dvang said:

Then it would be Arkham Horror.  This is the game for those that want a little more of a competitive feel.  Plus, if you want to be on the co-op side, you can still be an investigator and let someone else who wants to be competitive be the keeper.  I love (let me repeat that, LOVE) AH.  It's been my first and favorite board game for years, but I'm really happy to see something new come out under the apparently new category, Arkham Horror Files.  I've never played Descent or Doom, but I've always wanted to.  The problem is, I only buy a game when I can muster interest in it first, and I have a very picky group of friends.  So, alas, I haven't picked those up, but Mansions of Madness looks like it's close enough in play style that I'll kind of get my wish, and they'll get to enjoy more Lovecraftian goodness.  Maybe, just maybe, this will get them interested in Descent or Doom.

I am very excited about this game.   When I heard they were releasing a new CoC board game my first thoughts were something along the lines of DOOM or DESCENT with a Lovecraft theme.  That was my first choice and this seems fit the bill.  I love the card game, love Arkham Horror and can't wait for this game to hit the shelves.  I was extremely excited about the AH painted minis and went right out and bought my own copy of the base game.

It would be great if FFG could figure out a tie in with AH.   Hope the painted minis are compatible.  Regardless I'm very happy about this release. 

Good idea FFG, I hope the game is as good as the idea.

And what a nice tie in for the RPG. 

I agree.

Worst case, this product gives you a TON of material for the RPG. Best case, it's a great lite RPG that allows for quicker play and easier pickup between games. It reminds me a bit of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay as well as Decent.

I'm also excited with the "Arkham Horror Files" label. It's be great to see more lovecaftian games coming out.

 I've been saying for YEARS that I'd love to see FFG do a CoC RPG, MAYBE I'll get my wish someday....

Sure looks like we're heading towards an FFG take over of CoC doesn't it?

They could do worse.

I'm hopeful there will be expansions with new investigators/monsters/scenarios.

I love the whole concept of this game.  It would also be nice if the painted minis were compatible but that's not a deal breaker for me either way.  I"ll buy this game AND the painted minis.  I was very upset with FFG when they appeared to back up on the painted minis concept. 

I'm glad to see it back and I'm beside myself with impatience for this game to be released.

MORE MORE MORE

They know how to pull us !! This looks nice and like an alternative for those Lovecraftian gaming nights...

But, to make it awfully short, isn't it a mythos based Doom-like ? ( Well, with cards.... but will it really make any difference ? )

le_renard said:

Yeah, probably a little more like Descent, in that regard.  Even still, should be a nice change up.  I'm not really all that in to LCGs, so I never played Call of Cthulu, so I'm happy to get another Lovecraftian board game.

Looks great! I cant wait to read the rules.........

I cannot overstate how excited I am for this. My group and I have been looking for something new to sink our teeth into and I think this might just be it. No doubt my credit card company is going to love me too.

Don't get me wrong.  My wife and I love AH for its co-op play.  Comparing MM & AH, I see it as a potential for degrees.  AH is a more 'macro' game.  The characters move from neighborhood to neighborhood across the city.  There is only a slim story, though.

MM is more zoomed in and more RPG/character focused.  There is a "deep" story with a plot.  The characters are in a single building/grounds. Players get to customize their characters to a degree.  It seems like it is more personal and detailed than AH (again, not saying AH isn't a great game, because it is).  However, my wife dislikes playing 1v1 or 1-vs-many games.  We've played Fury of Dracula, for example, which she didn't hate but didn't particularly enjoy either.  Perhaps it is partially because I am pretty good at boardgames, so when I play Dracula/the Keeper/etc I tend to do very well.  She never wants to play the "evil", though.  She truly enjoys working with others against the game.

That's why I suggested I was a bit disappointed that it didn't have a pure co-op option.  While I expect that I will pick the game up, it won't see as much play from us because of the adversarial nature, unlike AH.  I can probably get her to try it out once 1v1, but otherwise it will sit in the basement except in times where we're got 4 or more people to play.  Conversely, we occasionally break out AH for some 2-player games with just the two of us.

To me it looks like the designers really looked at one of the criticisms of Arkham Horror, the inconsistent storyline, and created a system for that. They may have decided to make it mostly cooperative (Descent/Dracula) because they either couldn't find a card based system that worked as well as a live opponent, or they just plain wanted to make it a little more competitive.

From the early previews and designer diaries, Mansions seems to borrow a little mechanically from different games. The Overlord/Keeper player and the scaling based on the number of investigators (similar to the threat tokens in Descent), the buildable mansion like Betrayal (except not random), the title from the Call of Cthulhu RPG, and mooching characters from Arkham.

I would imagine the investigator figures are unpainted versions from the painted figure line. Similar to FFGs re-using Descent and Runebound figures. The monster figures with the slot in the base would seem to hold the Arkham Horror monster chit. This would also make sense, FFG could re-use the monster tiles and AH fans could use the figures for both games.

Woot! I've seen the demo game at SPIEL '10 today! Awesome!

Photos will follow, now I need sleep!

Here you go:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/el_igore/sets/72157625223227032/with/5107502500/

The game was a prototype worth $300 because the monster figs were made of resin. This will be changed to normal figure plastic in the commercial version. It looks like the AH monster tokens will fit into the slots of the bases, but the holes at the topside won't correspond with the layout of the AH tokens.

I saw a puzzle in which the investigators had to assemble a map or document from 8 cardboard pieces. They had to follow some rules how they could swap pieces. The + shaped piece on one of the photos looks like a part of a puzzle too.

All in all it looked like a really fun game! Can't wait to get it!

Sadly the demonstrator said the release date was again postponed to February.

i am not a big fan of those plastic minis :-/ but it looks like in MoM they may be easier to distinguish from each other with the stats shown on each. and it looks like they are easier to distinguish from the player characters (one thing i hate about MEQ). also, the stands look like they are stable, and don't warp alot like about 50 % of my Descent monsters. but still, all in all i would prefer the AH monsters material and game price. i really like to see colors(!) on the players and monsters, even if that means they are cardboards instead of mins.

any info on a box inlay yet? something serious like AH, or just a big nothing like MEQ and Descent?

letsdance said:

They said, the monsters will have different stats (even if they are of the same type) and you won't know how strong a specific monster is until you look on the bottom side of the token in the base. Which you can't do apparently until you decide to fight with it. So it's more risky to fight with a monster than in AH.

The inlay of the demo box was just folded cardboard. You can see it here: www.flickr.com/photos/el_igore/5107317334/

I don't know if this will be changed in the commercial version.

Looks ike the standard FFG Insert of late.Cadwallon however did come with a nice Plastic insert.

OD