Arkham Horror

2005

Experience the thrilling Arkham Horror board game! Set in the Roaring Twenties, players team up to close interdimensional gates, fight monsters, and prevent an Ancient One from wreaking havoc. Immerse in H.P Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos!

240
minutes

1 - 8
player(s)

14+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Arkham Horror is a thrilling, cooperative board game for 1-8 players that plunges you into the chilling world of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. Players are cast as investigators in the mysterious town of Arkham, Massachusetts, where they must work together to stave off the awakening of the Ancient One—a horrific creature threatening to consume the world.

In the game’s setting, Arkham is a living, breathing town filled with eerie locations, dangerous anomalies, and terrifying monsters. The game board showcases different locations in the town, including the Miskatonic University, Arkham Asylum, and the Witch House, each fraught with danger and narrative intrigue.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Arkham Horror is an adventure board game designed for 1 to 8 players. The game is set in the city of Arkham, where players take on the roles of investigators trying to rid the city of ancient alien beings. The game includes several components, each with its own significance and role in the game play.

1. Game Board: The game board depicts the city of Arkham, divided into several locations. Each location provides different opportunities for the investigators. The game board is also used to track the progress of the game, including the increasing terror level of the city.

2. Investigator Markers: There are 16 Investigator markers. Each player chooses an Investigator to play as, represented by a marker. The Investigators have unique abilities and attributes which can affect the game play.

3. Ancient One Sheets: These sheets represent the ancient alien beings threatening Arkham. Each Ancient One has unique effects on the game and different requirements for awakening.

4. Clue Tokens: Clue tokens are collected by Investigators throughout the game. These tokens are used to obtain information about the Ancient One and can be spent to improve dice rolls.

5. Monster Markers: These markers represent the various monsters that appear in Arkham. They are drawn from a cup and placed on the board, creating obstacles for the Investigators.

6. Gate Markers: Gates to other dimensions open throughout the game. These gates spawn monsters and must be closed by the Investigators.

7. Mythos Cards: These cards are drawn at the end of each game round. They dictate the appearance of new gates and monsters, among other effects.

8. Location Cards: These cards are drawn when an Investigator visits a location. They can result in beneficial events, encounters with monsters, or other effects.

9. Skill Sliders: Each Investigator has a set of skill sliders that represent their various abilities. These can be adjusted throughout the game, affecting the outcomes of various actions.

10. Sanity and Stamina Tokens: These tokens represent the mental and physical health of the Investigators. If either reaches zero, the Investigator is defeated.

11. Money Tokens: Investigators can collect and spend money to buy items and services throughout the game.

12. Item Cards: There are several types of item cards, including Common Items, Unique Items, and Spell Cards. These can be acquired by the Investigators and used to their advantage in the game.

13. Dice: Dice are used to resolve various actions and events in the game. The outcome of a dice roll can be influenced by the Investigators’ skills and the use of Clue tokens.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Arkham Horror is a cooperative adventure board game designed for 1-8 players. Each player takes on the role of an investigator trying to prevent the awakening of an ancient, powerful entity known as the Ancient One. This setup guide will help you understand how to start your adventure in the game.

Step 1: Select the Ancient One: At the beginning of the game, players need to select which Ancient One they will be opposing. Each Ancient One has its own unique set of instructions and difficulty level, which is indicated on its card.

Step 2: Set up the game board: Place the game board in the center of the playing area. The game board represents the city of Arkham and is divided into several locations and streets. Place the clue tokens, gate markers, and monster tokens in separate piles next to the game board.

Step 3: Choose an investigator: Each player chooses an investigator to play as. Each investigator has unique abilities and starting items which are indicated on their character card. Place the chosen investigator’s marker on the location indicated on their card.

Step 4: Initial resources: Each investigator starts the game with a certain amount of money, clues, and items as indicated on their character card. Collect these resources and place them in front of you.

Step 5: Setting up the monster cup: Fill the monster cup with monster tokens. The monster cup will be used to draw monsters randomly during the game.

Step 6: Shuffle the decks: Shuffle the common item, unique item, spell, skill, ally, and gate decks separately and place them face down next to the game board.

Step 7: Prepare the Mythos deck: Shuffle the Mythos cards and place them face down on their designated spot on the game board.

Step 8: Place initial clues and open gates: Draw a Mythos card and place a clue token at the location indicated on the card. Also, place an open gate and a monster from the monster cup at the same location. Repeat this process until there are as many open gates on the board as there are players.

Step 9: Determine first player: The player who picked the investigator with the highest ‘Luck’ statistic is the first player. If there is a tie, the players decide among themselves who will go first.

Now that you’ve completed the setup, you’re ready to begin your adventure in Arkham Horror. Remember, teamwork is key to preventing the awakening of the Ancient One and saving the city of Arkham.

Game flow Round and round we go

Arkham Horror is a cooperative adventure board game designed around the themes of H.P Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. In the game, each player takes on the role of an investigator working together with others to prevent the awakening of an Ancient One – a powerful cosmic entity that threatens to destroy the world.

The structure of the game is broken down into multiple phases per round, each with specific actions that players can perform. Here’s an overview of each phase:

Upkeep Phase: In this phase, players prepare for the upcoming round. They can adjust their investigator’s skills, refresh exhausted cards, and perform upkeep actions on their investigator cards. The following actions are performed:
- Refresh Exhausted Cards: Any cards that were exhausted (turned sideways) in the previous round are refreshed (turned upright).
- Perform Upkeep Actions: Some cards have actions that take place during the upkeep phase, which are performed at this time.
- Adjust Skills: Investigators can adjust their skills within the limits of their investigator sheets.
Movement Phase: The investigators travel around Arkham. Players can move their investigators up to a number of locations equal to their current Speed. They also might encounter any monsters that are in the streets.
- Move Investigator: The player moves their investigator to a new location.
- Evade or Fight Monsters: If an investigator enters a location with a monster, they must either evade the monster or fight it.
Arkham Encounter Phase: Investigators have encounters based on their current location. These can range from finding helpful items to fighting monsters. Each location has a specific deck of cards that are drawn for encounters.
Other World Encounter Phase: Any investigators in other dimensions have encounters there. Similar to the Arkham Encounter Phase, these encounters are drawn from a deck of cards specific to the Other World the investigator is currently in.
Mythos Phase: The final phase of the round. A card is drawn from the Mythos deck which can introduce new monsters, open new gateways to Other Worlds, or cause other events to occur.
- Place Clue Token: A clue token is placed on the board.
- Spawn Gate and Monster: A new gate is opened, and a monster is spawned.
- Activate Mythos Ability: The text on the Mythos card is read and its effects are carried out.
- Move Monsters: Monsters on the board are moved according to the symbols on the Mythos card.

After the Mythos phase, a new round begins with the Upkeep phase. The game continues in this way until the players either succeed in sealing enough gates to win or the Ancient One awakens and must be confronted.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

Arkham Horror is a cooperative board game based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, where players take on the roles of investigators trying to prevent the awakening of an Ancient One. Each player’s turn in the game consists of several phases, each with different possible actions and strategic choices. These phases are the Upkeep Phase, Movement Phase, Arkham Encounters Phase, and Other World Encounters Phase.

1) Upkeep Phase

During the Upkeep Phase, players refresh exhausted cards, adjust their skills, and perform any other actions specified as “Upkeep actions”.

Refreshing Cards: Any cards that were exhausted (turned sideways) during the previous turn are refreshed (reset to an upright position).
Adjusting Skills: Each investigator has a set of sliders on their character card that control their various skills. During the Upkeep Phase, they can adjust these sliders to change their focus between different skills.
Upkeep Actions: Some cards or abilities allow for specific actions during the Upkeep Phase. These are performed at this time.

2) Movement Phase

In the Movement Phase, players can move their investigators around the game board. The number of areas a player can move is determined by their Speed attribute.

Walking: Players can move their investigator a number of areas up to their investigator’s Speed value.
Special Movement: Some locations are connected by special routes, such as the train tracks or magical paths, which investigators can use to move more effectively.

3) Arkham Encounters Phase

If an investigator is in a location with a gate during this phase, they are drawn into the Other World. Otherwise, they draw and resolve an encounter card.

Gate Encounters: If there is a gate at the investigator’s location, they are drawn into the Other World. They will have to explore this dangerous realm in the next phase.
Location Encounters: If there is no gate, the player draws a card from the encounter deck and resolves the instructions on the card.

4) Other World Encounters Phase

If an investigator is in an Other World, they draw and resolve an Other World encounter card. After resolving two Other World encounters in subsequent turns, they can attempt to close the gate.

Other World Encounters: The player draws a card from the Other World encounter deck and resolves the instructions on the card.
Closing Gates: After resolving two Other World encounters, the investigator can attempt to close the gate to prevent more monsters from entering Arkham. This typically involves a skill check of some kind.

Strategically, players need to carefully manage their investigators’ skills, position, and resources to effectively combat the rising tide of horror. The choice of when and where to move, what encounters to face, and when to attempt to close gates are all crucial to the investigators’ success.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Arkham Horror is a complex cooperative board game inspired by the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. The game ends either in victory or defeat for all players, depending on the fulfillment of certain conditions. Here are the details:

Victory Conditions:

Sealing Gates: If the players manage to seal six interdimensional gates or seal fewer but possess as many gate trophies as there are players, they win the game. The players must ensure that upon sealing the final gate, no ancient one is ready to awaken, or this victory condition would be nullified.
Defeating the Ancient One: If the ancient one awakens, the players can still achieve victory by defeating it in combat. This requires a lot of preparation and resources, and the specific conditions for defeating the ancient one depend on its identity.

Defeat Conditions:

Ancient One Awakens: If the ancient one awakens and the players fail to defeat it in combat, they lose the game. The specific conditions for the ancient one’s awakening vary, but it usually happens when the Mythos deck runs out or when too many gates are open at the same time.
Devoured Players: If all players are devoured, meaning they lose all their sanity and stamina, they lose the game.

Before the final scoring, players must take the following actions:

Resolve any remaining encounters or combat.
Count the number of sealed gates and compare it to the number of players and gate trophies.
If the ancient one is awake, calculate the total combat strength of all players and compare it to the ancient one’s combat rating.

In case of victory, players do not need to calculate their individual scores, as Arkham Horror is a cooperative game, so all players win or lose together.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Arkham Horror is a collaborative adventure board game where players assume the roles of investigators trying to seal off the city of Arkham from otherworldly creatures. The game doesn’t have a traditional points-based scoring system as it is more about survival and completing the mission. However, success in the game can be measured by several key achievement metrics. These include the number of gates closed, monsters slain, and allies recruited.

Gates Closed: During the gameplay, players will need to close gates to other dimensions that open in various locations around Arkham. Each gate that is successfully closed represents a significant achievement for the investigators.

Monsters Slain: Fighting and defeating the monsters that roam Arkham is another crucial aspect of the game. Each monster defeated can be seen as a victory point, representing the players’ progress towards saving the city.

Allies Recruited: Along the way, investigators can recruit allies. These allies provide various benefits and strengthen the team’s ability to fight off the alien invasion. Each ally recruited can be seen as an additional achievement point.

Considering the cooperative nature of the game, Arkham Horror doesn’t usually require tie-breaking rules. However, in the rare case where players are competing over limited resources, such as unique items or allies, the tie is broken in favor of the player who currently has the fewest of that resource. If there’s still a tie, it’s broken in favor of the player who is earliest in the player order.

Remember, the real objective of Arkham Horror is to work together as a team to seal the gates and prevent the Ancient One from entering our world. The investigators win if they can seal enough gates or defeat the Ancient One in combat. If they fail, the Ancient One awakens, and Arkham – and perhaps the entire world – is doomed.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Arkham Horror is a complex and intricate board game with a variety of special rules and exceptions that are important to understand for a successful gameplay. Here are some of the key ones:

1. The Mythos Phase:

This phase begins with the ‘Mythos card’ draw. This card can have a variety of effects, from opening new gates to monsters appearing.

Exception: If the Mythos card drawn has the same location as an existing open gate, no new gate is opened and no monster surge occurs.

2. Monster Limit:

There is a limit to the number of monsters that can be on the board. This limit is equal to the number of players plus three.

Exception: Some monsters, like the Mask Monsters, don’t count towards this limit.

3. The Terror Level:

The Terror Level in Arkham increases as the game progresses, causing shops to close and allies to leave town.

Clarification: Even though the Terror Level may increase, it cannot go beyond 10. Once it reaches this level, the game is lost.

4. Gate and Monster Tokens:

When a gate opens, a monster appears. When a gate is closed, all monsters of the same dimension as the gate are removed from Arkham.

Clarification: When a gate is sealed (not just closed), no new gates can open at that location for the remainder of the game.

5. Lost in Time and Space:

If an investigator is ‘lost in time and space’, they miss their next turn and then return to Arkham, appearing at any location of their choice.

Exception: If the chosen location has an open gate, the investigator is immediately drawn into that other dimension.

6. Combat:

During combat, investigators may use one hand item, one two-handed item, and any number of non-hand items.

Clarification: Some items, like the Tommy Gun, are two-handed, meaning they require both hands and prevent the investigator from using another hand item during that combat.

7. Clue Tokens:

Clue tokens are used to improve dice rolls or to seal gates. They are gained by landing on a location with a Clue token.

Clarification: An investigator can carry any number of Clue tokens, but can only spend five at a time to seal a gate.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies:

Manage your resources. The key to Arkham Horror is managing your time, sanity, and health. It’s not necessary to always stay at full sanity or health; sometimes, it’s more beneficial to risk a little in order to gain more resources or clues.
Pay attention to your investigator’s strengths and weaknesses. Use your strengths to your advantage and mitigate your weaknesses by partnering with other investigators who can cover them.
Plan ahead. Arkham Horror is a game where a bad situation can quickly become worse. Try to anticipate upcoming problems and make plans to deal with them before they become unmanageable.

Beginner Tips:

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Arkham Horror is a cooperative game, and it’s important to work together with your fellow investigators. If you’re unsure of what to do, ask your team for advice.
Keep track of the number of open gates. If too many gates are open at once, the Ancient One awakens, and the game becomes much more difficult.
Try to close gates as quickly as possible. Each open gate increases the likelihood of the Ancient One awakening, so it’s in your best interest to close them as soon as you can.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Avoid spending too much time in Arkham. The real action in Arkham Horror takes place in the Other Worlds, so don’t spend too much time in Arkham if you can help it.
Don’t ignore the monsters. While it can be tempting to focus solely on closing gates, the monsters in Arkham can quickly become a problem if left unchecked.
Don’t waste your clues. Clues are a valuable resource in Arkham Horror and should be used sparingly. Only use them when they’re absolutely necessary.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Use your resources wisely. Don’t waste your time and resources on unnecessary actions. Instead, focus on completing your objectives and helping your team.
Communicate with your team. Good communication is key in Arkham Horror. Make sure everyone knows what’s going on and what the plan is.
Take advantage of your investigator’s special abilities. Each investigator has unique abilities that can be extremely useful in certain situations. Be sure to use them to your advantage.