I enjoy the game, but as some would put it "The game is a bit random" - sometimes is faily easy, and other times really difficult. And several of my fellow players complain about lack of human competition in the game.
While players agree on tactics amonst themselves there is often a lack of "intelligent adversary" so here is an option that involve two or more teams of players against each other AND the game.
The reason for teams uses the co-op element while allowing for some competition. - if all your player have played say 6-8 games please feel free to try it out with single-player teams ...
Each team should consist of 2-3 players (if 5 or 7 players: let newest player on bigger team) Players should take seats so as to allow only one player from a team to act in each phase before an opposing team player acts.
Teams are not allowed to discuss strategies away from the table or pass notes between each other.
in most other respects the game remains the same - ALL the Investigatior vs. the ancient one. But players aim to score points and the team with the most points when the game ends wins. The points scores are expositions of the Victory rating in AH rulebook p. 12
- Each team score points on the following method - the First Player Records points on a scoreboard as soon as they are scored.
- Each portal closed: +3 / sealed: +5 (regardless of weather they are spent or kept)
- Each monster Trophy: +1 (regardless of weather they are spent or kept)
- Each Elder sign held by a player if the Ancient one awakens: -3
- Each Doom token removed from the Ancient ones Doom Track : +3
- Each unpaid/defaulted bank loan -3
- Each Investigator that gets D evoured -3
- All a Teams players are Devoured during the fight with the Ancient One : -5
- Each time an investigator is reduced to 0 San or Stamina (or gets a madness or injury card): -1
The Team with most points when the game ends (for whatever reason) Wins.
Rules modifications:
- When ever a player may apply a bonus(a skill or ability or encounter effect) to all players he may choose to apply it to only players on his team.
- A player may choose to keep any card held by his character Secret (except information on his investigator sheet ) until it comes into play the first time. A Secret card stays facedown - in this case i suggest that Exhausted cards are placed sideways in order to allow for both conditions in play. Players on the same team may reveal Secret cards to each other only if they are in the same location or pass eachother during their turn. Just like trading.
- At the end of Mythos Phase (activate Mythos special ability) the First Player may choose to move 1 monster one step either towards either black arrow or white arrow, but not in a direction the monster could not normally move. He may move a flying or aquatic monster (in this case the monster moves to a player in a street or aquatic location as normal)
- During the Final Battle each team only counts its own successes toward removing 1 Doom Token from the Ancient ones Doom Track, however all the team still cooperate to remove all the doom tokens from the doom track. - in a 5 player game (with 2 teams) each team must score 5 successes to remove one doom token, a teams successes only carries over to its own team players, and carries over from turn to turn as normal.
Anyways I hope some of you find this helpful - if you have any ideas for this kind of more competitive play please post them here.
I really like the secret card thing! It sounds like it would be awesome on the table.