Hordes of dark minions have descended upon the countryside, eager to secure their reputation as a scourge on mankind. The despicable evil marauders attack everywhere in search of conquest. The citizens are helpless and will soon be overwhelmed. Death and destruction awaits all those in the path of the evil ones.

In Dark Minions players represent those forces of evil as they try to pillage and destroy towns. Each turn, the players typically roll three dice and may use the resulting numbers to attack Towns to win Vanquish Points (VPs) – the further along into the game, the more VPs the Towns are worth. Players also attempt to capture Towers in order to level up experience (which enables the player to roll better dice), to re-spawn dead minions from the graveyard, and to "purchase" the services of the various Overlords. In the end, it's all about VPs and the first player to 40 VPs in a four-player game wins.

The advanced game adds 15 Minion Overlords, each with a unique special power that may affect the play or the outcome of the game. They patiently wait to enter play and wreak their terrible havoc. Using their abilities wisely is one of the many keys to victory.

Dark Minions includes a small expansion called Demon Lords that adds more Overlords, a special town tile, and a special die – making for many ways to mix up the game play!