# Thunderstone

Thunderstone is a board game for 1–5 players. It plays in 60 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 3. It is rated 6.6 out of 10 by 25 Ludoya reviewers.

- **Players:** 1–5 (best with 3)
- **Playing time:** 60 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 2.5 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2009
- **Categories:** Fantasy, Fighting, Card Game
- **Mechanics:** Delayed Purchase, Open Drafting, Hand Management, Deck, Bag, and Pool Building
- **Ludoya rating:** 6.6 out of 10, from 25 reviews
- **Owned by:** 43 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 231
- **Unique players:** 167

**Designers:** Mike Elliott

**Artists:** Jason Engle

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Get Your Fun | 44.99 € | https://www.getyourfun.it/033007-thunderstone-giochi-di-carte.html |

## Expansions

- [Thunderstone: Wrath of the Elements](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-wrath-of-the-elements)
- [Thunderstone: Doomgate Legion](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-doomgate-legion)
- [Thunderstone: Thornwood Siege](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-thornwood-siege)
- [Thunderstone: Heart of Doom](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-heart-of-doom)
- [Thunderstone: For the Dwarf Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-for-the-dwarf-promo)
- [Thunderstone: Promo Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-promo-pack)
- [Thunderstone: Avatars](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-avatars)
- [Thunderstone: Death Sentinel Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-death-sentinel-promo)
- [Thunderstone: Blade Trap Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-blade-trap-promo)
- [Thunderstone: Promo Pack #2](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-promo-pack-2)
- [Thunderstone: Werewolf Promo Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-werewolf-promo-pack)
- [Thunderstone: Vision Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-vision-promo)
- [Thunderstone: Vicious Promo Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-vicious-promo-pack)
- [Thunderstone: German Promo Pack Harrulier (Harruli)](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-german-promo-pack-harrulier-harruli)
- [Thunderstone: Promokarte Wächter der Stärke](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-promokarte-wachter-der-starke)

## Similar games

- [Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection](https://www.ludoya.com/games/shards-of-infinity-saga-collection)
- [Shards of Infinity](https://www.ludoya.com/games/shards-of-infinity)
- [Aeon's End: The Descent](https://www.ludoya.com/games/aeons-end-the-descent)
- [Star Realms](https://www.ludoya.com/games/star-realms-deck-building-game)
- [Tyrants of the Underdark](https://www.ludoya.com/games/tyrants-of-the-underdark)
- [Thunderstone Advance: Worlds Collide](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-advance-worlds-collide)
- [Dominion](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dominion)
- [Star Realms: Colony Wars](https://www.ludoya.com/games/star-realms-colony-wars)
- [Tyrants of the Underdark: Board Game](https://www.ludoya.com/games/tyrants-of-the-underdark-board-game)
- [Dominion: Intrigue](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dominion-intrigue)
- [Dominion: Second Edition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/dominion-second-edition)
- [Thunderstone: Dragonspire](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone-dragonspire)

## Rules questions

### Can I take more than one action on my turn (like Visit Village then Enter Dungeon)?

You must choose exactly one of the three actions on your turn: Visit the Village, Enter the Dungeon, or Rest, and perform the steps listed for that action in order, ending by discarding and drawing six cards (page 4).

### When do Dungeon Effects happen vs. Battle Effects — and if a Dungeon Effect destroys a card can that card still help in the battle?

Dungeon Effects occur in Step 2 (preparation) and any card destroyed by a Dungeon Effect is immediately removed and cannot be used; Battle Effects happen during the fight and cards destroyed by them remain in play until the battle ends (page 11).

### How do Light Penalties work — how do I calculate them and how do lights cancel them?

Start with the base Light Penalty equal to the Monster’s rank, add any Monster Light modifiers, subtract total Light from your revealed cards, then double the final penalty and subtract that from your Attack (each uncancelled point reduces Attack by 2); Light cannot give a positive Attack bonus (treat excess Light as zero) (pages 12–13, 24).

### When do I reshuffle my discard pile into my deck?

Only reshuffle your discard pile to form a new draw deck when you need to draw and the draw deck is empty — draw remaining cards first, then reshuffle the discard to continue drawing; do not reshuffle preemptively (page 5).

### If I level up a Hero, can I use the upgraded Hero that same turn?

Leveling occurs during Visit the Village Step 5 after purchases: you destroy the old Hero and place the higher-level card on top of your discard pile, so the upgraded Hero is not available to use until you draw it later (page 8; see Visit the Village order on page 4).

### When does a Monster’s Breach effect trigger — does it trigger during setup if it's already in Rank 1?

A Breach effect triggers once when a Monster with Breach reaches Rank 1 from any higher rank during play, but Breach effects that are in Rank 1 at setup do not trigger (pages 9, 19).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/thunderstone)
- [Thunderstone in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/thunderstone)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/53953)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._