I am doing some research into board games, so that I can make the all important decision of what game I'm going to buy in July. Can you likers of this game, let me know why I should buy it (because it sure looks sweet).

Hello, I think that you should buy the game only if it fits your needs.

I will just mention some of the advantages and disadvantages of the game (in my opinion of course).

1)First of all it is a great game if you have a friend that likes tactics in board games in the same degree as you do. Each game demands a lot of time and a lot of thinking, so if one of the players gets easily bored he will destroy the whole experience.

2) Although each game will last more than 2-3 hours, it is only played by 2 people. This is a big disadvantage if you have a big party that gathers in a house to play board games. It is a bit weird that a game that lasts for so many hours is only designed for a maximum of 2 players.

So I will only suggest it to you if you would like to play a very cool and well designed strategy game on a table (instead of a video game) and only if you have a friend that likes these kind of games too.

Do not buy it if you usually play in groups of people, since with the same amount of money you could buy another board game that you could all enjoy.

Do not buy if you think of convincing a new gamer of starting playing board games with your (for example your girlfriend :-P or your little brother, who do not generally play board games), since it is HEAVY for beginners.

Buy it if you like games with a lot of tactic options to choose from and have a buddy with the same hobbies and enough free time to play it. I warn you it is addictive!!!

Best wishes!

Time factor will come down once you get the hang of things with regard to plans and cards. 45-60 minutes to the Spaceport Victory Possible space usually (sometimes even less), 2 hours only if the game goes to the Imperial Holdout Victory. At least this has been the case for me.

Wow (45 minutes)!

I hope we also start playing faster, since we spend 15 minutes only to set up the game. I will use your statement Dam as an argument to my friends since they spend 10 minutes each turn to find out an optimal decision

Well, I don't count setup as part of playing time, but around game 3, Scenario 1's unit setup was logged into my brain already, so it was place, place, place, no need to look at the scenario book anymore, setup doesn't take more than 5 minutes. Mostly the early game revolves around specific set goals, especially in Scen 1 with its fixed unit setup, since there is quite a while to go before the first Refresh Phase, so you know if you attack now, those units won't attack for a while. Traitors generally bolster Angron, then take Damocles and bolster Mortarion, there isn't much thought needed when deciding those moves IMO. Scen 2-6 with their more open unit setups offer more choices depending on where you placed what, but the early going is still very similar I've found.

Hey, thanks guys! I fortunately do find myself often in need of a long strategic two player game. My wife is really into board games, and we can't always play War of the Ring and Tide of Iron. I was worried, that maybe the game just wasn't as fun as it looked. It looks that it is just as fun as expected. I will therefore, expect it on my table soon!

If you're familiar with WotR, I suppose I should throw it out there that my average playing time for that is about 90 minutes, 75 minutes more in the neighborhood these days (just base game). Gives you a reference point as to my speed of play with regard to other games, so my 45-60 minutes to halfway in HH might not be in your speed range.

Actually, I imagine that after a few plays, we'll be right there with you. We play WOTR in about 90 and on a good day we've managed to fit a good 3 player Arkham Horror in in under an hour. It's all about efficiency and knowing the rules.