5-Minute Dungeon Expansion – Curses! Foiled Again! Review: The Kick it Needed

The 5-Minute Dungeon expansion Curses! Foiled Again! is something I’ve talked about a lot on this site as I think one of the best expansions ever made. Yet somehow, I’ve never actually sat down and reviewed it properly.

Let’s fix that.

First, a quick note: the version I’m reviewing is the original Kickstarter big box edition. The only real difference between this and the version you’ll find on store shelves is the box itself. This Kickstarter version of Curses! Foiled Again! let me ditch the cute-but-impractical sand timer box from the original game in favour of a proper square. And I thank Connor Reid every time I pull the game off my shelf for that change.

What’s new in Curses! Foiled Again!?

Curses! Foiled Again! brings two new heroes to the fray, bumping the player count up to six. Your new allies are:

• The Druid: Can move an active curse card to the bottom of the deck.
• The Shaman: Lets another player draw three cards from their discard pile.

Both abilities are strong on their own, but their true value lies in their new action cards which deal with the expansion’s biggest troublemakers: curse cards. These nasty surprises can seriously mess your team up if left unchecked.

But don’t worry if you can’t (or don’t want to) bring one of the new heroes, this expansion’s got your back with artefact cards. These shiny, foiled cards (pun intended I’m sure) serve as one-time-use power boosts, standing in for missing hero abilities. A few examples:

• Rainbow Herb (Huntress/Ranger): All players shuffle their discard piles back into their decks.
• Infinity Scroll (Wizard/Sorceress): Instantly defeat a mini-boss or cancel an event.

They’re fun, thematic, and life-savers when things get dicey. Still, the true stars of the expansion are the curse cards. Each boss comes with their own unique set, which get shuffled into the dungeon deck during setup. When a curse pops up, it immediately changes the rules… and rarely in your favor.

Examples?

• Your hand size drops to three cards.
• You can’t use your special ability.
• You can only communicate using the word “Waffles.”

Yes, they’re exactly as chaotic as you’re imagining.

Beyond the curses, the expansion also adds new event cards—more dynamic and involved than those in the base game—and two new action cards for each hero, giving everyone a bit more flavour and flexibility.

So long repetition, so long

5-Minute Dungeon is one of the best real-time games around. It’s fast, frantic, and a ton of fun. But it has one big flaw: after a few plays, it starts to feel repetitive. Each level of the dungeon doesn’t really change; the only thing that ramps up is how many cards you have to slog through. It’s like one of those video games where “hard mode” just means the enemies have more HP. Not exactly thrilling after your fifth or sixth run.

That’s where Curses! Foiled Again! kicks down the dungeon door, sunglasses on, cigar lit, and growls, “Not on my watch.”

Every piece of content in this expansion is built to keep things fresh.

New action cards give every hero just enough uniqueness to make them play differently. So now, running with the Huntress actually feels different from the Paladin. New event cards add even more ways the game can throw chaos at your team.

And most importantly, the curse cards completely shake up every boss fight.

As a result, 5-Minute Dungeon goes from a game that plays the same every time to one where every session feels completely different. It’s rare for an expansion to so thoroughly fix the core issue of the base game, but that’s exactly what makes this one so special.

And look, sure, not every curse is a slam dunk. “Cursed Blanket,” which forces you to play with one hand, is probably more frustrating than fun. But hey, they’re curses. They’re supposed to mess with you.

Otherwise, you’re getting everything you already love: the same great artwork, the same lightning-fast pace, and that same irreverent humor that made the original such a blast. Once the new cards are shuffled in, the expansion blends seamlessly, creating one unified experience (that also totally kicks butt).

So yeah, Curses! Foiled Again! isn’t just a good expansion. It’s one of the best I’ve played. It knows exactly what made the base game special and doesn’t try to reinvent the dungeon. Instead, it patches 5-Minute Dungeon’s biggest flaw, adds a bunch of clever twists, and makes every boss battle feel fresh, frantic, and fun all over again.