
Areas generally need to be dug out and claimed by Imps before rooms can be built there (Imps can also fortify walls to prevent breaches by hero Tunnellers or enemy Imps).

A game typically starts with a Dungeon Heart (the dungeon's life force if this is destroyed, you lose the game), some Imps, some gold, and sometimes some rooms, and the player usually needs to construct the basic rooms (typically considered to be the Treasure Room, Lair, Hatchery, Training Room, and the Library) and tunnel to a Portal to attract creatures to his/her cause. In the game the player attempts to build and manage a dungeon while protecting it from enemies (typically computer-controlled ' heroes' intent on stealing the user's accumulated treasures and causing your demise, but can also be the minions or rival Keepers).

