As players explore a slowly expanding board, they find clues and, occasionally, meet people who help reveal the mystery at the heart of each scenario. Then, as the scenarios draw to a close the action always picks up as you are desperately fighting the forces of evil.
The win condition for the game is basically to get out of the house alive. Any other scenario where one does not get out they either die or go insane, which is what plays into the immersion of this game, it is more about story and experiencing what it has to offer than "winning".
The base game comes with 5 scenarios that include 3 different endings each. Add to the fact that the scenario is built based on a series of multiple choice questions before setup, means no 2 games will be the same.
Also there are many expansions available which with many more scenarios.
Like all of the Arkham Horror games this pulls in all of the familiar characters and antagonists from Lovecraft's mythos. Unlike the others however it's less about running around closing portals as fast as you can and more about investigating a single scenario in a series of pre-configured locations. It does require a sort of "DM" that the other players play against but it helps that person with the convoluted stuff and lets them enjoy the game as much as the other players.
One of the few games that can get one involved as a character dealing with a continually challenging and unveiling storyline. A competent keeper (DM) is a must, though.
Depending on how many players there are, the scenario chosen and the full understanding of the game held by the players the game can often result in a non functioning experience. There are many moving parts here and they do not always congeal into a working game.
Removing the Keeper role from the game not only drastically reduced setup time and errors, it also shifted the entire dynamic of the game as players are now fully invested since they are all one team.
Players all work together towards the beginning of the game to explore and search the haunted house, but in the later sections the game turns you against one another, and often leads to hilarious situations.
The "Traitor's Tome" rulebook contains a base of 50 "haunt" scenarios to play through, but you can easily create your own or find more online if you'd like to play more unique or varied games.
Some of the more complicated scenarios can be quite confusing, and the game is relatively slow paced, so it may not be fun for kids.
It being a horror game, some of the themes (monsters, cannibalism, demonic rituals) are not appropriate for young children.
The win conditions of the game are quite slim and require one to know the rules ins and outs, so while not a game for casual players it is a game for the hardcore who enjoy a challenge.
Your weak heroes have to dive into parallel realities, use magic, defeat unknown guests and apply unique artifacts. Each game's location has its own secrets and 'contacts' with various outcomes — good and bad.
Though the rules do highlight "best players of the game" via basic calculations, the game itself is aimed towards collaboration. To win, everyone must commit to the victory, and you often forget about the existence of a "best player".
The game allows players to exchange items or help other players via skills, special abilities and magic. In practice, players often compete their tasks in pairs and more, e.g. they close gates in pairs, where one has to clean the entrance from monsters, and the other seals the gates.
The game supports up to 8 players, which is something of a feat for a game of its size and components. Makes for a great party game due to the size of players it allows. However, at the lower end it can also be enjoyed with one or two players, making it great for intimate gaming session. No matter how few players you have available, you'll be able to enjoy the game.
Arkham Horror has a lot of moving parts, its rules are difficult to follow and the gameplay itself is pretty difficult. This all adds up to a game that is very unapproachable and will take the most dedicated of players to really understand the whole concept put forth.
The game supports up to 8 players, which is something of a feat for a game of its size and components. Makes for a great party game due to the size of players it allows.
Elder Sign is a good game to play with newcomers unfamiliar with the rules due to the game not being super difficult (like Ghost Stories). While it does offer a challenge it is not completely stacked against the players like some other titles in the genre.
Elder Sign is styled as a co-op experience that uses tightly integrated dice mechanics to allow for short and succinct play times of around 90 minutes.
Fantasy Flight has already announced and released several add-on packs that include new storylines, characters, monsters, and equipment, further broadening the depth and replayability of this game.
At different points along each mission players will be forced to make decisions that will affect not only that mission, but the storyline overall. This means that even playing the same scenario will have different results based on the decisions made by each player.
Each scenario features an overarching storyline that encourages players to keep playing as they slowly uncover more and more details about the mystery that is unfolding. Each mission in a scenario is designed to reveal more and more information about the dangers players are facing while giving clues as to the nature of the mystery they are trying to solve.
During each Scenario players will need to complete a number of individual missions, each taking up 1 game, in order to finish the scenario. During setup for each mission they are instructed in creating an Act deck of goals to complete as well as an Agenda deck that is used as a countdown timer for the forces of evil. In order to complete the mission players will need to race to finish the tasks given by the Act deck before Agenda deck finishes counting down. This mechanic really helps make the game feel like a struggle to thwart the forces of evil before humanity is overrun.
Unfortunately a base set of the game will only allow a maximum of two players at a time. However, if you are willing to buy a second core set then the game can play 4 players cooperatively.
The base game comes with 5 scenarios that include 3 different endings each. Add to the fact that the scenario is built based on a series of multiple choice questions before setup, means no 2 games will be the same.
Also there are many expansions available which with many more scenarios.
The win condition for the game is basically to get out of the house alive. Any other scenario where one does not get out they either die or go insane, which is what plays into the immersion of this game, it is more about story and experiencing what it has to offer than "winning".
Like all of the Arkham Horror games this pulls in all of the familiar characters and antagonists from Lovecraft's mythos. Unlike the others however it's less about running around closing portals as fast as you can and more about investigating a single scenario in a series of pre-configured locations. It does require a sort of "DM" that the other players play against but it helps that person with the convoluted stuff and lets them enjoy the game as much as the other players.
One of the few games that can get one involved as a character dealing with a continually challenging and unveiling storyline. A competent keeper (DM) is a must, though.
Depending on how many players there are, the scenario chosen and the full understanding of the game held by the players the game can often result in a non functioning experience. There are many moving parts here and they do not always congeal into a working game.