Fury of Dracula: What exactly am I missing?

I hate games that are prolonged just because they can be. I really wanted to like Fury, but it just seemed monotonous after a while. I'd much rather play NY Chase, even WITH the stupid assed hat. Are the theme and great looking components supposed to make up for the tiring feeling of finding Dracula, only having to chase him around the board some more? Or did I just suck (yes, I said it) as a hunter the couple times I played?

Have you played as Dracula yet?

Otherwise you could also limit the Hunter Players to two, which speeds up play. But I like it with one player per character.

Probably nothing - just because it is in the AT camp doesn't mean we all have to like it.
I've played both editions now and prefer parts of both for different reasons - but the game in both versions is a 'challenge' and you have to work for it, and sometimes it may not work for one of the players - one game with the FFG version I never even got near Dracula before it ended on Drac's victory points.

Hush Tom, he does have to like it. We have established doctrine here! You were supposed to chime in with how you "rather" like the game and demonstrate to Dave how he is missing all of this subtlety and elegance.

Wait, don't do that, I'll kill you if you do.

The two versions are strangely enough kind of different games...Robartin vastly prefers the old one for example because the movement is totally different and there are actually different tactics. I like the new one better because I think there's more interesting things Drac can do and I like the extra details although some things ("Sense of Emergency") are kind of lame balancing mechanics.. I don't like that they're not called "Szgany Gypsies" any more.

One of the keys to FoD really working as far as I'm concerned is that the Dracula player has to be in it not necessarily to win, but to make the game fun and exciting. If Dracula skulks around actively trying to be on the other side of the board at all times, it can get very dull. I've played games with a bad Dracula that were no fun whatsoever and wound up in this repetitive loop of not finding a god damned thing and then everybody realizes that Dracula is in England or something. If Dracula plays aggressively, or at least antagonistically, there's a lot more drama and excitement.

When I play Dracula, I like to hang around where one or two investigators are...that way, you can lure them into traps with the encounters and even pop out at night for a little one-on-one attention. I don't play to just hide- that's fucking boring.

I did get burned out on Fury of Dracula for a while, not because the game was lacking for entertainment value, but just because I took a bunch of games with me the last time I visited old friends in Indy, and they loved FoD so much that we played 6 times in 2 days.

Just in those six games, not even counting the other 20+ times that I've played it, I have seen a considerable variety in gameplay. Sometimes the game is a longish game of cat-and-mouse with only fleeting glimpses of Dracula. Other times, it's a breakneck sprint to the end, with the hunters repeatedly catching and fighting Dracula, until they finally take him down or he runs the clock out. Those are both typical games. And some times Dracula can win really fast, with 2 points from the clock, 2 points from hatching a vampire and 2 points from beating up a hunter.

One game, Dracula tried to tiptoe around following one of the hunters, until that hunter unexpectedly headed back the way he came. By turn four of that game, Dracula was dead. My favorite was the time that this one really intellectual guy in our group finally played Dracula. He was looking forward to a subtle battle of wits, but we got lucky and found him really early. The rest of that game was a series of increasingly violent battles resulting in a win for Dracula: 2 points from the clock and 4 points for beating up hunters.

When I played the game, it always ended in a final battle. One even with that "hero" card.

I don't like the VP system in the FFG version (well, not the standard one anyway), but then think that the GW version can 'get lost' if the Dracula player (as Mike mentioned) doesn't want to play but just to win.
But I do like the Day/Night chart as it gives both hunters and Drac a chance to tactically plan what time of day their combat occurs rather than risk a 50/50 dice roll.

Both versions are a great experience if the players want an experience, otherwise it chances being terrible.

Michael Barnes wrote:

One of the keys to FoD really working as far as I'm concerned is that the Dracula player has to be in it not necessarily to win, but to make the game fun and exciting. If Dracula skulks around actively trying to be on the other side of the board at all times, it can get very dull.

Quoted for truth. The first time I played was against a Dracula who had played before but apparently had zero ability to recall the rules, so he spent every turn looking up something in the book. He constantly evaded confrontations and I don't remember a single time where he actually attacked a hunter. The game dragged on for almost FOUR HOURS before we mutually agreed to end it so people could drive home without falling asleep at the wheel.

I'm hosting a game of this while my wife is out of town next weekend and will be teaching 4 new players (I'll be Dracula). To make sure there's plenty of fun and to make sure people get into the theme I think I'll tweak it a little bit, like removing the Evasion card. And dammit, I will play to win and not just sneak around a lot, which means there will be some hunters getting BITTEN.

One idea that has been talked about but never tried in our games so far: have Dracula pounce on somebody on turn two. Most likely the hunters are very spread out and have shit for equipment. That could be a quick 2 VP.

See, the trail system in FFG's edition makes more sense to me because it's more about _tracking_ Dracula...you can find the trail a lot easier, which prevents Drac from just disappearing. Newspaper Reports and Evasion in the GW version are MUCH more devastating.

The second turn Dracula attack is fun...I've done it before in both the GW and FFG editions...the only problem is that you're in the daylight with the FFG edition. Better to wait until the first sunset. In the GW one, you can really fuck some shit up if you're lucky.

An update on my Fury of Dracula night with the noobs...

The four friends I had over really enjoyed the game. We were all drinking plenty of beer and trash talking like crazy, so there was zero danger of fun murdering. I gave them a few hints along the way but for the most part they really grasped the co-op nature of the hunt on their own.

Imagine my joy when I pulled 3 New Vampire encounters for my opening hand. I deposited them along the Italian peninsula but sadly couldn't mature any of them as the hunters were lucky enough to find them all during daylight! I only went to sea once, staying on the offensive during nighttime as much as I could. After getting a bite on Dr Seward I used Wolf Form to chase him down again--delivering a 2nd bite to send him packing to the Hospital of St Joseph and St Mary...2 big points for Dracula! I also bit Van Helsing in a tussle, but he's made of sturdier stuff. A new dawn sapped my strength and I let him be for a while. With one hunter KIA and two new days, I was up to a score of 4 and thought I would close in on Mina Harker in Le Havre to seal the deal. I played Rage to discard her best item, but sadly I discovered she had TWO Stakes. Her remaining Stake and some diabolical rolling on my part led to my unexpected demise and a jubilant group of hunters (with cliche mocking about being killed by a girl).

Two of these guys had never played any games with me before, so I was interested in their reactions. You could practically see their pre-conceived notions of nerd games evaporating. Thank god for Ameritrash, ladies and gentlemen.

I always get the worst rolls as dracula at night Even when odds are stacked in my favor.

JoelCFC25 wrote:

You could practically see their pre-conceived notions of nerd games evaporating.

That's always a good feeling.