Eldainorn, rant on man, I feel the same frustration. Even though I'm in the US, I also saw myself paying more for less. But I didn't even realize that the card count has also been lowered. Wow, what the actual ****!? I can deal with crappier boxes, or clambshell AP to avoid even further price hikes, but damn, getting actual less content while also paying for more is a ****ed up thing to do FFG.

I don't bother with FFG games anymore, except for LotR LCG, once I started to see prices go up at that time. I was already invested in that game so I kept up with it, but only because I liked the designers, Matt and Caleb, and the direction they were taking the game. I wanted to support them. So, naturally when Matt was the designer for AH:LCG, I dove in because I wanted to see what he, along with Nate French, had been cooking, breaking my stance to do only LotR LCG and no other FFG games. So, if Matt of Caleb would to venture out to do their own thing, I would follow them and leave FFG behind. I have no allegiance to FFG.

6 hours ago, soullos said:

Even though I'm in the US, I also saw myself paying more for less. But I didn't even realize that the card count has also been lowered. Wow, what the actual ****!? I can deal with crappier boxes, or clambshell AP to avoid even further price hikes, but damn, getting actual less content while also paying for more is a ****ed up thing to do FFG.

It's the same with gas, butter, bottled beer and really everything. How is it somehow immoral for FFG to raise prices or offer less for the same price when everyone else can (and has to) do it? Also this is a game, not bread or water or shoes or something you absolutely need. It is also not some game that people have played for years with all their friends, having invested lots and lots of time and money. You are not forced to buy this game, so I don't get the outrage. Feeling dissatisfied or sad or annoyed is normal, but acting as if someone does something bad or unethical by making you an offer you do not like seems immature at best.

And somehow I can understand why people who found a good use for the old boxes feel like they've lost something (although I doubt most of them would buy an empty "old style" box, if it were sold separately for $5.99). But the number of cards? If you just want more cards for less money, buy poker decks. 56 cards for under a dollar, unbeatable.

If you like the game, you are not paying for printed little rectangles of stiff paper, you are paying for the fun you are having. And that is not directly equivalent to the number of cards you play with, just like longer songs or movies are not necessarily better songs or movies. You don't rate books by page count or computer games by disk space. As long as the game is fun and does not feel like there are cards missing, the actual amount of cards you get is sufficient.

14 hours ago, soullos said:

Even though I'm in the US, I also saw myself paying more for less... once I started to see prices go up ...

So, given that MSRP hasn't increased in a decade's time, what you're really complaining about is that you can't get the product for less than retail anymore.

If you're getting a backrub, and that backrub stops, you can't claim that's assault & battery. Nobody's done anything to you. Removal of a discount is not a price hike.

7 hours ago, Samea said:

If you just want more cards for less money, buy poker decks. 56 cards for under a dollar, unbeatable.

lol.

@Grimwalker In Europe, the retail price (in physical stores) actually increased for the English version (the distributor is based in the UK and converts twice - $ to £ to €). But it stayed the same for a long time, and I'm blaming the distributor for this, not FFG.

@soullos Are you seriously complaining about deluxe boxes going from 165 cards to 156 cards?

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet or not. I do not mind the new thinner boxes but I found the one major issue with them already. When i opened mine the rules sheet was torn and bent from the flap that closed on it. The box was in fine shape with no sign of damage so i would have had no idea it was damaged until i got home. I would suggest a simple compromise to FFG use the thinner material but use the old design of a slip on top. That way if someone wants to use it they can reinforce it and if not it still takes up almost the same space. Plus with a slip on top there is extremely little chance the components will get damaged.

31 minutes ago, Khudzlin said:

@Grimwalker In Europe, the retail price (in physical stores) actually increased for the English version (the distributor is based in the UK and converts twice - $ to £ to €). But it stayed the same for a long time, and I'm blaming the distributor for this, not FFG.

@soullos Are you seriously complaining about deluxe boxes going from 165 cards to 156 cards?

Exchange rates vary over time. I make no predictions or assertions about whether prices in Europe might go up or down, only the baseline of USD price.

And yes, he is complaining about getting 9 fewer cards.

And sorry @swarsmike , the ship has sailed as far as packaging goes. To stay under the $30 price point they have decided to make the packaging as cheap as possible, and even at that they're reducing the card count inside. Any enhancement to packaging will have to come at the expense of either a higher price point or fewer contents.

Hmmmm ........ I hadn't realised the card count had diminished too......... Sad

2 hours ago, swarsmike said:

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet or not. I do not mind the new thinner boxes but I found the one major issue with them already. When i opened mine the rules sheet was torn and bent from the flap that closed on it. The box was in fine shape with no sign of damage so i would have had no idea it was damaged until i got home. I would suggest a simple compromise to FFG use the thinner material but use the old design of a slip on top. That way if someone wants to use it they can reinforce it and if not it still takes up almost the same space. Plus with a slip on top there is extremely little chance the components will get damaged.

Contact FFG customer support. They are very good about replacing damaged components.

Looking at the card count to price point. I played Magic when it was launched in 1993. Actually I was a little late. But 15 card boosters were 2.50. Now they are 3.99. 15 cards. Dunwich is 156 that's like 10 boosters. Seems like a value to me.

4 hours ago, swarsmike said:

I would suggest a simple compromise to FFG use the thinner material but use the old design of a slip on top.

But I guess even the the old design was a significant cost factor. I imagine the printer produces the booklets, the cards and the boxes separately, perhaps on different days or in different locations. And only some time after that the components are put together.

The new tuck-in boxes are collapsed when they fall out of the machine and have to be assembled. That saves a lot of space. The old design does not only take more production steps (as the printed cover is wrapped and glued around the already assemblec cardboard body), but the empty boxes take up a lot more room. Until the cards and booklets are put in and everything is wrapped in plastic, you are essentially storing and transporting lots and lots of air with a bit of awkwardly shaped cardboard around it.

Love the game. Was also sad with the flim box . I can understand that printing cost must have gone up from 2007 for surely 100 % . But I am sort of person that would like to pay more for better quality, cause boxes are very important too me. Of course i would not have nothing at mind , that you can buy Deluxe expansion with all 6 part of cycle together in one box.

+1 for better boxes in the future, the one for Dunwich is redicilous

Eh. My box was likely going into the recycling regardless, so if a better box would add anything to the price, I'm against it.

Any increase in price puts downward pressure on sales. In order to hold the line at $30, they can either cut packaging or contents. Wouldn't we rather that the packaging give up as much ground as possible rather than have a nice box with less in it?

The mind boggles.

I feel its also important to point out, with all the talk of price raising, would you really buy a deluxe expansion if it cost $50, if it had that slightly better box? You say it couldn't raise the price that much but it could be even more for 1 simple reason, if FFG/Asmodee (the company) is shipping units from China, like you do, each container costs a set amount for simplicity sake lets say 150k so in order to ship 150k copies of the "old box" it takes 10 containers so about 1.5 mil but to decrease the size of the box by a single cubic inch lets them ship the same order in only 6 containers that is a "savings" of 600k dollars, or approximately 40% now those numbers are just guesses because I do not work for FFG/Asmodee but in the shipment and storage world (warhouses) Size and weight add cost, never mind the fact that if your box is a little smaller you are able to ship more product. And the above box doesnt even take into account the waiting for a ship to have space for the 10 shipping containers you would need with the larger box size. In the world of board/card games there is huge cost behind the scenes, so ask your self would you be willing to pay 10 dollars more for the nice box? or possibly more as shipping and warehouse costs have gone up significantly in the past 10 yrs.