Flashback Friday - Fury of Dracula - Love It of Hate It?

Michael Barnes wrote: One of the all time greatest games.

Oddly, I’ve been lax on getting the new edition (I’ve had all three previous ones)...and I’ve kind of been thinking that I want to go back to 1st edition to be honest. It’s simpler, a little goofier, and I love the classic heavy line GW art.

3rd/4th edition is pretty great though.

Yeah, I came here to post a similar sentiment.

The comparison between 1st and 3rd/4th is a classic case of losing sight of how valuable fluffy assets are in tabletop games. On paper, there's no contest: the newer edition has deeper strategy, better components and a richer evocation of its theme. It should win this contest hands down.

Except that somewhere along the line, someone forgot that the real appeal of this game is simply the sense of the feeble hunters pitting themselves against the lord of darkness. And in 1st edition, Dracula is scarier. He's better hidden and tougher in a fight. He gets to be scarier in half the time for a quarter of the rules. He plots scary schemes which make his turns last longer, so the game doesn't have a skewed downtime where Dracula is left with little to do when his go finally comes around.

Don't get me wrong: the latest version remains a great game. But the original should get far more credit than it does. I know which I'm busting out this Halloween when I break out some games for the kids.

I think I’d be more inclined to bring 1st out than 2nd, which is the weakest edition when you really get down to it. At least 1st decides that it’s going to be sillier and sticks with it where 2nd tries to merge a deeper strategy game with the goofy stuff and it causes more frustration than anything else.

I've played the 1st edition countless times, and it's still good, but, the later editions are superior (for my money) because it's easier to find Dracula.

While it's fun as Dracula (1st ed) to lose the hunters and the game to grind on another 2 hours, it's not so much fun for everyone else at the table. The constant pressure of the hunters on your back in 3rd keeps the game tighter. Plus I like Dracula's new lair (hideout?) ability!