by Beloch
We tend to play with 4 PCs. I agree that more is easier.Tactics definitely play a part, and emerge as you play. The temptation to all stick together (e.g. because special abilities add to HP) is usually wrong - having everyone on one tile tends to be a recipe for disaster.
Learn to use the placement rules so that e.g. you can be adjacent to a monster without being on its tile, and so on - the rules allow you to place for the advantage of the players, and whilst that seems a cop out at first, it soon becomes clear it is an important mechanic to mitigate the nasty encounter deck.
And luck is certainly important.
Tough game. We really like it, even when we lose - which is more than 50% of the time.