Finally, I got the chance to play one of my favorite games again - Fury of Dracula.  Since it's October and I was acting all pittiful about it, I managed to get this fantastic cat-and-mouse game to the table again on Tuesday night.  Unfortunately, in my third incarnation as the evil Count, I suffered my first loss... and it was my own dern fault!

Let's start at the beginning, when each of the hunters were played by different people, including Ian as Lord Godalming, Jen as Dr. Seward, Chris as Van Helsing, and Beth as Mina Harker.  Oh, by the way, just in case I forget to mention it later, as the game progressed we lost hunters left and right.  Ian lost interest and contributed little once it became obvious that Dracula wasn't as furious as the name of the game might indicate.  He later had to leave when Denise left Nick to run the store.  Later, Beth and then Jen had to head home as well (apparently, a 3+ hour game wasn't what they were expecting), and by the end of the game Chris and I were facing off mano-a-mano.  But let's get back to the actual gameplay...


With the hunters claiming well-spaced positions near the four corners of the board, I decided to begin my route in Florence and then make my way down Italy.  Unfortunately, on the second freaking turn, the hunters encountered some Hired Scouts and just happened to guess my current location, Rome.  As the hunters began to direct their movements in my direction, I made my way down to Bari, embarked from there and, thinking to take the less obvious route, sailed deeper into eastern Europe, landing at Salonica.  I moved then through Sofia and Bucharest, but Van Helsing was inspired in his leadership of the humans, and they were again pressing in on me.  I made my way to Varna and then hid there an extra turn to hopefully confuse my pursuers (and get back all my sea cards).

I sailed through the Black and Ionian Seas, and then hoping that they would believe I had progressed into the Mediterranean, I instead disembarked from the Tyrrhenian again into eastern Europe.  But as I headed north through Switzerland, Germany, and into France, I found myself once again surrounded.  I made my way into Amsterdam and again sought refuge amidst the cold waters of the North Sea.  

During this time, I went through a parade of allies, finally settling on Immanuel Hildesheim, who let me hold 6 Event cards instead of the normal 4.  Through a stroke of Good Luck, however, the hunters managed to eliminate him.  But perhaps that card would have been better used later...

From the North Sea, I took the slow route through the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, and then entered the Bay of Biscany, hoping that my opposition would think I had moved all the way down to the Mediterranean or Tyrrhenian sea once again.  In Santander, I converted my first new vampire, then moving down into Spain to kill some time.  My dogged opposition quickly located me again and were closing in on me when I performed a miracle of Evasion and disappeared from the region.

I once again found myself in eastern Europe, this time closer to the seat of my power than ever, starting in Budapest and circling through Szeged, Belgrade, and Sofia.  Through another blind twist of fate, however, more Hired Scouts managed to reveal my trail in Budapest, so the hunters began to close in again, trying to corral me in against a wall of Stormy Seas in the Black Sea.  I therefore doubled-back through Sofia to find a port in the calmer waters of the Ionian Sea.   As they were tracking me down, killing more of the progeny that I had placed in my trail, the vampire I left in Santander finally matured and pushed my vampiric influence above tha half-way point.

I made a short hop through the Adriatic Sea and landed just behind the hunters in Venice.  Since night was upon us, I changed to my Wolf Form and moved swiftly to Nuremburg.  But Van Helsing continued to be a wily opponent, tightening the noose on me as I moved north through central Europe.  I considered cutting back through Berlin towards my castle, but the hunters sealed that route from me through the use of the blasted heavenly host.  So, once again, I repeated my previous route and took to the North Sea by way of Amsterdam.

I was growing weary, and night was getting close on the last day before my glorious victory, so I then sought to get far away from the hunters.  Disembarking from the Atlantic Ocean into Cadiz.  Those acurrsed humans were quick to respond, however, claiming Chartered Carriages and summoning all their resolve in responding to their Sense of Emergency.  As night fell, I again took the form of a Wolf and ran to Barcelona.  But they were practically waiting for me!  Moments after I arrived, Lord Godalming landed there, being Forewarned about the traps I laid, and attacked me.  I was ready, however, flying into a Rage and forcing him to flee.

And that's when it happened.  It was midnight, just a few hours before my victory, and I was sitting at a port that could once again help me leave my pursuers far behind.  But, on the other hand, just behind me in Saragasso, was the weakened Mina Harker who would succumb to a mere 4 wounds or one little bite...  I thought long and hard, and then it happened.  The "Momentary Lapse of Reason" that is.  I looked at the rulebook, the box, the board, and they all said the same thing, "Fury of Dracula".  I asked myself, "Has Dracula been particularly furious this game?", and my answer was no.  "Perhaps," I thought, "it's time for that to change!"

So yes, instead of following my tried and true plan of total yellow-bellied cowardice that had won me two previous games, I decided to go on the attack.  I swooped down on Mina, ready to give the killing blow, but she was prepared with an Escape Route.  Van Helsing joined us there, and they devised a terrible plan that had Mina returning to our fight, this time well-armed and prepared for battle.     
        
Back and forth we went, her trying to stake me dead while I tried repeatedly to deliver the last bite I needed for victory.  In perhaps another unwise choice, I defied their ally Sister Agatha and even used my Fangs once, trying to catch her off guard and losing 2 blood in the attempt.  And then it happened - I was at 5 remaining blood and played Mesmerize to deliver the last bite and she played a stake in an attempt to end me once and for all.  It was inevitable, whoever one this exchange would win the game.  We rolled the dice of fate... and I found myself turning to dust with a stake plunged deep into my undead heart.  It was instead a glorious victory for the hunters, snatched from my ravenous jaws of defeat.  


It had been 350 days since we last played Fury of Dracula, but most of it came back pretty quickly.  The game is really very simple at its core, but with all the hidden movement and variable cards and encounters, there's a lot of room for mistakes.  Personally, I just love the game.  I totally buy into all the tension and planning of the cat-and-mouse chase.  Despite this game lasting 3.5 hours, I was engaged the whole time and had a great time.  The other players didn't think quite as highly of it, however.  

I also noticed that the game got more and more intense as my number of opponents decreased.  By the end, when Chris was running the hunters alone, I could tell a very noticeable improvement in how coordinated (and therefore deadly) their actions were.  I had heard that it was an excellent 2-3 player game, and I'm beginning to see why as I play it more. 

I think that my next game needs both to be on the side of the hunters (for a change) and with only 1-2 other players.  Hopefully, Chris (or someone else) will want to try the challenge of playing the Count and the next game will take place soon.