Stats:
No. of players: 2
Amount of time to play: 45 min
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5-10 minutes

Claustrophobia De Profundis Rules Description:

De Profundis is the first expansion for Claustrophobia. It adds new tiles, new gifts, new cards, new heroes, new demons, new minis and new scenarios to the base game. But is it worth getting all this new stuff?

This review of Claustrophobia: De Profundis assumes you know the rules and basic game play of the base game. If you have not been introduced to Claustrophobia, here is a good place to start. I am going to talk mostly about the new additions to this expansion.

There are twelve, yes twelve, new scenarios. The base game had six so now you’ll have eighteen different scenarios to play through. You can even play some of the old scenarios with the new elements in this expansion.

Six new tile types have been added to the game: Demonic Well, Fog, Healing Fountain, Large Room, Sanctified Zone and Tomb. The Demonic Well helps the demon player but most of the others give a boost to the humans.

The above boost for the human player might be needed as the demon player can spawn Hellhounds. These units cost three Threat Points to bring into the game and can be assigned a Die of Destiny. The mechanic is similar to the human players except that there are only three stat lines for the Hellhound. Depending on their assigned die Hellhounds may be Elusive and Frantic or Impressive, making them mobile and deadly or really tough tie-up pieces. If you decide not to assign a die to them they just sit there with a four defense and three health.

Not to be left out, the human player gets a new unit also. The Sicaria are female fighters that are considered Condemned warriors. They combine some of the combat effectiveness of the Blades with the defense of the Brutes. They even get skills which are like the Redeemer’s gifts.

The new event cards introduce a new rule. The demon player can only hold three event cards. The new advantage cards and objects can just be added to those from the base game.

A Quick Review of Claustrophobia De Profundis:

De Profundis is not a game changer and I think that is excellent. This is not an expansion that implements a lot of new rules or game mechanics and it doesn’t need to be. Claustrophobia already has an excellent engine and De Profundis just adds some fun new options.

Just like in the base game everything is gorgeous. The new minis, cards and tiles look great and the quality of the components is top-notch.

The Hellhounds are very flexible units and I really like the way they play kinda like the heroes. You have to decide when to assign a die to them or just put that die on the destiny board and though it is not always an easy decision, it is usually a meaningful one.

It is nice the humans got a bit of help in De Profundis. The balance of the game is still intact, but the new tiles and new heroes give the humans a bit more staying power.

The scenarios are great they have special rules and goals that really add the replayabilty of them and the game. And just like with the base game I am sure there will be even more stuff added to the Claustrophobia web site to play and enjoy.

If you own Claustrophobia you should really enjoy De Profundis. (If you don’t own Claustrophobia, you should buy it.) The new additions from De Profundis integrate seamlessly and just add to the player experience of Claustrophobia. More scenarios, more options and more fun, what’s not to like?

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6