Thanks for the comment. We’ll have to agree to disagree on the rulebook. I think it’s very well done and rarely had issues learning the game or referencing it.

I will agree that combat isn’t the best, but it’s also not a focus of the game. As for the difficulty, that’s to be expected in a fully cooperative game. They have to be hard since it’s all the players vs the game. I’ve not had as rough a go as you’ve had though. Most of our games are very close.

But in the end of the day, it’s not for everyone. I love it and if you don’t like it, don’t feel the need to force yourself to play it.

And Dead of Winter is not a FFG game, it’s Plaid Hat Games. 🙂

We played 3.5 hours and beat our 1st of 3 mysteries, and the group gave up out of utter boredom. I will try another game knowing more of the intricacies up front (after i find a few people who arent already totally turned off by the game) but I seriously doubt it could be fun—This is hard to explain, but you don’t feel like you have any agency in the attacks. And the combat is confusing. And it is anti-climatic to boot.

I would instantly enjoy the game more if there was an incentive to team up with others. I don’t think there is enough flavor to bring the players together for the initial hump/commitment to the cause.

Or maybe the events need to be staggered in phases. You have no chance to collect yourselves and prioritize at the beginning. Nor or is there is a feeling of rush when you get behind. The pacing is oddly stagnant considering the world is at stake. I compare this to another FFG product “dead of winter” which had many similar confusions but triumphed due to player motivations, better risk/reward tasks, to name a few.

As a person who does enjoy a bit of complexity, I still this find too much. And so very dry.

If you like adventure games then I would say yes. You don’t really have to be into the Cthulhu mythos to enjoy Eldritch Horror. At it’s heart, it’s a game about building up your guy and trying to stop the bad guy before he wakes up. The theme is very rich in Eldritch Horror, but if you don’t care about the theme, you can easily just skip the flavor text.