Quick answer
Stonespine Architects: Invasion is a competitive expansion that shifts your focus from building dungeons to defending them. You train a monster, earn minions, and battle invading heroes to prove your mastery.
What the expansion adds
In the base game, you constructed the most impressive dungeon. Invasion flips the goal: now you must protect your dungeon from heroes sent by Master Hortgully. You choose a monster from Duntam's menagerie, level it up, and command minions to repel attackers. The core dungeon-building mechanics remain, but every tile you place also serves a defensive purpose.
Who should try Invasion
This expansion works best for players who enjoy tactical combat and resource management on top of spatial puzzle mechanics. If you already own Stonespine Architects and want more depth without a full rules overhaul, Invasion layers a victory-point system based on how many heroes you defeat. It is not a standalone game—you need the base box to play.
How to play Stonespine Architects: Invasion
- Set up the invasion board: Place the invasion board next to the main game board. Shuffle the hero deck and place it face down. Each player chooses a monster card and takes the corresponding minion tokens. Common mistake: forgetting to separate hero cards by difficulty. Invasion includes multiple hero levels; mix them only if you want a variable challenge.
- Build your dungeon with defense in mind: During your turn, draw a dungeon tile and place it in your personal dungeon area as usual. Now also consider how the tile's shape and symbols can block or channel incoming heroes. Some tiles grant bonus defense points. Checkpoint: after placing three tiles, scan your dungeon for obvious entry points. If a hero can reach your monster chamber in two moves, you may need to adjust your next placements.
- Activate your monster: Once per round, you may spend action points to level up your monster. Leveling unlocks special abilities like extra attacks or minion spawning. Track your monster's level on the invasion board. Common mistake: hoarding action points for later. Leveling early gives you more turns to use the monster's abilities against heroes.
- Deploy minions to block heroes: Minions are one-time use tokens that you place on dungeon tiles. When a hero enters a tile with a minion, the minion is removed and the hero loses one health. Place minions strategically in corridors your opponent's heroes are likely to travel. Checkpoint: minions are scarce. Use them only on tiles that heroes must cross to reach your monster chamber, not on dead-end paths.
- Resolve hero battles: At the end of each round, draw the top hero card and place it on the invasion board. The hero moves toward your dungeon following the shortest path. If the hero reaches your monster chamber, you lose points. If your monster or minions defeat it first, you gain victory points. Common mistake: ignoring hero movement rules. Each hero type moves differently (some ignore minions, some take shortcuts). Read the card carefully before planning your defense.
- Score and declare the winner: After a set number of rounds (usually 6), total your victory points from defeated heroes, surviving minions, and monster levels. The player with the highest score wins. Ties are broken by remaining dungeon tiles. Checkpoint: track your score on the invasion board after each hero battle. Late-game hero cards are worth more points, so saving a strong monster ability for the final rounds can swing the game.
Product facts
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Stonespine Architects: Invasion Collector's Edition: This Collector's Edition includes the Stonespine Architects: Invasion expansion, which tasks you with defending your dungeon and training a dangerous monster from Duntam's menagerie. You get the complete Invasion experience with all components, making setup simpler and ensuring you have the monster cards, minion tokens, and hero cards needed for the new game mode.
Stonespine Architects: Invasion Collector's Edition
