I am a huge fan of Arkham Horror. I have wasted many hours of my life trying to keep the courage from having to face Hastur and Yog-Sothoth. I have not played Mansions of Madness, yet, but I am hearing that it can get predictable. I am sure an expansion or two might solve this. I am not trying to beat this new game down at all. I haven't played it, I don't know how it is. Looking through the FFG page on it, I see reused artwork from Arkham Horror and I even see a section title MADNESS AND HORROR or something of that nature. (Mansions of)MADNESS and (Arkham) HORROR. I just hope FFG doesn't waste efforts into kicking out a medicore game thinking it'll sell like crazy because it has the ARKHAM HORROR stamp on it. I want this game to be good. Just FFG, please don't rush this. Take your time.

I wouldn't worry much.

I don't mind that there is reused artwork. Having new artwork for every new game, especially if the game features similar thematic elements to previous games in the genre, makes the game needlessly expensive.

Also, from its description, it looks like the game plays very differently from any previous games. It's a card and dice game, which already makes it radically different from Arkham Horror and Mansions of Madness. It looks like a "pick up and play" mythos-themed game that is sort of like "Arkham Horror Lite." Think of it as this: Elder Sign is to Settlers of Catan: The Card Game as Arkham Horror is to Settlers of Catan.

I think you worry needlessly.

FFG are the undisputed kings of reusing artwork, so you better just get used to that.

Doc Belmont said:

Ick, I hope that analogy isn't true.

Doc Belmont said:

This.

I never understood the complaints about reused artwork. Really good artwork exists for it so why not make the most of it rather than on a single card in arkham horror or call of cthulhu lcg?

To each their own I guess. I persoanlly like to see some art used in different manners and like that the recycle keeps the initial cost lower than it would be otherwise.

That said, I too am cautiously optimistic about the game.

Re-cycled art or not, I still believe that this will be a great game. I can not wait!

bluecrane said:

That's the spirit!

I'm worried because it's a dice game. Dice? Osh...

Robert Blake said:

Hey, craps is a dice game and it's revolutionized the way I lose money!

I'm happy with some degree of recycled artwork as it gives continuity to the theme.

Robert Blake said:

Wha? Arkham Horror is in a large respect a "dice game."

Robert Blake said:

Try 'A game of thrones' instead

I would hardly call it rushed. I've read mentions of an Arkham dice game for about a year. As a matter of fact the "mystery game" at last year's Arkham Nights was allegedly a dice game (turned out to be Mansions of Madness).

Cthulhu and FFG have treated each other pretty well. Arkham is a classic. Mansions is fun. Call of Cthulhu the card game is great and underappreciated. FFG hasn't missed yet on the Lovecraftian theme. I don't expect they missed this time, either.

As far as reused artwork goes, FFG has produced the best Lovecraftian artwork since Chaosium. I don't mind that they reuse some of it. You'll see most of the newer stuff in the LCG, About 20 new pieces of art a month.

Trump said:

ugh!! this...

C'mon, guys. Stop the hatin' on dice. They have feelings too, you know.

I happen to love dice! I love games with dice! Bring on the dice!

<stands>

Hello, my name is magehammer, and I am a dice addict.

Streven said:

Yay! this...

Picked it up at Gencon and we played it twice before the end of the weekend. That's saying something with all the other games I picked up. It's a great game and the description "Arkham Horror Lite" is a good one...in both its ability to describe the nature of the game and in the game play itself. Highly recommended!

As someone who played the Call of Cthulhu LCG before getting a chance with Arkham Horror, I for one was thrilled with the re-used art assets. For me it added to the sense that all of these adventures were taking place in the same world and characters were spilling from one game into another. Really adds to my enjoyment of both products.

What ragnarhedin said. FFG's Lovecraftian products share the same world and characters, so the art doesn't matter when it's actually good. The LCG got a lot of recycled Arkham Horror art, but lately we've seen lots of new and great character art. Maybe Arkham Horror will be the one getting the hand-me-downs now

Just thought I'd register and weigh in on this discussion. No, I'm not affiliated with FFG

I played a demo game of Elder Sign yesterday at PAX, and it was a helluva lot of fun. I would agree to a point that it is 'Arkham Horror light' - you play an investigator with specific advantages and disadvantages, it has as it has a similar sense of impending doom, and it shares the same mythos and locations.

However, it plays much faster, and requires less rulebook diving for new players. Also, I don't think it suffers for being lighter . The mechanics are simple, but not simplistic. They allow for some good strategy and variation, without needing 30 pages of rulebook.

Three of us played and were able to learn the rules on the fly. We had a blast, and I would have bought it on the spot, had it been available. As much as I love Arkham Horror (I've even owned the original since '88), I would be more likely to play Elder Sign. It takes less time, and my 8 y.o. would be able to pick up the rules and strategy pretty quickly. Dare I say, it's a family Cthulhu game?

In short, don't knock it 'til you've tried it. If dice games aren't your thing, they aren't your thing. I wouldn't try to change anyone's mind on that. However, if you love all things Cthulhu, you should at least play a game at your FLGS.

Cheers,

Mark

MarkW said:

I don't think it being a dice game is actually the problem. If anything it's the opposite. ES isn't a dice game, simply a game that uses a lot of dice. Mechanically, it's a different sort of game.

I think the most damning criticism I've seen thus far is surprising lack of strategy involved and very little player choices to make during the game. Everything hinges on the dice, and either you can make the dice work or you can't.

I'm still interested (though I may have to buy to try it), but reviews have been very mixed. The details are consistent, just opinions differ, so it all depends on what sort of gamer you are. Which is a positive really; the game is probably sound, it's just not for everyone (but neither is AH). I'll take that over a flawed game any day.