Lairs Base Game plus Box Zero
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You place the last trap behind the screen and smile. Five turns later, your opponent looks up from the map and asks, "Where on earth do I go next?" You smile again — then it's your turn to enter theirs.
What it's about
You are an architect and an adventurer. In the same game, against the same person.
Lairs is a two-player duel designed by Christopher Westmaas with Josh Cappel, illustrated by Josh Nelson, Claire Lin, and Jean Walter, and published by KTBG. Behind a screen, you secretly build your lair: walls, traps, hungry monsters, and treasures. Then the cards are revealed — and each player enters the other's labyrinth, with a pencil, a map, and the unpleasant feeling that someone spent a long time thinking about how to ruin their evening.
You explore one cell at a time, drawing what you discover on the map. Dice activate your abilities, treasures are worth points, defeated monsters too — and escaping the dungeon before your rival matters. But every step forward is a step into a place you didn't choose.
What's new in this edition: The box also includes Box Zero, the mini-expansion that KTBG created after fan requests. New monsters, new traps, and — most importantly — a sealed envelope to open: it's a taste of the progressive discovery system on which the major expansions are built. It's not a legacy game: you can reset everything and start over.
The secret of Lairs in one line
The only game where the level you're playing was designed by the person sitting across from you — while they're playing yours.
The secret of Lairs in one line
First game you play defensively. Second, you start placing nasty traps. Third, you discover they did too, and realize you were playing two different games.
From the gaming experience
Lairs + Box Zero
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat's new in this edition
What's inside Box Zero
KTBG created it after player requests: new content, not found in any other box in the line. It's a taste of the system of envelopes and boxes to open that underpins the major expansions — Adventurer's Pack and Deeper Dungeons.
2 new monsters
Two Monster cards and four wooden meeples to hide in your lair. New creatures mean new ways for your opponent to regret that cell.
2 new traps
Two Trap cards and four tokens. They add variations to how you punish those who enter where they shouldn't.
The sealed envelope
Four extra cards and a rule sheet, inside a sealed envelope to open when the time is right. It's the heart of the experience: discovering the game one piece at a time.
Not a legacy game
Nothing is destroyed or permanently marked: open, play, and if you want, put everything back and start again with another combination.
🎲
Components — base gameBoards, maps, dice, and 68 wooden pieces
📦
Components — Box ZeroMini-expansion included in the box
In the end, it's not about who explored best. It's about who built worst — for the other.
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Behind the screen
I have forty walls, monsters, and crates, and no one watching me. I think: "if I were him, I'd go in there." And there I place the worst thing I have. On the other side of the table, I hear the sound of his pieces being placed. He's doing exactly the same.
First step into the dark
The screens come down, but the cells remain covered. I have a pencil, an empty map, and a flashlight. I choose the first cell, uncover it: trap. I mark an X on the map and look up. He smiles and says nothing. Perfect.
The map starts to speak
Three walls here, a corridor that turns, a treasure where I didn't expect it. I'm no longer going by chance: I'm deducing. If he hid a crate in that corner, he must have protected it — so I turn left. I'm inside his head.
The big treasure or the exit?
There's a crate at the end of a corridor, behind two cells I haven't uncovered yet. I have little health. He's already near the exit. Do I risk two more steps or leave now with what I have? The die, the one that decides if I survive, is already in my hand.
Counting, and the envelope
We count treasures, defeated monsters, and who got out first. He wins by two points. Then we look at the sealed Box Zero envelope, still closed on the table, and neither of us wants to put the box away.
How to play
The game flow
Two phases: first you build in secret, then you explore what he built. And he does the same in yours, at the same time.
Behind your screen, you place walls, monsters, traps, and treasure chests on your board. You must be cruel but fair: the path to the treasures must remain possible.
The screens come down, but nothing is visible: the cells are covered. You start from the entrance tile, with your pencil and your blank map sheet to fill in one step at a time.
Custom dice activate your abilities — movement, perception, speed. You move to an adjacent cell and reveal it: wall, trap, monster, or treasure. Then you mark everything on the map.
Points come from collected treasures, defeated monsters, and exiting the lair before your rival. Staying means earning — and risking. Timing is everything in the game.
Good to know beforehand
Three things a friend would tell you
Dice really matter
Abilities depend on rolls. You can compensate with the right choices, but if you're looking for total control of a pure abstract, this isn't the right title. A bit of tactical chaos is part of the deal.
The real game begins on the second play
The first time you place traps almost randomly, because you don't yet know how the other person thinks. From the second time, you start building against him. That's when Lairs becomes the psychological duel it promises.
Only two players, and that's fine
No solo mode, no third player in the base game. It's a duel, and the whole structure is designed for that. If you're looking for a party game, look elsewhere.
How it ends
One way to win. One way to stay underground.
The player who collects the most victory points by escaping the rival's lair wins. But only those who manage to escape count points.
Victory
- Collect treasures in the opponent's dungeon: each chest is worth points
- Defeat monsters that block your way instead of going around them
- Exit the lair before your rival: timing also gives points
Defeat
- You linger too long chasing the big treasure and don't make it out
- You build a predictable lair: he passes through it without a scratch
- You leave almost empty-handed while he has emptied your treasure room
It's the perfect duel for those who love games where you build for the other knowing that he's doing the same — and in the end, you find out who was more wicked. With Box Zero, the box also has something to open.
Frequently asked questions
Lairs + Box Zero FAQ
I already own Lairs: should I buy it again for Box Zero?
No, and we're telling you clearly. If you already own the base game, Box Zero also exists as a standalone mini-expansion: that's all you need. This edition (Base Game V1.2) is for those who don't have Lairs yet — and if they buy it now, they'll get it complete with Box Zero without having to search for the expansion separately.
What really changes compared to the old edition?
The base game is the same. Additionally, there's Box Zero: two Monster cards with four wooden meeples, two Trap cards with four tiles, and a sealed envelope with four more cards and a rule sheet. KTBG created it after fan requests, with new content — it's not recycled material from larger expansions.
Does Box Zero make Lairs a legacy game?
No. You open envelopes and discover new content, but you don't destroy or mark anything permanently: you can put everything back in the box and start over, or shuffle differently. It's the progressive discovery system of big expansions (Adventurer's Pack, Deeper Dungeons) in a taster version.
Is it suitable for those who don't like games of chance?
It depends. Dice activate the adventurer's abilities, so chance is there and at a couple of points, it can hurt you. It's not a pure abstract: if you want total control over every move, you might turn up your nose. If you accept a bit of tactical chaos within a strategic framework, it works very well.
Is it only for two players?
Yes: Lairs is a duel for two players, 40 minutes, ages 10+. There is no solo mode. Multiplayer only comes with the Deeper Dungeons expansion, which is a separate product.
Is it available in Italian?
This is the English edition. There is text on the monster, trap, and treasure cards, but they are short and very iconic terms: with basic English, you can play without problems, and generally, you only need to read the cards once before the first game.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Lairs — Base Game + Box Zero is a strategy and deduction game for 2 players, ages 10+, lasting 40 minutes. Designed by Christopher Westmaas with Josh Cappel, illustrated by Josh Nelson, Claire Lin and Jean Walter, published by KTBG (Kids Table Board Gaming). Each player secretly builds a lair full of walls, traps, monsters and treasures, then explores the opponent's by drawing the map cell by cell: points are scored by collecting treasures, defeating monsters and exiting the dungeon before the rival. Mechanics: deduction, grid movement, dice management, secret placement. This base box edition includes the mini-expansion Box Zero, with two Monster cards, four wooden meeples, two Trap cards, four trap tiles and a sealed envelope with four cards and a rule sheet. English edition. Available on FroGames.it.
Lairs Base Game plus Box Zero
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
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