Miscellany: Eldritch Horror - Mountains of Madness review

My friends and I are huge fans of Eldritch Horror, Fantasy Flight's world-spanning board game based on the H.P. Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos. One big omission from the original game, though, was a scenario based on Lovecraft's best story, the haunting novella "At the Mountains of Madness." In that tale, a group of explorers travel to Antarctica, only to encounter an enormous abandoned city full of strange writings and unspeakable evil.

Fantasy Flight's Eldritch Horror expansion, unimaginatively titled "Mountains of Madness," aims to put you in the shoes of those unlucky explorers. It includes a brand new Antarctica sideboard, as well as some non-Antarctic-related goodies - investigators, encounter cards, Ancient Ones, and assets:

The overall effect is to make an already epic game even more epic. Even if you don't use the Antarctica board or the new cold-themed Ancient Ones, the new cards add a lot more options and a lot more flavor to the game. It's also more balanced than most Fantasy Flight expansions - none of the new cards appear to be gamebreaking, and the inclusion of a "focus" mechanic does a lot to smooth out the randomness of the base game. If you're at all a fan of Eldritch Horror, this is a must-buy.