The Encounter Set

Henry: Arkham Horror the Card Game is one of our favorite games - probably our favorite game, in fact. We've completed a collection of all content up to 2025, at which point the game ended "Chapter One" and is now starting "Chapter Two." We're still considering whether the changes in Chapter Two are going to shake us out of the game, but while we're waiting on news about that, we decided to explore a section of Arkham we hadn't yet hit... Lily: The custom digital content on Tabletop Simulator has been singing a siren song for as long as we've been playing with friends online. There was always the intention to play all of the physical content that we owned before diving into the fan made stuff, but it took until the completion of Chapter One for us to feel like we were actually caught up. The campaigns I've skimmed through range from zombie apocalypse to time travel to space adventures, all a distinct departure from the 20s Lovecraftian vibes ...

Henry: It was time for another Mansions of Madness this weekend. This time: Rising Tide.  Lily: An Innsmouth adventure! I like the setting for board and card games. We play Call of Cthulhu, too, and the setting of Innsmouth would annoy me in an RPG or video game, but it's good for board games. The hatred of outsiders is less frustrating in a board game than an RPG. Henry: Yorick is no longer with us, so Charlie Kane will be accompanied by Silas Marsh the sailor. Ms. Chen and Father Mateo return. Silas will be the bruiser for this duo. The Void Cat and the Cookie Cat joined us tonight. Moby also helps us pay our cat tax. Henry: The objective here is to find two cultists amongst a list of six suspects: local drunk Zadok Allen, private detective Victor Blake, aspiring author Bobby Foster, hotel manager Othera Gilman, sweet bookseller Joyce Little, and wealthy socialite Sylvia Marsh. This scenario takes place over multiple nights. The first night is about exploring near the hotel. The ...

Henry: The other night, Lily and I played Mansions of Madness 2E. This is a solid board game that we play a bit like role-playing game. We've played it a few times, and come to the realization that the game works best when we are each playing two investigators. We got into this game because of playing Arkham Horror the Card Game, and are more used to that level of complexity and decisions you make on your turn. With Arkham Horror investigators getting 3 actions and a full deck of cards to play with, while Mansions of Madness investigators get only 2 actions and limited items, it was an easy bridge to cross. The dramatic readings at the beginnings of these scenarios are always nice. Lily: We don't seem to be getting as much into the role of the characters when we play Arkham Horror, and that might be more based upon the role-playing choices inherent in choosing what items and allies are on your side than playing two-handed, but who is to say. Moby decided to join us for game nig...

Henry: Lily and I had the chance to play Malifaux 4th Edition for the first time today. We enjoyed playing a few Third Edition, but when we heard Fourth Edition was coming out, we decided to put the game on the shelf until the next edition was released. Lily: I think our paint schemes have held up fairly well, despite how much better we've gotten at painting since we started the miniature hobby. That being said, I would love to revisit these miniatures and give them a few touch-ups now that we have better brushes and washes. Henry: Malifaux is skirmish game where highly-themed Crews go up against each other in various objectives. It uses decks of cards rather than dice, which is a fun change of pace and helps bring up that old west vibe. Henry: We played our first game with Crews we were each playing for the first time - Lily took the Performers I'd been playing before, and I took my Ace Attorney themed Elites. Henry: We're still working on putting together our boards - we ...