Zoey looks straightforward. A statline of 4/2/4/2 leaves very little room for interpretation. You don't fear the mythical, you're not interested in gathering clues, you kill things and you don't run. You get money for engaging enemies, so you get rewarded for what you do anyway.

Therein lie a few pitfalls I fell for. Sometimes, running is the better option. For example after you depleted your last shot on your lightning gun, but before you could play your extra ammunition. Sometimes you need to pass a book test anyway and your inflexibility hurts you. And most of all, you're not gonna be rich. Especially are you getting more money after entering combat repeatedly. But you do want money to get ready for combat in the first place. It's hard to fight an unspeakable monster with your bare fists, and it hurts to play your beat cop after engaging the head cultist.

Guardian is a pretty money hungry faction, as most of their powerful cards are assets costed at 3+. A few of them cost 5 or 6. And you don't get much access outside of the faction cards. And guardian cards reflect Zoey's investigator card. You're bad at clues and bad at running. Rejoice though, as guardians do get some great economy cards. Stand together, "I've had worse", Ever Vigilant are card that can alleviate all this money hunger.

Take great care what you do with your 5 other class slots. It's the same as for all Dunwich Investigators, but Guardian cards are, like Seeker cards, very inflexible in what they're goot at. You get better at fighting things, protecting others and somewhat better at willpower tests. That doesn't mean that you should try Rite of Seeking, since:

1. It is expensive at 4,
2. You cannot upgrade it to get a +2 willpower boost and
3. It's even more expensive to increase your willpower with assets like Holy Rosary at 2, Police Badge at 3 or Brother Xavier at 5.

Additionally, a lot of Zoey's unique power is in her signature card. Yes, that is a bad thing. Zoey's Cross can do 1 damage at will, since you get spending money for it the very moment you can activate it. This is incredibly useful, it deals with 1 health enemies like Whippoorwills and Rat Swarms better than any other investigator and gives you flexibility to deal that 1 extra damage tha would be left after you swing your Machete, or that 1 extra health left after you shoot your Lightning Gun. And if that is not the case, you can still take the 1 resource. The problem is, YOU HAVE TO DRAW IT FIRST. Unlike Sophie, which starts in play for Mark Harrigan, or the text written on Roland Banks or Tommy Muldoon or anyone else, you may spend half your games without access to the best part of your investigator.

The temple guardian breathed down the heavyweight’s neck, but the brawler didn’t stop rubbing chalk on the wall. The patterns were familiar, and familiarity meant safer when you were three miles underground.

The creature was surprised, of course, when it swung a halberd the size of a telephone pole and missed.

When one of its fangs cracked, it retreated into the mists. Humans were tricky.

“Explain it to me again.” Akachi was preparing another Shrivelling blast against an archer, trying to duck and weave while still pushing Randall's wheelchair through the underbrush.

“Because it looks like your brother is only using the knife on defense. That seems ineffective. And the bandolier...it seems complicated.”

“I thought you were all about spirits.”

The shaman sighed, as nearby the boxer defeated a warrior with a patented combination, readying for another.

Yorick readied his shovel. His coat was in tatters, his beloved teddy bear ripped into shreds before his eyes... And the unquiet dead of prehistory had begun to surround him. It wouldn’t be a fun fight, even if he wasn’t bleeding internally.

“Why don’t you take on a real man?” yelled the pugilist from two blocks and 1000 years away.

The monsters turned...and charged. The gravedigger smiled faintly at the sound of skulls hitting the pavement.

The serpent’s sword had left a small cut on the boxer’s ear. It scared him more than it hurt him. After being in the ring with Bruiser Houlihan for eight rounds, Nathan knew his way around a beating. “The passage to the left. That’s where he came out of.” As Nathan readied his survival knife, Detective Luxley shot the beast in the head.