Asmodee Eldritch Horror Board Game - A World-Spanning Cooperative Adventure in Terror, Mystery Game for Adults, Ages 14+, 1-8 Players, 2-4 Hour Playtime

I purchased Eldritch Horror strictly out of excitement. I own Arkham Horror, Mansions of Madness, and Elder Sign and I enjoy them all for what they are. With that, Eldritch Horror really is an excellent renovation of Arkham Horror, they've changed so much while giving you the same experience. Monsters seem less diabolical in Eldritch than they do in Arkham but that isn't quite right. More often than not when a monster is spawned they sit at the gate in which they were spawned. While this leaves your city mostly free to roam it makes the gates immensely hard to deal with if you leave it alone for too long. They feel more like festering wounds that will cause you to die if you don't treat them. Because each time the Omen track reaches a new symbol, (There are 4 total. A comet, a Sun, and 2 star formations which are the same.) you check the board for any gates that have the symbol the Omen track is now on. If there are any move the doom token 1 for each. So once you finally decide to fight that gate you now have to deal with 4-5 monsters because you neglected it for so long. If monsters are on your space you can't have an encounter unless you kill each monster there. You can have an encounter on the same turn you kill every monster if you manage to kill them all. The game also disables many actions if there are monsters on your space, you can't acquire assets or rest or trade. You can move away though, no need for an evasion test. Some monsters have spawning conditions such as, 'When this monster spawns move it to specific location.' There are also reckoning effects on monsters that you resolve whenever a mythos displays a reckoning icon which can cause the monsters to do other actions such as move the doom token one, or pull the nearest investigator a space closer. There have been complaints that the game feels too random compared to Arkham Horror to which I can't agree at all. At worst, it is equally as random. In reality it is much less random overall, not only do most places say what kind of specific encounter you will have (not always true there is still some randomness to it.) You can permanently upgrade your skills on top of getting items. Also many investigators have built in actions/skills that let them influence their dice further. You get a somewhat better semblance of control, not that you are now fully in control but it seems as if you have a little more power in most situations. Now that investigators can no longer use focus to change their stats, each investigator really fills more of a role. The new static stats combined with each investigator having their own skills makes each investigator feel a lot more varied. We played a game where we had one friend playing as the astronomer and he was excellent at closing most gates but couldn't fight to save his life. He also had the ability to give up 1 sanity to use as a clue token which was really interesting, I was the soldier and could choose to damage myself and a monster by 1 if they were on my space. I also couldn't be delayed or detained unless I chose too which was infinitely useful. Reading through most of the investigators they feel more useful this time around, each of them. Previously you would almost always run Joe Diamond because his ability was so great but now you want to run everyone because they're all so good. (At least now, I've only played 3 games so far I imagine I might find an issue as I play more but so far everyone has had a very good use.) Another point to make is the game is much easier to learn and quicker to teach. It took me a good hour to really flesh out, explain and teach Arkham to two different sets of non-board gamers. I taught Edritch and setup the board for us all to play in less than 40 minutes. The game has a very natural progression of handling everything. The two actions you get to use a turn feels like a better way to handle the game similar to how Mansions gave you actions you could do. My friends really enjoyed Arkham despite it being harder to teach to them but they enjoyed Eldritch even more (Surprisingly enough to me, it's hard to get them to like a new game.) They enjoyed the fact that we were traveling the world this time (Mostly flavor and theme it's not too different from just moving city locations on Arkham's board.) Mentioning monsters again there are now Epic monster that spawn with specific events and mythos that can be cataclysmic to your game if you don't handle them. Even if you try to handle them though they will likely ruin your lives, they're often very strong and can put down even the toughest investigator. I tried to cover a yeti in kerosine while being blessed on top of my 6 strength thanks to skill improvements and he just rolled in the snow and didn't care. (I rolled 10 dice with the help of a nearby allied investigator's skill to let me roll 1 additional die in combat tests and only passed on 2.) It creates a lot of tension having these new epic encounters. Initially you feel like the game is going to be easier than Arkham but it really isn't. It stacks the odds against you very quickly if you aren't on top of your threats. I had a few friends really dead set on upgrading their characters and getting new weapons as opposed to helping us close early gates. Things spiraled out of control in two turns and it didn't matter how strong they were when they ended up cursed messing around with all their encounters. They've also done away with money and instead strictly use a stat called influence to gain assets (common items.) You test your influence against the cost of an item. So if you had 4 influence you get to roll 4 dice and if you succeeded on all 4 (A 5 or a 6) you would get to draw items up to your value from the reserve pile. So two 2 cost items, one 4 cost item, etc. This feels like a much better way of handling money instead of having another item to stock up on for use in the game. While Eldritch Horror is a new game and people are complaining about the lack of encounters and not quite enough variety in items and such. This is only natural as this is the first box for the game. Arkham Horror's base game had the same issues. Fantasy Flight has already acknowledged everyone's disdain with the lack of cards (not that there really is a lack, its just mostly comparison to Arkham and it's expansions.) They're working on a small box expansion that is adding something like 200+ cards and Yig as another great old one to fight. It's gonna be a fun ride with this board game and I can't wait for the new expansions.

Warning, slightly long review and other comments follow. As a long-time fan of the actual Lovecraft stories, I was excited to hear about this game. I had first been introduced to Lovecraftian gaming through the Call of Cthulhu RPG, but never could get a group to play. I had then heard of Arkham Horror, but I never seemed to have the money at the right time to buy it. Then I just recently heard about Eldritch Horror. I must say, I LOVE this game! If you are brand new to Lovecraftian gaming but are familiar with the stories, you will love this game even more as you will "get" the references used and likely why somethings happen the way they do. The quality of everything from the game-board, the individual (thick and sturdy!) pieces to the game box itself is just a joy to touch in your hands. Apparently Fantasy Flight Games has a reputation for this. As my first FFG game, they have made me into a loyal customer. On my first game playing it, as suggested in the manual for beginners, I chose to go against Azathoth. My partner and I had done pretty well at first thinking the game was pretty easy so far. But then when the doom track hit 8 or so, things went downhill fast. I was hit with a couple different madness conditions such as paranoia and amnesia on top of being cursed. Finally the doom track had hit 1 we had almost solved our 3rd and final mystery to defeat Azathoth, and we had only 1 mythos card left. If that doom hit 0, Azathoth would wake up and devour the world. Well we used that last mythos card. Lucky there was no doom advancement. Still only at 1... but that means our mythos deck is all gone. We continue anyway just to see how it plays out expecting that we will lose. After all... if you can't draw a mythos card when you need to, the mythos phase ends and the investigators lose. Well in that turn, we solved the 3rd mystery but can't claim it until the end of the mythos phase. Closed an other-world gate that was open and continued on to the mythos phase. No card to flip, game over. We thought we had lost. HOWEVER... according to the games reference guide under "Winning" pg 12, "If a mythos card cannot be drawn during the Mythos Phase, the Mythos Phase ends and investigators lose the game." To win a game, you must solve 3 of 4 mysteries before Azathoth wakes up (doom track hits 0). Since we couldn't draw a new mythos card, according to the above rule, the mythos phase ends, and the 3rd mystery is solved... therefore we win. It's a conflict. Do we win, or lose? According to the reference guide under "Conflicts" pg 4, "If multiple effects would be resolved at the same time, [my 3rd mystery solved therefore win, mythos deck empty therefore we lose] the active player decides the order in which they are resolved." So it looks like I could choose that the mystery was solved before I had to flip the next card, therefore I win. In addition to that, the section on "Winning" on pg 12 again also says "The game immediately ends when an effect specifies that 'Investigators win the game,' or 'Investigators lose the game.' In the rare circumstances that both these effects happen at the same time, investigators win the game." THEREFORE WE ACTUALLY WON!!! It was so intense of a game, even when we thought we had lost, I was on the edge of my seat. We had a blast! For confirmation, this scenario has happened to others with this game. If you go to boardgamegeek and check the forums on this game, there is a thread called "Last second loss against Azathoth". Not my post, but pretty much the same thing happened. The info from there sealed it for me. I won my first game with my partner... barely. Now as I said, this is my first Lovecraftian game so yes, that means I have NOT played Arkham Horror which according to many... this is a sister game. This is NOT intended to be an easier or harder version nor an expansion. As such, I cannot comment on how good, bad, long or epic of a game it may be. I hear allot of people who bicker about which is better, or should they drop AH since they now have this one? People being defensive about AH because they have spent SO much money, time and effort into that game including its vast number of expansions. I will say however that I would LOVE to play and learn AH someday. But until then, this game does it for me. Yes, there desperately needs to be more cards which thankfully an expansion is on its way sometime soon with a at about 88 new research cards and over 100-150 new encounter cards among other things. (likely within the next couple months from what I am hearing). So this is going to be a temporary issue. Allow me to digress a moment. I don't think one needs to BE better than the other. Each one is designed for a different kind of player in my opinion. AH is very lengthy, has more things to deal with such as skill sliders, much more as far as decks and such. EH, tends to be much quicker of a game with a built in "timer" via the mythos deck and (from what I have heard from Arkham veterans) more streamlined and easier to follow rules for beginners among some other nifty changes. Also some negative ones most likely. Some will be drawn to AH, others will be drawn to EH. EH is (I think) not meant to replace AH at all. AH has many expansions, it continues to be in print with many, many loyal fans. I can't imagine FFG just shutting that down. I think that for actual fans of the Lovecraft stories among others, it is great there is this diversity. Someday I hope to even pick up Elder Sign which is much more luck based as it is very much a dice-rolling game. There are fans of that kind of thing who want to get into Lovecraft games but don't have any interest in AH or EH because of time or table space. All in all, if you don't have Arkham Horror, but want to try out Lovecraftian games, get this game. If you own and love Arkham Horror, you should get this game. It is shorter to play and likely just as fun. If you want to know if you should keep Arkham Horror after buying this game, I would say yes. This is not intended to replace Arkham Horror unless you want it to.

Originally posted on [url][...][/url], a new idea everyday! [b]Game[/b]-Eldritch Horror [b]Producer[/b]-Fantasy Flight [b]Price[/b]- $60 [b]Set-up/Play/Clean-up[/b]- 3 Hours [b]TL;DR[/b]-An awesome addition to the FF Cthulhu line 92.5% [b]Basics[/b]- The world is under attack! Creatures from beyond are striking out at our world and bringing the apocalypse with them. Based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft, each player takes the role of an investigator traveling the globe trying to close portals to other worlds, foil fiendish evil plots, and fighting monsters beyond mortal ken. This game is a world spanning epic sequel to Arkham Horror. [b]Mechanics[/b]- The game move somewhat quickly. Each turn, character get two action that among other things can be moving, resting, shopping, or trading. After that each character encounters events, monsters, or clues on their location. Each location has its own special deck of cards strengthening then theme of the encounter there. Finally, a card indicating what events happen next turn is read from the mythos deck. When the mythos deck runs out, the world is doomed! To resolve shopping, combat, or encounters, characters start by checking their sheet and look for the appropriate icons to find the number of dice to roll. After the roll, 5's and 6's count as successes. For most encounters, one success is needed, but for monsters, you're successes inflict damage as well as prevent damage to yourself. Monsters also have an additional roll where you must see if your character goes insane from the shear mental trauma of the beyond. The game moves very quickly as the basic conflict resolution is fast, and the rules a pretty intuitive. The game does flatten out some of the dice numbers from Arkham Horror, so that was a shock. I did think some item prices were somewhat high, but all and all the game was fun and that came a lot from the mechanics involved. 4.5/5 [b]Theme[/b]- The theme of cosmic horror comes out pretty well. Each monster has a deck of events/quests you have to solve to prevent the end of the world. If enough bad things happen, the ancient one awakens and then there is another event to deal with on the back of the ancient one. This deck specific for each ancient evil really does make the game that much more focused. The general mythos deck that makes bad things happen/timer is a little to general, but all and all I really did feel like I was working against one specific cosmic horror. The monsters are a bit of a mix. Monsters are still random, which isn't bad, but it does mean you will fight stuff that by the Lovecraft mythos really doesn't belong when you are fighting a different ancient evil. That does take away from a bit of the focus. However, I did that some monsters are special. We had a zombie that became the special zombie hoard. That little touch made the game that much more memorable. The same goes for the mix of encounter cards you get. Instead of a focused game against one cosmic being, you get a bit of a mix. However, it's not bad, just not the game I hoped for. 4/5 [b]Instructions[/b]- The instructions are well written. I had no questions on how to play. I did have some minor questions regarding specific in game events, but POOF FAQ up before I even opened the box. High quality too. I hate when a FAQ doesn't look like it belongs with the game. Also, the instructions are ONLINE in pdf BEFORE the game was released! 5/5 [b]Execution[/b]- This is Fantasy Flight, so instant 5/5 The parts of the game are amazing. [b]Summary[/b]- This game wasn't the exact game I wanted, but it is close enough. Arkham Horror had a bit of a focus problem. This game fixes a lot of that but not completely. I did have a great time and can't wait to play again. I want cosmic specific encounters across the board (mythos deck, region encounter decks etc), but I know that would have made this game that much more expensive and would have required about five times as many parts. I've liked what I saw and can easily recommend this to anyone who's looking for a world spanning Lovecraft adventure. 92.5%

Let's make something clear: this game is not for everyone. It's likely that if you're reading this review, you're already a hobby boardgamer and looking for something a little on the "heavy" side to play. Eldritch Horror fills that roll admirably without becoming cumbersome. Years ago, Fantasy Flight games released "Arkham Horror," a take on Lovecraftian fiction set in the town of Arkham. The premise of the game was simple - monsters spewing through gates, investigators trying to stop them, and a great ancient evil biding its time until it arrived to destroy the world. If the premise was simple, the actual gameplay was the complete opposite. There was very little intuitive about playing the game. In a way, the fact that players were so hapless and helpless fit the theme of Lovecraft very well. A compelling story could be told... in between the hundreds of time one might stop to clarify something in the rulebook. Eldritch Horror is a much better game than that. In fact, it's a great game. The theme still shines, and is in fact helped by taking the adventure to a global scale, rather than just the city of Arkham. Starting with the second time I played the game, it takes me between 20 and 35 minutes to set up the game, depending on how many players I have. Perfectly reasonable for a game of this scope and magnitude; it looks big on the table, but trust me when I say you shouldn't be intimidated. Unlike many heavily themed, hobby-level board games, this one actually makes sense as you play it. Skill checks are handled simplistically through dice rolling. It's a system that works, and is so accessible you can teach even the most casual gamer to play. Here is where I stopped to consider whether I would give this game only four stars, though. While you're working on maximizing your character's stats to roll the maximum number of dice (successes are represented by 5's and 6's), something things just *happen* to your character, things which are inherently unfair, and if they happen too soon in the game, could go as far as to make things feel "unfun". Here's the thing, though... that inherent disparity of power between your investigators and the world fits Lovecraft so well. True horror isn't the capable adventurer staving off every threat with his quick wits and impressive luck. True horror is a powerless victim against an unknowable evil. In most other games, I would have knocked off the star, but Eldritch Horror gets to keep the star for their consistency. The game, however, has a pretty cool mechanic to make up for what happened. Once an investigator is knocked from the game, you can get another character out of the box, place them on the board with their starting goods, and get back to work. The game is not over for any player who was just unlucky, unless of course the team does so poorly that they start losing all the characters in the box. Further, with the exception of a couple methods of death (such as being "devoured" on a few cards) usually the character hangs around the place of their untimely demise as a potential encounter. This is a wonderful mechanic! Characters are killed off, sure, but they receive their final curtain call if you have time to spare for your fallen comrade - often giving their items or other assistance to the new characters. Finally, this game is perfectly playable as a solo adventure. I like solo board game. I'm married to a gamer, but she's quite picky about just which games she'll play and some of these heavier ones aren't her thing. I don't have a local gaming group, either. That's okay! A reasonable twenty minutes to set up, and off I go. While the game does work (and officially supports) using just one character, most solo players prefer playing with two characters. Use as many as you feel like, since this is a cooperative game the decision really is up to you. One warning with this: the game is easy to understand, but after two characters I feel like the normally reasonable amount of detail you need to keep up with for each character suddenly becomes a slog. Playing with four characters was cool, and made a board that was full of action and synergy, but I found myself forgetting about my character's abilities when I needed them. If you have a serious board game hobby, I hope you give Eldritch Horror a try. It's deep enough to keep you coming back for a long time, and easy enough to teach your less experienced friends without scaring them off. Enjoy!

I purchased Eldritch Horror on my lunch break at work one day. I had arrived at work earlier that morning but couldn't let go of the feeling that I was missing something--I almost saw dark creatures lurking beyond every corner--and I had stumbled upon a hidden clue to some unimaginable mystery in the front page of the morning paper. I checked the Amazon page for the game compulsively--were there new reviews? Had creatures from beyond the veil plundered Amazon's warehouses and it was out of stock? Or--gasp--had I imagined this game entirely, held thrall by the whim of the being so vast my mind could barely comprehend it's existence, let alone hope to escape? Ordering the game soothed my compulsion for a time, but then I made the mistake of checking the tracking information--and it hadn't even shipped yet! How could it reach me from the depths of the pyramids, across the heavy storms and choppy seas that had so plagued the Atlantic to reach my 2nd story flat in San Francisco in the mere two days promised delivery date. I checked the tracking info again fifteen minutes later, then ten minutes after that, and found myself caught in the grip of paranoia, unable to leave my phone for more than seconds at a time. Forty eight hours and no sleep later I finally laid my hands on the box. I ripped the plastic shrink wrap away with one swipe of my gnarled, clawed fingers and slid the lid off the box to find--a serious product review: 1) Components Overall component quality is top notch--but number/storage of components is abysmal. You've got pretty standard punch out cardboard fiddly bits (though perhaps more of them then you are used to), and several (literally over a dozen) decks of cards. Most of the cards are playing card sized, but some of them are the itty bitty half sized cards Fantasy Flight seems so fond of (see Battlestar Gallactica, Arkham Horror, Civilization, et al). While quality is good, I'm a bit... crazed by the sheer number of components. It makes setting up and tearing down the game significantly more work than any other board game I own (and I own a few whoppers like Terra Mystica, Caylus, and Thunderstone). And my biggest complaint--THE BOX COMES WITH ZERO STORAGE SOLUTION--except of course a dumb little cardboard foldout thing-a-mabob exactly like every other Fantasy Flight game you've purchased that provides you zero help once you've actually punched the pieces out. If Wizards of the Coast can make it happen with Lord of Waterdeep (granted the expac messes it up a bit) then I'd think Fantasy Flight could come up with something better than their standard dead trees you throw away in disgust as it is entirely useless and actually hinders you from putting things away once you've punched out the components. At least provide some extra plastic baggies, or rubber bands, or ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE DARN WORTHLESS FOLD UP WASTE OF PAPER CARDBOARD THING. Ahem. Excuse me. 2) Gameplay Overall gameplay is top notch--with a few exceptions based on the luck of the draw/fall of the dice. Note that this game does not advertise itself (at least that I've seen) as a STRATEGY game. If you try to play it as such, you will more than likely go mad and find yourself years down the road sacrificing goats to a cult trying to tear apart the fabric of reality from some wooden huts in Panama. Whoever wrote the bullet points for Amazon did a good job describing it as "story driven adventure game." Many--MANY--aspects of the game are decided by luck. You will be rolling dice to determine success or failure, drawing random cards from piles, drawing random fiddly bits from hidden opaque containers, and--drawing even more fiddly bits and turning them face up to see where the go on the board, and of course (my favorite) putting fiddly bits on top of other fiddly bits. If you can roll with the random punches the game throws at you and extrapolate a bit on the encounters to up the story-telling to a new level you will have a blast. If you want to have complete control over your game experience--see above comment regarding going mad. 3) Theme I can't lie, I am not a Lovecraft scholar. Or really even a big follower of the horror genre. So, maybe I'm not the best to be judging this game on theme. I find the little stories that happen can really exude theme very well--for example while playing the musician character, I tried to convince the Tokyo Police that the Ancient Ones were invading our world and I needed their help defeating their monstrous spawn--and they thought I was crazy and locked me up. But then I played some music and got out of jail! What a great thematic moment. The overall theme [solving mysteries to prevent the Ancient Ones (i.e. Cthulhu) from entering our world] can be pretty lackluster. You're generally gathering clue tokens and spending them in one way or another. The mystery does come through well in some other ways--you can get conditions like a back injury that will sometimes flip to the other side and have an additional effect--and the backs of two back injury cards are different! It adds some great suspense, even when you've played the game a few times. 4) Art The art director of the game definitely deserves a raise. Check out boardgamegeek for some pictures of the components themselves, but they are all as dark and brooding as the box art itself. The backs of the cards, the character sheets, and even many of the fiddly bits all contain compelling artwork. 5) Overall Game is fun. I played one solo game to learn the rules, and have played three games with my fiance, all of which we enjoyed, and one of which we managed to win. Difficulty is high, which I like--winning is that much more enjoyable. There are definite moments of total despair--I rolled ZERO successes on FOUR dice TWO turns in a row--but moments of triumph as well. The combination makes for some excitement. The game takes a bit of commitment to learn, and also to play (my two player games are lasting around 2 hours now that we are familiar with the system, I'd expect four player games to last around three hours with quick players... and eight player games, I have no idea). Besides my complaints about the storage (I went out and bought little baggies and rubber bands and now my box seems decently organized), setup/take down time (which organizing my box helped with--I will never understand Fantasy Flight's crap boxes), and sometimes bland "mysteries" (essentially, collect clue tokens either equal to or half the number of investigators) the game proves itself to be quite entertaining. And with four Ancient Ones and twelve investigators (as well as an always random assortment of items, spells, clue and gate locations), the game has some definite replay ability. If you are looking to slide from paranoid to insane, while your friends suffer back injuries that develop into full on comas, and have it all end in an ancient alien devouring the world, look no further. But seriously, the little moments of success in this game feel GREAT, even when you lose in the end. Also, so sorry for the pointless psuedo horror intro that--lets face it--at this point is unoriginal and hackneyed as a Taylor Swift song. I guess you could say I couldn't help myself.

I bought "Eldritch Horror" for my nine-year-old daughter and I to play and we love it. It's highly cooperative, makes you think carefully about how you use each turn, and has just enough of a random element to keep things from being too predictable. The Good: - The artwork and sheer number of components makes the $40 I paid for it a bargain. - The game's rules are consistent and presented very well. - It's replayable in the extreme already, and expansions are on the way. - I'd be hard-pressed to name a game with better flavor text---I think the game designers really nailed the theme and character of the Cthulhu Mythos. The Bad: - This is the largest board game I've ever seen. In order to play it comfortably with two people you'll need around 20 square feet of space (two "card" tables butted up against each other). - There's a lot of setup work. Taking it out of the box and getting everything ready to play takes us about 40 minutes. - It takes three to four hours to play a single game of "Eldritch Horror" to conclusion. I'm putting this in the Bad list because most of the people I know don't have the luxury of spending an entire afternoon playing a board game. My daughter and I love this, though. The Good so outweighs the Bad in my book that I'm giving this game five stars and we'll be picking up the expansions just as soon as Fantasy Flight starts releasing them. EDIT: My daughter and I had the opportunity to play this game with a friend recently, so I have a few things to add/clarify/emphasize. The space this game requires is insane. We played a game of it on what I consider to be an enormous dining room table and the three of us barely had enough room for our elbows once we'd set the game up. It is the game for which no table is adequate so unless you have an insane amount of surface area at your disposal, you might want to give this game a pass. Next, the game is *hard*. At points it's crazy hard. Every turn you need to flip a "Mythos" card and pretty much every one of these brings you closer to certain doom. The players *really* need to coordinate their actions and pick their battles in order to have a prayer of winning. If all of the players aren't used to/extremely comfortable with cooperative games, you'll find it nigh on impossible to win a game. If even a single player decides to ignore the suggestions of the others and do their own thing, you're done. Every single action you take *must* be made with the team's best interest/strategy firmly in mind. Lastly, the setup time I mentioned above doesn't go away. You'll spend between 30 and 40 minutes getting the game ready no matter how many games you have already played. And the game itself will take multiple hours to play. If you can't devote five hours to playing a game, you really shouldn't bother. All that said, I love this game, and it's a shame that I'll probably only get to play it once or twice a year given all I wrote above.

I bought this game based on the theme and artwork and it has since been my favourite game on my shelf. Granted, it does run a bit long in playtime, but the experience feels like an epic adventure with highly thematic story moments. That said, is not a fairly easy game to learn. However, after a play or two with the same people, the rules are pretty straightforward. If you're looking for a co-op game, where synergy and teamwork matters (and have a whole day to spare), this is worth it. I have since gotten 3 small box and 1 big box expansion because I love it too darn much.

My wife and I were looking for a sophisticated board game to keep us entertained, and Eldritch Horror came to be the best game we ever played. First of all, the game is very elaborate, and full of details. To play our first game, we spent about 30min just trying to setup the game board and another 1h to understand the rules and play our first game. Things we like about this game: - The level of details and sophistication involved. Also, the ongoing story is lots of fun. - The game has a great balance between luck and strategy. - At every step in the game, a test has to be resolved by a die roll or picking a random card, or random item: this makes the game highly randomized and unpredictable, resulting in a fresh experience with each new game. - In each round, the players got to make critical decisions, which makes the game also strategic. Full coordination and cooperation between the players is essential. - The game has more than 10 different card decks as well as many other item pools (all of them are used during the game), which gives a great deal of randomization and makes the game hard to predict. - Winning or losing is almost always very close, which means the game has just the right difficulty and all numbers/items/possible actions are brilliantly designed. - I also like the idea of having a cooperative game, where we all play against the game instead of against each other. The game requires a great deal of cooperation and coordination among the players in order to win, which makes it a great team building activity. - The game is scalable: possible actions and number of items changes depending on the number of players involved. - A typical game will last about 2 hours. Which is a reasonable time for us Things we did not like: - The game has a very steep learning curve and it requires several hours before one starts to enjoy it. - The game feels great for even number of players, but becomes a bit unbalanced for odd number of players (lots of events are concerned about half the number of players, rounding this for odd number either makes the game too difficult or too easy).