My wife suggested that I teach her and our 13 year old how to play Arkham. They're pretty good game players, their faves include Formula D, Robo Rally, and Thebes but they haven't tried anything as big as Arkham (although my daughter likes Doom). I own all of the expansions and most of the Mythos and location cards are kept seperated, but I generally just mix in the new monsters (other than mask or spawn).

Any suggestions for paring down the cup a little? Or maybe after doom token #5 hits then add a few tougher ones to the cup?

Remove all 3 toughness, imuntties, and -3 combat rating monsters... and then any that deal 3 or more sanity damage... should leave the wippy left

Only put in the 1-toughness monsters at the start of the game.

When the first row of the doom track is filled, add the 2-toughness monsters.

When the second row is filled, add the 3-toughness monsters.

Thanks, these are great ideas that I think would add tension to the game, especially for a beginner as they see a handful of nastier stuff get tossed into the mix.