A Miner Problem

A Miner Problem is a mashup of a text-based choose-your-own-adventure game and pen-and-paper role-playing game. It's compatible with the fifth edition of the popular-role playing game that features dragons and dungeons.

You have to try to make it out of the mine by solving the challenges that arise during the adventure. You’ll need a pencil and paper to keep track of your character’s spells, inventory and hit points. Additionally, you’ll have to keep track of how far away your enemies are. Playing The Saint's Tomb is a good way of preparing for the free game, A Miner Problem.

Start gently

If you haven't played the fifth edition of D&D, it's a good idea to get some practice by playing the level one Saints Tomb. The gameplay is similar, but you'll get more on-screen hints to help you better understand what's required.

Keep track of your enemies

In A Miner Problem, there's no online system for tracking your enemies. Therefore, you'll have to track your performance using a pencil and paper to update the distance. You’ll provide this information via a drop-down menu at specific points of the game. 

When you're dead, you're dead

Unlike Saints tomb, there's no 'near-death’ ending. If your health points drop to zero and you don't have anything in your possession to save you from death, there's no coming back, and there's no prospect of anyone saving you. 

However, there are two options for starting over. In the ‘Forgiving Mode’, you’ll restart from your last save point. By contrast, if you go with the ‘Hardcore Mode’, you'll start over with a new character.

Our take

A Miner Problem does an excellent job of combining an online RPG, traditional dice and paper gameplay. It’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into developing the game because the points at which you roll the dice feels natural within the story's context.