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Lords of Waterdeep is considered a modern classic. A gateway worker placement game set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe. During the course of the game you will collect different classes of hero, represented by cubes, to fulfil missions and score points.
You do this by placing your workers on the board and taking the actions associated with the spot you have placed them on. Read the Zatu review today. Scoundrels of Skullport adds a sixth player and two more areas to place your workers in. Does it muddy the waters, or add more goodness to the pot?
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
As well as the ability to play with six, Scoundrels of Skullport adds more Buildings, Lords, Intrigue and Quest cards. Buildings add extra spots to the board, Lords act as end game scoring cards, Intrigue cards are one use powers that can be used during the game and Quests are, well, quests. So far, so familiar.
Where Scoundrels changes things up is with its two new boards - The Undermountain and Skullport. The Undermountain provides three more spaces to place on, but also adds a mechanic with it's cards and quests. With these as well as gaining cubes for yourself you must also place one or two on other spots on the board. This means you can attempt to lure your opponents in with clever placement or try to boost your own income. It adds another welcome layer of depth to the experience and it works especially well with corruption.
Skullport is the home of corruption, tracked by a new skull token. Skullport offers some very attractive spots, but you must also take corruption which is worth negative points at the end of the game. What makes it worse is the more corruption that is taken the worse the punishment is.
Waterdeep, Mountain High
These mechanics are all supplemented by the new quests, lords and intrigue cards. This adds to the base game but not so much that it makes it too much deeper. Indeed most groups could handle being introduced to both at the same time. While there are more options, they are not overwhelming and don't effect the balance of the game.
What they do add to is the variety. Although there is luck of the draw in terms of the buildings and various cards, because the main worker spots remain the same there is always something to do to press your plan forward, of course unless you prioritise correctly you may find yourself blocked from the spaces you want.
Components wise, Scoundrels of Skullport is consistent with the base game, so the card stock for the tokens is not the best, I've also ditched the insert from the base game and popped it all in the box as there is ample room.
Lordy Lords
So if you like the base game then this is an easy recommendation to extend the life of the game. If you haven't played the base game then there is no need to jump straight in, but if you do you probably won't regret it.
