Stats:
No. of players: 1-5
Amount of time to play: 60 min
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: 5-10 minutes

Root of Corruption is the latest expansion for the Thunderstone Advance deck-building game. It adds new heroes, new monsters, treasures, guardians and cooperative siege rules.

Root of Corruption Description:

This section is going to cover the new elements Root of Corruption introduces. Read my reviews if you are unfamiliar with the basics of Thunderstone and changes made in Thunderstone Advance.

The main theme of Root of Corruption is curses. This expansion adds a couple things you’d expect like 7 new heroes and 6 new monsters. Many of these deal with curses. Most of the monsters give them to you and a few of the heroes can help you get rid of them. A couple even use curses to add to their power.

Two elements that are new to Thunderstone Advance are treasures and guardians. The new guardian works pretty much the same as the originals in Thunderstone worked. They advance toward Rank 1 and even exit it. Once in Rank 0 there is no light penalty. They do not leave the dungeon even if they survive an attack. And you cannot remove them or swap their position in the dungeon.

Treasures have been implemented much differently. They enter the dungeon and are equipped by a monster. In order to acquire the treasure you must defeat the monster and they will use it against you.

Siege mode is cooperative and you must fend off hordes of monsters and defend the walls. There is a new playmat to use for siege mode that helps organize the cards. Each round the monsters advance and if they are not killed they remove a wall section. If a monster advances through a section that has already been compromised you lose.

Quick Review of Thunderstone: Root of Corruption:

Root of Corruption is true to its theme. You must deal with curses and if you can use them to your advantage. Fortunately you have some help doing this.

The components are typical for Thunderstone and everything looks very nice. I do wish the playmat was thicker but it is acceptable and good enough for what it does.

I really like how some of the old elements have been re-introduced. I especially like how treasures must earned and are used by the monsters

The included scenarios are fun but tough. I like that AEG keeps trying new and fresh things in Thunderstone. The new cooperative siege mode is a nice new way to try game and offers its own challenges. If you have Thunderstone Advance you should definitely give Root of Corruption a try.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 2 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6