Elder Sign: Girl Power

Elder Sign: JennyThose of you who saw the Elder Sign episode of TableTop probably remember the “Girl Power!” moment shared by Felicia Day (playing the psychologist, Carolyn) and Wil Wheaton (playing the student, Amanda). (For the record, Wheaton initiated the idea; he explained to their confused teammates that it made perfect sense because he was role playing a girl.)

Lately, I’ve been relying on Girl Power in my Elder Sign gaming: while I used to start with a mixed team of male and female characters, in recent games I’ve gone with an all-girl crew of Kate (the scientist), Jenny (the dilettante), Mary (the nun) and Amanda (the student). It’s worked so well that I’ve been reluctant to break up my winning combination — although I have no hesitation at picking a male character if one of my ladies dies during game play. (The Doctor tends to be my next pick, despite the fact that he looks nothing like David Tennant.)

I never really made a deliberate decision to choose an all-girl unit. But after trying out most of the characters in different combinations, I found that I preferred the skills these ladies brought to the game and liked the way they worked as a group. It seems to be a winning strategy, or maybe it’s just blind luck; I won my last two games easily, despite going up against some of the most difficult cards in the deck (including The Curator and The Koi Pond, both of which foxed me in the past). In fact, in one game I didn’t fail a single adventure, which was a first for me. (I probably should have run to the store immediately and bought a lottery ticket… oh well.)

So I’m sticking with my girls and keeping my favorite fellows (Vincent/The Doctor, Bob/The Salesman, Darrell/The Photographer and Monterey/The Archeologist) as backup… at least, until I get my hands on the Elder Sign expansion. Because who knows what fun new characters might bring?

(Do you play Elder Sign? If so, what’s your favorite character? Please share in the comments!)