We played Arkham with the King in Yellow as Herald variant last night ... and got our asses kicked.
We were already in a bad way since we drew Shub-Niggurath as the Great Old One, which gave every monster an extra wound. But we also drew an rumor card -- which lasted almost the whole game -- that caused the terror track to advance whenever we rolled a 1-2 during during a special check in the Mythos Phase. That caused us to put a "King in Yellow" market on the Terror track, which not only advanced the track but also forced us to draw a "blight" card. These King in Yellow-specific cards represent the play driving people mad in the city, and each has negative effects (such as if you pay to have your character healed to full strength at the hospital, you lose one sanity).
Combined with a bunch unlucky card draws, well, we were quite clearly doomed.
I will say that it was a lot of fun -- it definitely ratcheted up the difficulty level, and after our two previous wins, I think it was a worthwhile variant to try. I do think we should have concentrated more on getting rid of that rumor (by sacrificing two gate trophies) but then again, getting through the gates was also proving to be a challenge, so we may not have been able to resolve it any faster than we did.
All in all, I liked it. I'd love to play it again some Saturday or Sunday afternoon, when we're all much more awake.
Arkham: King in Yellow, Herald of Bob
Arkham: King in Yellow, Herald of Bob
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange