Hey guys, I'm new to board games, for sometime I have been watching elder sign and it got me interested, so I was about to buy the base game and unseen forces (I think it add more stuff) and replace some cards from the base game (not sure about that), but I just went to check for the game to order and saw the store are taking preorders for the new gates of arkham expansion, and (I'm not sure about this) but from what I have seen there are lots of cards (or full decks or maybe missions deck?) that are going to be replaced? my English is my second language so I'm not sure if I read that information right or wrong.

So my question is which expansion packs I need? do I need the base game and both expansions? or which box to buy? I'm looking to buy everything there is to the game that adds more variety at one time and combine everything to have the updated game with the most variety in missions, however I don't care about the variety in characters or enemies (for example if gates of arkham make unseen forces expansion only useful for the characters it have or monster cards then I will avoid unseen forces unless it have some very important replacements that need to replace some important cards in the game), as based on what I have seen so far the base game come with lots of characters and monsters, so I'm only looking for more missions variety or new stuff to do. So based on that which expansions I need to buy or avoid? also if it have any effect to it, I'm only going to play solo.

I'm sorry if this question have been asked before but with my English is not perfect yet, it's kind of hard for me to search for older topics xD .

The newest expansion, Gates of Arkham , has not been released yet. I hear it's really something truly remarkable.

The other expansion, Unseen Forces , is recommended even if you haven't played. It doesn't change the difficulty or complexity of the game much, but it does add a whole lot of new cards for the sake of variety.

Yup, what Tibs said.

Plus, Gates of Arkham will entirely replace two decks coming with Elder Sign: the adventure deck and the mythos deck. From the original game, you'll keep on using Other World cards, Investigators, Ancient Ones and all the "small cards". It's a different type of challenge, and a sort of evolution in the game, that is no longer a race to gather Elder Sign, but it becomes an actual game (rather difficult) about resource management.

I'd suggest you to pick up the core set, play with that and see, if you want more of the same, or want a different challenge. If the former, get Unseen Forces; if the latter, get Gates of Arkham. Or, if you like, grab the three of them.

(in any case, all the small cards, new investigators and ancient ones coming with Unseen Forces are 100% compatible with Gates of Arkham)

Hope this helps

The most interesting addition you get from Unseen Forces is the bless/curse mechanic. Some might feel being blessed makes the game too easy, but being cursed can present a good challenge. I don't think it will be necessary with Gates of Arkham, but it adds welcome variety, and winning when you're cursed is extremely satisfying.

Thank you everyone, the information was really helpful. Now I ordered the base game, and will be ordering both unseen forces and gates of arkham on my next payment check .

Sounds great Let us know how you like the game

Thank you everyone, the information was really helpful. Now I ordered the base game, and will be ordering both unseen forces and gates of arkham on my next payment check .

I would order the Unseen forces first and let the game grow on you with lots of playing sessions.

The basic game + Unseen forces expansion is a great game experience. As I read about the Arkham expansion, some of the mechanics change drastically with the replacement of many components.

Enjoy the first experience before ordering Arkham to the fullest.

so I got the base game and had the chance to play it few times and I must say I love it, will be ordering all the expansions for it soon .

Thanks for the update And happy you like the game

If you've access to a printer and the time and inclination, I'd recommend you have a shufty at:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/97663/elder-sign-answering-call

and

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/102171/elder-sign-curse-dark-pharaoh

Can Unseen Forces and the new Gates expansion be played together?

Hey DreDrew,

long time no see, happy you're back Yes, the two expansions can be played together. With order:

- Gates of Arkham comes with a variant called Streets of Arkham. If you don't play Streets of Arkham, you're just playing a normal ES game, simply adding the small investigators deck, the new AOs, Investigators and Other Worlds to the mix

- if you play Streets of Arkham, then you play also with a brand new Mythos deck and a brand new Arkham Adventure deck, that make the game a lot more difficult. In case you play Streets of Arkham, you can still use all the AOs, Investigators and small cards from both the core game and UF. New adventures coming with GoA also offer a chance to gain curses or blessings in form of split rewards.

Hope this helps

Thanks Julia! :-) Much appreciated!

The newest expansion, Gates of Arkham , has not been released yet. I hear it's really something truly remarkable.

The other expansion, Unseen Forces , is recommended even if you haven't played. It doesn't change the difficulty or complexity of the game much, but it does add a whole lot of new cards for the sake of variety.

+1