Expeditions: Gears of Corruption
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FroGames — Moments You'll Remember
The corrupt mech moves across the map, and when it arrives, someone mutters a curse. The others laugh, then look at their tiles and stop laughing.
WHAT IT IS ABOUT
When corruption becomes mechanical and the tundra gets deadlier
After the expeditions recounted in the base game Expeditions, Jamey Stegmaier returns to post-Tunguska Siberia with a greater threat: a corrupt mech wandering the map, secret bonuses that can help or betray you, and four new characters with their animal companions. Jakub Rozalski's artwork continues to portray that melancholic retrofuturism between wild nature and forgotten technology, but this time the danger is tangible and mobile.
At the table, you manage wild workers who start with initial resources (the base game left you dry for the first few turns), explore tiles with hidden bonuses that only reveal when you activate them, and keep an eye on the corrupt mech that moves independently and can ruin your plans. Each turn you have to decide whether to risk for higher bonuses or play it safe, while other players do the same calculation. The expansion increases the pace and tension without bogging down the rules.
What they say abroad
Gears of Corruption makes Expeditions more unpredictable and improves it.
— FroGames
The corrupt mech adds a threat you cannot ignore.
— FroGames
Expeditions: Gears of Corruption
Expeditions has always had an excellent solo mode with a dedicated automa, and the expansion adds new behaviors for the bot. The corrupt mech works perfectly even against the automa, and the hidden bonuses maintain the surprise. Only the bluffing and reading of human opponents are lost, but the tactical experience remains complete.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and gameplay sessionsWhat's in the box
Game-changing components
Corrupt mech
A miniature that moves independently on the map according to a deck of cards. When it enters your area, it can block actions or force you to move. It's not an enemy to fight, it's an environmental threat.
4 new characters and companions
Each character-animal pair has asymmetric abilities that open up different strategies. One specializes in corruption, another in rapid exploration, all with unique mechanics.
Exploration tiles with secret bonuses
When you reveal a tile, you discover a hidden bonus printed on the back: it can be an extra resource, a penalty, or a special action. You don't know what you'll find until you go there.
Wild workers and starting resources
Each player starts with a wild worker (counts as any type) and some resources. The accelerated setup eliminates dead turns at the beginning and throws you right into difficult choices.
Recommended sleeves 40 cards in 1 size ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting your cards with clear sleeves to make them last longer.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 63 × 88 mm | 40 |
| Total cards | 40 |
In an hour, someone will have cursed the corrupt mech, someone else will have discovered a bonus that saved their game, and everyone will want to play again with a different character.
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Fast setup, immediate tension
Choose your character, take your starting resources and the wild worker. You don't have to wait three turns to do something: from the first round, you have real options. You place the worker on a strong action and the others immediately understand that this game will be different.
The corrupted mech enters play
At the mech's first movement, someone nervously laughs. It's going towards someone else's zone, for now. But the mech card deck is visible and everyone starts calculating where it will end up in the next few turns. Whoever is in its path must decide: change plans or risk it?
Secret bonuses and surprises
Someone reveals an exploration tile and discovers a huge bonus printed on the back. Another finds a penalty and curses. Plans adapt on the fly: that tile that seemed marginal is now crucial, and everyone re-evaluates their priorities. The table comes alive.
The mech goes where it shouldn't
The moment everyone will remember: the corrupted mech ends up in the zone of someone who had planned three turns ahead. They must choose between losing a key action or wasting resources to move it. The others hold their breath, then laugh. Then they check where it will go next.
Score counting and stories
When someone reaches the victory condition (stars on the map, objectives, managed corruption), points are counted. But the real conversations start afterward: who risked with the secret bonuses, who managed the mech better than others, which character you want to try next time.
How to play
The flow of each round
Each round has a simple structure that the expansion accelerates and complicates just enough.
Place your workers (including the wild worker) on your personal board's actions or on common ones. The wild worker can go anywhere, the others are specialized.
Resolve the chosen actions. If you explore a new tile, flip the bonus token on the back: it can be a resource, a penalty, or a special ability. You don't know until you reveal it.
Draw a card from the mech deck: it indicates where it moves on the map. If it arrives in an occupied zone, it can block actions or force reactions. It's not a fight, it's a complication.
Check if you have completed objectives or if corruption (yours or the mech's) has effects. Some characters use corruption as a resource, others must manage it to avoid losing points.
Why it's different from the others
Six mechanics that make a difference
The corrupted mech is a mobile threat
It's not an enemy to defeat, it's a complication that moves on its own according to a visible deck of cards. You can predict where it will go, but you can't always avoid it. When it arrives in your zone, you have to adapt your plan, and this creates tension without adding combat.
Secret bonuses printed on the tiles
Each exploration tile has a hidden bonus on the back that you only discover when you reveal it. It can be a double resource, a penalty, or a unique action. This makes exploration unpredictable and rewards those who can adapt on the fly instead of planning everything in advance.
Wild workers and accelerated setup
The base game left you without resources in the first few turns. Here you start with a wild worker and initial resources, so from the first round, you have meaningful choices. The wild worker can perform any action, the others remain specialized. It's a small change that makes the beginning much more dynamic.
Four new characters, four strategies
Each character-companion pair has asymmetrical abilities that open up different paths. One exploits corruption as a resource, another explores very quickly, a third manipulates the mech. These are not cosmetic variants, they are different tactical approaches that change how you play.
Adds the sixth player without slowing down
The expansion includes components for six players. The risk with games of this weight is that with six, it gets bogged down, but here the wild workers and parallel actions maintain the pace. The corrupted mech becomes even more unpredictable with more people influencing it.
Integrates without overlapping
It doesn't replace the base game; it expands it. You can use only some modules (like the new characters without the mech) or everything together. The added rules are one page long; if you know base Expeditions, you'll learn them in 10 minutes. It's not an expansion that complicates for the sake of complicating.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
The game ends when someone reaches a victory condition, then points from stars, objectives, and managed corruption are counted.
Victory
- Place all your stars on the map (variable number per player)
- Complete personal and common objectives that give extra points
- Manage corruption better than others: too much makes you lose points, but some characters use it to win
What can trip you up
- The corrupted mech always arrives where it shouldn't and blocks your key actions at the wrong times
- You reveal negative secret bonuses that cost you resources or lost actions
- Others complete objectives before you because they managed their wild workers better
Base Expeditions is a great exploration game, but Gears of Corruption makes it unpredictable and more tense without weighing it down. If you liked the base game, this is a must-have.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Expeditions: Gears of Corruption
Is the base game required to play?
Yes, Gears of Corruption is a pure expansion. It is not standalone. You need the base box of Expeditions (the one with Siberia, mechs, exploration). The expansion adds characters, a corrupted mech, bonus tiles, and a sixth player, but the core mechanics remain those of the base game.
Can I use only some modules of the expansion?
Yes, it's modular. You can play only with the new characters and accelerated setup (wild workers and starting resources) without the corrupted mech or secret bonuses. Or use everything. The rules are written to allow you to choose what to add, although the full experience is with everything together.
Does the corrupted mech slow down the game?
No. It moves according to a card deck you draw from once per round, taking 10 seconds. The fact that it is visible and predictable means it doesn't slow down the flow; on the contrary, it adds a tactical variable that everyone keeps an eye on while playing their turn. It's not a separate mini-game.
Does it really work with six players?
It works better than you'd expect. The wild workers and parallel actions avoid downtime, and the corrupted mech with six players becomes even more chaotic (in a good way). The game lengthens by 15-20 minutes compared to four players, but it doesn't get bogged down. If your group is used to eurogames of this weight, it's perfectly manageable with six.
Is it available in Italian?
This edition is in English. Expeditions has text on the cards (character abilities, objectives, events), so at least intermediate English knowledge is required. No official Italian editions have been announced at this time.
Expeditions: Gears of Corruption is the expansion for Expeditions designed by Jamey Stegmaier and illustrated by Jakub Rozalski, published by Stonemaier Games. It adds a roaming corrupted mech, four new characters with animal companions, secret bonuses on exploration tiles, and components for a sixth player. The official solo mode is supported with a dedicated automa. Duration 60-90 minutes, recommended age 14+, 1 to 6 players. Requires the base game Expeditions to play. Available on FroGames.it.
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