Trashdome - Fury Of Dracula VS Castle Ravenloft

Jeff White wrote:

NeonPeon wrote:

Jeff White wrote:

FoD, on the other hand, not only requires players that have several plays under their belt

No it doesn't. I'd say to be a good Dracula takes one practice game but that's it. I've only played four times ever, everyone else I've played with has had less experience, with at least one complete newbie per game. All were great games except the one two-player game where my ex didn't really want to play anyway.

Not true. For the game to be competitive, you not only need a competent Dracula player, but the players need to understand the nature of Dracula's abilities...

...Also, a good Dracula player can pretty much isolate a player or two and keep them out of the game.

Fury of Dracula is a battle of wits between Dracula and the Hunter players. For Fury of Dracula to be competitive you need Dracula and at least one Hunter to have the same experience and/or skill level, and three other hunters who are willing to be coached along. I say "and/or" regarding skill and experience, as there are gamers who have the ability to digest and remember a great deal of rules and information quickly and who can form strategies based just on a read through of the rules, while others require playing through the game several times to get to this point.

Fury of Dracula starts to shine when all players are at least moderately skilled as well as equally matched, and improves as the players skills increases. I've found that the game typically "fails to deliver" when all players are, to put it bluntly, incompetent. In this case, Fury of Dracula tends to play out as an over long, overly complicated Scotland Yard. Therefore, when introducing new players to the game, it is, as I mentioned earlier, far more successful if you have a skilled Dracula and at least one skilled Hunter coach.

You also need Hunters who are willing to work closely together and respect each others ideas. Even when a player's character is "out of the game" that player isn't out of the game. He can and should be contributing ideas to the Hunters' overall strategy.

Finally, the game will run much more smoothly with a knowledgeable and experienced Dracula. The fact that Dracula's power cards and tiles are essentially text less presents a steep initial learning curve for the Dracula player. Nothing kills the game faster than a Dracula player with his/her nose in the rules book through out the game, looking up each tile and double checking what their powers do. A significant part of the game is played "off the table" as Sag says. Dracula's goal is to divide and conquer, not just the characters' pawns on the board, but the players themselves. As Dracula, you need to be paying attention to the Hunters discussion; be able to make eye contact with them as they make their moves; sow seeds of fear and doubt with a raised eyebrow; throw them off track with a well timed glance. Twist them until thier discussions escalate to arguments.

The Hunters' job is to resist falling out among themselves. Keep the pressure on Dracula. Make him sweat. Bluff and harass him. Stress him out until he panics and makes mistakes.

Fury of Dracula isn't a game about people playing with pawns and cards. It's a game about people playing with people.

ETA: Cut and paste dropped a paragrah.