Thunderstone Quest

2018 · Card Game

Thunderstone Quest

Assemble a party of fantasy heroes, equip them with weapons, spells and items, then enter an evolving dungeon to seek Thunderstone Shards. Players build and improve personal decks by purchasing stronger hero and support cards from a shared market, then use those cards to fight monsters drawn from layered dungeon decks. Scenarios follow a linked campaign with preset dungeon tiles, encounters and mini-adventures, but players can also create randomized setups for replayability. Combat effectiveness depends on party composition and matching hero abilities to monster groups, while exploration is driven by new dungeon tiles that change challenges and rewards as players delve deeper.

Players
2–4 best 2
Playing time
60–90 min
Age
14+
Complexity
2.9 / 5
7.5 on Ludoyafrom $103.13FantasyMovement PointsScenario / Mission / Campaign GameDeck, Bag, and Pool Building

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On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
129
Plays logged
108
Players
1h 52m
Average play
33
In collections
8
On wishlists

7.5/10

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

How do I build the Dungeon deck and place Guardians and the Thunderstone?

Turn over Monster Randomizers until you have three different Monster cards plus any Dungeon Feature Randomizers, then take the matching Monster, Treasure (and Trap) cards and shuffle them into the Dungeon Deck; if you drew Guardian Randomizers set those Guardians aside to be shuffled into the bottom in 11-card blocks (Guardian + 10 cards), and finally shuffle one Thunderstone with 10 cards and place that 11-card block on the bottom (then reveal the top three for the Hall). (see pages 3–4).

When a Treasure is revealed in the Dungeon Hall, can I take it and keep it?

Yes — when a Treasure appears the active player takes it and places it in front of them (not in their discard), and may later destroy that Treasure card to activate its special effect. (see pages 5 and 12).

What happens when a Guardian "breaches" — can it be banished or moved, and what does Rank 0 do?

If a Guardian reaches Rank 1 it "emerges" to attack the Village: move it away from the Hall and create a Rank 0 space; only Guardians may occupy Rank 0, each player must resolve the Guardian’s continuous Breach Effect on their turn, and no one can claim the Thunderstone while a Guardian remains in Rank 0. Guardians are immune to effects that would move them or change their position (so Banish and similar effects do not work). (see pages 5–6).

How do Swarm cards work — what are placeholders and how are they scored?

Swarm placeholders (0 stats) are shuffled into the Dungeon Deck and are immediately replaced in the Hall by the top card of the separate, ordered Swarm Deck (the placeholder is destroyed), causing the Swarm to grow in strength; during the game Swarm cards have no VP value, but at game end each Swarm card in your deck scores VP equal to the total number of Swarm cards you have (capped at 5 VP each). (see page 7).

When and how do you draw and resolve Disease cards, and what if the disease deck runs out?

With the special Disease deck shuffled face down, when an effect forces you to take a disease you draw the top card and put it face-up in your discard, reveal and resolve its effects if it appears in your hand when you Enter or when a Village effect triggers, and destroyed disease cards go to the bottom of the deck face down; if the deck is empty because all cards are in players' decks, players who would normally take a disease instead do not take one until cards are returned. (see pages 8–9).

Can I use Magic Attacks or spells against monsters with traits like "Magic Attack Immunity", "Immune to Spells", or "Immune to Unequipped Heroes"?

Traits modify which attack types count: Magic Attack Immunity reduces all Magic Attack values to zero so only non-magic Attack applies; Immune to Spells makes spells provide no Attack/Magic Attack bonus and prevents spells from targeting the Monster (though spell-provided Light still applies); Immune to Unequipped Heroes reduces Attack/Magic Attack from heroes without weapons to zero. (see pages 10–11).

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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.