The Orcs Must Die Board Game Expansions: What to Buy and in What Order

What Order Should You Buy Orcs Must Die! Expansions In?

Buy the base game first (Order Edition or Unchained Edition, both $99.99), then the Minion Pack ($29.99) for wave variety, then the Boss Pack ($29.99) once waves feel too easy. Add the Unchained Hero Pack ($24.99) only if you own Unchained Edition, since it will not work with Order Edition. Round out with the 100 Glow Skulls pack ($9.99) last.

That is the short version for anyone staring at the full catalog of an orc tower defense game and wondering where to start. The rest of this guide walks through every box in the lineup, what each one actually adds, and why edition matters more than most buyers realize before checkout.

What's in the Full Orcs Must Die! Expansion Lineup?

Petersen Games currently sells two base editions and four add-on packs for Orcs Must Die!, according to the live product catalog. Here's the full roster, confirmed on-site as of this writing:

• Order Edition ($99.99) - base game, described as a cooperative tower-defense tabletop game. In stock.
• Unchained Edition ($99.99) - base game, the broader "Tabletop Tower-Defense Experience" tied to the Unchained franchise entry. In stock.
• Minion Pack ($29.99) - adds 4 new minion types and 14 figures. In stock.
• Boss Pack ($29.99) - adds 4 bosses and 10 figures. In stock.
• Unchained Hero Pack ($24.99, marked down from $29.99) - adds 8 new heroes "to your OMD-Unchained game," per the product listing. In stock.
• Exclusive Pack ($24.99) - Kickstarter exclusives for Orcs Must Die!. Sold out as of this writing.
• 100 Glow Skulls ($9.99) - 100 glow-in-the-dark skulls for the game. In stock.

Notice something. Every pack above assumes you already own a base box. None of these are standalone games. They're figures, heroes, and components built to plug into an existing fortress-and-wave session, not a new rules engine each time.

Step 1: Which Base Edition Should You Start With?

Start with the Order Edition if you want a straightforward cooperative tower-defense session with no ambiguity about the play mode. Start with Unchained Edition if the franchise's third video-game entry is what pulled you toward the tabletop version, or if you specifically want access to the Unchained Hero Pack down the road, since that pack is built for the Unchained system.

This decision matters more than it looks like on the surface, because it locks in which expansions actually make sense for your table later. A buyer who grabs Order Edition and then later wants the Hero Pack's 8 heroes is going to run into a compatibility question the product page doesn't answer for them. Decide the edition first, then build outward from there.

Step 2: Why the Minion Pack Comes Before the Boss Pack

The Minion Pack solves the more common early complaint. New sessions with a fresh group rarely feel repetitive yet, but regular players notice fast when the same handful of orc types keep showing up wave after wave. Fourteen figures across 4 new minion types is a direct fix, and it's cheap insurance against a table getting bored before it gets good.

The Boss Pack solves a different problem: a session that's stopped feeling dangerous. Four tougher bosses and 10 figures raise the ceiling on how hard a single encounter can hit, which matters most once your group already has the base wave structure figured out. Buying difficulty before variety is backwards for most new tables. Get the Minion Pack rolling first, then reach for the Boss Pack once the group is confident enough to want a real gut-check fight.

The Minion Pack is in stock now at $29.99, and it's the expansion this guide recommends as your first purchase after the base game, for exactly that reason.

Step 3: Is the Unchained Hero Pack Compatible with Order Edition?

Don't assume yes. The Unchained Hero Pack's own product listing describes it as adding "8 great new Heroes to add to your OMD-Unchained game," language that ties it specifically to the Unchained system by name. That's a meaningfully different situation from the Boss Pack and Minion Pack, whose product pages don't name either base edition at all.

Here's the practical takeaway. If you own the Unchained Edition, the Hero Pack is a straightforward fourth or fifth purchase once your base roster of 4 heroes starts feeling thin. If you own the Order Edition instead, treat the Hero Pack as a question mark rather than a purchase, and confirm directly on the Unchained Hero Pack product page or with the store at checkout before you buy. The same caution applies in reverse for the Boss Pack and Minion Pack: neither page states which base edition they're built for, so confirm compatibility on the Boss Pack or Minion Pack listing before checkout rather than guessing.

What About the Exclusive Pack and 100 Glow Skulls?

These two sit at the bottom of most buying-order lists, and that's fine. The Exclusive Pack ($24.99) holds the Kickstarter-exclusive components for the line, but it's sold out on the Petersen Games store as of this writing. Worth watching for a restock if you're a completionist, though it isn't something to plan a first purchase around while it's unavailable.

The 100 Glow Skulls pack ($9.99) is a small, cheap accessory: 100 glow-in-the-dark skull tokens for the game. It's in stock now. Nice touch for a game night, not a priority purchase. Grab it last, once the base game and the two figure-heavy expansions are already on your shelf.

Where Does Orcs Must Die! Come From?

Orcs Must Die! started as a video game franchise from Robot Entertainment before Petersen Games adapted it into a licensed tabletop line. Robot Entertainment remains the developer and IP holder behind the original franchise; Petersen Games makes the board game adaptation under license, not the other way around. Robot Entertainment's own archive of past games covers the original series that the tabletop editions draw their trap-and-wave structure from.

The Unchained naming on one base edition and the Hero Pack traces directly back to a specific franchise entry. Wikipedia's entry on Orcs Must Die! Unchained covers how that third video game expanded the hero roster and added team-based modes, the same expanded identity the tabletop Unchained Edition and its Hero Pack carry forward. If you want the studio's fuller history, Wikipedia's page on Robot Entertainment is a solid primer before you dig into which tabletop edition matches which game you remember playing.

How Do You Get These Expansions?

Everything ships directly from Petersen Games. In-stock orders process within 48 hours (2 business days, Monday through Friday). US orders go out via USPS Ground Advantage, typically 2-5 business days in transit after processing. Rates calculate at checkout based on destination, weight, and size; there's no standing free-shipping offer right now, so don't expect one at checkout.

Ready to build out your orc tower defense game collection the right way? Start with the Minion Pack at Petersen Games if you already own a base edition, then work through the Boss Pack and, if your base game is Unchained, the Hero Pack from there. Confirm your specific base edition's compatibility on each product page before you check out.