| Thunderstone | |
| Designer: | Mike Elliott |
| Publisher: | Alderac Entertainment Group |
| Image Caption: | Box cover of Thunderstone Base Set |
| Players: | 1 to 5 players |
| Ages: | 12 & up |
| Setup Time: | ~30 minutes |
| Playing Time: | ~60 minutes |
| Random Chance: | Medium |
| Skills: | Resource management Turn decision |
Thunderstone is a fantasy deck-building card game series designed by Mike Elliott, with artwork by Jason Engle. It was first published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 2009. Each card has dimensions of 6.3 cm x 8.8 cm (2.5in x 3.5in). It has been translated into several languages.[1]
Gameplay involves building a deck of adventurers and equipment to defeat monsters. Each turn players must decide whether to visit the Village (to purchase cards, upgrade heroes and other actions), or if they will face a monster in the current dungeon (using the heroes and equipment in their hand). Defeated monsters are added to a player's deck as well, where they may contribute money and/or other bonuses when in hand.
Many game elements including the card layout have undergone a major redesign in 2012.[2] This has caused the game series to continue under the new name Thunderstone Advance. Cards from the original series and the Advance series are compatible as they share the same back cover artwork. In the Thunderstone Advance series, each set comes with a handful of Thunderstone Bearers that act as monster bosses in the game.
Thunderstone Quest brings new play modes to the table. The game will tell a specific story with a series of pre-set dungeon tiles, monsters, heroes and support cards. Each will come with a series of mini-adventures and a story booklet that tells players what happens as they progress through the scenarios.
Once players have completed the quests they will be able to enjoy great replay value with the available selection of monsters, heroes, and support cards, as well as the new dungeon tiles, by choosing random set-ups before the start of play. Aside from heroes such as wizards, fighters, rogues, and clerics, cards will include supplies that heroes need like weapons, spells, items, or light to reach further into the dungeon.
The dungeon deck is created by combining several different groups of monsters together. Certain groups of monsters may be more or less susceptible to different hero types, so players have to take this into account when they choose what to buy.[3]
The games denoted as B contain Base cards (Militia/Regulars, Daggers/Longspears, Torches, etc) and experience cards (tokens in Advance) and can therefore be played standalone.[4] [5]
| Name | Release Date | Type | Total Cards | Types of Cards | Extras | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstone (Base game)B | 2009 | Stand-alone | 530 | 1 Thunderstone card 5 Reference cards 32 Experience Point cards 38 Randomizer cards 80 Monster cards 90 Basic cards (including Disease) 132 Hero cards 152 Village cards | 50 Card Dividers | |
| Thunderstone: Wrath of the Elements | 2010 | Expansion | 340 | 1 Thunderstone card 5 Reference cards 12 Trap cards 33 Randomizer cards 42 Basic cards (incl. extra Disease cards) 51 Monster cards 84 Hero cards 112 Village cards | 76 Card Dividers | |
| Thunderstone: Doomgate Legion | 2010 | Expansion | 317 | 1 Thunderstone card 12 Treasure cards 30 Randomizer cards 25 card Special Disease deck 60 Monster cards 84 Hero cards 104 Village cards 1 Guardian card | 28 Card Dividers | |
| Thunderstone: DragonspireB | 2011 | Stand-alone and Expansion | 630 | 2 Thunderstone cards 5 Reference cards 46 Randomizer cards 16 Special Dungeon Feature cards 103 Past set Randomizer cards Basic cards 84 Basic cards 80 Monster cards 141 Hero cards 144 Village cards 7 Setting cards 2 Guardian cards | 53 Card Dividers 1 Dungeon Board (use is optional) 30 Experience Point (XP) Tokens | |
| Thunderstone: Thornwood Siege | 2011 | Expansion | 284 | 1 Thunderstone card 90 Hero cards 112 Village cards 50 Monster cards 1 Guardian card 30 Randomizer cards | 27 Card dividers 18 Tokens | |
| Thunderstone: Heart of Doom | 2011 | Expansion | 302 | 1 Thunderstone card 84 Hero cards 104 Village cards 6 Treasure cards 70 Monster cards 3 Guardian cards 3 Setting cards 31 Randomizer cards | 29 Card dividers | |
| Thunderstone: Promo Pack | 2011 | Promo | 17 | 6 Harruli Initiate 4 Harruli Spellsword 2 Harruli Avatar 1 Harruli Randomizer 1 Blade Trap (Trap - Death) 1 Mammoth (Evil Druid - Familiar) 1 Death Sentinel (Doomknight - Sentinel) 1 Vision (Cultist - Humanoid) | ||
| Thunderstone: For the Dwarf Promo | 2010 | Promo | 13 | 6 Clan Sergeant 4 Clan Commander 2 Clan Champion 1 Clan randomizer | ||
| Thunderstone: Werewolf Promo Pack | 2011 | Promo | 14 | 1 Void Apocalypse (Hydra - Dragon) 1 Thornwood Forest (Setting) 1 Guardian of Revenge (Guardian) 1 Werewolf Randomizer 1 Istvan Torok (Werewolf) 2 Direhowl (Werewolf) 2 Ragetalon (Werewolf) 2 Wolf Pack (Werewolf) 3 Grimbite (Werewolf) | ||
| Thunderstone: Promo Pack #2 | 2011 | Promo | 13 | 1 Guardian of Strength (Guardian) 1 Stormhold (Setting) 2 Skywyrm Warrior (Dragon - Humanoid) 2 Skywyrm Mage (Dragon - Humanoid) 3 Skywyrm Scavenger (Dragon - Humanoid) 1 Skywyrm Overlord (Dragon - Humanoid) 2 Skywyrm Priest (Dragon - Humanoid) 1 Dragon Humanoid Randomizer |
| Name | Release Date | Type | Total Cards | Types of Cards | Extras/Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstone Advance: Towers of RuinB | 2012 | Stand-alone and Expansion | 566 | 95 Basic card 132 Hero cards 100 Monster cards 3 Thunderstone Bearer cards 152 Village cards 45 Special cards 39 Randomizer cards | 50 Card Dividers 1 Dungeon Board 50 Experience Point (XP) Tokens Currently out of print | |
| Thunderstone Advance: Caverns of Bane | 2012 | Expansion | 282 | 84 Hero cards 60 Monster cards 3 Thunderstone Bearer cards 104 Village cards 4 Special cards 6 Treasure cards 27 Randomizer cards | 27 Card Dividers | |
| Thunderstone Advance: Root of Corruption | 2012 | Expansion | 336 | 84 Hero cards 72 Monster cards 1 Thunderstone Bearer card 1 Guardian card 120 Village cards 6 Treasure of Dun Ordha cards 4 Special cards 30 Randomizer cards 18 Reprinted cards | 30 Card Dividers 1 Siege Poster | |
| Thunderstone Advance: Avatars | 2012 | Expansion | 25 | 25 Avatar cards | ||
| Thunderstone Advance: Starter SetB | 2013 | Stand-alone and Expansion | 259 | 70 Basic cards 60 Hero cards 30 Monster cards 1 Thunderstone Bearer card 80 Village cards 18 Randomizer cards | 24 Card Dividers | |
| Thunderstone Advance: NumeneraB | 2013 | Stand-alone and Expansion | 602 | 81 Basic card 156 Hero cards 100 Monster cards 1 Thunderstone Bearer card 6 Treasure card 168 Village cards 45 Special cards 45 Randomizer cards | 55 Card Dividers 6 Oversized Setting cards 1 Dungeon Board 54 Experience Point (XP) Tokens 1 Experience Point (XP) Bag 40 Mark Tokens | |
| Thunderstone Advance: Worlds CollideB | 2013 | Stand-alone and Expansion | 550 | 91 Basic cards 132 Hero cards 152 Village cards 100 Monster cards 4 Guardian cards 30 Disease cards 41 Randomizer cards | The set showcases 550 cards from the first six Thunderstone releases, including some of the previously hard to find promos, all updated and fully compatible with Thunderstone Advance. 63 Card Dividers | |
| Thunderstone Advance: Into the Abyss | 2014 | Expansion | 381 | 128 Hero cards 80 Monster cards 136 Village cards 33 Randomizer cards 4 Guardian cards | 33 Card Dividers |
BoardGameGeek rates Thunderstone a 7.0 out of 10, garnering it a thematic rank of 177 out of over 500 "thematic" board games.[8]