How does the game play with 5 or 6 characters?

[Chimpy]

I'm considering getting a bunch of friends round to play PACG and I'm sure they'll love it, but I'm curious as to what happens to the game when there are 5 or 6 players. There are still just 30 cards in the blessings deck, right? With 6 players, there are potentially 80 cards to get through. Surely even using cards to explore, it's very hard to complete a scenario without the clock running out?

[agraham2410]

With a few players in this game the clock tends not to be the big issue survival is. With 5 or 6 players its easer to survive but getting the game finished before the clock runs out is a big issue.

So yes you only get 30 turns in total which works out as 5 turns each in a six player game. So you need to make good use of your blessings and other ways to gain additional explorations. Even if that means passing up the chance for more treasure or risking injury by not boosting that attack.

Balancing all that is one of the things that makes this game fun.

So yes its more likly for the clock to run out so you need to keep your focus on the clock.

Have fun.

[Hawkmoon269]

Its definitely a challenge, but also very possible. I play in a six player group that is in the middle of deck 2. We haven't lost since the base set.

You need to explore more per turn, develop ways to scout, and be prepared to temporarily close locations when the villain is encountered.

Its can be a lot of fun for you and your five friends. I highly recommend it.

[kysmartman]

Playing with 5 or 6 players is way, way, way more fun than with fewer players. You get to see more cards, locations, and all henchmen plus there is an actual palpable tension to the game due to time possibly running out.

The only tweak I would say you'd need to make is in constructing your initial decks as the Paizo-constructed decks are truly terrible for 5-6 players as almost every ally doesn't let you discard it to explore again, which is a prerequisite for Allies in the large parties. Really, other than the Burglar, no ally without an explore ability should be kept until you get to AP1, which really means Aldern (IG let's you gain knowledge so always useful). Oh, and explore twice on each player's turn is a must.

[Pixel Hunter]

I've found that you need to be more tactical in a large group. When I play with 5 friends, we explore as often as we can and often have to give up on boons. When we don't explore to the max, those are the games we run out of time on. Having a way to replenish the blessings deck is almost mandatory, like a Holy Candle.

The tactics come into play by closing locations as quickly as possible. We'll often use more blessings and other ways to boost a check than may be necessary just to make sure we can close it. The trick is to find and corner the villain as soon as possible. We rarely close down all the locations, and will focus on spreading everyone out on locations that can easily temp-close. Then flush out the villain and hope to defeat him while everyone blocks him from escaping.