Understanding Board Game Expansions: What You Need to Know

Ever wondered what a board game expansion is, or the types of board game expansions available? No. Well me neither. But then I read Dave’s Friday Night Shots and started typing up a reply. Then this article spewed forth from my fingertips like a 5th-level D&D spell.

So if you’re looking to learn about board game expansions, some of the terminology used around the board gaming hobby, or some opinions about the state of board game expansions.

Then this is the article for you.

What to expect from a board game expansion

Board game expansions come in all different sizes, from a couple of cards to bathtubs of wooden tokens. They can include new rules, fix old rules, or add new content through tokens, cards or other components. What makes it an expansion is that it requires the base board game in order to play. Although, as we’ll find out, that’s not always true.

A good example of a board game expansion is Dune Imperium: Rise of Ix. In it, you’ll notice that they’ve done all of the above. Added some additional rules, took some away, and then added additional content through new cards, tokens, and game modes.

Here are typical varieties of board game expansions I’ve come across.

Planned or paired back expansions

The story goes that the original version of Spirit Island included its expansion Branch and Claw from the get-go. However, due to the added complexity (and cost of components), the publishers paired back the game to what it is today. Where you can still buy the Branch and Claw expansion separately and play it as it was originally intended. However, it’s the paired-back version that’s sold as Spirit Island.

At the time, this was an oddity, and unheard of in the board gaming community. These days, however, it’s not uncommon for publishers and designers to release a game with an expansion or two already in the works.

Exploration expansions

The opposite of planned or well-thought-out expansions is exploration expansions. These tend to be more experimental, where the designer identifies something interesting in their design that they want to explore more.

These expansions tend not to integrate so seamlessly into the original game. Often ending up as modular expansions, where the designer can play through several scenarios as though it were a season of What If…?

Modular expansions

Splendor’s board game expansion, Cities of Splendor, offers four different modules within it. However, these modules aren’t meant to be played together. Instead, you’re meant to play one at a time and change them semi-regularly to keep the game fresh.

Another example of this type of expansion is Pandemic: On the Brink. This added a module that changed the game from being fully cooperative to having one person play a hidden traitor. The use of this module showed the power of this approach, wherein it completely changed the feel and genre of the game.

Game fix expansions

These types of expansions fix issues with the base game that weren’t caught by playtesting prior to being published. Bugs and errors in production are bound to happen, and teams do their best to capture them. However, when your testing pool goes from 50 to 5000, different issues pop up that need to be dealt with.

That’s when these types of expansions are needed.

Probably the most famous example of this type of expansion is Viticulture’s Tuscany Expansion, which took the game’s Board Game Geek score from 7.6 to 8.6. To their credit, Stonemaier Games is one of the few publishers that take the time, money, and care to release these types of expansions if their games don’t hit the mark.

That said, it feels like this type of expansion has been sidelined. With the preference to instead release a second updated edition of the game.

Additional factions, characters, or settings

Some expansions don’t change any of the rules of the game but add additional playable locations or characters. Leder Games has made this type of expansion core to their business model for Root. So far, they’ve released three expansions – each adding two factions to the base game.

Player count

Some expansions change the player count, usually changing the rules to allow for an additional player or two. Inis: Seasons of Inis does this, raising the base 2-4 player count to a max of 5.

Solo expansions

Similarly to player count expansions, there are those expansions that let you play by yourself. Adding in an automated opponent, or a way for you to get the feeling of playing the game even when you’re riding solo.

This type of expansion is relatively new, but solo modes and solo expansions saw a large rise in popularity during COVID. Since it was near impossible to get your friends together for a game, players still wanted to engage in the hobby.

As an example, Bargain Quest added an optional expansion that catered for solo mode. Likewise, On Mars added a cooperative expansion called On Mars: Alien Invasion.

Types of board game expansions

Beyond the actual changes within the expansion itself. Board game expansions are often marketed as a specific type of expansion. Here is a captured list of board game expansions, and examples of each type.

Content pack

This type of expansion typically isn’t as large as your regular expansion, adding new content only. They are particularly prevalent in story-driven, or card-driven games, where the game is updated frequently through new components.

Released in 2016, Arkham Horror: The Card Game still has regular releases of content packs to keep the game fresh. This particular type of game is called an LCG or Living Card Game, where content is released in cycles where there’s usually a big box, followed by several smaller packs of cards.

Stand-alone expansion

A stand-alone expansion is similar to your normal expansions where it might add or change the original game in some way. The difference with a stand-alone expansion is that you don’t need the base game to play. This gives you the option to play with all the material from the expansion or mix it with the base game to form a mega board game.

An example of a stand-alone expansion is the card game Welcome Back to the Dungeon. It keeps all of the rules from the original game but adds all new content in the form of characters. These characters can be used, or mixed with the original Welcome to the Dungeon if you want (and I have).

Promotional (promo)

If collectors and completionists had one singular villain, it would be promos. These are usually produced in limited supply and sold separately (and more expensively). Promotional cards can promote all sorts of things. Such as personalities like the Felicia Day promo from Tokaido to celebrating the successful release of the game.

I’ve gotten out of the habit of trying to track down promotional material for my collection. Mainly because I found these additional components often took away from the experience. Either they didn’t fit the aesthetic, or they weren’t play-tested enough and were unbalanced.

Collector’s edition

Depending on how invested you are in a game, collector’s editions of board games can either be a blessing or a curse. Usually, this is a blessing because they combine all existing material for a board game into a single albeit pricey package. The recent Everdell Complete Collection came in at just under 300 Australian dollars.

The cursed side of Collectors Editions is if you’ve been following a board game for a long time. Spending money on promos, and other hard-to-get expansions, only to find publishers are releasing a Collector’s Edition may make you feel cheated. Both in terms of money spent and the effort you went through to collect everything.

In recent times, it feels more than ever that if a game is popular, then it will be given a collector’s edition. So maybe think twice before you invest too heavily.

Good expansions vs bad expansions

In my experience, I’ve played more bad board game expansions than good. So I’m extremely wary about buying any new expansions. That is unless it’s been reviewed positively by many reviewers I trust, or public sentiment is incredibly overwhelming in favour of the expansion.

With that said, the one defining attribute of what makes an expansion good or bad is whether or not it enhances the original vision of the game.

An example of both good and bad is Pandemic: On the Brink.

Pandemic is a cooperative game where you’re all working together to solve a puzzle. On the Brink is a modular expansion, where one of these modules is the virulent strain cards. These cards give the game much-needed variety and difficulty to that base puzzle. Thereby enhancing the vision of the game and, in my opinion, making the expansion essential.

However, On the Brink also introduces the BioTerrorist module. Where one player plays as an antagonist against the rest of the table, making the puzzle more difficult. It’s a complete 180 from why you would want to play Pandemic in the first place. As such, I have never hated an expansion more.

Yet the other thing expansions are well known for is adding bloat to a streamlined game. Adding additional rules, or components, usually comes with a cost in setup or playtime. Often taking a quick fun game, and making it more of a slog.

When should you buy an expansion?

This might seem like a silly question, but more and more publishers are taking their board games to Kickstarter with several expansions ready to buy.

So the question is, should you buy them?

Absolutely not.

That’s easier said than done, as these publishers are cashing in on the hype and marketing they’ve created for their board games. However, as consumers, there’s no guarantee we’re going to enjoy the base game. So why spend the additional money on something you have no way of knowing if you’re going to like it?

It’s a bad investment.

Even if you do like it, you generally want to explore the base game before you go ahead and add additional content. Because if you don’t like the base game, board game expansions will rarely change your mind about a game.

Therefore, the perfect time to buy a board game expansion is after you’ve enjoyed the base game for many plays. Then when you want to extend its life or freshen it up by changing it in some way, you should look to see if there’s an expansion.

There are a few exceptions to this rule though, like if you need the additional player count. Or if it’s an expansion to an out-of-print game like the Pegasus Expansion to Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game. But in general, it’s a good rule to follow.

Promos are a different story. If you like the game, get them while you can! You never know when they’re going to be available again.

Why are there so many board game expansions?

Taking a step back from being a consumer and board gamer, and looking at this from a business point of view. Board game expansions are the nearest publishers are going to get to printing free money.

First of all, they already have a captive audience; the board gamers who bought the original game. Meaning for the expansion, they don’t need to spend as much on marketing the core idea of the game, so much as letting people know it exists.

Additionally, having this captive market takes some of the risks out of the expansion. When producing a new board game, you have no idea whether it will be successful. However, if you already have a semi-successful game, then you know your expansion has an audience.

Secondly, except for stand-alone expansions, the cost of producing a board game expansion is relatively low. You’re usually producing fewer components, and doing less design work. Therefore, you should have a significantly higher gross margin on each unit sold.

So having a known audience for a relatively cheap product to produce, and getting higher returns per unit sold, means that board game expansions aren’t going anywhere soon. It’s up to us as consumers to be on guard and make sure what we’re buying is worth the money we’re paying.

Another big shout out to Dave’s Friday Night Shots which have been a delight to read. Did I miss anything about expansions? Or is there something you want to be covered? Let me know in the comments below!