Hehe jihorner1974 it feels so....SHINEY

And yes you're probably right about that. I used to play dungeons and dragons so I'm used to the roleplaying style. I'm not saying that people should get into character persay, but I pretty much play 'dungeon master' for the less experienced players. I always do the Mythos phase and call the rules and all. I'm just wondering how I can make it more 'atmosphery' for people.

And I envy the day where that's not a big deal I freak out whenever I get a rumor

BTW my name is Becca, for those who want to know.

Well, I guess how to create the atmosphere is really a subjective factor. There's a guy in the EH forum who posted he's always listening to Let it go (from the Frozen OST) when trying to solve the Final Mystery. This would be a complete turn off for many others, so, really, it's up to you; if you like roleplaying, it's perfectly fine, if you just want to keep everything as short as possible and feel the adrenaline rush, it's also a legit choice Best things about games (and in life): freedom.

As for how we or Joe feel when playing...

Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."

Also, nice meeting you Becca

I would implode if someone started playing Let it Go....its bad enough my niece and nephew watch the movie 3 times in a row without it seeping into Arkham.

In fact, that song should be an AO. Just the song. Not the movie. The doom track lasts as long as the song is playing. It would make Azatholth die while he's figuring out how to torture children in Algebra 101 (right Jlhorner1972 lol)

***

Anywhooooooooo you're totally right. Sometimes I just want to go in and read all the cards so I get the feel for the game more, I feel like I'll eventually learn it enough to add atmosphere, but, for now I'm still learning all the rules.

For Pandemic (the board game) I play music from the app Plague, lol. That sets the mood alright. I think I need to find some background music for Arkham

I have friends who really like the game and family that sometimes play with me, but I don't get to play with others often. I've run a few play by forum games for some friends also (check out the Cary Arkham Maniacs games here on the Play by Forum area of the forums if you are interested).

I most often play solo, and the roleplaying aspect is a bit harder to pull off in that case. I have a significant amount of dungeons and dragons experience both playing and dungeon mastering.

I'm a computer programmer by trade and I have a strange sense of humor, though you probably already figured that out. I enjoy almost all board games, especially the quartet of FFG Cthulhu games, Pandemic, Flash Point, Ticket to Ride, Ghost Stories, and Betrayal at House on the Hill, just to name a few.

My name is Jason.

This may be a dirty little secret, but I actually like listening to Let It Go. Of course, I've not listened to it a thousand times in a row either. It's definitely cultlike in its appeal, so I understand your reaction.

And I actually think Algebra is fun, which probably means I'm already insane, with or without Azathoth's influence.

If people don't read the encounter cards in their most mysterious/dramatic voices, I make some of their items start to get stolen by gypsies, or cho-chos (that is how they get their common items when you kill them!) Adding in the relationship cards allows for a little better roleplaying as well, you now have a relationship with someone! Sadly, I have read every encounter card for every location (including other worlds) several times over. I like to know what CAN happen at locations. Still hasn't made it any less fun to draw and read them though.

My name is Joey btw, since everyone seems like sharing "today". Out of curiosity, what is the time zone this forum is on, because it isn't even close to mine. If I had to take a guess it is most certainly Europe.

I think the server could be in Spain, or something like that? Sometimes you get error messages in Castillan. Dunno, really.

Nice meeting you all guys It's nice to have names and not only nicks, it makes virtual a little less virtual

Jason, Becca, Joey, and Julia,

As to the RPG-style of play (to this day, I run a D&D 3.5 campaign at home and a Serenity campaign via Skype), I set the stage with some good music (Nox Arcana) and let the music carry me away for the next few hours. I'm not racing from Gate to Gate , as opposed to experiencing Arkham at the level of the Investigator. Find out what's happening at the Witch House or wander, at night, through the Graveyard . Do I still lose a few games now and then...sure.

But as I've said for the past several years, it's about the journey and not the destination.

Happy Gaming!

Cheers/Ciao,

Joe

This may be a dirty little secret, but I actually like listening to Let It Go. Of course, I've not listened to it a thousand times in a row either. It's definitely cultlike in its appeal, so I understand your reaction.

And I actually think Algebra is fun, which probably means I'm already insane, with or without Azathoth's influence.

haha you should go to the Arkham Asylum and get yourself checked out. They'll be like "You think Algebra is fun huh? *doctors glance to eachother*"Why don't you just...stay here for awhile"

(just kidding of course lol)

Jason, Becca, Joey, and Julia,

As to the RPG-style of play (to this day, I run a D&D 3.5 campaign at home and a Serenity campaign via Skype), I set the stage with some good music (Nox Arcana) and let the music carry me away for the next few hours. I'm not racing from Gate to Gate , as opposed to experiencing Arkham at the level of the Investigator. Find out what's happening at the Witch House or wander, at night, through the Graveyard . Do I still lose a few games now and then...sure.

But as I've said for the past several years, it's about the journey and not the destination.

Happy Gaming!

Cheers/Ciao,

Joe

I really like that idea, Joe. I finally convinced the people I play with that encounters are not something to be dreaded, but potentially good. I think they have a bias to remember all the bad things that happened to them via encounters versus the good things, like gaining clue tokes, allies, etc.

Btw the little symbols on the location are there to tell you what each location can potentially give you right? My hypothesis seems to be correct although the rulebook doesn't mention it.

Btw the little symbols on the location are there to tell you what each location can potentially give you right? My hypothesis seems to be correct although the rulebook doesn't mention it.

Yes. Additionally: symbols on black background imply you can gain the reward by paying a price (trophies for clues, and so on), while the white background indicates encounters tend to be more likely to give you that specific reward (but of course you'll have several encounters granting you other rewards and sufference as well)

(also, if you need reference, it's explained in the rulebook, pag. 24, under "location icons")

haha you should go to the Arkham Asylum and get yourself checked out. They'll be like "You think Algebra is fun huh? *doctors glance to eachother*"Why don't you just...stay here for awhile"

(just kidding of course lol)

I really like that idea, Joe. I finally convinced the people I play with that encounters are not something to be dreaded, but potentially good. I think they have a bias to remember all the bad things that happened to them via encounters versus the good things, like gaining clue tokes, allies, etc.

Btw the little symbols on the location are there to tell you what each location can potentially give you right? My hypothesis seems to be correct although the rulebook doesn't mention it.

Nooooooo! No more shocks! I'm totally fine! *nervous twitch*

I always read the encounters even though I don't act them out by myself. I usually ending up trying to play quickly, as I play late at night after my family has gone to bed, and I'd rather not be up playing until 4 or 5 am. But I too would like to try a more roleplaying experience in Arkham because sometime I feel like I'm pressured to making a mad dash for clues and then immediately running to a gate to seal. It would be neat to spend time in stable locations talking to people, looking for clues.

Eldritch Horror is really good for having a roleplaying type feel since its encounters all have a narrative with them.

I always thought the pacing of Arkham was off -- things rapidly escalate in the first few turns as a bunch of gates open and monsters pour out. But then, due to sealed gates and monster surges (especially if you have the high frequency gates sealed), the pace slows way down and you're waiting for the mythos draw to come up that wakes up the ancient one. It almost seems to me like the pace should start off more gradually, and ramp up as things went on. I'm not sure how to do that, though.

Btw the little symbols on the location are there to tell you what each location can potentially give you right? My hypothesis seems to be correct although the rulebook doesn't mention it.

Yes. Additionally: symbols on black background imply you can gain the reward by paying a price (trophies for clues, and so on), while the white background indicates encounters tend to be more likely to give you that specific reward (but of course you'll have several encounters granting you other rewards and sufference as well)

(also, if you need reference, it's explained in the rulebook, pag. 24, under "location icons")

That makes a lot of sense! And thank you! I think I'm still missing things although I've read the rulebook a gagillian times. >.>

haha you should go to the Arkham Asylum and get yourself checked out. They'll be like "You think Algebra is fun huh? *doctors glance to eachother*"Why don't you just...stay here for awhile"

(just kidding of course lol)

I really like that idea, Joe. I finally convinced the people I play with that encounters are not something to be dreaded, but potentially good. I think they have a bias to remember all the bad things that happened to them via encounters versus the good things, like gaining clue tokes, allies, etc.

Btw the little symbols on the location are there to tell you what each location can potentially give you right? My hypothesis seems to be correct although the rulebook doesn't mention it.

Nooooooo! No more shocks! I'm totally fine! *nervous twitch*

I always read the encounters even though I don't act them out by myself. I usually ending up trying to play quickly, as I play late at night after my family has gone to bed, and I'd rather not be up playing until 4 or 5 am. But I too would like to try a more roleplaying experience in Arkham because sometime I feel like I'm pressured to making a mad dash for clues and then immediately running to a gate to seal. It would be neat to spend time in stable locations talking to people, looking for clues.

Eldritch Horror is really good for having a roleplaying type feel since its encounters all have a narrative with them.

I always thought the pacing of Arkham was off -- things rapidly escalate in the first few turns as a bunch of gates open and monsters pour out. But then, due to sealed gates and monster surges (especially if you have the high frequency gates sealed), the pace slows way down and you're waiting for the mythos draw to come up that wakes up the ancient one. It almost seems to me like the pace should start off more gradually, and ramp up as things went on. I'm not sure how to do that, though.

Sometimes I act things out to be funny. One time there was an activity marker on a spot because a Man in Black wanted to make a deal, and Ben (my bro in law) had his investigator stop there. And he's like "Naw I won't deal with him"

And I just walk over casually, pretending to smoke a cigarette as I hover around him and stand really close. And Ben just keeps his head down for a moment before he pulls out his iphone and pretends to scroll through it as he ignores me LOL it was really funny.

But yes, the pacing is always something that's weird. I'd love to just take a breath and explore for a bit, buy some items and such but I feel like all this crap is going down. And of course by later in the game, the shops are closing because of the terror track >.>

Well, I am very grateful for the possibility of partaking in this golden age of the forum. Many thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences in such a consistently wonderful way, and especially to the veterans who provide so much assistance. Although I am something of an Internet recluse I suppose I ought to forgo a slim amount of my anonymity when everyone else already have: so, Philip here, pleased to meet you all. And I'm not so fussy about the wine; as long as it's an Italian red I'll be fine!

Waves at Becca, Jason and Philip, I'm also a Phil and live in Wales (Uk), South to be more precise.

Hey Phillip and Phil! Its super awesome to meet you guys We were just talking about ways to make the game more atmosphere-y rather than just reading the cards and playing the game. What do you guys do?

We're fortunate in that everyone typically reads their cards with a little dramatic flair. Maybe the wine helps a little as well to make everyone relax slightly. I've thought about adding music but can't think of anything appropriate.

Players also tend to reenact more humorous situations. I remember one time two investigators went through gates on the same turn, in other words coming out on the same turn as well. The one was nearly a gibbering wreck, having lost a weapon and sanity. The other had gained whisky and a motorcycle. So the first player wore a haggard, manic, expression, gripped the arm of his neighbour and hoarsely shouted "Be warned! They're coming!" whereas the other simulated revving a motorcycle throttle and proceeded to hum the lead of Born to be Wild.

It's not exactly a horror theme we're going for I guess. And with us, it is all down to the players. We've had a couple of really uninspired games as well where everyone plays more or less mechanically with a minimum of player interaction. We keep coming back to it though!

BTW, your tagline is awesome!

Re Music, in the board game "Touch of Evil" it actually comes with a atmospheric music CD, ok it's not quite 20's Lovecraft, but it's very good, lots of screaming, chain rattling and original music written for the game.

Borealian,

I would highly recommend setting your Pandora listening to "Nox Arcana" which will include works by Enya, David Arkenstone, etc. As to your style of play whereby you read the cards to one another...yes, that's my favorite, as your eyes can't scan down to the prize..."oh, yeah, the chest has $8...I need some cash." It makes for a much more thematic evening.

Cheers,

Joe

I wanted to say it's good to meet all of you, and it is wonderful to have real names to associate with faces.

It's nice to be able to have other humans to indulge in this obsession with. My wife is very intelligent, but I think half of the reason I can get her to play Arkham Horror with me at all is that she loves Jenny Barnes, and somehow always manages to kick ass with her.

Sometimes I act things out to be funny. One time there was an activity marker on a spot because a Man in Black wanted to make a deal, and Ben (my bro in law) had his investigator stop there. And he's like "Naw I won't deal with him"

And I just walk over casually, pretending to smoke a cigarette as I hover around him and stand really close. And Ben just keeps his head down for a moment before he pulls out his iphone and pretends to scroll through it as he ignores me LOL it was really funny.

I bet playing with you would be fun.

I totally just read the card, look at all the consequences if I decide to get frisky with taking chances, and then roll the dice.

It's nice to be able to have other humans to indulge in this obsession with.

Yes. Yes! Of course! I'm a perfectly normal human worm baby!