To clarify, I'm in college and don't have a lot of time or opportunities to get my friends all together due to our schedules, but I have managed to get them together for Eldritch horror at least 7 times. I do feel like I should have at least one board game that has lots of depth though.

So I have some questions

1. If I buy just the base game will I feel like there's anything lacking? I know that many people consider the 3rd edition to be the definitive one but what I mean is, If I don't own any of the expansions yet know about any added mechanics is there any reason to rush for the expansions?
2. Obviously, getting people together takes time and planning but how difficult has it been in your experience to "sell" the game to your group? My group is myself, a sophomore and my friends who are all seniors. Now we all like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars etc. So I'm not worried about the theme so much as getting everyone to sit down. Eldritch Horror lasts about 3 hours for us but has it been a hard sell in your opinion to get people to sit down for 4-5 hours?
3. FInally how layered or in depth does the game feel to you? Is there room for strategies to develop overtime or has everything been figured out so to speak?

Thanks

If I buy just the base game will I feel like there's anything lacking? I know that many people consider the 3rd edition to be the definitive one but what I mean is, If I don't own any of the expansions yet know about any added mechanics is there any reason to rush for the expansions?

Probably not. The first expansion (Shattered Empire) has a good set of new SCs and additional figs for 7-8 players, if those are things you're looking for. Otherwise, the content in the base game alone is pretty massive.

Eldritch Horror lasts about 3 hours for us but has it been a hard sell in your opinion to get people to sit down for 4-5 hours?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ha ha ha ha ha, ha.

4-5 hours might be what it says on the box, but that's what we in the real world like to call "blind optimism." Maybe if everyone involved knew the rules backwards and forwards and played with peak efficiency, you'd get done in that time frame.

The last time I played TI3, it took 13 hours, including time for a quick pizza break. Granted that was an 8 player game, but still, we knew what we were doing. MOST games, we play for as long as we can manage and then call it on points when we're worn out.

That being said, you'd be hard pressed to find a more epic 4X experience in board game form.

FInally how layered or in depth does the game feel to you? Is there room for strategies to develop overtime or has everything been figured out so to speak?

The game is incredibly deep, and has enough different stuff going on that there's always room for new strategies to be developed.

The base game's SC set can be somewhat predictable, and for that reason many people prefer the expansion set I mentioned above, but you should be able to get a few games in with the original set before you get tired of them.

If I buy just the base game will I feel like there's anything lacking? I know that many people consider the 3rd edition to be the definitive one but what I mean is, If I don't own any of the expansions yet know about any added mechanics is there any reason to rush for the expansions?

Probably not. The first expansion (Shattered Empire) has a good set of new SCs and additional figs for 7-8 players, if those are things you're looking for. Otherwise, the content in the base game alone is pretty massive.

Eldritch Horror lasts about 3 hours for us but has it been a hard sell in your opinion to get people to sit down for 4-5 hours?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ha ha ha ha ha, ha.

4-5 hours might be what it says on the box, but that's what we in the real world like to call "blind optimism." Maybe if everyone involved knew the rules backwards and forwards and played with peak efficiency, you'd get done in that time frame.

The last time I played TI3, it took 13 hours, including time for a quick pizza break. Granted that was an 8 player game, but still, we knew what we were doing. MOST games, we play for as long as we can manage and then call it on points when we're worn out.

That being said, you'd be hard pressed to find a more epic 4X experience in board game form.

FInally how layered or in depth does the game feel to you? Is there room for strategies to develop overtime or has everything been figured out so to speak?

The game is incredibly deep, and has enough different stuff going on that there's always room for new strategies to be developed.

The base game's SC set can be somewhat predictable, and for that reason many people prefer the expansion set I mentioned above, but you should be able to get a few games in with the original set before you get tired of them.

That's good to know. I mean it is massive so the time makes sense. Could you explain how to use the quote system for specific parts? I still can't figure it out

To elaborate on the time commitment, yes, the game takes a comically long time to play, especially for new players, but the turn structure and flow of the game means the time goes by very quickly. I've regularly introduced new players to the game and they don't even notice the time passing until it hits the 5-6 hour mark. It's not at all like some long games where you take your turn and then go watch an episode of TV while waiting for it to be your turn again.

As for quoting in posts, I copy/past multiple copies of the full quote and edit each down to what I need, you can also just hit the quote button again.

To elaborate on the time commitment, yes, the game takes a comically long time to play, especially for new players, but the turn structure and flow of the game means the time goes by very quickly. I've regularly introduced new players to the game and they don't even notice the time passing until it hits the 5-6 hour mark. It's not at all like some long games where you take your turn and then go watch an episode of TV while waiting for it to be your turn again. *snip*

This is true. You actually WANT to be paying active attention to what the other players do on their turns since every single action could potentially unfurl into a negative scenario for you. And if you miss the start of it you'll most likely never see it coming until it's too late to do anything about it. Plus you don't need to spend time on recapping the other players actions if you follow along. Also, you can use the time of other players turns to plan your own next turn, thus reducing total play time a bit. Many of the Strategy Cards in the game(such as Trade and Assembly for example) does require everyone to be present at the table anyway.

Could you explain how to use the quote system for specific parts? I still can't figure it out

Up in the top left of the reply panel is a little button that looks like a light switch. If you click that button, it will toggle between the "visual" editing mode that's used by default and a "raw text" mode that lets you see all the control codes. I use the raw text mode to break up a quote and make sure everything it formatted correctly, because I find the visual mode to be a pain in the neck.

It takes a lot of time to play TI3 but there are quite a few things you can do with variants (even the official) ones to speed things up, namely playing without them. That said any groups 1st game is going to be stupidly long but a dedicated group that plays the game a few times will be able to make dramatic improvements in the time frame.

That said, as an veteran player that has played with tables full of veteran players, a typical game still takes 6 hours on average. I think if you can get it under 6 hours, that's considered a "fast game". With game exceeding 6 players though the impact is quite dramatic... you catapult from 6 hours average to 8-9 hours average just from adding that one player. Not entirely sure why that is, but it just seems to happen.

Variant wise though you want to avoid anything that creates a "side road" mechanically. For example using the more complex political system of the 3rd expansion, Distant Suns adds a lot of time, playing to more points (14) will effectively double the amount of time it takes to play. Certain strategy cards too tend to bog the game down, bureaucracy in particular tends to be quite slow even though its a favored card in particular over the Imperial I strategy card.

Also 4 player games take as long as 6 player games, its actually faster to play 5 players even though the game is uneven map wise. 3 players results in a very different dynamic so while faster makes for a significantly reduced experience. Typically 6 is optimal in terms of experience.

I usually recommend setting aside 6 hours for your first game and playing until 6 points. It may not seem like much but you will burn 6 hours easy. Accelerated 1st turns while not entirely balanced is a good way to speed up the game as well.

In as a whole though the target number your going for is trying to get the game down to 6 hours... any better than that and you are doing exceptionally well.