Thunderstone and Thunderstone Advance, Board Game Review

Thunderstone is a deck-building game by Mike Elliott, published in 2009, one year after Dominion hit the market, creating a frenzy with the introduction of a hot combination of game mechanics: deck building and card drafting. In games using these mechanics, players choose cards from a common pool laid out on the table, and try to gradually built the best deck of cards with which they will acquire the most victory points. The theme of such games may differ but the main idea remains the same. With this review we will look at 2 games, the original Thunderstone released in 2009 and the new Thunderstone Advance, which is a new improved implementation of the original game.

Game Overview

In Thunderstone, you are the leader of a heroic party of adventurers arriving at Barrowsdale, near Grimhold Dungeon where the first Thunderstone, an artifact of evil power, is kept. You seek to find the Thunderstone but in order to do so, you have to battle powerful monsters that guard the dungeon. You must build a deck of cards, consisting of adventurers, weapons, magic spells, food and other items.

Before beginning the game, you have to setup 3 different kind of decks. Remember that in each game of Thunderstone you won't be using all cards available in the game but each time the cards you use will be different:

Dungeon deck: There are 8 different classes of monsters. You choose 3 or more classes at random, take all monsters belonging to these classes and shuffle them to form the dungeon deck. Shuffle the special Thunderstone card with the bottom 10 cards of the Dungeon deck. Now you are ready to populate the hall which is the area where you fight the monsters, placed next to the Dungeon deck. There are 3 ranks of monsters in the Hall Area. The card farthest from the Dungeon deck is rank 1 and the one closest is rank 3. These ranks are populated with monsters from the Dungeon deck. The rank of each monster, is associated with a specific amount of Light penalty, subtracted from the heroes attack power. This element of the game tries to simulate a real situation in a dungeon, where the farther you advance into it, the less light there is, inhibiting you to properly see the monsters, thus lowering the power of your attack. Each point of light penalty subtracts 2 points of power from your attack. Monsters placed in rank 1, give a light penalty of 1 (thus attack -2), monsters in rank 2 give 2 points of light penalty (thus attack -4) and those in rank 3 give 3 points of light penalty (thus attack -6).Village deck. The village deck consists of Heroes, Magic spells, weapons and various items. Those are chosen randomly each time you play, using randomizer cards, just as monster classes are chosen. However there are 4 basic card types that will always be present in the village: Militia, Torch, Iron Ration and Dagger. In each game you will choose 4 different Heroes and 8 different Village cards to populate the village along with Basic cards. All these cards populate the village. Each time you choose to visit the village as your action, you can buy one of them.Starting Deck. Each player is dealt 6 Militia (6 Regulars in Thunderstone Advance), 2 daggers (Longspears in Thunderstone Advance), 2 iron rations (Thunderstone Shards in Thunderstone Advance) and 2 torches. This is your starting deck which you will gradually grow, filling it with cards from the village and monsters you defeat. You shuffle your deck and place it face down in front of you. Draw the top 6 cards of your deck and you are ready for adventure.

On your turn, you can choose to do one of the following actions:

Visit the village: The cards you have in your hand, give you a certain amount of gold coins. You can use this gold to buy cards from the village as you see appropriate. In fact that's what you will mainly do in your first few turns, as you wil probably not be strong enough to attack monsters in the hall.Enter the dungeon: Each hero has an attack power, indicated on the card. The combined attack power of all the heroes in your hand is your total available power to defeat monsters. Moreover some cards, like the torch, give you light, thus reducing or even eliminating light penalties. If you are strong enough to defeat a monster in the Hall, taking into account light penalties, you can enter the dungeon, equip your heroes with weapons if available, cast spells and defeat a monster. Each monster, when defeated, awards you with a certain amount of victory points and some experience points which you can use to level up your heroes.Rest. By choosing this option, you can rest and may destroy one card from your hand. It goes to the destroyed cards pile, not to the discarded pile.

At the end of your turn, you discard all cards in your hand to the discard pile and draw six new cards. When your deck is depleted, shuffle all cards from the discarded pile to form your new draw pile.

The game ends when a player collects the Thunderstone (by defeating a monster in Rank 1 thus causing the Thunderstone to move to that open rank) or it enters Rank 1 because a monster wasn't defeated. Players count up victory points from cards they have collected throughout the game. The player with the most victory points is the winner.

In 2012, a new updated version of Thunderstone was released: Thunderstone Advance. The first set of the new version is called "Towers of Ruin". Cards from original Thunderstone and Thunderstone Advance can be mixed together. Here are the most important new features of Thunderstone Advance:

Changed terminology: Light penalty is now called Darkness. React is a new ability that enables players to act during other players turns. Raid is a new effect that occurs when monsters are first revealed in the Dungeon Hall.Thunderstone: The Thunderstone card has been replaced by the Thunderstone bearer. Now the game ends when a player defeats the Thunderstone bearer or he escapes the Dungeon Hall (reaches Rank 1).Game board: Thunderstone advance comes with a double-sided board that serves more than one purposes. The game board helps to organize cards better as there are slots on it to place monsters and village cards. Additionally it provides a more balanced setup, by determining a specific number of each card type to be used in the game. There are 4 slots for weapons, 3 slots for items and 3 slots for spells. During setup village randomizer cards will be revealed and matching stacks of village cards will be placed on the appropriate slot. If all slots of the revealed randomizer card type have been filled, then another randomizer card is revealed. The two sides of the game board provide for novice and advanced play. The novice side is called "wilderness side". darkness rules are easier and there are 4 slots for monsters in the Dungeon Hall. Advanced side is called "dungeon side" with classic darkness rules and 3 ranks.Monsters: Monsters now have levels. During setup, one monster group from each level (1,2 and 3) is chosen randomly to populate the Dungeon Hall. This way monsters have balanced power and weird setups e.g. of most monsters being overpowered are avoided.New action: Apart from visiting the village, the dungeon or resting now players have the option to prepare for their next round, by placing as many cards they like from their hand on top of their deck and discarding the rest.New card types: Familiars are new special cards that can be gained after defeating a monster. Each one of them has one or more different abilities that require a certain amount of XP points to be used. Each player can have only one familiar during the game, placed face up in front of him. Curses have replaced generic Disease cards.Better graphicsNew starting cards: Militia has been replaced with Regulars who are leveled up easier and when equipped with a Polearm, while in the Dungeon, you may draw a card. Iron Rations have been replaced with Thunderstone Shards and Daggers with Longspears.

First Impressions:

Upon opening the box of Thunderstone, you see a number of cards and some xp tokens. Artwork on the cards is beautiful and detailed. And then comes the difficult task of reading the rules. Although the rulebook is well written, there is so much information in it that one needs some time to absorb it and put it into use, especially if you never played a similar game, like Dominion. But even if you have, Thunderstone provides advanced mechanics along with extensive terminology and may at first discourage you from playing it. Of course things get a lot better if there is someone willing to explain the basics to you, this way taking away the burden to read all the 24-page manual.Thunderstone Advance makes a better first impression by providing a board (it's also a double-sided one), which helps you to easier get involved in the game and understand what's happening. There are slots drawn on the board for monsters in the Dungeon Hall as well as village cards and all seems better organized and gamer friendly. The two-sided board serves as a way for both novice and advanced players to enjoy the game experience. When you reach the point of understanding how the game works, gameplay is smooth and you will soon find yourself very engaged and captured by the theme, striving to find the right combinations of cards to build a working, and hopefully winning, deck!

Components:

The components of Thunderstone are only cards and some xp tokens. Cards have beautiful and carefully designed artwork. In Thunderstone Advance, things get even better. There is also a gameboard, which gives a sense of organisation and cards are redesigned with more variety in colors, even more detailed graphics and more clear card layout. (Thunderstone: 7/10, Thunderstone Advance: 8/10)

Gameplay:

Gameplay is interesting and gets you really involved. The game mechanics are well-thought, blending the theme with game actions and abilities. I think the idea of using the light / darkness element is a really brilliant one as is the ability to level-up your heroes with xp won from beating monsters in the Dungeon Hall. There are many more small details that enhance gameplay like dungeon effects and spoils, and all prove that gameplay has been designed very carefully. However, during setup, it is possible that weird combinations of village or monster cards will come up, making the game hard to beat, or somewhat uninteresting. Good news is that this problem has been eliminated in Thunderstone Advance, which provides specific number of slots for different village card types, as well as monsters of different levels. In Thunderstone advance, the extra option of "preparing" as a game action, allows you to design your next hand and provides more flexibility and the ability to utilize better your strategy. Moreover the replacement of Militia by the more efficient Regulars is a very important improvement, allowing players to enter the dungeon quicker and somewhat reducing the existence of "dead cards" during late game. The power of the game lies in developing the best strategy to win, by using the best combinations of cards and in the right amounts. (Thunderstone: 7/10, Thunderstone Advance: 8/10)

Learning Curve:

The game has a rather steep learning curve. The first game will last a lot more than 60 minutes and you probably will have to go back to the rulebook and look up some details throughout the game. However, after this first game, things will run smoothly and you will probably feel glad for all those small details in the game, that make it a bit complex but, in that way, more interesting too. 6/10

Theme:

The element of theme is dominant here, in contrast to Dominion, and you constantly feel the urge and anxiety to reach further down the dungeon and beat those despicable monsters. There are many elements that contribute to the sense of immersion like the light/darkness element, curing diseases/curses with Clerics and more. 8/10

Replayability:

With dozens of different heroes, monsters and village cards, no two games will be the same. Randomizer cards can be used during game setup, to randomly choose heroes, monsters and village cards that will be available in the game. If you like the deck building/card drafting mechanic of the game, you will probably spend many hours playing this game and enjoy it a lot. A number of expansions have been released and more will be released in the future, bring to the game more heroes, monsters and village cards as well as new card types, thus enhancing replayability. 8/10

Fun:

The game offers many thrills and can be fun, although there is little player interaction. Maybe an improvent in this field, should be included in Thunderstone advance, with village cards that would mess more with opponent's decks. 6/10

Pros:

Nice artworkGameplay with depthReplayablityImmersion

Cons:

Minimum player interactionSomewhat complex rules

Overall: Thundertone: 7, Thunderstone Advance: 7.3

Find out more about Thunderstone Advance at:

http://www.boardgamemaniac.com/Games/By-Genre/Strategy-Games/Thunderstone-Advance-Towers-of-Ruin-l102.html

Maria Panagou is the owner of http://www.boardgamemaniac.com/ website. If you liked this article, feel welcome to read more articles about board games, plus find informative game presentations, strategy guides, a comprehensive sleeving guide and more by visiting the above link.

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Review - FEAR 3

If you have ever played a F.E.A.R game before, you will know what to expect when you open up a copy of F.E.A.R 3. A dark, generic, corridor shooter with occasional jump scares and a tacked on slow motion mechanic. While the first in the series set the standard on the next-gen series of consoles, it has since been overshadowed in its genre superior survival horror games.The only problem is, the developers of Fear 3 seem not to know this. They rely on the tired and overused "monster closets" and occasional Alma sighting to scare you. These scares work the first few times, but quickly grow tired as you travel through the short campaign.

Speaking of which, this game has one of the shortest campaigns that i have played in a while. 8 missions long, one could easily finish this game in about five hours, and that's on the harder difficulties. These few missions also follow the FPS stereotype. You have your rescue mission, your vehicle mission, and an escape mission. Really the only one missing is a stealth level, which probably would have been one of the most fun levels in the game, had it been made. The slow motion mechanic lends itself to stealth game play leading to a bevy of opportunities that were not exploited.

In the weapons this game follows the mold again. Hey look, a three round burst assault rifle, or a sub-machine gun that looks like every other sub-machine ever used in a game. The two most unique and entertaining weapons are not even available until the game is halfway over and you won't even finding yourself having fun with them either. Realistically, you could beat this entire game with just the starting pistol and slow mo, giving you little reason to do anything else.This isn't saying that the shooting isn't satisfying, far from it. There is nothing more satisfying than lining up that perfect pistol headshot or turning a soldier into goo with a shotgun, I just wish that there were more ways to do it. But when you combine that with a somewhat clunky cover mechanic, that sometimes leaving you hanging in the wind.

FEAR 3 suffers from the same problem as most FPS games this generation, where it has monochromatic gray backgrounds and mediocre graphics. Occasionally it has some good areas that could be used for some more exciting or creepy fights instead of just passing on through during one of the "haunted phases" (not a game definition) During these phases, the screen becomes slightly blurry and something freaky might happen. The only downside to these situations is that during these phases there is no chance of being attacked by an enemy, removing all tension from the situation.

If it sounds like I hate this game, I don't, I love it. They added a level of persistence through the single player that didn't exist in any of the previous games. You earn new character levels through completing different types of challenges. these new levels bring either more magazines for your guns, more grenades to carry, and more slow mo time. The only disappointing thing is, you progress through the 21 levels pretty quickly, achieving them all by the time you are finished with your second playthrough. Once you are level 21, you feel like a god compared to when you had started playing through the game. You have twice as much time in slow motion, twice as many magazines for your guns, and twice as many grenades in your pockets.

To add to the replayability factor, as you beat each mission you unlock another character with a different play style. Instead of starting off with guns and grenades like your first character, you play as a psychic ghosts that can possess, levitate, crush, or shoot people with psychic blasts. This changes the way you play the level the next time through and adds to the shelf life of the game.In the end, this is a great game, but it is deeply flawed and could do with improvements to both the story and the gameplay. Even with the magical talent of John Carpenter behind this game, the story is still crap. I love this game, I just wish it was better.

7/10

This review was written by Tom Blaich, the staff writer at the website Games Cave. This primarily video games based website was started by Tom in early 2012 and is accessible through here, http://www.games-cave.com/, where you can find more of his reviews, plus articles, features, lists, and news stories that interests fans of modern video games.

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The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Review

Skyrim is more than a worthy addition to the RPG genre and is arguably the best game of its type released in 2011, even though the game contains numerous flaws that stand out the team at Bethesda still deserve a big pat on the back.

In Skyrim you play the role of either a mage, a thief or a warrior and the formula has received several tweaks over the years, Skyrim is the fifth incarnation of the Elder Scrolls series of role playing games and this time round it's clear that Bethesda have focussed on deliver quality rather than quantity.

Although claiming that the latest game in the series is a production of quality this certainly doesn't mean that the previous games weren't worthwhile, the previous game in the series was highly engaging and contained at least fifty different portals that could be used to access Oblivion.

In Skyrim the Oblivion gates are gone and it contains a smaller number of ruins and caves to explore than the previous game in the series, even though there are fewer quests and areas of exploration in the game many of the ones included are huge and highly detailed.

We're now at least five years down the line since the release of Oblivion and Bethesda have also worked on titles such as Fallout 3, it's clear by looking at Skyrim that it's a culmination of everything Bethesda have learned producing games, while Skyrim is a world of its own it contains features such as extensive conversations with NPC's and perks when your character advances just like Fallout 3.

The Elder Scrolls series originated on the PC and now it's available on platforms such as the 360 and the PS3 it's open to a wider audience, another feature about game that makes it available to a wider audience is the fact that its been streamlined as opposed to being made more complex.

While the quests in the game are extensive and varied the process of levelling up your character is far less complicated, when levelling up the first decision you make is whether to increase your health, your stamina or your magicka.

The second decision you make when you level up is where to spend the point you receive for the purpose of unlocking a perk, the game includes a vast array of perks that can do anything from improve your dual wielding fighting proficiency to upgrading your spell casting skills.

If you're so inclined you can save the skill point you earn when levelling up and spend it at a later time, since the levelling up process is so straightforward you can quickly get back into the action.

What's great about Skyrim is that undertaking a quest often uncovers other quests you can add to your list and complete later on, to see an example of how a solitary quest in Skyrim can unfold into a monumental chain of events be sure to partake in its drinking competition!

Adrian Williams has reviewed The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim in addition to a variety of the latest video games, for the further information on the characters and game play relating to The Elder Scrolls V be sure to check out his Skyrim review.

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A Review on Minecraft Texture Packs and Skins Change

Minecraft is a popular game on the Internet where you can build constructions using the blocks. Basically, all you have to do is placing the blocks to build any constructions you want in the 3D world, from the basic constructions such as pole to the complicated ones such as bridges, houses, and many more. In addition to building constructions, you should be able to build a shelter before night to protect yourself from zombies that prey at night. Minecraft already has its original textures and skins of people, blocks and other items. However, you might be bored with the current textures or skins and want to replace them with the new ones to give the new feel to your constructions and characters.

To create your own Minecraft texture packs, first of all, choose the files that you want to transform into texture. Find a main system file called maincraft.jar that is installed along with the Minecraft game itself. Open an archiving program such as WinRar. Put the files into the WinRar in PNG format and your new textures are ready. The files can also be modified using picture editing program. To keep the clearness of the image, save it in 32 bit images. Next, make the zip files of those files and your modified textures are ready. You can also download texture packs on the Internet created by artists, and you can also upload your creation for people to use it. In addition to texture packs, modifying the Minecraft skins is also interesting and quite challenging. The skins themselves basically refer to the character's skin in different areas of the body. However, they can also refer to the other textures in the game, such as the ones in the blocks. If you want to change the character's skins for instance, you can do this easily. The game itself already comes out with default character's skins, but you can always replace them with the skin you desire. Principally, there are two ways to replace the defaults skin, which are by using skin editors or by using the PNG file from the Minecraft. Next, upload the preferred image in PNG format on the profile page of the game and your new skins are ready.

By adjusting your own Minecraft texture packs, you now can play the game using new texture you want. Not only new texture give more colour to the game itself, different texture is crucial in terms of giving the game different colour and atmosphere throughout different time of the day and possibly different seasons. Adjusting Minecraft skins also make the game much more interesting.

Do not hesitate to get new Minecraft texture packs is one to give the new feel to your Minecraft game. Changing Minecraft skins is also another fun thing you can do with Minecraft that you cannot do with any other games.

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