by krechevskoy
I followed Thunderstone pretty heavily when it was first announced. Heck after playing dominion I tried to make my own dungeon crawl using a mix using a mix of the Dominion deck cycling system and a secondary draw/play pile similar to how Odin's Ravens works. But now I don't have to because we have Thunderstone. And my idea now sits dormant in a shoebox on my game shelf. I also wanted to get quite a few games under my belt before reviewing it.
Also for the obligatory Dominion comparrison, just because Thunderstone has a similar deck building mechanic I would not put it in the same class as Dominion. To do such would be saying Monopoly is similar to D+D because they both deal with dice rolls. It is just not the case.
Overall Feel:
I've said this before in a geeklist and it is true to the game. I don't feel like an adventurer as much as I do a PM for an adventuring party to get the Thunderstone. When I am playing I do actually feel like my characters are fighting things, but there is no surprise, except for making a bet on a character that has a possibility of drawing cards. By the time its my turn I pretty much know what the turn outcome is going to be. There is not much in the way of surprises, except for a few cards forcing discards or allowing for conditional draws. I have also learned the card values, icons, and placements to where it is not even remotely considered to be or remembered as a problem.
What I like:
+ I like the card quality. For a game with lots of shuffling and moving around of cards. I like material of the cards.
+ I enjoy the subtle card synergies in the game that make the deckbuilding feel like actual deck building and not that I am burdening my hand with useless cards.
+ The game is somewhat modular. If I want a shorter game I use a monster pile of 10 cards. If I want a certain type of hero for the monster I picked I can add them. If I want to go against convention and add more piles to the village there is nothing stopping me.
+ There are rules for a single player variant, which adds to the point above
+ I enjoy the choices I can make and am forced to make during combat. For example, I can beat said monster but I won't because I do not want to lose one of my high level fighters in combat.
+ Even though leveling a character just puts them into my deck it feels satisfying and like a small accomplishment, the same goes with defeating a monster.
What I didn't like:
- Why do spells get the free ride of not requiring a hero? It feels silly to have no heroes in your hand and pull off shooting a fireball but yet not be able to wield a dagger. Yes is helps the player but it would make it seem more effective if you had a wizard or warlock in hand.
- The box and storage setup is horrible, the dividers are not really worth their salt and setup and takedown take longer than they should because of it. Would be nice if there was a better way to separate monsters/heroes/village cards/etc. You will need to do something homegrown until the expansion and probably after the expansion comes out. Especially when games themselves can run a little long.
What I wish was in the game:
- Cannot use/make your own cards. Even with the dividers you can't make a wild card to use your own ideas. I have resorted to using existing cards to represent made up cards for house rules. For example, “Saying in this game Lantern = Backpack, cost =6, Gold=0” (Backpack allows a player to draw 1 more card and keep the card if they are an item or weapon cards). Anyways I'm straying to variants but it is frustrating for us rules and mechanics tinkerers.
- More of a Texas hold'em “surprise” portion to the deck. Either by not knowing the next 2 cards in your hand or a possible draw. My most fun battles are when I have a character that has additional draw cards capabilities and betting against if I will pull a hero/weapon/spell with that next draw to defeat the monster in the dungeon.
Thunderstone is a very solid game where I feel more empowered in my deckbuilding but less tactical in my immediate hand. It is either I use everything in my hand or I don't. The setup and cleanup is one of the only stymies of the actual gameplay. But it is worth it and with some effort on my part I can even get my casual gameplaying friends to enjoy it. If you have not played Thunderstone, it is time to give it a shot.
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