I wanted to know about your experiences playing Descent with your significant other (wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband etc.).

My girlfriend seems to like the game very much aesthetically (shes always deciding the next miniature to paint with me rarely getting a say in the matter), but she says that she gets tired (not bored) by playing it (for the record we do not play more than 1 quest per session). Normally I would just not play Descent, but she is actively suggesting to play it. She is a really kind person who usually avoids any kind of confrontation so my first guess was that she doesn't like Descent because it is competitive, but cooperative games didn't work for us. Her favorite games are Seasons and Mage Knight by the way.

I have a regular gaming group to play descent with so my aim for this is not to find a way to "make" her like the game, but to find the best way to make the game experience as enjoyable for her as it can be. Also we play board games to get away from the screen so the new Descent app is a big no for us.

I would really appreciate your stories, house rules or general advice, basically anything that made your Descent experience awesome!

Thanks in advance!

Just let her help you paint it, but don't actually play it with her if she doesn't like it

It sounds a bit similar to what I had with my ex girlfriend. Although she was always saying she liked playing it, by the end of the quest she was always on her phone, or just seemed sort of distracted from/not completely interested during the game.

Which might frustrate you (and the other players) if you are someone that takes it more seriously. I would say, you don't have to do everything together

Thank you for a quick answer. The thing is she wants to play it just the two of us. I suggested painting the minis but she doesn't like to sit in one place too long. As I understand she loves playing board games but what makes it difficult to find her a perfect game is she wants to have plenty of choices (like Mage Knight),but will get mentally exhausted by playing them. Also it has to be topped of by beautiful artwork (like Seasons).

I was hoping maybe you could suggest some house rules or variants for the game to make it more simple but still thematic a it is since that is probably what interests her in Descent

Have you thought about runebound? (Disclaimer, I haven't played the third edition yet, just the second) but it isn't quite so head-on competive as descent. Generally, (overlord style) descent is easier to play with at least 3 people. Otherwise, whoever is heroing needs to play 2 heroes.

Have you cobsidered looking into redjaks solo variants on boardgamegeek? Its cooperative but simulates an overlord so still has a challenge aspect. No app involved but does need a card deck printing, which you can do at home or online profesionally.

Just an option.

My ex would play descent with me. My wife, no way. She respects my personal tastes, but doesn't share.

She respects my personal tastes, but doesn't share.

Poor Leewroy! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

So she's suggesting to play it but then says she's too tired to play?

Is she playing as the heroes? For some reason, when I play with my boyfriend, I do find it somewhat overwhelming to keep track of all the heroes and their abilities (moreso than the monsters/LTs). At least when we play with 3-4 heroes. Maybe have her play as two heroes, or you play as two heroes with her as the Overlord.

How come co-op doesn't work for you guys? It seems like if she's not confrontational that might be a better choice for you two. My boyfriend and I love playing Road to Legend almost as much as playing the regular version.

And as Zaltyre said above, Runebound might be an option if there's just no getting past her tiredness of Descent. The third edition (and all of them, really) can be REALLY long, though, but it's not very mentally draining.

If one person has to play multiple heroes, that's indeed a bit exhausting. Especially later in the campaign when you have 3-4 skills each and a ton of gear.

I can only second the suggestion to take a look at Runebound (3rd Ed). Descent Universe and Heroes, but the game is not that head-on competitive. Also, you'll see some familiar heroes.

And maybe (if you and your GF like that sort of game), Roundbound the Miniature Game which will be released in early 2017. Gorgeous Miniatures, but shorter. One game is supposed to take about 1-1.5 hours.

My wife and I used to play Imperial Assault together, alternated playing as Imperial for different campaigns. We fought a lot, so we stopped that. Now we play Descent. I double as the Overlord and two heroes, she plays as two heroes. It is surprisingly fun, and I still make the Overlord competitive and sometimes just downright mean. We always win, but there have been a LOT of very close quests, so there is still a good bit of tension. But we work much better cooperatively than competitively. (The main problem was that she would take about 15 minutes per move during Imperial Assault. Now that we discuss the turns together, it seems much quicker).

She respects my personal tastes, but doesn't share.

Poor Leewroy! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Lol, no problem. To tell the truth, in some aspects it's better this way. My ex was so involved in all my stuff that when we break up I kinda feel empty in everything I used to do. The way I live with my wife is better, everyone have their space...and while she doesn't know anything about rpg I´m not obligated to watch girl stuff on tv or youtube

Thank you for all the answers! First of all we do have the Runebound 3rd edition game. She loves it, but says that she misses a bit of the conflict (that is when she offers to play Descent). I wish there was a skirmish variant like the one in Imperial assault because that would probably satisfy her on those momentary bloodthirst moments (she is always playing Overlord and I have never seen her happier than the moment Grisban the thirsty hits the floor for the 6th concecutive round). Another fix would probably be some kind of rule to introduce PvP into Runebound if somebody has a house rule/variant to share. Also I will try playing just 2 heroes versus her so she wouldn't have to remember all the skills. Again thank you for suggestions!

I think it's hard to play Descent with one player taking the role of all four heroes at the same time. There's too much management involved. It can definitely be fun, but that assumes you can take that sort of thing. That's actually the only scenario where I would recommend the most experienced player to take the role of the heroes instead of the overlord role.

The co-op version seems a lot more friendly in your case. Or some other game, if you find Descent too heavy for you and your other half.