My play group usually does a 3 Gnome disaster team, and we have not have the Kraken show up once to terrorize the sub. I kinda wanted to try tackling the Kraken at least in one game...otherwise the Aqualung just becomes the "Good Luck Suckers!" abandon sub token.....

You could try mixing it in the deck from the start.

Either randomly with all the others or, as I would suggest, mix the cards then cut the deck in half and mix it with one of the piles. Then put the pile with the kraken at the bottom

I typically play with 4 or 5 people and the Kraken has come up, in a way that mattered to the game, about 50% of the time so far.

In our 2 or 3 player games, it never comes up. In our couple of 5 player games, it has come up once. It was killed by the next player after it appeared. (He had the Aqualung, was in a room with an external hatch, surrounded by fire, and was the next player to act after the Update phase that the Kraken appeared in.)

Naturally, we mocked the Kraken that game and then died with about 5 minutes to go from lack of oxygen due to fires.

Great game.

I've never had it come up and be an issue. In small games it tends not to come up, when I've tried the game with lots of players it has either still not come up, or come up late enough that the +15 minute delay takes it past the rescue point.

I've thought about including it in the initial shuffle of the deck, but the risk would be that it comes up very early and eats the crew before anyone has a chance to find an aqualung. I like the sound of placing it on the top of second deck, I'll have to try that out. It does seem a shame that it doesn't come up very frequently.

In a 3 player game the chances of Kraken card coming up are about 20%... but as it is quite late in the game (about 15-10 minutes remaining), even if it does, it mostly does not have an in-game impact.

With coming too early if included in the first I stongly agree with Ring_of_Gyges. What could help would be spliting the deck in two at the first place, shuffling Kraken in one half and than placing the other half on top of that.

He's only come up in the five player game we played. In the 3 player games we haven't seen him, but in retrospect I think there would have been too many timed events that could be happening at a time if it was put into the starting deck. You are spread pretty thin the way it is. Once the game starts getting stale maybe it would be fun to put it in sooner.

rob

I've only played one game.

We would have had it come up, but the card was drawn for a faint check.

With a two-player, four gnome game, we've had it come up 50% of our games. Of course, once it was due to a faint check and once it was at the star on minute 1, so we haven't had much to worry about. (15 minutes after minute 1, we were off the boat.)

6 player and 8 player game - Kraken arrived both times.. both times a gnome searched him out and killed the Kraken... only to find the sub sunk (by other disasters) before the victorious gnome could return...

--JP

JJP said:

In that case, he should have just escaped! (if applicable at the time!)

sub was alive when he left and killed the Kraken...

only enough air for 1 action - had to return to the newly non-existent sub when it got to be his turn again..

RIP

--JP

There is no such thing as too much excitement. You need a little dangerous in your (gnomish) lives . In our group, the Kraken always goes in the first time around. Now, get that harpoon gun and scuba gear and keep it close and pray to the old Gnomish gods that you all get rescued before you have to use them .