I ' ve just woken up and I ' m still really sleepy <| sep |> I almost cut myself on that edge . God damn <| sep |> I ' ve played the core game only before . Gameplay wise , you will totally love the game with just the core box . You will have hours and hours worth of content . They just announced the core game now goes to 30 lantern years , so that ' s roughly 60 hours for a full campaign without losing a settlement of course ! based on the speed my group played at . If it ' s your first time playing , I do not see a reason why you need to get the expansions up front , unless you really have money burning a hole in your pocket or you are someone who really loves painting and displaying miniatures . The expansions add variety for later play throughs but I do not think it is a good idea to throw those on to the first campaign you play . My personal recommendation would be to hold off on expansions until you get the game . If your group is really digging it , then start keeping an eye out on the store . There will be another Black Friday sale next year , and by then you will know if it ' s worth it to throw even more money at the game . Plus , with the new expansions coming out , the recommendations of expansions to get will likely change !