Like most of us some games sit on my shelves demanding attention, but not getting it. Eldritch Horror is one of those. It ticks all the boxes for theme, play options and eye candy, but I have just not made the effort.
Like many (most) games, it comes with a certain amount of ‘expansionitis”, offerring no fewer than 7 expansions, thankfully finished now, but still.
Four are small box, meaning they only add cards and rules options, no extra boards. These are generally considerred to be good value, one nearly mandatory.
Three are big box expansions adding more game with extra boards. These match the base game for cost and box size and make the core board 50% larger (each). They also change the core game dynamic and need more table room. It is generally not recommended to play all of these at once, but if you have the need for an epic game then go for it.
Enough. Chock full of cards and options, but not a huge table hog.
One is a big/small box expansion, which offers several extra rules options and mechanics including a campaign system and backgrounds, but no board so no extra table space is required. It also “completes” the cycle, which means it leaves some wasted resources or forces system completion, so assume this if waste bothers you.
I have chosen to take an Everdell approach* to this.
Two of the small box sets (Cities in Ruin and Foresaken Lore) are universally lauded as either the best or most necessary expansions to get. FL is a must, considered universally to be required to complete the core game (which is a little thin in some card stacks). You could leave it at that.
Cities in Ruin is the one single expansion that makes everyone’s top three favourites list. The other two add useful content and rules and generally make the game deeper, but not that much more complicated. Needed or not, these last two (Carcossa and Remnants) are never seriously criticised as useless or game breaking, just less compulsive purchases compared to the other two.
The rest are all over the place, never reaching close to universal agreement on ranking lists (two lists I found today had virtually polar opposite opinions on the bigger sets, but much the same take on the small box ones).
Pyramids, Madness and Dreamlands are the big three, but I am avoiding these as they break the “Everdell rule”, which is to say, they do not stick to the base board only, or are not all useable at once, nor do they protect the core mechanics or add needed or recommended improvements.
With Everdell, I have added the three small expansions (Extra Extra, Legendary and Rugwort) the bigger Bellfaire, which adds some board space but does so seamlessly (and replaces the clumsy tree). It also adds several game play elements that add balance and fix a few road-blocks from the core game and includes better Solo options (Rugwort realised*) all without clutter. I have just added Mistwood which further improves solo play and adds more core content without a board addition or a shift in overall “vibe”.
The 4 small box expansions are good, the 3 big ones creep into “obsessive” territory and if I get one…….. .
Nyarlathotep is the outlier. It has no board (tick), but adds elements that complete the full set, so holes are left if you don’t have it all. It also has a mixed rep for rules implementation and fun to complexity ratio.
What do I have if this is my hard cap?
8 Old Ones, 24 Investigators, several useful expansions to the core mechanics and a ton of depth in all card stacks. More would be just more, with added density (but not necessarily depth), more intimidation factor and to be frank, less appeal. The Focus mechanic from MoM is well liked, but I can download the rules and use some leftover X Wing Focus counters.
Control exercised, balance retained.
*Turns out Rugwort is also improved with a free fan made solo variant found on BGG called “Everdell Unrigged”. This makes 5 solo options total.