Hey out there,

i got a simple question:

Do you always play with all small expansions or do you sort out all Cards from those after your game?

I was wondering cause this is so much work after and before each game. And whats with Cards from the great expansions?

Since i bought all of them now i was wondering how to handle that. We (my wife an me) owned just one small and one great before, so it was never a question to us and we are now unsure what to do.

Thanks for hints, advices and answers.

Sir Alric

I play with everything for the small card decks always mixed in. I also play with all OW cards and Arkham encounter cards always mixed in. Lastly, I play with all Mythos cards always mixed in, but I discard those not corresponding to an expansion that is not in play for that particular game (the expansions that are usually always in play are MH and LatT; plus a big board expansion and eventually a small expansion).

Saves lots of time on set-up/set-away time, increases slightly the time to mix the Mythos deck, in the end I save time.

Almost like Tox here: all small cards always mixed in, and Arkham Encounters as well. I tend to separate Mythos and OWs, but I also tend to play cycles of games (currently: 24 games with AH, KH, IH, MH) so that I can keep most of the times what I need mixed in.

Sir Alric,

I play with all cards from every expansion mixed-in. As there's no place to post Variants here, you can find mine over at BGG. I've said for the past year that playing all expansions with no form of variant is suicide. I will putting that hypothesis to the test over a series of games strting mid-month. Julia has been asking, and now I have the time to do so.

Cheers,

Joe

I play with everything mixed to the best of my ability. Small cards are mixed in. Otherworld cards are mixed in. Mythos cards are mixed in, and if they are for a non-existent location, they are simply discarded and a new one drawn. I like to keep relationships and the act deck in play. Pacts and Blights seem to require a requisite Helrald though, and I don't know if it's kosher to play with more than one; I don't think it is.

I've said for the past year that playing all expansions with no form of variant is suicide.

I've not yet tried this Joe having only recently acquired all the remaining expansions so could you elaborate a bit on why you think this is so? Is there one particular expansion that makes things too tough?

Like I've said my interests keep flying around (right now I am playing some solitaire Pandemic ) but I'll at least try to check in here from time to time.

jackman,

As a point of full disclosure, I play solo with exclusively 4- Investigator games. Having that much real estate to cover, coupled with the Act Cards from Miskatonic , it doesn't bode well for the team out of the chute without something to balance the pain. In sum, it's the totality of the expansions which will bring a world of hurt upon our hapless Investigators .

Cheers,

Joe

Right. That is the way I have been playing also Joe. So perhaps I'll add a fifth investigator as I add more expansions into the mix.

jackman,

You have it exactly right...that's the solution to the real estate issue. I just really like playing with four Investigators . If you're interested in seeing the entire Variant , I posted a page over at BGG.

Cheers,

Joe

As a point of full disclosure, I play solo with exclusively 4- Investigator games. Having that much real estate to cover, coupled with the Act Cards from Miskatonic , it doesn't bode well for the team out of the chute without something to balance the pain. In sum, it's the totality of the expansions which will bring a world of hurt upon our hapless Investigators .

Professor / Joe,

Have you ever played an 'all in game' using one of the difficulty cards that come with the Black Goat expansion? I've been thinking about trying a game with one of the easier cards just to see what it was like and was wondering if those cards might make an 'all in game' more playable.

Actually, and I know I'll be lapidated for what I'm about to say, all in games are quite easier than other combos. Having everything in induces the following effects:

- higher chances of playing "speed Arkham": every turn a new gate opens, but the game is about gates being sealed and nothing else, and if you're good at the game, you're able to have a different investigator almost every round with five clues to dive into a gate. Atlach games become noobish, and generally everyhitng's smoother

- lower odds of having monster surges, so that the board is rarely clogged with monsters blocking you the way to a gate and triggering terror and other obnoxious effects

- the board reduction factor has such a great impact on the game (plus with IH and DH boards in play you have also a +1 to the gate limit) that you can play 6 as playing 4, and this means it's enough each of your characters seal ONE gate in the whole game that you win for sure; if you play 4, then it's like you're playing 2 with an augmented gate limit

- higher number of unstable locations implies lower odds of gate bursts

On the other hand, playing one exp board (or two if the second one is Kingsport) plus MH is a *nightmare*: the board reduction factor has a lower impact on the game, bursts and surges are more likely to happen, hence you risk losing some turns more to control / clean the board and you raise the odds of drawing nasty Mythos (double doomers and so on)

If I look back at my stats, I think I've lost only one game with all in out of 44 (Scenario 2 of Avi's League, and I lost it beacuase of Avi's special rules, not because of "all in" - for those who are not familiar with the Scenario, it's a Glaaki one where, immediately after the setup, you have three Servants entering play), while my win-loss ratio for 2 exp boards in is somehow lower (92% more or less) and generally (even if victories are still scored consistently) are more "strategically challenging"

As for Lee's question... Difficulty cards were created similar to those coming with the expansion for Doom: the boardgame; it's nothing I'll really worry about. If you want to make the game easier, then maybe it's better going with a Guardian (or preselecting characters)

Lee,

I've never considered using the Difficulty Level cards buy it may be something you may want to try. As to Julia's comments, she's a pro...kind of like those Korean guys who plat StarCraft at the professional level.

Cheers,

Joe

As for Lee's question... Difficulty cards were created similar to those coming with the expansion for Doom: the boardgame; it's nothing I'll really worry about. If you want to make the game easier, then maybe it's better going with a Guardian (or preselecting characters)

I haven't seen the Doom boardgame. Although I hear it's somewhat similar to Gears of War . I've been thinking about picking up a copy of the latter for a few weeks now. I was going to look into Eldritch Horror , but after reading some of the negative comments in the other forum I've gone off the idea for now.

Plus a friend of mine has been trying to persuade me to buy Relic . We will see....

Using the difficulty cards was just an idea I've had lately. I've been wanting to try an 'all in game' for a while and thought one of the easier difficulty cards might be a good experiment. Basically I'm still in the experimental phase. Trying things out, and seeing how different game mechanics interact.

I've never considered using the Difficulty Level cards buy it may be something you may want to try. As to Julia's comments, she's a pro...kind of like those Korean guys who plat StarCraft at the professional level.

I don't see any contradiction between your comments and Julia's. Players with different levels of experience are bound to have a different perspective on the game. I'm sure Julia could play an 'all in game' blind folded with one arm tied behind her back, and still win! Whereas I would probably be annihilated.

But like I said above, I'm just experimenting and trying things out for myself. I think I will try a 'big game' with the easiest difficulty card and see how it goes. I suspect I'm going to run out of clue tokens very fast though!