Been playing much more of Arkham Horror lately after picking up the Dunchwich and Innsmouth expansions.  Excellent game and still fun if you want to play it by yourself (play one investigator or multiples for a different experience).  I've played with up to 8 players and it's always a blast, even when we lose which is about half the time.  It also has some RP elements that can either have a big effect on game play or be completely ignored if the players just want a more straight-up challenge.

And the game certainly is a challenge winning is hardly ever a given and if it starts to get easy there are more elements already in the box you could add to make it harder.  Not to mention some "houserules" that the game creator uses to make it more of a challenge.  I love games like AH where cooperative winning is very tough.

Anyone else playing or played it?

I have the game and have read through it. The concept is great, the graphics are supurb, but somehow it doesn't seem to explain itself well to me. I guess if I just try to work through a couple of games maybe it will make more sense, but somehow it just seems confusing.

It is certainly a rules heavy game which benfits from being taught by someone who already knows what they are doing.  Do you have the revised printing or the earlier set with all the errors?  That can make a difference.  There are a ton of online places for FAQ type questions and just about all of the weird situations that require a ruling have been addressed at some point.

That said, just grab a couple of investigators and play a game or two!  The goal is to close and (hopefully) seal gates.  If that fails you almost always get a chances at driving off the Ancient Old One in the endgame.  All the rules help to support that.  Just follow the phase steps on the back of the rulebook and go from there.

Boardgamegeek.com is an excellent resource for sharing play sessions and getting feedback plus rules clarifications.

If you read through all the cards and events and break them down as good/bad, you can get a strong sense where how the game is won most easily.   A champ at the local cons has essentially broken the game with his analysis and now wins most of the time.  

Hint: the Magic Items are your best buy and there are a few key encounter cards that are game changers and by spinning through these particular decks you can move faster toward a win.  

As for learning the game, just break it out solo and play through a few turns and check the rulebook as you go along.   It's a good game and only gets better with the expansions.

Yes, the expansions add some great stuff.  Like injury cards, personal stories, more items, better investigators, tougher Ancient Old Ones and more game board locations.  If I just played the base game I could very well win most of the time.  

People who play it a lot can certainly get to point where they know all the optimal plays.  That's where the creator's houserules are handy.  I have a few friends who have adopted them because it's no fun to win every time in a game like this.  The serious threat off loss is what keeps me coming back for more.  It makes those wins so much more satisfying!  

The game fucking rocks on toast. It's as good as the RPG, and the expansions and official campaigns make it even better. It's a must - have IMO.

Quote from: JCrichton;319818Do you have the revised printing or the earlier set with all the errors?  That can make a difference.

Hmmm. I don't know the answer to this one, because I was unaware that there were different versions. I know it's the Fantasy Flight version and not the old Chaosium one, but I don't know if I have the revised rules or not.

Quote from: Imperator;319964It's as good as the RPG, and the expansions and official campaigns make it even better. It's a must - have IMO.

See, this is why I never got rid of it. I keep hearing all of these awesome reviews.

I'll see if I can find some errata online...

Quote from: Imperator;319964The game fucking rocks on toast. It's as good as the RPG, and the expansions and official campaigns make it even better. It's a must - have IMO.

Quote from: finarvyn;320051Hmmm. I don't know the answer to this one, because I was unaware that there were different versions. I know it's the Fantasy Flight version and not the old Chaosium one, but I don't know if I have the revised rules or not.

See, this is why I never got rid of it. I keep hearing all of these awesome reviews.

I'll see if I can find some errata online...

Just check the front of the box and look on the bottom right under the "ages" blurb.  If it doesn't say REVISED PRINTING do exactly what you just say and hit the FF site for the updated rules and FAQs.  Again, boardgamegeek.com is also a great resource.  The Dunwich Horrow expansion also has the printed revised rules.

Quote from: Spinachcat;319840If you read through all the cards and events and break them down as good/bad, you can get a strong sense where how the game is won most easily.   A champ at the local cons has essentially broken the game with his analysis and now wins most of the time.  

Hint: the Magic Items are your best buy and there are a few key encounter cards that are game changers and by spinning through these particular decks you can move faster toward a win.  

As for learning the game, just break it out solo and play through a few turns and check the rulebook as you go along.   It's a good game and only gets better with the expansions.

You can't 'spin' the encounter decks easily in Arkham, as you're supposed to shuffle them after every draw. Still possible to draw that 'key card', but you still need to get lucky.

Depending on who the outer god you're up against any of the item decks (including spells) will be more useful than others. I think the only reason Unique items would be considered the best, is that's where Elder Signs are, easily the most useful card in a Seal win (which is impossible against certain outer gods ).



To everyone else: Arkham Horror is awesome. With just the core game you'll never play the same game twice! Victorie are hard fought (I've won about 25% of the time and every single one of the came down to our very last chance). The expansions are all well worth the price, but the core game does not feel crippled without them (if I play with new players, we don't use the expansions).

That being said, there's a lot of rules to learn, and it's better if you explain them before (rather than during) the game.

Quote from: KrakaJak;320125Arkham Horror is awesome. With just the core game you'll never play the same game twice! Victorie are hard fought (I've won about 25% of the time and every single one of the came down to our very last chance).

Yup, it really justifies the price of admission.  

Quote from: KrakaJak;320125The expansions are all well worth the price, but the core game does not feel crippled without them (if I play with new players, we don't use the expansions).

I'd hate to not have the option to play some of the new characters but you're basically right.  If you've never played the expansions you don't know what you are missing.  Although it does take playing the game with some level of regularity to justify purchasing them as they aren't cheap.  Or needed, like you said.

Quote from: KrakaJak;320125That being said, there's a lot of rules to learn, and it's better if you explain them before (rather than during) the game.

Actually, it really depends on the people at the table.  I've played with plenty of folks who get overloaded quickly with too many rules thrown around at once without seeing much gameplay.  Usually the basics are plenty to get this moving.  Explain the goal (the closing/sealing the gate), give some options of what to do each turn and go from there is the best way to maximize one's time.  Unless everyone who's new has a really good memory there's too much to explain at the start in my experience.  It's entirely possible you've had different experiences then me, tho.  

I've played with about 20 new players and it's really interesting to see how other people pick up what is a fairly complex game.  I have to learn to just shut up sometimes and let people make mistakes to learn on their own.