...the number of gates open to awaken the Ancient One is increased by one in addition to the change to that number implied by the "count the number of players as one less for each expansion board beyond the first" rule, right?

i.e, in a 4 player game with all boards (Arkham+Dunwich+Kingsport+Innsmouth), the number of gates that must be open at the same time to awaken the AO would be 9... right? (the usual number is 7, but we're playing with 2 expansion boards beyond the first so we count as 2 less players and the maximum number of open portals in a 2 player game is 8.... plus 1 additional open portal because among them are Dunwich and Innsmouth makes 9).

Sorry if the question sounds kinda obvious, but there was some confusion around this the last time we played, so I thought I'd just ask if my assumption was correct or not.

Thanks!

in a 3 to 4 player game the number is 7. As I understand for each expansion board beyond the first you treat calculations as having one less player, so checking the chart in a 4 player game with all the expansion boards you would treat that as a 2 player game and the number would be 8. I don't think that the number could go up to 9 (barring a game effect that messes with the gate numbers) since it is not listed on the chart in the back of the rules and I don't think you could have a 0 player game.

Veet said:

I completely disagree. The Innsmouth rulebook says says in "Combining Multiple Expansions" on page 6, "Finally, if specifically using both Dunwich and Innsmouth together, increase the number of gates that must be open at the same time to awaken the Ancient One by one."

What is on the chart is not relevant for that rule; the chart, modified for number of players, says eight and increasing that by one gives you nine. So yes, I think you're correct, Weyoun.

Weyoun said:

The usual number is 7, and Dunwich is the FIRST expansion board, Innsmouth is the only expansion board BEYOND THE FIRST. Remember, Arkham is not an expansion board. So you play as one less investigator, not two. So the number for three investigators is still 7. Then, because it is Dunwich and Innsmouth specifically, you add another gate to that number which makes it 8.

Solan is correct it does say that, I have never noticed that before. Hmmm.

Weyoun said:

Lol. Everybody above has posted truth but not in its entirety.

When playing a 4 player game with AH+DH+KH+IH, you count everything as if you had 2 players (number of players -1 for each board beyond the first; 3 additional boards, but only 2 beyond the first additional), so 8 gates. Then add 1 additional open gate for the DH+IH rule for a total of 9 gates.

Veet said:

It is possible to have a 0 player game, but the rules say that if, for the purposes of counting, the player total comes to 0, it is strongly recommended to add more players or investigators.

Great then... thanks for your answers!

No, the rules actually say "to a minimum of 1." Using 1, 2, or 3 investigators while using all three expansion boards will produce the same monster/outskirts/gate limits, since in all cases you're counting the game as using 1 investigator. Of course, playing with any fewer than 3 in this case is just putting you at an unnecessary disadvantage.