I used to own the old GW version.  how does this one compare?  any updates or just repackaging?

Yo. Don't know the previous version, but I'm sure of one thing : no simple repackaging, man. For instance, the trail of Dracula is set by cards you put face down. And Dracula doesn't hide behing a wall like in old school rpgs (I think he use to, in GW version, right ?)

If you want more precise details, I recommend one thing, which is to read the rules. Come on. FFG is the best company ever, they put all their rules for free on their site. I got ALL THEIR RULES printed !!! Even games I don't own  :D   it helps deciding to buy or not.

Plem45 said:

The new version has a similar feel to the old one, but some of the key mechanics are different.  Instead of moving on a hidden map, Dracula leaves a trail of location cards marking where he's been.  These cards start face down (potentially with encounter tokens on them) but can be turned face up if the hunters get cards that let them reveal where the count has been.

The combat engine is basically the same as before, although day/night is now tracked by a persistent sun marker rather than by random roll before a battle.

There's a bunch of new content - a fourth hunter in the form of Mina Harker, new encounter chits, new cards in the deck, etc.  All the components are the standard high quality you've come to expect from FFG and the rules are mostly pretty tight since a lot of it was borrowed from the GW edition.

In short, it has the same feel as the original, but it's a different engine.  The addition of flavour text in the form of journal entries (mimicking the style of the novel) is a nice touch.  The only drawback in my opinion is that Dracula is not allowed to double back on his trail due to the card mechanic, which I find limits my options when the hunters are closing in.  It takes some getting used to, that's all.

Thanks that really helps, I will probably get it.

I would recommend it for sure if you liked the older version.

This version is a lot better. In the previous version Dracula didn't leave much of a trail and so it was fairly easy to evade Hunters. This time round it's a lot easier to pick up the spoor and chase him down.

The only questionable aspect was Resolve, which could instant teleport Hunters onto Dracula, but you can house rule that to a free Road, Rail and Rowboat