Arkham Horror

[Shining Phoenix]

I noticed that there wasn't a thread about this game here, so I thought I'd mention it, because I've played it several times and really enjoyed it.

It's a cooperative board game in which you play various people from Arkham Massachusetts or thereabouts trying to stop some sort of eldritch horror (which one it is is determined as the game begins) from awakening and doing something unspeakably awful to the world, generally by traveling through portals to other worlds and sealing them.

[radionausea]

I love Arkham Horror.  Though I do want to create an Elder Evil that is Lovecraft himself and his powers are overt racism and segregation.

[veekie]

Somebody give a brief run down of its mechanics to those of us who only know it third hand?

[Shining Phoenix]

Okay, so, it's a board game. Here's what it looks like being played:

(Spoiler because bigmclargehuge picture)

(click to show/hide)

Part One: Who Are You?

You play an investigator, who is a character from somewhere who has some reason to know and care that there's something going on:



You have stats:
Health:

• Sanity: This is mental HP. You lose it when you cast spells or get spooked by something, such as a monster. You can recover it by going to the asylum.
  
• Stamina: This is physical HP. You lose it when you get hurt, such as by failing a combat check against a monster. You can recover it by going to the hospital.

Skills: Arkham Horror uses a dicepool mechanic; you roll Xd6 with a target number of 5 (unless you're blessed or cursed, in which case it's 4 or 6, respectively).


You have little skill sliders, which you put on your character sheet to indicate what your skills are set to:


At the beginning of each upkeep, you can move your sliders a total number of spaces equal to your focus. Note that increasing one skill means decreasing the corresponding skill.

• Focus: How quickly you can move your skill sliders

Here are the skills, and what they do in addition to being used when something asks for a skill check:

• Speed: How fast you are. Determines movement points.
  
• Sneak: How stealthy you are. Used to sneak past/away from monsters.
  
• Fight: How strong you are. Used to beat up monsters.
  
• Will: How well you can keep cool. Used to make horror checks.
  
• Lore: How well versed you are in... stuff (mostly spooky stuff). Used to cast spells.
  
• Luck: How lucky you are.

You also have money:


Which you can spend to do stuff (as determined by game effects), and clue tokens:


Which let you:

• Seal gates, rather than just close them (I'll get to this later, but let it suffice for now to say that this is very important)
• Add bonus dice to skill checks. This is determined after you see what you've rolled.
• Not get devoured by Nyarlathotep if you fight him (He's an ancient one)

You get money from events, and find clue tokens by running around Arkham or studying certain stuff (often at the cost of sanity).

You also have items, which do stuff. They say what they do. The basic types of items are:

• Common Items: ordinary stuff, such as you might buy in a store somewhere.
  
  
  
• Unique Items: magical stuff, such as you might find in your witch grandmother's attic. Note: Elder Signs are amazing.
  
  
  
• Spells: spells. You have to cast them, which is done by paying their sanity cost, and making a spellcasting check (a lore check, plus the casting modifier). If you succeed, the spell is cast. Spells generally also need to be exhausted to be used.
  
  
  
• Skills: things you know; you can't trade these. Examples: Fisticuffs
  
  
  
• Allies: people helping you; these are rare and I don't remember if you can trade these.
  

I'll post more as I type it up.

[Shining Phoenix]

Part Two: What is That?

You face many foes in Arkham Horror. First, and most ominous, is the ancient one:


This is the big bad; the final boss if you don't manage to stop it first. It has several stats, arranged in what I think is a reasonably coherent order:

• Combat Rating: this is the modifier applied to all fight checks against this ancient one. Typically, this is negative; Azathoth has negative infinity, not that it matters.
  
• Worshippers: certain monsters are more dangerous when this is the Ancient One.
  
• Name: the name of the ancient one.
  
• Effect: the Ancient One also has an effect on the game as a whole. Cthulhu's is called "Dreams of Madness"
  
• Defenses: some Ancient Ones are more resistant to certain attacks. Cthulhu is special.
  
• Attack: when the Ancient One awakens, it has to have some way to kill you, right? Cthulhu drains some of you sanity or stamina and heals himself.
  
• Doom Track: this is how you keep track of how close the Ancient One is to awakening. You put doom tokens on the doom track whenever a gate opens, and when it's full, the ancient one awakens. Once it's awake, these are its hit points. Each turn it's awake, each investigator gets to make a combat check against the ancient one to try to hurt it. Once a number of successes equal to the number of investigators have been rolled, remove a doom token. You need to remove all of them to put it back down.

There are also monsters:


The stats on the front of the chip are:

• Name:
  
• Sneak Modifier:
  
• Dimensional Symbol:
  
• Movement Type: This one is tricky: It's the color of the border. If it's black, the monster moves normally; if it's red, the monster is fast, meaning it moves twice whenever it would move; if it's yellow, the monster is stationary, and doesn't move; if it's blue, the monster is a flier, and moves specially; if it's orange, the monster is aquatic, and moves specially; if it's purple, the monster is a stalker, and usually moves normally... unless an investigator is adjacent to it! If an investigator is adjacent to a stalker that would move, it moves to that investigator; if the border is green, the monster is even more special, and has rules printed on the back.
  
  Flying monster movement: If a flying monster is in the streets, but no investigator is in the same street location, it moves to the sky. If it is in the sky, and an investigator is in a street location, it moves to that investigator's location and attacks. Otherwise, it does nothing.
  Aquatic movement: Aquatic monsters move between aquatic locations... in some manner or other. I forget.
  
  Note: All movement is only when the monster would move. This will be explained in the mythos phase.
  
  Stats on the back of the card:
  • Keywords: these are in bold, and do special things. Nightmarish means that even if you succeed on the horror check against this monster, you still lose the indicated amount of sanity. Overwhelming means that even if you beat the monster, it still takes the indicated amount of stamina. Endless means that defeating the monster doesn't let you take it as a trophy, merely send it back to the monster cup, from which new monsters are drawn as they show up.
    
  • Special Rules: right under the keywords, these are the special rules for this monster.
    
  • Horror Check Modifier: the dicepool size modifier to the horror check against this monster
    
  • Sanity Loss: how much sanity you lose if you fail the horror check against this monster
    
  • Toughness: how many successes you need to roll on a combat check against this monster to kill it.
    
  • Combat Check Modifier: the dicepool size modifier for the combat check against this monster
    
  • Damage: how much stamina you lose if you don't pass the combat check. Note that the Servitor of the Outer Gods kills you if you fail this check.
  So, what do you do about these things? Why, fight them, of course! Here's how:
  
  Monsters:
  
  
  Ancient one: Ignore the board, this is between the investigators and the ancient one. First, the ancient one awakens; then, you repeat the following until either all the investigators are dead, or the ancient one is defeated
  • Investigators Refresh: This is just like the upkeep; abilities trigger as such, and investigators can adjust skills.
    
  • Investigators Attack: The investigators get to make a combat check against the ancient one to try to remove doom tokens.
    
  • Ancient One attacks: The ancient one does its attack routine.
  Note: Devoured = Dead, and any investigator is also devoured under any of the following conditions:
  • Sanity = 0 AND Stamina = 0
  • Maximum Sanity = 0
  • Maximum Stamina = 0
  • Sanity OR Stamina = 0 and the Ancient One is awake.
  Also, toughness on a normal monster is the number of successes you need to roll on a single combat check to defeat the monster. +1 toughness is pretty serious.
  
  More later.

[bhu]

Nice to see other fans!

I have some homebrew ideas I'm working on for the game via Strange Eons I'll eventually be hoping for feedback on.

[Shining Phoenix]

Part Three: Where Am I?

So, there are several kinds of places you can be in Arkham Horror:

• Street Locations: These are spaces on the Arkham section of the board with neighborhood names on them; they connect both to each other and to Arkham Locations. Monsters can move here normally.
  
  
  
• Arkham Locations: Spaces on the Arkham section of the board that have pictures. If you end your movement in one of these spaces, you normally have an encounter there during the Arkham Encounters phase. Note: locations with a red diamond on them are unstable; a gate may open here during the Mythos Phase!
  
  
  
• Other World Locations: These are what lie behind gates. You can't move normally to, from, or through here. Instead, each turn, you advance one space along the world. You also have an 'other world' encounter here each turn during the 'Other World Encounter' phase. When you would move off the end, you return to Arkham at the location of any gate to this world, and it is considered explored. Now you can attempt to close or seal the gate! Make a Fight or Lore check (your choice), with difficulty equal to the difficulty printed on the gate.
  
  
  
• Other Locations: these do special things, and you can't just move here.
  
  
  Coming later: Part Four: What do I do?

[Shining Phoenix]

Part Four: What do I do?

How do you win?

• Close All Gates: When a gate is closed (or sealed), if the players have a total number of gate trophies that is greater than or equal to the number of players, they win.
  
• Seal All Gates: If six locations are sealed, the players win.
  
• Punch Out the Ancient One: If the Ancient One awakens, but the players defeat it, they win.

How do you lose?

• When all the investigators are devoured while the Ancient One is awake.

That sounds pretty simple, but beating the Ancient One is hard, and Azathoth can't even be fought: if he wakes up, you just plain lose. If you avoid that somehow, then every time he attacks, you lose... again.

Here's how an Ancient One can awaken:

• Doom Track: when the last doom token is placed on the Ancient One's doom track, it wakes up immediately. Doom tokens are normally added whenever a gate opens.
  
• Too Many Gates: if a certain number of gates are open at once, the Ancient One immediately awakens. (number decreases with more players)
  
• Out of Something: if a gate or monster is to be placed, but none are left in the pile/cup/bag/whatever, the Ancient One wakes up.
  
• Monster Apocalypse: if the terror level is 10, and there are a certain number of monsters out (number decreases with more players), the Ancient One joins the party. (wakes up)

In any case, if the Ancient One wakes up with a doom track that isn't full, fill it up. You really don't want the Ancient One to wake up.

More stuff to worry about:

• Terror: if a certain number of monsters are in town, all future monsters go to the outskirts. If a certain number of monsters are in the outskirts, increase the terror level and return the monsters to the cup. Also, the top ally from the ally deck packs up and leaves. Return it to the box.
  
• Monster Surges: normally, when a gate opens, two monsters come out. If a gate would open where another gate already is, a monster surge occurs instead. A bunch of monsters come out of all the gates.
  
• Item Loss: Whenever you run out of sanity or stamina and have to get whisked to the hospital or asylum (or, if in an Other World, become lost in time and space), you lose half your items. (Items in this case means [])
  

Turn Structure:

So, all that sounds nice, but it's not really a game, just some parts of a game. Here's how the actual gameplay goes:

There is a 'first player' marker. One person has it at a time, and is considered the first player. Each player acts during each turn, but during each phase, the first player's actions resolve first, and then the person who will be first player next, and then...

Turn Phases:

• Upkeep: Stuff is managed
• Movement: Players move around, maybe fight some monsters
• Arkham Encounters: Stuff happens in Arkham
• Other World Encounters: Stuff happens on the planes
• Mythos: Spooky things happen

What happens during each phase:

Upkeep:

• Refresh (all) exhausted cards (untap)
• Do upkeep stuff
• Change skills; each investigator may move his or her skill sliders a total number of stops equal to his or her focus

Movement has two types: Arkham movement and Otherworldly movement; which one you do should be self-evident from where you are. Otherworldly movement is not optional.

Arkham movement:

• You get a number of movement points equal to your speed
• You can move around or perform movement phase actions, which generally cost movement points. you can move along the little lines connecting locations.
• If a monster is in a location you are in, you have to evade it or fight it; you can't just move past it. If you fight it, or fail to evade, you lose the rest of your movement. Either way, you have to defeat or evade each monster in the location you are in.
• Get clues! If you end your movement in a location with clue tokens, you can grab any number of them. Usually you grab all of them.

Otherworldly movement: If you're in an Other World do these things:

• If you're in the second space of an Other World, return to Arkham through any gate leading to the world you're in. If you can't, you're lost in time and space.
• If you're in the first space of an Other World, move to the second space of that world.

Arkham Encounter: Only do this if you are in an Arkham location that can actually have encounters

• If there is an explored gate at your location, you may try to close it. Roll a Fight or Lore check with the modifier indicated on the gate marker. If you get a success (as with most things, you just need to roll one success to succeed). Once you have succeeded, you may spend 5 clue tokens to seal the gate. If so, put an elder sign marker on the (Arkham) location to indicate that the location is sealed; otherwise it's just closed. Either way, take the gate marker as a trophy. Also, return all monsters with that gate's dimensional symbol to the cup.
• If there is an unexplored gate at your location, you are sucked through. Turn it over; you are moved to the first space of that Other World
• If you are in a location with an alternate encounter (such as the Police Station), you may have that encounter
• Otherwise, shuffle the encounter deck for the neighborhood you are in, draw the top card, and have the encounter listed for the location you are in.

Other World Encounters: Only do this if you are in an Other World

• Draw the top card of the 'Other World Encounter' deck. If its color doesn't match one of the colors of the Other World you are in (e.g.: R'lyeh is Red and Yellow), discard it and draw the next one. Repeat this until you have a matching color.
• Have the encounter matching your Other World. If your world isn't mentioned, you have the 'Other' encounter.

Mythos: (Mythos cards aren't as simple as some other cards)

• The first player draws a Mythos card.
• Open Gate: See explanation below.
• Place a clue token at the indicated location.
• Move monsters as indicated in the bottom right; monsters with a dimensional symbol that appears on the card move on the arrows of the color that their dimensional symbol appears on.
• Mythos Ability: Do whatever else the Mythos Card says. Environments replace the previous environment and stick around. Rumors stick around until resolved; if there's already a rumor, other rumors can't happen.

Gate Check: Look at the bottom left of the card; it will (usually) indicate a location. Sometimes

•   If it says something special, do that; otherwise, do the following:
•   If a gate is open at the indicated location, there is a monster surge
•   If the location is sealed, nothing happens.
•   If neither is the case, a gate opens there

Actually placing the gate, when one opens:

•   Put a doom token on the Ancient One's doom track
•   Draw a gate marker and put it at the location indicated. All clue tokens at the location are sucked through the gate and are gone.
•   Draw one or two monsters (depending on the number of players) from the cup and place it/them on the gate.
•   If an investigator is at the location, that investigator is sucked through the gate and delayed (won't move during the next movement phase).

Now pass the first player marker and start the next turn.

There's also scoring and whatnot at the end, but let me put it this way: you just beat a Great Old One. Keeping track of points is beneath you.

[veekie]

That sounds really fun.

Wonder if theres some way to do it via play by post.

[radionausea]

I think it'd be a difficult one to do PbP.  Although if everyone had a copy of the game so you had all the mythos cards, item cards and could see where you'd be moving to it could be done! 

I'm imagining it now, a game of Arkham Horror where the entirety of the living room floor isn't taken up by cards, tokens and knick-knacks - the tidiness, the order!

[veekie]

Well, if you have a game master handle tracking the cards and stuff, you could do the map as an image file and move tokens around on it...you basically just need everyone knowing the rules right?

[radionausea]

I guess so but part of the fun is drawing the cards yourself, and taking it in turns to draw the mythos card, reading it out etc.

If there was one person doing all of that then everyone else's involvement would just be:  I move to independence square/enter a portal/[roll dice].  I think everyone would need a copy or for someone to write some javascript with the card details on... I may ask my housemate if he fancies doing this...

[RobbyPants]

This game does look really fun. That's it! I'm putting it on my Christmas list!

Can it be played 2 player? Can it be played in under two hours?

[radionausea]

Can be played two player (never done it and like Forbidden Island I imagine it will be harder to win: action economy) and it takes about 2-3 hours a game which I guess would be less with 2 people.

[Shining Phoenix]

My experience is thus: with no expansion packs, but about six players, it takes about three hours. With a bunch of expansion packs and about six players, it takes about six hours.

[veekie]

I guess so but part of the fun is drawing the cards yourself, and taking it in turns to draw the mythos card, reading it out etc.

If there was one person doing all of that then everyone else's involvement would just be:  I move to independence square/enter a portal/[roll dice].  I think everyone would need a copy or for someone to write some javascript with the card details on... I may ask my housemate if he fancies doing this...

Mmm, an app to mediate would be vastly entertaining...

[weenog]

Somebody give a brief run down of its mechanics to those of us who only know it third hand?

Basically you roll 12d6 per round against an enemy with a toughness of 1, looking for a single solitary 5 or 6 to put it down, take 3 rounds to kill it and then only barely scrape by, and your roommates and the guests never let you hear the end of it.
 

[bhu]

This game does look really fun. That's it! I'm putting it on my Christmas list!

Can it be played 2 player? Can it be played in under two hours?

Depends on which ancient one

Once you get teh rules down yes

There is an app version of Elder SIgn, which is sort of a scaled down version of AH

[ShadyDave]

Currently we're in a small gaming group and occasionally we have to turn to board games to fill up a week or even for a break between game rotations - AH is certainly the game I've been looking at picking up.

Which of the expansions are worthwhile? all of them? 

[bhu]

Thye vary a little.  The three bigger expansions (Innsmouth, Dunwich, and Kingsport) all and new boards and new mechanics.  Playing with one can  be tougher than just the base.  One of the smaller expansions actually makes the game easier despite the creators intentions being otherwise.