To give perspective, I am relatively new to card games. My first experience with card games was LoTR LCG, which has now taken over as my favorite game of all-time, but it certainly didn't start off that way. Previously, I usually played miniature wargames or fantasy games, so this type of game was a little different for me. In fact, I originally did all the research to purchase Arkham Horror to play as a family game to get my wife more involved. However, when I went into my LGS, the owner talked to me about the difficulty my wife would probably have, since she does not play complex games. He recommended Elder Sign. With a little hesitation, due to my initial interest in Arkham Horror, I thought about it and pulled the trigger.

With that said, I can't believe how quickly it became a household favorite for myself and my youngest son (13). I played this game solo the first three games to get acqainted with the rules. I didn't do all that well, but I had a strong feeling it was going to get much better fast. My son couldn't stand sitting on the sidelines any longer once he saw it set up, so he insisted he get in on the following game. Long story short, I bought this game on a Friday night, and played it nine times over the weekend. I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it is for me. To play any game nine times over a weekend is unheard of around here. Not to mention, when we took breaks from group games, someone was usually playing it solo in between. It had that much draw to it! My wife was still a little overwhelmed, but she was a good sport, and my son actually rage-quit, because she accomplished every single task (with no prior experience) and he wasn't doing well at all that game…LOL.

For those people that are concerned that this is a dice game, do not worry. It is NOT just a straight-up luck game. There are plenty of dice manipulation investigators, items, and effects that allow for much more strategy than simply just rolling the dice and hoping for the best. I am shocked and pleasantly surprised about how much we enjoyed this game! Thanks FFG!

Regards,

Brian

Yay, another new player has found the magic! Glad to hear you like the game so much, I had a somewhat similar experience; me and my friends have played this game to death since I got it last summer. If you start finding it getting repetative after playing a buncha times but have no desire to stop, in addition to the official expansion being released by FFG (soon, I hope!) there is a BUTTLOAD of fan-created content that can change things up. You can find the forum where fans gather to make stuff here http://boardgamegeek.com/forum/1032589/elder-sign/variants and all of the files for fan stuff is here : http://boardgamegeek.com/files/thing/100423

I particularly reccomend anything made by the good xris, the guy is some kind of robot. But everyone's got their own unique little tweaks on the game *myself included, I'm Captain Ginyu on that forum* and I think it's worth shopping around to find stuff that's your style. Of course, you may not find that the game needs any changing.

Welcome to the horror!