The third iteration of Thunderstone brings it into the echelon of deck builder plus games like Trains, Tyrants of the Underdark, Clank!, or A Few Acres of Snow.

Gameplay/Replay

Much like previous editions, Thunderstone Quest starts you with a modest deck of starter cards which you use to purchase in the village or visit the dungeon, through visits to the village you purchase cards to improve your deck in order to defeat stronger dungeon denizens. Quest improves on this concept in several ways.

For starters, you now have several village actions that you can take when visiting the village. The choice you make decides what your purchase includes, many choices will allow you to buy a card with an extra action, such as promoting a hero card, getting an item, or healing. That’s right, in this version, you have a health track, and said track will affect how many cards you draw at the start of your turn so keeping that health up is important.

In addition, the dungeon now is a board where the strongest monsters are in the deepest part while weaker monsters are closer to the surface. Light is still a factor, but it how much light you need can be wildly varied depending on the room tile the monster is on. There is also a new giant rat persistent monster at the entrance you can kill for a free purchase at the village. Things get dangerous when enough keys come out and the rat gets replaced by the big bad of the game. That last turn everyone gets additional cards in their draw for a final crack at the big boss. Most pints win

The Bad

Well for one thing this game weighs a lot, not game difficulty weight, I mean I can state its weight in stone. You will gain musculature when carrying it from the shelf to the table. Also the randomizer factor is still a problem as odd mixes can cause messy results, but playing them in adventure pack form is a decent fix as the packs are balanced for the adventure they are trying to give. Also it is hefty on the wallet especially if you want the adventure packs as well

In Conclusion

I for one think this is the best version of Thunderstone yet, and good news, it is as of this writing still available in deluxe form, though the magic of a Kickstarter expansion. That said it is NOT cheap (as mentioned earlier) though it is probably now my favorite deck builder and I think the cost worth it.

It was everytime fun to play the Castle Panic. I played with my family and everyone was happy to play. It is for 1-6 players. Simplicity of the rules of this game does not announce the climate that perfectly holds this game. The game is nice and very solidly made, and the fantasy maniac will be in heaven playing this game. The game is really fast, dynamic (in two people the whole party lasted no more than 20 minutes), very light and pleasant.

Components: game board, plastic stands, castle cards, monster tokens, walls and towers.

A great cooperative game that is set in the Cthulhu universe.
Played it with 2 players and also have played it a couple of times solo (controlling multiple characters on my own) was great fun but I think it would really shine with 3 plus players.

We have lost more games than won, typical of a game set in this universe, but we have had fun each time we play it.

The bits are nice and all work well, it even comes with a ‘draw’ bag and it does not take up to much table space (it fits easy on a standard kitchen table, with room to spare)

All in all a fun ‘cheaper’ easier to learn ‘old ones’ board game that wants to be your friend but secretly hates you and laughs when you fail.. seriously, I swear I can hear the actual board laughing and mocking my behind my back.. lol