u/Clockwork_Lazy

Just played this game again after a couple of months. I don't have any of the expansions yet, but the core box does it for me just fine. I keep coming back to this game whenever I want something intense but couldn't be bothered to setup the bigger games.

My average playthrough lasts about 10 to 15 minutes, but this time it took me about half an hour. The final round after the Pivotal Event was revealed really racked my brain. I considered which demands to concede and which cards to risk. It all worked out in end as I was able to save 8 Hostages and only 1 was killed. Rolling 2 successes on the final Minor Extraction card meant I rescue the last Hostage and Arkayne surrenders.

What I like about this game:

- 5 minutes to setup.

- 10 to 30 minutes to play; doesn't overstay its welcome.

- Simple but intense and climactic gameplay.

- Very light, I can bring it anywhere for a quick game.

- Low price.

Some things I don't like:

- the art just doesn't do it for me.

- it's a dice-rolling game, which means it can often be swingy.

I lost 4 times in a row trying to beat this game 3-handed in expert difficulty. Then today I felt a little more daring and added the Reporter to the group. I was not expecting to win first try, but I did!

The game ended during the Reporter's turn. There were no cards left in the Player Deck, so ending her turn would have immediately resulted in a lost. She had 4 Innsmouth cards, just 1 short of closing the Innsmouth gate. Thankfully, I had already neutralized Yog-Sothoth's effect with the Seal of Leng Relic card. Without it, Yog-Sothoth would have prevented a character from playing a Relic card out of turn.

Hunter had the Mi-Go Eye Relic card, so I played that, and now the Reporter only needed 4 cards to seal the gate. That got me the win!

The game lasted 36 minutes. Intense but fun!