When is a good time to add the expansion materials from Branch & Claw to the core game?
When is a good time to add the expansion materials from Branch & Claw to the core game?
The only firm answer is "not right away!" - it adds extra complexity while you're learning the core rules, makes some core Invader dynamics more variable (and thus harder to learn), and the awesome variety it offers isn't nearly so awesome without understanding of the core game.
As a rough gauge, the more of the below questions you'd say "yes" to, the more natural it'd be to start using the expansion:
- Are you comfortable with the core game's mechanics? (No longer need to use the player aid cards / look up basic rules in the rulebook while playing, though you might consult the FAQ for edge cases. This question is the most important of the lot.)
- Have you played some of the Medium/High-complexity Spirits?
- Have you seen much of the core game's diversity? (Played many of the Spirits / played alongside all of them; taken or considered-taking all of the Minor Powers and many of the Major Powers.)
- Are you winning games with Difficulty higher than 0? (Playing against Adversaries, or the more difficult Scenarios.)
- Do you REALLY REALLY like new stuff and want to add the expansion materials as soon as possible?
- Are there more-experienced players in the game with you? (Particularly if they're already familiar with the expansion materials.)
- Are you able to predict victory more than a turn in advance? (With the only Invader randomness being the new Explore card, seasoned players can reach a point where they foresee victory multiple turns ahead of time, even when playing on a good difficulty level for them. If you've hit this point, I actively recommend breaking out the expansion, as its Event deck returns an edge of uncertainty - and thus, tension - to such situations.)
If you can say "yes" to at least 2-3 of these - definitely including the first one - then introducing the expansion is reasonable. If you can say "yes" to 4 or more of them, then by all means, break it out!
(Another reasonable POV someone expressed: "Events - added in the expansion - are best when you have enough of the game system internalized that it's easy to predict what the Invaders will do. The Event Deck combats this by adding some randomness. But if you're not yet at the stage where you feel like you can picture the board 1 or 2 turns in advance, adding Events will just make it harder to do that. So waiting on the expansion until then isn't a bad idea." Though some folks like the Events more for their theme and occasional hard choices than their effects on the Invaders per se, so this may not be universal.)
