New year starts with a bite

Just today I got to play Fury of Dracula again after quite a while.

Different from last time was that we had three players now.

I played the Dracula, and against two hunter players playing a hunter looked like a lot more fun than in just two player game!

Playing Count Dracula was also exciting, as it has always been. This time it was overly thrilling, when I was really lucky when it came to exposing Dracula's trail. It seemed that wherever the hunters went, they picked just the wrong space or when press revealed locations the hunters chose just the wrong cities that weren't part of Draculas trail.

However, the two party-pooper cards came along, both for Dracula and both for Hunters. Evasion and Hypnotism.

But luckily they both came during the same game, so there was enough excitement for both parties.

But hypnotism is quite harsh card when hunters have two resolve and one relentless pursuit or whatever the event was that acted like using resolve... At dawn hypnotism was used. At noon three hunters came at Dracula with stakes, sacred bullets and all such things blazing.

With five blood drops remaining, Dracula escaped to Marseilles.

Hunters had two guesses where Dracula went from four possible choices.

Van Helsing picked Marseilles.

Dracula met his fate embarrassingly with a knife in his back.

Dracula hunting

Yesterday we played a second game of Fury of Dracula.

This time I was playing the hunters, and obviously the game experience was a lot different.

First of all I deployed my hunters initially a bit weirdly, leaving almost all of Eastern Europe empty. I did have Van Helsing himself and even Lord Godalming going to have a little trek there, but Van Helsing tried to catch train and was "delayed by the papers" twice in a row, and even Godalming once.

And as it turned out, Dracula started in Eastern Europe, very close to Castle Dracula.

It was an epic game, and during whole game I think Dracula got more event cards than hunters, which is somewhat rare as there are about twice as much bonus cards for hunters than for Dracula in the same deck...

It seems that Dracula needs to be quite careful, as once his trail starts to unveil, the knot tightens around his undead neck very fast.

This time Mina Harker fought Dracula three times. Two first times were quite filmatic. First, bitten Van Helsing was hypnotised and Dracula announced his next move. Mina Harker used one resolve to go to the town where Dracula was heading.

When they encountered, Dracula played "Trap" card, but Mina had taken that into account, she knew Dracula knew she was waiting him. And played "Advance Planning".

Well, ultimately Dracula escaped and the final encounter was somewhere in Italy, when the doctor had tried to confront Dracula, but just as he was going in with his crucifix shining bright, a herd of wild horses came and brought him to Rome.

It was time for Mina to use a resolve token again, finally putting the end to Count Dracula.

"Come, my beautiful, beloved one. Leave these mortal dregs behind... Uh, what's that stake you're holding for, my dear?"

It's getting late, but a friend is visiting me and brought Fury of Dracula with him.

We just finished playing one game and it was all good.

I was playing the Dracula and we're planning to play another game some other day when I'll be the hunters.

Anyway, I started dangerously close to one hunter. He was in England and Dracula started in Ireland. I pulled a good bluff by using Hide -skill tactically in Ireland before moving to Atlantic Ocean.

Ah well, I'm way too tired to write a longer report. I may edit and add more later.

Except I'll say a word about the game rules itself: I liked them. There was a real thrill of a hunt. Though Dracula always felt a bit cornered, he also felt a bit cocky and arrogant. "Yeeeah... sure they got firepower, but they can never penetrate my disguise!"

At one place I messed up with the Dracula's Track. I had thought of escaping to Atlantic Ocean when Dracula was cornered in Biscayan Bay, but the card was already reserved there.

That lead to Dracula's ultimate demise, when Mina Harker attacked him when the sun was setting, yet it wasn't night.