Fantasy Flight Games | Arkham Horror The Card Game: Mythos Pack - 1.3. Blood on the Altar | Card Game | Ages 14+ | 1 to 4 Players | 60 to 120 Minutes Playing Time

Once mastered, and it takes some considerable effort to get to grips with the rules, this is a fascinating game, for either one or two people, and no doubt for more with an expanded set. The author of the instructions has taken painstaking efforts to be comprehensive , but I think in a number of ways the material could be simpler and more concrete. It really is a challenge for a total beginner to RPGs. I would have found it helpful if the various units that make up the game, had been clearly identified first. For some time I wrestled with the problem of separating the importance and roles of the two main packs of cards. Act and agent cards are initially bewildering. However, with persistance and probably a little help from a more experienced friend, you will find yourself on the threshold of a fascinating adventure. At first you are treated gently, but darker and weightier challenges await as the campaign progresses. Well worth exploring.

Caveat Emptor indeed. It wasn't at all clear in the ads or even on Fantasy Flight's own website, both of which -in both product descriptions plus the fact the original set is out of print- give the impression this is a revamped and complete version of 'The Dunwich Legacy'. But the fact is this is NOT everything you need to play any version of 'The Dunwich Legacy', so if you do not have that box set already -and it is not easy or cheap to get (Fantasy Flight themselves are out of stock and the cheapest -only!- english-language edition on Amazon costs over £50: fully twice the rrp!)- this is not a recommended purchase.However. What 'Return to the Dunwich Legacy' is, is EXACTLY what the title says: no more, no less -pedantically, a number of cards (a LARGE number) that CAN be used in place of cards that were already included in the core 'Arkham Horror' set and the 'The Dunwich Legacy' expansion set, but which both those products will still play fine without. And a nice box you can keep them all in, with headed separator cards to help organize them by scenario (for the scenario cards) and by set (such as 'rats', and 'creeping chill' etc). There are even titled separator cards prepared for the other expansion sets ('mythos packs') such as 'The Miskatonic Museum' and 'The Essex County Express', none of which cards are included in 'Return''.The marketing stategy is clear -to maximize income from each scenario set while at the same time maximizing replayability for the existing playerbase: a win-win for all in the final analysis, but 'all' defined as only FFG, lcg retailers and those long-time players. (The Ancient Ones?) New players -like myself- meanwhile are presented with an obstacle that may deter further investment/exploration of the hobby if they buy the product thinking it appears to be a new 'deluxe' edition of the otherwise largely unavailable (or at least elusive) 1st expansion and then it arrives and turns out to be merely an expansion of the expansion, so to speak.Having said all that, if I can track down a copy of the original expansion for a reasonable price (and at time of writing I think I may have) I suspect the 'Return'' box will be well worth it, hence the generous 4 stars for a product that I cannot make use of as yet.[Edit] I revisited the FFG website and checked and while the description for the 'Return to The Night of the Zealot' box does in fact make it clear the contents still require a copy of the original 'Night of the Zealot' from the core set, the description for 'Return the The Dunwich Legacy' entirely fails to spell it out. Which is the wrong way round: Zealot was the non-optional core set (you couldn't play the game without it), so any and all purchasers of 'Return...Zealot' would already have the cards they needed -the same is not true of 'Return...Dunwich Legacy' as the original 'Dunwich Legacy' was an optional expansion. Therefore they should be making it explicit in the promo material for 'Return...Dunwich Legacy' (and all future 'Returns') that the original expansion sets will be required to make use of the cards in 'Return...' [end Edit]

I am quite new to board games and I wanted something interesting to play with my flatmate during the lockdown. The game is quite challenging and offers different difficulties. Even though the campaign felt a little bit short (about 2 hours for each of the 3 scenarios), no campaign feels the same because of the option to choose different characters and difficulties, as well as options that have their consequences and resolutions. As with all luck-based games, it can be quite frustrating at times but nothing too crazy.PROS: co-operative (you all play against the game rather than each-other), quite dynamic, fast-progressing rounds; interesting and detailed storyline to really enhance the role-playing experience; beautiful artwork; good mechanics for beginners; customisation options with DLCs and expansion packs;CONS: game rules can be quite tricky and hard to learn at the beginning, we had to look up a few instances online; if you're looking for a long-winded, intricate campaign then this is definitely not the game for you (although with DLCs and expansion packs it could be); luck plays a big role so no matter how good you character is you can still lose; some cards have weird wording on them so it's useful to look up online what they meanOVERALL: I would definitely recommend this game if you're into similar role-playing, storyline games.As for the materials themselves, the game looks well-made and printed on nice stock :).