Stockpile: Continuing Corruption Expansion Review

Expansions are a mixed bag. Sometimes, expansions add a breath of fresh air into a game that’s been overplayed and cast aside for a while. For other games, more “stuff” gets added for what appears to be for the sake of it. Still, for games I really enjoy, I can’t help but eagerly see what it will be added or changed and Stockpile: Continuing Corruption was no exception. As one of my surprise hits of Gen Con 2014, Stockpile still hits the table on a regular basis, so of course I had to grab the expansion. After Continuing Corruption was announced, I excitedly waited for the Kickstarter and instantly backed it.

Stockpile: Continuing Corruption contains four different modules that you can swap in and out, in whatever combination you want. Here’s a short breakdown of how those work.

Forecast Dice: Instead of the market forecast for each company being determined by the same six cards (that simply swap which company they’re attached to) every round, the dice offer you more options. In addition to the same values as before, there are new ones (like a crazy +4 or -3) and more dividend payouts (now in $1000 or $3000 amounts on top of the original $2000). The addition of the dice does mean the round setup has a bit more maintenance to it as you have to roll the dice then find the corresponding cards in the deck. However, the variability in this is worth it to me. That said, this might make things far less predictable, which might not be very appealing to some.

Bears vs. bulls: the ultimate economic showdown.

Bonds: At the beginning of the round, you have the option of buying up to three bonds for a certain price that depends on player count (e.g., in a 4-player game, the cost is $5000 apiece). At the end of the round, each bond will yield $1000 in interest. So, balancing your liquid capital and speculating on long-term portfolio outcomes is important for staying abreast of the dynamic market shifts. Right? I don’t know. I just threw together a bunch of stock market sounding words to sound smart. What I do know, however, is that more money is better and the bonds throw in a nice additional decision in the game without dragging down the flow.

Bonds, not bondage. An important distinction.

Commodities & Taxes: Just like in real life, you have to deal with taxes. These cards function exactly as they sound: they are a penalty you have to pay at the end of the game. The commodities, however, provide you with a bonus at the end of the game depending on how many of the six different types you collect. Although I enjoy the additional set collection aspect, this module bogs down the game a bit as it’s an additional point of maintenance during the supply phase (i.e., when you create the stockpiles for bidding). It’s not especially slow, but it will tack on some time to your game.

Two things are certain in life, but luckily Stockpile only has one of them.

More Investors: This is the most straightforward module as it simply adds more investors to the game. There’s no reason not to play with these additional options unless you’re excluding a certain module. For example, Lucrative Li allows you to gain an addition $1000 in interest for every two bond cards you own. Obviously, if you are not playing with bonds, then this investor is worthless.

You get a 2k payout and you get a 2k payout!

Overall, Continuing Corruption adds some nice additions to the game, but is not altogether necessary. I’ve played with all the modules in different combinations and it can certain make what is a lighter weight 45- to 60-minute game become a fiddlier, slightly more complex 75- to 90-minute game. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but for some of my friends, this defeated their whole reason to play Stockpile over something else. For me, I didn’t mind the added time, upkeep, or complexity, however playing the simpler, easier-to-setup base game is far more appealing.

I am generally not a fan of modular expansions because I have to make the choice of which to include (or not). I know it sounds silly to complain about having more options, but I find that too many modules are overwhelming and I end up ignoring the ones that are too much of a pain to setup or explain. So, here’s the bottom line for Continuing Corruption: for the super fans of the game, you know you’re going to get this expansion. However, if you’re perfectly content with the base game and enjoy its simplicity, this is not a necessary expansion. In fact, I think you can continue to play the game for many more plays without ever getting tired of it or needing to try any of these modules.