be learned in 5 minutes and played in 15, and everything comes in a convenient, portable package for families who want to play when they travel.
