Probably not going to use these figures too often; but I had a lot of fun painting them. I use “Skeletor” as my dice prison. Too many unsuccessful horror rolls and the dice end up here.

I've been playing more solo board games lately since I work overnights and have nothing to do for 4-6 hours every night. This weekend I went to my local board game store and picked up Bad Times at Buddyland and the core box and had a blast with it! I ended up playing 4 games total (2 losses, 2 victories with both characters) in 1 night.

I started with Rena. The first game I made the newbie mistake of not reading the rules carefully enough and had Billy and his minions move during the killer phase when there was no movement icon. As you can imagine I got wiped out fairly quickly.

The second game with Rena was VERY lucky, my starting Event card was Party Time, and my Layout card had every Victim super close to the party room, which was my starting room already. Ended up saving 3 victims on my first turn thanks to 2 very lucky rolls that allowed me to move 4 spaces with the Walk card. I focused on saving as many Victims as possible to build up my time and collect the hard hitting attack cards to take Billy and Cam out in 1-2 turns and it was a success! The 1 extra tick of damage from the extension cord was super helpful as well. (note, in the image the final Terror card is flipped but it was not played, I got curious what it would have been had I failed my attacks and Billy had survived and forgot to re-flip before taking the picture, oops!)

For the third game I chose Gwynn and had some really bad luck. 4 Buddies spawned by the second Killer phase, I was having horrible rolls, Victims were dying left and right, and I could barely scrape together enough time to buy good cards. Eventually all 4 + Billy ended up on my space at the same time, all attacked together, my black heart token was blank on the other side, and that was all she wrote.

The next game with Gwynn went better but was super tense, it was really neck and neck. Both Billy and I ended up needing to pull out the white heart token (my black heart was +2 his was +3) There were 3 Buddies this time around and a lot of Victims died, iirc it ended up being 6 saved and 7 dead (one of the dead ones was the Pizza Guy special character, he was my starter Event) I focused mostly on taking down the generators so he couldn't heal, which i didnt do At All my first 3 games and it made those final few turns of back and forth attacks and scurrying away a little easier than they would've been had I not. I also accrued more items (4 total) than my other games and they were super helpful! About half of my Victim saves were made thanks to the security robot. I forgot to take a picture of this final board, but it was so rewarding when I landed that final blow and was able to claim Gwynn's special reward for my next session!

Definitely will be playing more and I'm going to pick up another FF box next time I get paid!

Yesterday I played Slaughter in the Groves. This was my third and “official” playthrough. I call it official because in my first and second games I did not even finish since I already knew I was going to lose.

Anyway, I just need some clarification. The Old Rifle item. Its damage shows only a dash symbol. Does that mean it has no added damage? It says it can only be used with the Weak Attack Action Card, so if I get a success, does it still only deal 1 damage to the Killer’s health? Basically, is it just like a long-range version of Weak Attack?

Another question. I drew the Mini Dark Power “Outrageholic,” which adds 3 additional health tokens. I already dealt 2 damage to it, but Inkanyamba also gained health from Killer Wrath. My question is, does the Killer’s health recovery also apply to the Mini Dark Power, or only to their main health?

Like I said, this was my official playthrough of Slaughter in the Groves. It is really heavy and difficult to play. I tried to analyze why it feels so hard and I noticed a few possible reasons.

I even tried applying the same strategy I used against Hans The Butcher in Happy Trails Horror, but it does not really work the same here.

Inkanyamba itself is actually weak. 9 health tokens and only 3 maximum damage, even with Bloodlust effects. In theory, it should be manageable. But here are the things that make this Feature Film difficult.

First is the setup and victim placement. They are very hard to reach. Then 2 out of 3 Exit Spaces only have 1 adjacent space, specifically the Southeast and West exits. That makes saving Victims harder because it always costs extra movement.

Next, I have only played Adelaide as the Final Girl so far. Her health and Victim Saved effects are good, but her Ultimate Ability is a one-time effect. After that, it is basically useless for the rest of the game. If you always use Adelaide, it becomes harder.

Yes, Wrath is clearly what makes this Feature Film difficult. But in my third playthrough, I actually had a good shuffle in the Event, Terror, and Item decks. The turns were more favorable compared to my first two games where I already knew I was going to lose early on. So really, you need good deck luck for Events, Terror, and Items.

Another thing that makes it harder is the Item Deck. I remember how strong the item combinations were when I won against Hans The Butcher using Laurie. Laurie had extra damage and strong Item Cards, so I could deal multiple hits. But in Slaughter in the Groves, there are only two main Weapon Items that matter, War Club and Dagger.

In my third game, I was lucky to get the War Club early, but it takes up two hands, so it is harder to stack more damage. I think maybe they designed it so Inkanyamba has lower health, but it still feels punishing.

Because in most cases, having multiple Weapon Items that deal damage really helps a lot. Imagine having a free Weak Attack that deals 1 damage, plus two Items that each deal at least 1 damage, that is already 3 damage total. If Adelaide’s Ultimate Ability could also deal damage or help in attacks, it would make a huge difference, but it does not.

I feel like to win Slaughter in the Groves, you really need to use the Ultimate Dice and Desperate Die. I will definitely use them next time. Also, it is very important not to let the Finale Power get unlocked. Once it starts moving, it becomes very difficult.

And guess what? My Black Finale Health Token was blank, while Inkanyamba still had 3 health tokens left. That was fun, right?

Painted the regular mini with the art color scheme and the alternate one with a more... Scooby Doo inspired ghost 👻 the simplest of the killers to paint so far, but very fun!

Painted up some minis to spruce up the game. Pizza van colours were inspired by my childhood van.

https://gamefound.com/en/projects/van-ryder-games/final-girl-series-4

I had a lot of fun painting these, I specifically enjoyed painting Selena's shoes lmao

New to the game and I don’t know how to resolve this terror card sequence in the killer phase. Please help. Warning: cards shown below.

I have both Final Girl and Arkham Horror: The Card Game, and in both, the random elements are meant to thwart you on average. Thematically, this makes sense in anything that is mechanically creating a sense of hopelessness and fear. It works for me, especially if I go in with the mindset that winning is a goal. However, I remember studying in college how slot machines are "rigged" to give you an initial win because it greatly increases the chances of someone playing again and impacts the psychological cost of losing.

When I first played Final Girl, I made the mistake of thinking Hans could move every turn. He destroyed me for about three games and I nearly lost interest. Then I found this thread and discovered I had made a mistake that is actually very common. When I played again (correctly), I got down to the final heart and lost—and I even forgot to roll an extra die! But I kept playing until I won. I figured out that managing horror is the most important thing and that rolling just two dice has a pretty negative expectation, meaning you will fail most roles.

My question is: for first-time players, should there be an "Easy Mode" that helps them get down to the wire?

The point would be to remove a lot of the rules that people skip and make the game more winnable with Hans. I would suggest:

• Starter Terror Cards: A curated deck that isn't too harsh.
• Simplified Dark Powers: No Dark Powers at all, or one that is actually neutral.
• Learning Sheet: A guide for first-time players that scripts the first turn or two (e.g., Hans not moving, a panic roll occurring, etc.).

I think these few things would go a long way in helping the game’s accessibility. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion does this well. It’s even more necessary here because this is a solo game, meaning most people are learning on their own without a group to catch mistakes.

I found the manual to be very clear, but there are a number of edge cases that would benefit from being reinforced. When you get down to that last heart, you are usually pretty stressed, and it is so easy to forget the final health mechanics. If there was a special "first-time" piece you put down that says exactly what to do, it would be a big help.

Let’s give more people a closer game the first time through using training cards and hand-holding. Since they are likely figuring things out alone, extra support for those non-intuitive rules would be a huge win for the community. If you have thoughts or something like this exists I would love to hear them.

Playing Wolfe Asylum, or at least my OH is and we don't understand what this card is asking?

The next day, I immediately played FG: Slaughter in the Groves again. This time, I used Barbara first. Almost everything about her is good. Health, Victim Saved effects, Ultimate Ability... I’m just not sure yet if her Personalized Item is also good. Hopefully nobody spoils it in the comments.

As usual, I used a random "Signature Action" card. I got "Dodge", which was actually really useful because I honestly feel like I need extra Reaction Cards when playing this Feature Film.

Setup: "Worship Service", where the Victims are grouped together and the Killer starts nearby, while I’m far away. Then the Item Deck? The only really useful one was the "Whip", right? And it was very far from me too, all the way at the "Groundkeeper’s Shed". Right from the start, things already were not in my favor. Except for the Event card, which thankfully did not become a huge problem during the playthrough.

So for the first time, I tried this strategy and it actually worked well. I converted all of my initial hand cards into "Time". Because of that, during the Planning Phase, I had "12 Time" to spend. I was just hoping the first Terror Card would not ruin me immediately. My main goal was to unlock Barbara’s Ultimate Ability as fast as possible, but at the same time, avoid increasing Inkanyamba’s Bloodlust too quickly.

Clarification: About the Event card "Closed For Maintenance". I only paid close attention to it now. Am I correct that it is optional? It is not mandatory, right? Because it says "you MAY discard..." and "IF you do,". So from my understanding, I can choose not to do it if I don’t want to close a Sacred Space, right?

To be fair, my gameplan was actually good. I unlocked Barbara’s Ultimate Ability pretty quickly. The problem was, whenever I wanted to attack, I did not have damaging Action Cards like Weak Attack. So once the Action Phase came around again, I still could not properly use her Ultimate Ability against Inkanyamba. In fact, I never got to use it even once during the entire game.

The annoying part was that I wasted so many turns because I kept converting cards into "Time" due to "Divine Wrath" forcing me to discard cards. That was really what slowed me down the most because I ended up with no useful Action Cards left.

From the beginning, I was already planning to use the "Ultimate Dice". I even had it ready. But I thought since I was using Barbara, maybe I would not need it yet. My next plan was to use the "Desperate Die". Honestly, I should have started using it much earlier, but I completely forgot about it. Everything became a mess during the last 3 Terror Cards until Inkanyamba’s Finale Power got revealed. That was when I finally remembered to use the "Desperate Die". But somehow, it also felt fitting because the whole point of the die is to use it when you are truly desperate.

My turns were actually pretty good overall. I was prepared for almost all of Inkanyamba’s attacks. Even double attacks from both Killer Wrath and the regular Killer Action were manageable. Thanks to the "Dodge" Reaction Card.

Now here comes the funniest part. The only attack card I had left was "Furious Strike". The rest of my hand was mostly Reaction Cards. This was the part I really did not prepare for because what are the odds that the "Desperate Die" would roll "Death"?

Yes. I lost. Not because Inkanyamba killed me, but because of the "Desperate Die". I did not even have a "Close Call". Although I am not even sure if "Close Call" can be used on the "Desperate Die". But I assume maybe yes, because technically it is still a Horror Roll.

At that point, I told myself it was close enough. So I kept playing anyway. But in my mind, I already considered it a loss. More like a "what if I did not roll Death?" scenario. So I continued using the same strategy. Me and Inkanyamba were basically just circling each other while their Wrath meter was already extremely high. Then I used "Atonement".

Guess what? For the second time, the "Desperate Die" rolled "Death" again. At that point, I was already in "Adrenaline Rush", while Inkanyamba only had 3 health left.

I told myself again, fine, I’ll still continue. Same thing, I already considered myself defeated anyway. It was just another "what if" scenario. So I kept going.

Then came the last attack against me. Luckily, I had 1 Health token from the Black Finale Health token. At this point, both me and Inkanyamba were on our last life. I was already on my White Health token, while Inkanyamba was on the Black Finale Health token.

Then came the Killer Phase. I used "Retaliate". This was supposed to be my winning moment, assuming Inkanyamba’s Black Finale Health token turned out blank.

But sadly, for the third time...

I rolled "Death" again from the "Desperate Die".

Since it already happened twice before, I finally stopped. I accepted the loss.

The most annoying part? When I checked Inkanyamba’s Black Finale Health token, it actually had "2 Health" on it.

So in the end, the game really proved that even if I had not rolled "Death" from the "Desperate Die", I still would have lost anyway. Because if Inkanyamba survived my turn, I definitely would have died during the next Killer Phase.

But still, I think my strategy was actually good. So I’m planning to continue using it in future games. I’ll still use Barbara again next time. I’m just thinking now if I should finally start using the "Ultimate Dice".

Can this card be used during the "Reaction Phase"

For instance playing against Eyeless and the Finale has 2 attacks. Can this card be used to buy the Guard card back in my hand to use for the second attack during the Killer Phase?

I still would have lost this round. But it was my first try working through the mechanics of this game and board. It was fun.