I am looking very forward to trying out AH. It looks like a combination of rpg, tcg, and board game. Is this how it feels to play it?

I understand the players work together to "defeat the board"- what makes this difficult? What prevents the smartest guy in the room from just telling everyone else what they should do to increase the chances we all "win together"?

What happens in a typical game? How often does "the board" win?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

- Chaoslizard

To answer your question: the board cheats.

It's true that you can direct players to increase chances of a win but there is a randomness that can throw you for a loop.

Regarding how often the board wins: 37.5% of the time. This is drawn from Tibs stats reports . This is an overall figure. across all expansions, Ancient Ones, etc. If you are playing with just the base game, then once you get used to what you are doing you should lose a lot less than that.

As far as one player taking control: each person still controls their own investigator(s). So, yes, someone could be pushy and tell you what to do, but you don't have to do what they say. I'd say people who truly work together will win more often. I personally don't have this problem since over 95% of my games are played solo (which is one of the most wonderful things about this game: works well solo or with others).

It's a bit like solitaire: in theory you're playing the same game with the same strategies each time, but the way the cards are shuffled, (especially mythos cards) can make the game easy or unwinnable.

And I haaaate those pushy players. They don't get an invite back to play again.

If you're anything like me, you'll lose the first couple of games until you figure out some good strategies. I am still at the point where if I add Innsmouth, I'm probably going to lose. The expansions add a great deal of difference in difficulty, and so do different ancient ones.

Yep, the 37.5% loss rate is indeed across all expansions, all AOs, all investigators, and all levels of submitter experience.

But there actually is a figure for loss percent for no expansions: 27%. This probably isn't weighted significantly towards expansion AOs, but it likely is weighted towards players with less experience.

Thank you for the comments. My plan is to get the game and try it a few times solo before I unleash it on some friends. Thanks again!