This is a revised version of how to play Thuderstone/Thunderstone Advance single player/solitaire. First to mention, I play with the epic Thunderstone rules by Tom Vasel which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEKAm4VLwbI. The only adjustment I make is that I include between 10-15 randomly shuffled cards in each pile instead of including every card. This makes destroying a card in a pile more effective. This variant can also be played with regular Thunderstone Solitaire rules. Reason for this rule variant is because I did not care for the solitaire rule variant that is listed in the rule book. Monsters would advance each turn and head toward the village and you did not have much time to build up your forces/deck to be able to fight them all off and save the village from attack. In my variant, you are given some time to build up your forces/deck (which is the fun of the game in my opinion) and then you can battle monsters at regular intervals.
Premise of the game:
The village is in danger of being overrun by creatures from the dungeon/forest. The village is under a protective spell that keeps the creatures in the dungeon/forest from escaping and attacking the village. Every 7 days, the protective barrier weakens and the creatures escape and invade the village. You and your forces have been recruited to enter the dungeon/forest to destroy the monsters and stand guard to protect the village every 7 days that the creatures attack.
1. Set up the game of Thunderstone/Thunderstone Advance however you enjoy playing. Keep the dungeon/forest area empty for the moment.
2. You will need a die to keep track of days. Set the die on the number 6 as starting the first day of your arrival.
3. Go to the village for first turn and play game as usual. At the end of your turn after you draw your new hand, turn the die to the number 5. Advance 1 creature from the monster deck to the lowest rank.
4. From this point forward, you can choose to go to the dungeon/forest or the village. (As well as rest or prepare depending on what is most beneficial to you.)
5. At the end of each turn after you draw your new hand, turn the die to the next lowest number and advance the creatures forward one rank in the dungeon/forest hall. New monsters fill the lower ranks.
6. Each die number is another day counting down. (6 is day 1, 5 is day 2, 4 is day 3, 3 is day 4, 2 is day 5, 1 is day 6.) Now here is what happens on the 7th day:
7. As previously stated, when the die shows the number 1, you are on day six. At the end of your turn after you draw your new hand, turn the die back to the number 6. This signifies the 7th day and the weakening of the protective spell. All monsters in the hall leave the hall and head toward the village. (You will have 1 less monster if you just finished attacking the dungeon/forest. The new hand that you just drew is what you will have to use to fight off ALL of the monsters.
8. Each Creature is fought in order. They all have a rank of zero since they left the dungeon/forest and no darkness penalty since they are out in the open.
9. Use your forces to battle the first creature. If any heroes or weapons or other items are destroyed because of battle then they are not available for the next battle. No new hand is drawn until all of the monsters that escaped the hall are destroyed or escape and destroy a card from the village. Each creature is fought separately following the regular rules of the game. The only difference is that after the battle is over, no new hand is drawn because you have to use the same forces that you just used if there are any left.
10. If you manage to successfully destroy all the creatures, you collect the experience for each one as it is destroyed and THEN you draw a new hand and restart the 7 day cycle. Keep the die on the number 6 because the battle was the 7th day and the new hand starts a new day. Continue on with another 7 day cycle as described above starting at Step 3.
11. If you are unable to defeat any of the monsters then that monster enters the village and destroys the top card of any pile. How you decide which card is destroyed is up to you. (I usually role the die and a 6 destroys a hero, 5 destroys a weapon, 4 destroys a villager, 3 destroys a spell, 2 destroys an item and 1 destroys my choice. After all monsters that attack the village are through, I turn the die back to the number 6 to restart the 7 day cycle.)
12. Any monsters that attack the village are put to the sided and the victory points count against you at the end of the game as in the regular solitaire rules.
13. Spoils and Aftermath are calculated at the end of each monster battle. Any character that allows to buy or gain a card from the village is allowed to do this for each monster fought.
14. When every last monster is defeated or escapes to the village then the game is over. You successfully saved the village and win the game when your victory points are more than the total victory points of the monsters that made it to the village. If the monsters' total victory points are greater then you lose the game because you did not successfully save the village.
I really enjoy playing solitaire Thunderstone this way. The reason for the massive creature battle at the start of the 7th day is to increase the challenge of the game. I used to only have 1 creature escape but you knew when it was coming and could prepare. Only 1 or two creatures would ever make it to attack the village the entire game which made it very easy to win. With all monsters within the hall escaping every 7 days, you may be able to defeat the first monster or two but your forces may be so depleted that you are unable to defeat the others and they attack the village. This helped to balance the game and increase the difficulty. The 7 day cycle allows you to build up your army and enjoy the game without being rushed.
Feel free to comment and adjust the rules to suit your playing style and enjoyment of the game.
