Matthew BaileyIt has been a long time coming, but finally, we’re going to sit down and talk about ‘Coraquest: Keep on Questing’, the expansion to the excellent family Dungeon Crawler from Dan Hughes and his daughter, Cora.
Played with Toby(5) and Jack(.8.). All pics here are from the first quest that I only played with Toby to limit spoilers.
I received the game at the beginning of December but decided not to include it in the Christmas marathon. This was largely because I felt this was quite an important review due to the beloved nature of the base game in the group. Additionally, due to the game’s Legacy campaign mechanic, I wanted to ensure that I had played enough of it to get a decent idea of how it all played out.
I will link the original ‘Coraquest’ review below, but needless to say, the game received excellent praise when we originally looked at it and gets recommended here in this group by myself, along with other members, regularly.
If you have not played ‘Coraquest’ before, I would recommend starting by reading that review. The following review is really intended for people who have played the base game and are deciding if the expansion is worth picking up.
Alongside looking at ‘Coraquest: Keep on Questing’, I am also going to discuss the Folded Space inserts that you can purchase for both this expansion and the base game to help keep the game organised, as it does not come with a standard insert.
Essentially, “Coraquest: Keep on Questing” offers more quests for ‘Coraquest’. If that appeals to you, then you can probably stop reading now and pick this up.
Diving deeper, there are several things worth mentioning. Apart from new quests, the main key part of the expansion is the provision of tools to complete a series of quests as part of a longer campaign. This allows you to develop your characters between each quest and carry items from one quest to another, something that always felt like it should have been possible in the base game.
These tools work well, offering a decent amount of replayability. They allow you to play adventures from the base game while also providing you with the tools to create your own adventures, an aspect that ‘Coraquest’ has always excelled at.
My one criticism of the general campaign is that the individual quests do not always feel as connected as I would have liked. While the writing in the individual quests is top-notch, I would have appreciated a bit more overarching story in the campaigns. This is especially true after the excellent ‘Coraquest’ book was released last year, which showcased the complex lore and stories waiting to be told in this charming world created by Dan and Cora.
Without spoiling too much, the new enemies and heroes fit in well and there are excellent new weapons and treasures to behold. Additionally, there are a handful of new mechanics, such as curses and the ‘stinky’ condition, that provide fresh elements as you progress.
We played through the first campaign and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is an excellent expansion for those who want more ‘Coraquest’. However, if you didn’t enjoy the original, there isn’t much here that will change your mind, it’s essentially more of the same with a few additional features. While that’s not a massive issue given the quality of the original, I was hoping for more innovative mechanics and unique gameplay (though I did enjoy building a launcher out of dice).
One of the things I do not love about the game is that you have to always play with 4 characters and I would love to have seen some kind of system to scale the game with different hero numbers like is present in other dungeon crawlers.
Alongside the game, I also purchased two of the new Folded Space inserts. These are excellent and definitely worth owning as they make setting up and organising the game considerably easier. My only criticism is that one main section of the insert lacks a base. Consequently, whenever I open the box, I inadvertently try to pick up the larger tray, causing all the cards and tokens to slide out and create a mess. My long-term plan is to print out some ‘Coraquest’ graphics and create my own base for these boxes. I realised after writing this review that they dont have a base so they shut cleanly (which is good). While they aren’t essential, if you’re considering them as part of a package, I’d highly recommend them. They are among the best Folded Space inserts I’ve encountered, and they don’t lift the lid, unlike some similar products.
The component quality is consistent with the original and is of a high standard. However, I was surprised that unlike the original, the expansion lacks printing inside the box (though this is a minor gripe that only I probably would have noticed).
“Coraquest: Keep on Questing” is an excellent expansion, definitely worth getting for fans of the original game. If there’s ever a reprint, I’d love to see a deluxe version of the original that includes the content of this expansion from the start. This would make all the campaign elements available right from the beginning of your ‘Coraquest’ journey. If you’re new to the series and unsure, start with the base game, play a couple of dungeons, and then consider whether the expansion adds enough to enhance your experience.
While I can’t pinpoint any major flaws, there’s a small part of me that was hoping for a bit more innovation to truly advance ‘Coraquest’ as a system. However, if it became more complex, it might lose its appeal as a family-based dungeon crawler.
I’m confident this won’t be the last release in the series. I’m eager to see what else is coming in the franchise, whether using the ‘Coraquest’ system or as a completely different project set in the same universe.
As a side note, I also received a jigsaw with the game, which was great fun.
Disclaimer: Dan Hughes is a member of our community (and is likely reading this review). I purchased everything via the Kickstarter campaign myself, which was delivered shortly before Christmas. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own.
