A while ago I made good on my promise to myself to sort all the extensions out (including monsters) and count every card that I have (nothing was missing). A disaster game with to many players and expansions had burned me out and put me on a year long break from Arkham.

I had to refresh on the rules (hence me reading the forums here and on the BBG boards so much lately), my plan was to get to know and enjoy each expansion on its own (but still mixing them a bit for larger games with other players).

Finally I have gotten a couple of games finished so here are some observations and session reports.

Game 1:

Setup: Base game only, with Madness/Injury added for easier game.

Ancient One: Azathoth (picked since I did not want to end with a final battle and because Az leads to an easier and longer game).

Investigators (random draw from base set): Dexter Drake, Montery Jack, Michael McGlen, Amanda Sharpe

The crew had pretty good balance with Jack shopping for Elder Signs, Michael patrolling monsters (with Dexter stepping inn against phsycial immunes) and Amanda and Dexter doing the early gate running.

I did make a serious error early on by closing three gates without sealing (forgetting how hard it is to get an all gates closed vicotry). Apart from that it was a pretty classic base game of Arkham. I ended up getting the Deputy for Michael and a couple of Allies for the rest, items where pretty decent overall and everyone was well armed. I also got lucky on the fact that 3 elder signs managed to make their way into play (I followed the rule about buying something every draw).

What almost costed me the game was the "No one can help you now" enviroment (that stayed for about 5 turns) that and a sudden down hill series of gate openings for the later part of the game made it pretty tense. The Doom track advanced all the way to 13 (out of 14) before the last turn, it ended with an investigator that had been camping a gate with an explored marker finnally being able to use his Elder Sign.

Good fun and made me happy about returning to the game.

Game 2

Setup: Base game + Curse of the Dark Paroah using the Variant rules. (only CotDP location cards and outer realm cards, with a two deck mix of Mythos cards). Injury / Madness cards where in play again as well as the personal stories from Innsmouth (I caved in when I found out it was available here! although at a much higher price then if I would wait for my UK trip).

Ancient One: Azatoth (again picked since last game had been close and CotDP was supposed to up the difficulty with the variant).

Investigators (random draw from base set): Mandy Thompson, Carolyn Fern, Ashcan Pete, Joe Diamond

Theme wise, I picture this happening a year after the first bunch stopped Ax with the exhibit causing him to stir in his sleep. This was my first game with the personal stories and they did have an effect on the game (lead to an easy win actually). Joe managed to finish his PS and gain 15$ that plus the 22$ (all characters and meeting at the curiosity store) lead to alot of shopping. I never tried to finish Caralyn´s PS since I didnt like the cost involved, instead I keept her busy doing other things then sealing with clues (she had an elder sign to use early). Aschan Pete (the poor guy), failed his PS on the third turn, while actually in the dreamlands with enough clues to seal it when he came out. A card that placed 2 doom tokens on the track killed his dreams so to speak. He actually had the worst luck during the game ending the last several rounds stuck in the Asylum with a Dhol (sp) camping the exit.

Alot of exhibit items came into play (including an elder sign parchment), 2 elder signs saw use as well. The Mythos draws where rather kind, with 5 draws being on sealed location (I have the count do to Mandy´s PS). No horrible rumor caused problems, Cursed Relics came into play but was managable due to having exhibit items (and becouse Coltsfan76 had responded to somone else in an old post on how it works). Enviroments where mostly kind, with irrelevant monster buffs for the most part). A HUGE amount of tomes came into play with Carolyn having a total of 7 of them at one point.

The game ended in a victory via seals with the doom track only on 8 (out of 14). The CotDP stuff seemed pretty kind encounter wise without horrible ever happening at locations (it had other effects though, such as no retainer encounter at newspaper etc.). Tainted, Harried and Local Guide saw use and this game had a higher casulty rate then the first one with two Injury and one Madness entering play.

I really want to do a King in Yellow variant next with Hastur and the herald with 4 investigators (should be quite a challance), seeing how doing two games in a row solo with so many investigators I might opt for a 2 investigator game with less severe conditions and a diffrent expansion. A side note on using the Variant for CotDP is that removing it again from the game will only take a few min.

You're playing four investigators on one board? It's doable with two.

First game was a warmup since I was coming out of retirment. I always enjoyed the four player (as well as investigators) games the best back when I played often. With the first game being such a close call I was hoping for a more nail biting second one with the DCotP variant in play.

Using 4 investigators is pretty mentally draining though and it is taking up a chunk % of playtime to review each character when its their go. Against my own instict I have setup another 4 investigator game using the King in Yellow variant and Hastur (and herald).

The reason I want 4 investigators is oddly enough to make this one harder. With the variant in effect I will not be getting elder signs (since the KiY cards go on top of the old uniques), due to the herald and AO the terror level will be all that matters and I will be forced to use diffrent tactics. With 8 clues to seal I am assuming alot of monster bursts and most of the game involving keeping the monster population down in preparation for the doom track filling. Closing all gates is a shot, but a long shot.

The general concensus is that the final battle gets harder the more investigators you have correct? I recall winning a couple of final battles with two investigators (playing with my wife). I also fished out the final battle cards from Kingsport for use in this one so I am hoping for a very diffrent but epic feel (mostly desperation and misery).

North_Wolf said:

I can definately relate. Probably my #1 reason that AH only gets a play/day when I'm playing it, even if a game is short.

North_Wolf said:

It's not a consensus, it's the stats . Final combat win-% per # of investigators (1 on top, 8 on bottom). No idea what the deal with 7 investigators is though, other than there being the fewest 7-inv games than any others.

31%
23%
24%
16%
17%
7%
16%
8%

I cought a lucky break yesterday, the wife wanted to play (cozy lights, wine and some music) so I started a 2 player (2 investigator) game going. So I am recharging my batteries somewhat for a later solo game with 4 investigators (since I want a possible final battle rather then repeating Azatoth over and over). With a solid grip on the rules (and FAQ´s and rulings), the pace was fantastic using just one character each and we had alot of fun.

My only current problem is that the wife got tired once she feelt a little tipsy and we put the game on hold before it was finished. Without the game being over then it does seem that Azatoth is well balanced agianst two investigators.

She really wants to finish it but "not right now" (its saturday morning) and we have RL stuff to do later during the day (and evening). So basicly my Arkham Board is trapped in another dimension! I can hear the whispers.... and I am not sure how I will cope without my fix...