I've heard the focus tokens are very popular, and that people can't think of playing without them.
But I just want to know, if I were to get... one, or maby two expansions, and all I want is more variety and maby not so excited to get an expanded board (game is already eating massive amounts of table space and I can't picture more space used), what would I get?

I'd prefer something that make the overall game easier, or - well - more choises. Right now the game is way too hard (I only have the original), I am aware of the difficulty modifying, but I don't really want to remove a lot of cards as it make the same sort of events occur over many games. I really do want more variety overall. What things are people that has played the game a lot's first thing they get tired off in the game? In terms of variety that is... I have only played about 6 games, and lost every single one.
It's just going to be very hard for me to sell this game to my gaming group as the game feels super unfair. We love hard stuff, but being chain delayed is simply just boring. As it feels like you have no choise at all to do anything at way too many times. We've been chain delayed so many times, only to have severe events occuring that simply make you have no choise at all (defeat this thing or lose).

So generally, I just want the most smooth sollution, without removing cards, that make you have a more easy experience with more choises (most of all).
I prefer having it easier from the get go, to make people fall in love with the game, then make it crazy hard later on as you get more experience with the game.

So to sum it all up, I am looking to make the experience a lot more consistent.

Quick rules Q, if anyone know (so I can skip bothering the devs with mails):
1A) Let's say I am the character that cannot be delayed unless he chose to. And an event happends that says "chose an investigator to become delayed", may I pick myself, simply nullifying this effect?
1B) Let's go back to question 1A, but this time I am delayed as this event occurs. Can I still pick myself (even if I am already delayed)?

2) When fighting the Ghost, after resolving the will test, do you even get to do a fight test? (as it has "-" for modifier and damage) The same question can be asked about the monster "colour out of space" that has "-" for fight modifier and damage. But an effect that tells you to roll a die and defeat the monster on a 5 or 6. So the only way to defeat it is by succeeding that die roll?

3) Whenever you do a test, does it only count as failed if you roll NO successes? So even if you take sanity or health damage, but roll at least one success, it's concidered a success for rules purposes?

I don't feel sure enough on it to say something about what expansion to get.

As a fast fix you can use the rules for Focus with some other marker for it. The rules you can look up in the rules section of the appropriate expansion.

For the questions:

1. A) Yes, but phrasing is important. So sometimes you still have to get delayed to get the good stuff/avoid the bad stuff.
B) Am less sure there but would lean towards no.

2) If any combat test only has - there is no fight. Usually the text under explains what to do. With ghost you only get the horror test.

3) Yes. A failed test is a roll of no successes all other are successful rolls. But there are instances where the good stuff only happens when you roll a certain number of success but the roll is still a successful roll.

@StLemon:
I thought of exactly that! I figured, adding focus tokens to the base game would seem like a great idea. I don't think anyone would concider it cheating...? Maby, the focus tokens are taken into concideration at the point of their introduction as a necessary tool to conquer the new content... would it perhaps break balance if introduced to the base game or anything?

It makes the game easier, I think few (if any) would consider it cheating.

It will not break the game in any way (according to me).

It also gives people something to do with their action when they are lost in the wilderness or have monsters on their space and so on.

I would get the small expansions.

Forsaken Lore = Variety

Strange Remnants = Focus

Signs of Carcosa = Powerful Investigators

If you really don't want to get the large expansions (boards are only used sometimes but they have the best bang for your buck in most cases IMO.

Forsaken Lore: like many say, it's really essential if you want to play EH more than a dozen times. More Mysteries, more cards.

Strange Remnants: Focus (although you could use subs), more cards

Signs of Carcosa: IMPAIRMENT tokens.

@Krysmo:
I am all for variety. But it's not the most important. I am actually rather fine drawing the same stuff over and over... BUT! I want it to be consistent, and not TOO UNFAIR!

Being chain delayed/detained, and forced to put curses on players, is no fun. Nobody think it's fun, or hard "the correct way". There is a huge difference between difficulty and unfair difficulty. I want to actually be able to play the game, up to the point where I lose. Having a curse effectively deletes the players entire existence for well up to 3+ turns most the time.
Having delays occur way too often so far aswell... OR, just standing around on the same space (with monsters) waiting for the next turn to be able to fight them again... pure boredom.
I want to mitiage this as much as possible.
And I wonder if there are any expansions in particular that beef out the event decks with more interesting stuff that is just not... as we put it, "pure cancer".

I think you'll find as you get more experience (6 games isn't that much yet right) that it will seem less "unfair." There are ways to mitigate those things. You'll get a better understanding of the rules and different strategies you can use to deal with the bad things that happen. You're not going to find an expansion that will pad out your decks with stuff that's "less unfair" by your definition. In fact, some add pretty nasty new Banes and things like Impairment tokens, and they aren't things you can choose not to play with once you've got them.

@Raj1984:
Perhaps we are playing with "wrong" number of players. 3 seem really hard. 2 seem a bit too easy and I've not tried with more than 3. But seeing as 4 spawn equal amounts of monsters and clues it feels like it's more advantageous for the group.

I don't know, it's just that weird feeling that everything that happends is automatic and you are just a passenger watching it unfold. That constant feeling in your guts of stress and panic, the anguish.
My group really love challenge tho, enjoying dark and pessimistic things like Dark Souls, and rogue like adventures. However, I simply find events that are generally bad, with a choise, and some good. A perfect example is "chose a monster to discard, then lose as much health as it's thoughness". It's good combined with bad, and you are forced with a choise, but still some choise involved.

If you don't enjoy being driven insane, horribly mutilated or imprisoned by cultists, Eldritch Horror may not be the game for you.

Yeah, I would not recommend 3 players. Makes for a hard game, from what I can tell.

--

I guess it depends on what you expect and/or are willing to invest talking about
time, for example. My group has played 17 games so far, we have only won 3 out of
those games, but we had fun playing the game and people still keep asking for it.

With more games under the belt, more experience, our play style has definitely
changed. The games we played with our more "seasoned" players were...
very focused, pretty strategic and I think we played much more efficiently
than before.

In terms of "feeling to just be forced to do stuff":
This is a game where your current objective will shift,
if you just try your hardest to get the mysteries solved
as fast as possible and ignore everything else,
you will lose.

It's a delicate balance and sometimes you have to make
difficult choices on the fly.

Basically, you adjust to the situation which the game
(and the players to a certain extend) keeps changing for you.

I haven't yet talked to the other players about this,
but most of the time when I start playing this game,
my objective is to see how far I can go and to have fun,
not to win the game - because I don't expect that to happen.

---

Small expansions:

- Forsaken Lore:

Yes, you get a new Ancient One and lots of cards for the decks
from the base game and I really like this expansion, but...
if you only add this expansion, it will ramp up the difficulty.

- Strange Remnants:

This does give you a little bit more of everything, the Mystic Ruins Deck,
which is either used with the Ancient One in this expansion or the
corresponding prelude, Unique Assets, Adventures, Focus and 4 Overview cards.

- Signs of Carcosa:

Again, a little bit more of everything, a new Ancient One,
Unique Assets and Impairment Tokens.
These are basically the opposite of Improvement Tokens,
as they lower your stats.

Many people seem to think they are too unfair and
while I agree that there are a few cards that seem
very, very bad - should you encounter them -
I'd say they are part of the game experience.

Personally, I'm really fond of Strange Remnants. I find it it to be the most fun. I'm not going to cite tokens or numbers or anything like that, I just really enjoy it and the Mystic Ruins deck.