The very first moment I saw this game I thought: "it has to be mine". So I saved every peny I could and had it one day before my birthday. An auto-present you might say

COMPONENTS


As you can see for the games I own there are several games I can say have top notch components (Any FFG game, Shazzamm, Dungeon Twister, Orc Wars, etc.) but let me tell you I have never seen such Marvelous components before in any other game.

The cards seem to be made of plastic and they are so beautifully laminated that the pictures grab your attention everytime no matter how many other times you have already seen them. This is the first game I own from FF but I have to say the idea of using pictures is really GREAT. There is nothing more thematic than reality and they have accomplish what I couldn't find before in any other boardgame: 'To grab my attention without the need of too much imagination'. There are details everywhere and I can't get tired of looking at the art (with the only exception being the Werewold mask).

The board is beautifully drawn and eventhough I understand why others complain about it being monocrome, I have to say it goes very well with the mood of the game. And the size... it is more than welcome. I do not play much AH because of the many tables the boards need.

The miniatures are very well crafted and detailed.

The other elements are made with the same care and quality so I will not go round and round in circles with this.

SIMPLY A 10.


GAMEPLAY


The gameplay can be a little confused when you first play the game but to resume the steps:

- roll for movement
- move to a place
- if it is a named place, take actions and draw an event.
- start the mystery phase
- if you are playing a cooperative game roll the coop mystery phase chart.
- next player's turn.

Basically you move around the board looking for investigation tokens that are the currency of the game and try to increase your skills in order to face minions and the villain itself.

You encounter places, draw cool cards, take items... all in all Arkham Horror style.

May I recommend you to use all the ADVANCE RULES including the one that defines you require a cunning roll to take the investigations.

After several cooperative games to increase the difficulty in a showdown use the showdown chart and you will see how things goes straight to hell.

CONCLUSION


I know this game might seem to a lot of people that haven't played it like ARKHAM HORROR but they couldn't be more wrong. If I have to compare this game to any other I would say it is more like BETRAYAL AT THE HOUSE IN THE HILL... Yes I know you would say I am crazy, but we felt the same way in both games... more of an experience where you are moving in a chaotic world the best you can to accomplish a goal.

In AH you can plan strategies and the more you play the better the strategy moves. Here there is a lot of RANDOMNESS... enough for me to say that if you are a control FREAK do not get near this game.

This game is for people that likes the fun of a movie experience.

Once you finish the game everybody says WOW... it was a hell of a ride instead of... 'maybe we should do this the next time we play'.

The Villains are awesomely thematic, very sleepy hollow. And the truth is that this game with all the extra variant rules is like a main game with several expansions included. I bought all of the AH expansions and the truth is that each one includes 1 variant rule at best, being Kingsport the best one of all because of the epic battle deck, but if I am going to be truthfull a game well thought would have never needed so many extra cards to add what some suggested variants might have accomplished. It's the hook of the company, but FLYING FROG really behaves well with the customers providing a complete experience I have no clue how it can be expanded. Please feel free to surprise me.

All in all I love this game and see no negative aspects at all and give this a perfect 10. Yes a TEN. Because in 2 days I have already played 10 times and love each one of them.

KEEP THE GREAT JOB FLYING FROG. YOU HAVE EARNED A NEW FAN.

NOTE: Another member noticed I was making a mistake by executing the mystery phase and the cooperative chart each time a Player ended his/her turn. That is why in my case the game was PERFECT.

SO if you want to adjust more the difficult level you might try:

NORMAL
All Heroes' Turn
Coop Chart
Mystery Phase

HARD (Fast Game)
Heroe's Turn
Coop Chart
When all the Heroe's turns end: Mystery Phase
(So it will be 1 coop chart at the end of each Heroe's Turn but only 1 mystery phase at the end of the last heroe's coop chart)

HARDER (Faster Game)
Heroe's Turn
Coop Chart
Mystery Phase
(So it will be 1 coop chart and Mystery Phase at the end of each heroes' turn)

ULTRA HARD
Add the Showdown Chart to any of the previous ones understanding it will slow the game down a bit and also will increase the difficulty pretty much.