Planet Apocalypse or Massive Darkness: which miniature dungeon crawler fits your table?
Pick Planet Apocalypse if you want a tight, replayable cooperative tower-defense game where 1-5 players hold the line against demon hordes in about 60 minutes. Pick Massive Darkness if you want a sprawling dungeon-crawl RPG built on the Zombicide engine, with loot, leveling, and a campaign that runs across many sessions. Both are miniatures-heavy cooperative games designed for players who already know their way around the hobby.
What kind of game is each one, really?
Different monster. Different genre entirely.
Planet Apocalypse is a cooperative tower-defense game designed by Sandy Petersen. The product page describes it as an "exciting co-operative game for 1-5 players" in which "post-apocalypse heroes" battle "hordes of hell" and work toward taking down a demon lord. It plays in about 60 minutes, carries a 14+ age rating, and is tagged on-site as Cooperative, Tower Defense, and Dice Bash, with painted demon miniatures and custom dice as the physical centerpiece. Keith Thompson, whose visual work has appeared in film and games, did the art direction. Petersen Games' own listing frames every session as different, with the wave-based structure driving toward a final demon-lord fight rather than a branching mission list.
Massive Darkness is a different animal. Published by CMON, the original 2017 release was built on "the popular Zombicide system as a starting point," then layered with dungeon-crawl RPG mechanics: hero classes, loot cards, experience points, and a light-and-darkness system where staying in shadow changes what a hero can do. A party of Lightbringers explores dungeon tiles room by room, fighting minions, roaming monsters, and bosses while gearing up along the way. The line has grown since: Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape (2022) rebuilt the system around asymmetric classes, and a newer entry, Dungeons of Shadowreach, funded on Gamefound in 2025. Community coverage on BoardGameGeek lists the original at a 7.1 average rating, in the dungeon-crawl and fantasy miniatures space.
How does the game loop compare?
Planet Apocalypse runs on one core loop, learned once and replayed. Demons spawn in waves, your hero spends resources to hold ground, and the session builds to a push against the demon lord. There is no branching mission book inside the base box, and the product page notes that every playthrough plays out differently even though the underlying system stays put.
Massive Darkness runs on room-by-room exploration. Heroes move through dark dungeon tiles, fight whatever spawns, loot the area, and spend experience to level up between fights. A 30-page rulebook backs the system, and reviewers describe the core gameplay as fairly approachable once you get past the initial setup, even with all the moving pieces.1 That loot-and-level structure gives Massive Darkness more of an RPG feel session to session, at the cost of more table setup than Planet Apocalypse's tighter format.
Which one is harder to learn?
Neither is a soft landing for a first-time co-op player.
Planet Apocalypse asks new players to learn dice-based combat, hero resource management, and an escalating demon-wave system in one sitting. The 14+ rating reflects real rules weight on top of the theme. Once the loop clicks, though, later games move fast because the system does not change underneath you.
Massive Darkness front-loads more complexity: class builds, loot tables, light and darkness rules, and a leveling curve across a campaign. One review of the original release calls it a "power fantasy, beer and pretzels" kind of game once the rules settle in, best played as standalone scenarios rather than the full campaign mode, which some reviewers found uneven for long-term balance.1 That is useful context if you are shopping Massive Darkness specifically for a long-haul campaign experience.
Player count and solo play
Planet Apocalypse supports 1-5 players directly out of the box, so solo play is a built-in mode, not an afterthought. Massive Darkness supports 1-6 players across most releases, with solo players typically piloting more than one hero at a time, a common approach across the dungeon-crawler genre. If a specific player count matters to you, confirm it against the exact Massive Darkness edition you are considering, since the franchise spans several core boxes.
Miniatures and table presence
Both games lean hard on miniatures as the reason to buy.
Planet Apocalypse ships with demon miniatures spanning the circles of hell, weighing in at over 8.5 pounds as a box, with custom dice called out on the product listing. Petersen Games does not publish an exact figure count on the page, so this comparison will not invent one; what is confirmed is the co-op and tower-defense tagging, the weight, and the scenario framing straight from the listing.
Massive Darkness is well known in the hobby for high miniature counts, especially through its crowdfunded pledge levels, where stretch goals have historically added dozens of extra hero and monster sculpts on top of the core box. Petersen Games does not sell or carry Massive Darkness, so exact figure counts for any specific release are best confirmed on BoardGameGeek or CMON's own listing before you buy.
Price and availability
Planet Apocalypse is priced at $99.99 on petersengames.com. As of this writing it shows sold out directly from Petersen Games, so check the live product page for current stock before you plan around it. Once back in stock, orders process within 48 hours, then ship USPS Ground Advantage within the US (2-5 business days transit) or DHL Ground to Canada (3-7 business days transit); rates are calculated at checkout, and there is no standing free-shipping offer.
Massive Darkness pricing spans a wide range depending on which core box you are looking at and whether you are buying a retail release or a loaded crowdfunding pledge with add-ons. There is no single number to set against Planet Apocalypse's $99.99, so price out the exact Massive Darkness release you are weighing rather than the franchise as a whole.
Who should buy Planet Apocalypse?
Planet Apocalypse is the right call if:
- You want a demon-invasion horror theme, not a fantasy dungeon setting
- You want a tower-defense loop you learn once and replay without new rulebooks
- Solo play matters and you want it built into the base game at 1-5 players
- You are drawn to Sandy Petersen's design work and want the horror follow-up to Cthulhu Wars
- A single, complete $99.99 box (when in stock) fits your shelf better than an open-ended campaign franchise
Who should buy Massive Darkness?
Massive Darkness is the right call if:
- You want a fantasy dungeon crawl with loot, classes, and hero leveling, not a demon-invasion theme
- You want a long campaign structure across many dungeon rooms rather than one repeatable loop
- You want the option to grow into a franchise with multiple core boxes and expansions
- High per-box miniature counts through crowdfunded pledges are part of the appeal
Can a collection hold both?
Plenty of cooperative-game collectors do exactly that. Planet Apocalypse gives you a demon-hunting session that plays fast and resets clean game to game. Massive Darkness gives you a loot-driven dungeon campaign with a much longer arc and a bigger hero roster to grow into. They solve different problems on a game shelf: one is a tight horror session for a weeknight, the other is a project for a group that wants to level up characters over months. If your collection already leans toward Sandy Petersen's other work, Planet Apocalypse is the natural next pickup for a cooperative night that does not need the full Massive Darkness campaign to feel complete.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Planet Apocalypse and Massive Darkness?
Planet Apocalypse is a cooperative tower-defense game for 1-5 players where you hold a map against waves of demons and try to take down a demon lord. Massive Darkness is a dungeon-crawling miniatures franchise from CMON, built on the Zombicide engine, where a party of heroes explores dark dungeon rooms, loots gear, and levels up across a campaign. Both use painted plastic miniatures and dice-based combat; the structure and the monster set them apart.
Is Planet Apocalypse better than Massive Darkness?
It depends on what you want at the table. Planet Apocalypse is better if you want a tighter, faster co-op loop with a demon-invasion theme and solo play built in for 1-5 players. Massive Darkness is better if you want a full RPG-style dungeon crawl with loot, leveling, and a large hero roster across a multi-session campaign. Neither one is objectively better across the board.
What is the best miniature dungeon crawler board game for collectors?
There is no single answer, since collectors buy for different reasons. Planet Apocalypse suits collectors who want a self-contained, replayable box with a demon-hunting theme and Sandy Petersen's design credit. Massive Darkness suits collectors chasing a long dungeon-crawl campaign with deep loot and leveling systems. Both are miniatures-forward games worth comparing against the rest of a premium collection.
Can you play Planet Apocalypse or Massive Darkness solo?
Yes to both. Planet Apocalypse supports 1-5 players out of the box, so solo play works with the base rules. Massive Darkness supports 1-6 players and solo players typically run more than one hero at once, similar to many dungeon crawlers in the genre. Check the specific edition's rulebook for exact solo guidance.
How much do Planet Apocalypse and Massive Darkness cost?
Planet Apocalypse lists at $99.99 on petersengames.com. It's currently sold out, so check the product page for restock status. Massive Darkness pricing varies by edition, from the original core box to Massive Darkness 2: Hellscape to a fully loaded crowdfunding pledge, so there is no single figure to compare it against.
Want the demon-hunting side of the cooperative miniatures space, built by the designer of Cthulhu Wars? Check Planet Apocalypse's current availability at Petersen Games and get notified when it's back in stock.
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