I recently punched a copy of Fury of Dracula third edition that had been sitting on my shelf for several years for a Horror Themed game night. This particular version is out of print, thanks to the Fantasy Flight – Games Workshop divorce, but the good news is that Game Workshop recently married Wiz Kids, and a new edition is on the agenda.
I actually have a copy of the original Fury of Dracula from 1987, along with the special miniatures that came with the game then. The third edition comes with some nice plastic miniatures, which look to be about 20mm, size-wise. I’m going to paint them in the near future.
Fury of Dracula third edition is easy to learn, with my group of two adults and three teens figuring it out in short order. Dracula’s movement is hidden, and tracked by location cards placed upside down on one end of the board. On their turn, the Vampire Hunters visit cities across Europe, travelling by road and rail to find clues as to Dracula’s whereabouts. When they happen across one of the locations that Dracula has previously visited, the card is revealed and actions resolved. Revealing these cards lets the Vampire Hunters begin to deduce Dracula’s path and converge on possible locations.
The Fantasy Flight third edition is a better game than the original, with a neat card track (shown in the photo above) that Dracula uses to play/record his movement. In the original, there was a separate board with a screen. I also like the card based combat. With day and night phases, the hunters can act twice per turn, while Dracula can activate only at night.
The game is tense, and oozes theme. Deep strategy it is not. A Euro it is not. It does, however, build a good story. In our first game, Dracula was cornered and eliminated in the nick of time. In the second, the Vampire Hunters knew where he had to be, but were unable to corner him before he spread his influence and horror all over Europe.
Assuming that Wiz Kids doesn’t mess this up, I recommend this game.