Tiny pic for Tiny Todd.
Amazon review:
Played 3 games so far, two solo and one with 2 players. I can say the games last a LONG time. Minimum 2 hours from what i've played and will more than likely last longer but that's not technically a bad thing as long as you're having a good time.
Pretty easy to learn and I love how the instruction manuals are set up. 1 to learn the basics and then another for all the rule references. Lots of pictures and examples to help explain as well. The minis are very detailed and look great. There are 5 character classes to choose from and each has a different starting card which makes them all play really differently.
There is a TON of variety for multiple playthroughs. Firstly there are 4 scenario cards, so 4 different all encompassing scenarios (worlds) to choose from that set up different from one another. Beyond that you have a number of hidden tiles that you mix up and place down without seeing, so each game regardless of scenario will be varied as far as which tiles you discover where. On top of that when you draw quest or encounter cards, depending on what decision you make out of the usual 3 choices on each card will determine what other quests cards you place. And there are over 150 different quest and encounter cards to choose from. Lots of branches in this tree.
The leveling up aspect is very well done and fun and there is a shop to use caps to buy upgrades and status effects like getting addicted to chems or vilified plus more. These little effects will have an effect on quests as well.
For the most part I really love this game however there are a few factors about it that I don't much care for. The game starts out VERY exciting as the majority of each map (scenario) is hidden so you have to explore to start uncovering tiles and locations. However once you eventually get all the tiles explored and flipped, the mystery dies a little and with it, the fun....but just a little. By this point of the game (probably an hour or more in) you will hopefully already be super deep into a quest line and have some idea on what you need to do to get those last few remaining influence points to win.
Which brings me to the next downside, the win condition. To win you need to acquire a certain number of influence points throughout the game based on how many players there are. For a 2 player game it's 10. You can acquire influence mostly by completing quests but there are a few other ways to get it. Each influence card you have is worth 1 influence point but the catch is, you can only have a total of 4 influence cards in your inventory. So then it comes down to utilizing the text on the influence cards to try and maximize the amount of influence you get per card based on whatever it reads on a particular card.
Most commonly this would boil down to supporting one of the two other factions that are included in the particular scenario you picked. Here's the catch, when you support the AI faction, USUALLY they will gain influence as well and if they gain enough, they can win and you lose. SO it's an interesting balance game that you need to play in order to make sure they stay on top BUT not too far on top. Basically just enough to help you win.
So for me the second half of the game isn't as much fun as the first half when you are exploring. That's not to say that the second half is bad, it's just different. Which brings me to my next point, the enemies and fighting. As you travel around discovering tiles you will also unlock enemies of all kinds which you can fight to gain experience and loot, which is always a welcome thing. The thing is, the enemies never REALLY die. Once you kill one you replace the enemy tile with another facedown inactive enemy tile. So it lingers inactive till the enemy phase which activates it, which could be a few turns depending on if that enemy type is chosen.
This isn't a terrible thing....until the later half of the game when you have all tiles exposed and around 15 enemies chasing you all over the board. At that point you can never linger too long in one spot as they can and will gang up on you. I can see why this mechanic is the way it is though, if you get to that point of the game and you still haven't won, more than likely one of the two factions is about win. It's like the game wants to end and ramps up the difficulty the longer you play. Of course this for me was about 3 or so hours in.
My favorite thing about the game by FAR is the sheer amount of story and quest cards with so many different decisions. The flavor text on each card is amazing and when one gets drawn, the person to your right reads it and your options.....but not the consequences..........freaking awesome. So you have to go with your gut and pick what you think you would actually do......and hope it turns out to be the right choice.
2/19/18 Update -- Have played many many more games with varying group sizes and this game is still very fun. The only downside I can point out would be the win condition which needs a bit of tweaking. Also posted another photo of the minis the game comes with. Note that I have painted them myself and they do not come painted.
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Like Arkham Horror except retarded.