[Jilly Hoo]

Thanks for the review, as CoC is my game of choice and it is interesting to see how it is marketed to newbies. I havene't seen this set, though I might download a copy to give it my own once-over.

I agree that decent, atmospheric, illustrations would have been a good idea. Call of Cthulhu is one of those games where atmosphere is everything, and a picture tells a thousand words. Production and the initial impact go a long way to pulling people in to a new game, and it looks like a chance has been missed on these.

"The Haunting" is a good scenario for a one-off, but as you say, it is so dated now as to be as unexpected as the Jaws movie. Maybe complete newcomers will still have fun with it. I would have expected there to have been plenty of good one-offs available, though. Some of the "fan"-produced scenarios are every bit as deep and challenging as official material, and I dare say an amateur writer would have been only too happy to see his creation used in a free handout.

Disappointing, and hardly conducive to attracting new players.