Arkham Horror review

Arkham Horror is a 1 to 8 player game in which the players play the roles of Investigators of the supernatural trying to avoid doom brought forth by an Ancient One (something like an evil god). It has been said that this is a game for Lovecraft fans, but it is also a game for horror fans in general and for people who appreciate difficult games.

This heavy game takes from 2 to 5 hours of play (depending on the number of players). This game is often accused of having very complex rules, and I must say it’s true if you’ve never played a heavier game before, but once you play 2 or 3 times the rules make a lot of sense. The rulebook for the revised edition (it says in the cover if it is revised) is pretty good, the back of the rulebook has a neat summary that you cab recur to when needed. I also recommend this turn summary sheet; it’s really handy for you to know what to do next in the first plays.

Arkham Horror probably is a little different from the other games you’ve played, because in this game all players are playing cooperatively to win. It may seem weird at first, but it sets the tone really good and promotes team play.
In the game several gate swill be opening in locations through the city of Arkham, once a predetermined number of gates opens the Ancient One awakens and usually beats every player into a pulp, also each time a gate opens the Ancient Ones doom track will eventually fill if it does, the Ancient One awakens and usually kicks everyone where it hurts. Did I mention this game is hard? I didn’t even enumerate all the ways in which the Ancient One could awaken, and the Ancient One is just half the story, you’ll want to win the game by closing or sealing gates in Arkham, except there is also danger in the form of monsters in Arkham.

So, in order to win you either;
a)    Close all the gates, and collect a number of gate trophies (you get the gate token as a trophy once you close that gate) equal or greater than the number of players.
b)    Seal 6 gates by closing the gates and spending clue tokens to disallow further gates opening in the same location.
c)    Defeat the Ancient One in battle (not recommended, if Rambo met an Ancient One in battle he’d probably go cry to mommy)

Players will have a choice between 16 investigators and 8 Ancient Ones. They’ll set their initial stamina and sanity values, pick up the initial items, money and clue tokens, and be set free to wander in Arkham. Characters have different abilities and can adjust their skills at the beginning of each turn (i.e. to sneak through monsters you’ll have to sacrifice some of your movement).

In Arkham if your character finds a monster it’ll either have to flee or fight and the choice depends on various factors. These include the fight, will, lore and sneak skills of your characters as other modifiers from items or spells. Before a monster gets the chance to hit you’ll have to pass a will check to see if you lose your sanity (they’re really ugly monsters).

If you end your movement in a location you’ll get whatever clue tokens there, draw an encounter card and perform the action in the card (i.e. make skill checks, lose sanity, get allies), if you end your movement in a gate location you’ll be sucked to another world and later you’ll have encounters specifically for gate locations.

So how do you fight, cast spells, and pass skill checks? Almost everything in Arkham Horror will make you pass a skill check, to successfully pass a check you must roll a 5 or 6 on the number of dies you roll. You calculate how many dies you roll, by adding/subtracting modifiers to the appropriate skill. So this game really isn’t for gamers who dislike luck elements on a game.

In the box
In the box you’ll find besides the rulebook:
- 1 game board
- 1 first player marker
- 5 six sided dice
- 16 investigator sheets
- 16 investigator markers
- 16 plastic investigator stands (to keep them vertical, I actually sometimes use them for monster markers too)
- 196 Investigator Status Tokens (i.e. clues, stamina, etc)
- 189 Investigator cards (i.e. Spells, Skills, Items, etc)
- 8 Ancient One Sheets
- 20 Doom Tokens
- 63 Location cards
- 67 Mythos cards
- 49 Gate Cards
- 60 Monster Markers
- 16 Gate Markers
- 3 activity markers
- 3 explored markers
- 1 terror track marker
- 6 closed markers

These components have good quality, but seeing most of them are cardboard caution is advised while punching them out. One thing that I think is missing is a monster marker bag, you need an opaque bag to randomly take out the monster markers, but you have to get it by your own means. Another downside is that the box really doesn’t offer a way to keep all the markers, some plastic bags or divisions would come in handy. The game would benefit of some turn summary sheets for the novice players.

Is this game for me?
If you like really hard games and/or cooperative games, this is a good, solid game. The luck factor will make some players shy away from this game, but it’s also what keeps this game fresh and different every time.
This game is also an option if you’d like a solo game.
The setup time can be long if you don’t have a box or some bags to keep all the markers separate.

Keep in mind you will need a big table to play this. The board is huge, and you need extra space for all the investigator sheets.
I can’t really recommend this game for more than 6 players because as with any large group confusion and disinterest will ensue.

How many times will I play this game?
If you like the theme and don’t mind the luck involved, this game will suck all the time you’ve got, more so because it can be played alone. This game keeps you on your toes, and you’ll lose several times, even when you think you’ve got the hang of it. With large groups you’ll have to keep in mind that one game can go for 5 hours (don’t be surprised if you lose in the end of those) so you have to make time for it.

Final Score
7

Not because it isn’t a great game, but because not everyone will like it.