A hand driving over a street map, toying with little black and red flags and smoking a cigarette in safety while other investigators do the dirty work... That is exactly the way i imagined Seekers to be like. In the Know emanates Seekers' blatant power, they just KNOW without ever having been on-site.

With the exception of one scenario where locations are revealed automatically, In The Know is a cooperative card for multiplayer games. While other investigators do what they would do anyway, they enable the bearer of In The Know to gather clues from the locations they have visited.

1. One of the plain advantages of this card is the gathering over a distance. Each use saves the card's bearer a lot of precious actions: count the sum of required movements to get over there, include the estimated count of evasion attempts and finally add the potential threats the Mythos Phase generates while being on the way to get the idea.
2. But there is much more to it! Some locations require skill tests on enter (spoiler), with In The Know you omit these.
3. This talent can be used multiple times per round.
4. In addition, if the bearer can squeeze out additional clues, they are all taken from the distant location, as approved by Matthew Newman: (start of quote) In the Know works a little differently from some other investigation cards (like Seeking Answers for example). Instead of just saying that you discover clues at a different location, it reads "Investigate any revealed location in play as if you were at that location” (emphasis mine). That means any clues you would discover “at your location” as part of this investigation are discovered at the location you are investigating with In the Know. So Rex’s bonus clue or any other additional clues from Deduction, etc, would all be taken from the location you chose when you used In the Know. (end of quote)
5. Oh, and the biggest advantage comes as a conclusion. With In The Know Seekers can safely gather clues from the lion's den - any possible Attack of Opportunity fails, because it's target is not present!

There is no real downside with using In The Know. One could wish it had more than 3 uses, one could also demur that it does not change the skill test base to Intellect in locations which have different requirements, as in spoiler. One could also barricade oneself into oblivion, some people are never happy.

Pros

• Big-time click-compression. Investigate crucial or tricky locations without a risk!
• Comboes well with Rex Murphy and Deduction.

Cons

• Rather useless in solo play. Exception see below.
• As it does not boost any test, it is booked by investigators with high Intellect.
• Certain obstacles at the target location prevent In the Know from being used: spoiler.
• Does not circumvent any additional effects at the target location: spoiler's Revelation and Forced effects take place.

Recommendations

• Lost In Time And Space will be a walk in the park with In The Know equipped.

In the Know is part of a suite of cards that I call 'remote investigation' cards, with Seeking Answers, Deciphered Reality, Connect the Dots, Interrogate, Sixth Sense (and it's upgrade), Intel Report, and Pendant of the Queen rounding out the rest of the suite. An obvious trait ties all these cards together; the ability to discover clues that are in a different location for where you are.

The advantages of remote investigation are threefold: first, you get to enjoy extra actions in your turn that would otherwise be used to move. This can significantly increase your action efficiency, as you avoid situations like:

• Having to double back if there is an end location that you need to reach and clues have been left behind.
• Having to move into and out of a dead-end for clues.
• Having to move into the range of enemies, or having to wait until your resident guardian clears out the room for you.
• Having to deal with difficult to move into, difficult to move out of, or just impassable locations specific to the scenario.
• Having to move back into the location your were investigating because you were forced out of it by a scenario card.

Second, you get to keep the location with the resign action (if it exists) close at hand. Some scenarios require you to resign as an objective, and sometimes you botch the scenario and want to resign to avoid trauma. Remote investigation allows you to plant yourself at the exit and significantly reduce your risk of involuntary defeat.

Third, it makes the job of whoever's protecting you easier, as you aren't inclined to run off and get into trouble, you damsel-in-distress you. This is especially true if your party runs cards like Barricade (and it's Upgrade), Hiding Spot, Ambush, and Snare Trap.

Is it possible to build a deck themed around remote investigation? Obviously Luke Robinson's entire shtick is remote investigation (or remote anything really), but his ability is a replacement for cards like In the Know, rather than a compliment. Other than him, there are really too few cards with too few charges, spread over too many classes to feasibly build this archetype, yet. Until more remote investigation cards are printed, the likes of In the Know will remain a tech card, otherwise known as your 31st card, maybe taken when you have 1xp to spare, or in a solo campaign, where the few uses are less of a problem.

I thought that I would add a review of this card because it has one particularly noteworthy use I didn't see mentioned. If someone wrote this already I apologize!

One of its best uses is in the Scarlet Keys when trying to expose concealed mini-cards at other locations. Sometimes the actions spent moving from location to location to try to find an enemy are really draining. With this card, you can sit tight at one location and expose concealed mini-cards from a variety of different locations without having to move to each of them. This can be a real action saver. In addition, if you successfully expose an enemy at a different location, it will not spawn with you, which reduces the risk of exposing at the end of your turn!