Eldritch Horror. A game that has seen a lot of repeat play in our household. It’s one of our favourite games and both Yasmin and I also enjoy playing it solo.
It isn’t an easy game, and I mean that in several ways, not least though, in that it is very hard to beat. We don’t mind that, as the way it plays out is always fun and often down to the wire.
No, what I really mean by not being an easy game comes from something of our own doing. Because it is one of our favourites, we, of course, wanted to add to it. We wanted as much Eldritch as we could get.
This started with a couple of small box expansions, Forsaken Law and Signs of Carcosa, which added just more of what was already great about the game – More investigators, spells, assets, Ancient Ones, basically more cards.
Then came two more, Cities in Ruin and Strange Remnants, which again added more of the same. They also introduced us to Prelude cards, adding fresh scenarios and quests.
We added Mountains of Madness, which introduced a side board for adventures in the Antarctica and new rules for this. Also, magical and physical resistance rules were added, as well as Mysteries and the Focus action.
Christmas time saw the arrival of Masks of Nyarlathotep, adding even more stuff along with the rules to play a campaign game (though ‘campaign’ is a very loosely applied term here, as it is really just linking one game to the next).
So, we almost have everything for Eldritch Horror bar two expansions, one a small box and one that introduces yet another side board this time for adventures in Egypt.
The majority of the cards introduced in these expansions get shuffled into those decks of the main game, increasing the variety and excitement of the game. All good.
It’s all the other stuff that causes the issue, especially during set-up, which has become a bit of a drag.
Every time we get the game out of the box (actually several boxes), I say the same thing, ‘I really have to download a rule book that incorporates everything into one’. Of course, I never do!
It’s a case of, ‘if you’re using this Ancient one, then you can use this or that’, or ‘if you draw this prelude then you have to use this, and if you have the sideboard in play then this comes into play’, and so it goes on. Trying to find the sliver of a rule in the books/leaflets that covers each thing can drive you potty.
I mean, it’s never been the quickest game to set-up but sorting out all the cards you require for the specific prelude, Ancient one, and anything else you’ve introduced, can be somewhat of a chore. It has made us think carefully when deciding whether to play it or not, and that’s the real issue here. It’s getting too big for its boots!
I know this is of our own doing. I also know we could just return to playing the base game plus the cards that boost the standard decks. All good, except we know that when you do throw the kitchen sink in, that 3 out of 5 games will be magnificent, full of drama, story-creating, down-to-the-wire, mind wrenching, and often hair-pulling, brilliance.
It all comes down to whether we (mostly I) can get motivated enough to go through the trauma of setting it up, and whether time allows us to do so in the first place.
Eventually, I will make the effort to download an all-in-one rulebook (there are plenty on BGG) and organise the components into something that allows a quicker means of identification (some of the cards look quite similar) and gathers all required components for a specific need in one place. The game warrants that.
We have learnt a lesson, though, and have been a lot more careful when choosing expansions for a game, especially if they will effect set-up time and introduce lots of extra rules. It’s not too bad if it is a single expansion but when you start adding several, however small they may be, and they each introduce new rules, that’s when the headache begins and more effort has to be put in.
In some cases, this extra effort outweighs the return the game gives. With Eldritch Horror, that’s not quite the case at the moment and we very much still enjoy playing. So, whilst it might be becoming too big for its boots, we’re not quite there yet. It has, however, become far too big for its box!
Do you own any games that have ‘become too big for their boots’?
If so, what are they, have you overcome the problems this causes, and has it made you think twice when buying?
Please, share your thoughts and comment below…
The Solo Meeple 
Sounds like the next two gaming sessions should be spent organizing the cards to make it more playable ! LOL i actually think having a way of organizing the cards would be the key to your problem here. so if there are certain cards that are needed depending on a certain prelude being drawn, these are kept separate until the card is drawn, then shuffle them in, but remember to pull them back out at the end of the game, so they will be ready for the next time the card is drawn.
When gaming I like the least amount of clutter on the table as possible, which can often put me off buying certain games. I try to keep it down to a couple of datasheets needed, and if markers are required these should be 3D and add an effect on the table, so craters making difficult terrain, fire raging, and so on.
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Sound advice, thank you Dave.
I am working towards sorting just as you described, but I really should try harder.
It isn’t so much sorting what cards are needed with what but trying to get my head around all the rules behind it. I have the memory of a goldfish and we don’t play it often enough for it to fully sink in. Again, I must try harder and source an all-in-one rulebook from BGG – laziness on my behalf!
I too dislike clutter around the table when playing. I do find, though, that we seem to be drawn to big-box, long playtime, kind of games that fill the table and make it all feel a bit cluttered even though everything has a purpose.
I just need a bigger table… Geeknson anyone?
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This is an excellent topic for discussion, mate! Truthfully, I have limited experience with this as I’ve never owned many board games or had an extensive collection for a single game at once. Arkham Horror: The Card Game or LOTR: LCG are probably the only two in that neighborhood but those are different at the same time and pretty easy to organize.
Having said that, I do know what you mean about rules “bloat” from my experience with Arkham Horror: Second Edition. I had the base game and enjoyed playing it. I eventually got one of the first expansions, the small box size and I found the addition of more rules layered on top of Arkham Horror to be too much for me and it killed my interest in the game which is a bit of a shame. I can see a similar challenge with Eldritch Horror since each expansion adds new rules and its hard to keep track of everything.
In many ways, Arkham Horror: Second Edition and even Eldritch Horror come from the “golden age” of expansions. Fantasy Flight is now much more cautious in how much they release for games outside of their LCGs, it seems like. Most of their games are getting fewer expansions as well. Arkham Horror: Third Edition is a good example of this, I think. With the current economic situation, its hard to imagine things changing much in the next few years but I hope I’m wrong!
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Thanks mate.
Arkham LCG is designed around expansions and is a lot easier to organise than many expandable board games, though I think you still get the ‘rules bloat’ issue.
Yes, FFG seems to have reigned back on the expansions to their later release and so far Arkham 3rd Edition has only seen a few appear.
I haven’t got too many games that I’ve added more than the odd expansion to, though Time of Legends: Joan of Arc springs to mind. A game that is now so big I doubt I’ll ever play it again – why do we do these things, I ask myself 🤔
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I love this game, though I have noticed that it hasn’t been hitting the table recently as often as I’d like. Not entirely sure why, it might be a time issue. I keep everything stored in the separate expansion boxes, which has worked for years, but maybe it’s just become a chore to mix stuff in before a session 🤔 Recently, I was going to play Mountains of Madness but, after shuffling all the decks together, I just didn’t seem to be in the mood for it so I put it all back for another day! Hm.
For all that, though, I generally love the big, table-hogging games, though I definitely think I need to be in the mood for them. Arkham Horror 3 is a good example of this. When I’m playing it, I absolutely love it (it’s better than 2nd edition, I think!) but it takes me about 45 minutes to set up, and I just don’t think I have that in me these days…
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Think you’ve hit the nail on the head – being in the right frame of mind to go through the medium of set-up. It certainly makes me think twice before playing some games.
I’m not a massive fan of Arkham 3. I’ll play it but I often feel cheated by it. I detest the headline deck and I feel some scenarios are just too damn difficult. My daughter is much more of a fan and she’s played it with some of the expansions we got last year – I’m still working up to that.
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What I’m taking away from this, Justin, is that there are still two expansions to get and you feel the need to get more organised before you get them! 🙂 I don’t own boardgames but my desire to keep adding wargames units, armies (and navies) and the periods they relate to is definitely an issue getting too big for its boots! I must have at least as many troops that have never had a game yet as those that have (not sure I should really have written that down)!
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Lol! I bet I get them long before I get organised 😁
You can never have too many miniatures, it’s where to store them that’s the problem. And don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me 🫢
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