Used to just go with whatever expansion was cheapest, now I actually read the rule changes first

I grabbed the "Cities of Splendor" expansion for Splendor last year for like 15 bucks because it was on clearance. Didn't even look at the new rules, just threw the cards in with the base game. My group had this weird game night where nobody could figure out why the cities tiles kept messing up the regular flow. Turned out I missed a whole section about stacking bonuses that changes the whole pace. After that disaster, I started checking BoardGameGeek forums before any new expansion buy. Now I spend 20 minutes reading reviews and rule summaries before I even open the box. Has anyone else found a surprise mechanic in an expansion that completely changed how you play the base game?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.christopher14d ago

Yeah, I did the same thing with the "Rise of the Obsidian Skulls" expansion for Clank! and it added a whole new stealing mechanic I didn't see coming.

blairm4413d ago

Did you find the stealing mechanic changes how you think about your deck composition? I had to really start holding onto certain cards longer in my hand once I figured out how the Obsidian Skulls worked. It forced me to play more defensively at first, which was a weird shift from the usual aggressive Clank! strategies. Once I got a feel for it, I started focusing on cards that let me manipulate the top of my deck, really helped with planning moves ahead.