Hi all, i played a few games last night and while i enjoyed the game several members of my group where unhappy with the risk/reward balance of pushing further into the facility seeing how quickly the proximity dial can be raised, and the uncertainty of what 2nd floor cards you will reveal, to the point of finding the game boring and to predictable even with the random layout each game.

Has anyone else found this or is there some mechanic we have missed that makes venturing forward acceptable outside of having a rediculous hand of item cards for rapid movement?

Some cards from the second floor cards deck have an interface option allowing you to escape the facility, so sometimes it could be fun trying. Plus, some other cards allow you to decrese the proximity dial, offering you some moments of respite.

Generally speaking, I find thematically correct that the deeper you go in the facility, the easier is having troubles in escaping the facility, and I don't bother too much if I start exiting the building as soon as I finish exploring the first floor. Nonetheless, some optional rules can be helpful if you want to go deeper. First of all, you can set the Alarm dial to -1 at the beginning of the game. This should grant you - unless you're playing a very unlucky game - to venture further in your exploration. And then you can use another optional rule, saying that you mix together first floor and second floor cards so that sooner or later you will certainly cycle all the cards in your deck.

Hope this helps!

JULIA

I love trying to get to the second floor! Even if I know that I may not get back in time (and most of the time I won't) I like taking the risk. I guess, though, it's very much based on how much you want to guarantee escape.

Depending on what items you draw can also influence how deeply you procced into the facility.

In the long run though, it does come down to your own personal playing style, but if everyone is playing safe eventually you may have to take the risks to try and get that little bit more of an advantage.

I go to the 2nd floor (or in that direction) to find secret room or to find an option to exit the facility via interface. If you are lucky - you find both (secret room and you explore it for 2 rounds) then you rush to the 2nd floor to find an interface…

It does not work all the time - sometimes you are just stucked and you are caught, but on the other hand - that's your choice of what kind of risk you are planning to undertake. Your strategy and your investigator is on the line. I like the idea.

Of course I have seen it often that people (especially in the beginning - first games for them) do not go far… they want to leave safely. But with time, it simply pushes you to see what is up there.

The only problem with the 2nd floor, it still takes forever to download all those piles of data. You have to have the right items to attempt it. If you get the Blackmail card you're free to loot the 2nd Floor to your heart's content…