Arkham Horror: The Card Game Review

Arkham Horror: The Card Game was released by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) in 2016 as the next in their line of Living Card Games (LCGs) - it was something of a followup to their hit Lord of the Rings: The Card Game and follows in its footsteps in a number of ways. I'm going to assume that you aren't familiar with LotR:TCG and give you enough of the story so that you understand what this game is all about. Please also note - I'm looking at this game from a solo player point of view.

This isn't a how to play, so I'm going to skip a fair portion of the mechanics of this game itself because I think you play these kind of games for a reason, and in this case, the mechanics are not the driving factor in whether you'll like this game or not.

First off - this is another in the long line of Lovecraftian games that FFG has published over the years. These games have been something of a hit for them and fans of these games know what they're getting from FFG:

• Investigators and monsters that are familiar (there is a pretty large library of both at this point)
• Wonderful and creepy artwork
• Well written story and flavor bites (individual cards and events often have flavor text for fun and to set the mood) that immerses you in what's happening
• A daunting task to overcome either solo or with your friends
• A constant feeling of dread or being overwhelmed by the forces against you - part you vs the game co-op and part theme

Honestly, if you aren't a fan of their Lovecraftian line of games, you might not really care about this one either. It's certainly a different game from Eldritch Horror, Elder Sign, Mansions of Madness, and even Arkham Horror (the boardgames), but in the end, the strong theme is a core part of the game just as it is in all of the others I named.

The other thing this game is, is an LCG. As an FFG living card game, it means that the game is designed to continually expand through a series of expansion chapters. You'll be building a deck of cards and updating the cards you use throughout play and as your library of cards expands. You aren't building decks ala Magic or Pokemon or other similar competition games, no, you are building your deck to fight your way through an ongoing set of scenarios - most linked into a larger campaign storyline. There are some one-off expansions that you can add in or play on their own as well.

So are you interested so far? Because what I explain next seem to be the things that kills the enthusiasm for a lot of people. The base game (what I'm reviewing here right now) is just the starter - and not quite a full one at that. Sure, you get enough cards to create two investigator decks of cards (ie enough for two players to sit and play the game). You don't get enough copies of the cards so that both the decks you create can both use some of the popular base cards. In order to do that, you have to buy a second copy. You also have to do that if you expect to play with 3-4 players at once.

Let me be clear, buying multiple copies is not required (unless you want to play with 3+. You might not care that you won't have multiple copies of some cards, knowing that you'll be buying a bazillion more cards. Decide not to bother - entirely your call. But I point this out, because it bothers a lot of people that FFG does this with their games.

Oh, and by the way, let me say it again - this is a starter set. It gives you a jumping off point. It gives you three scenarios so that you can learn the game and figure out how to play and deck build a little. After that, if you want to expand the game, you'll need to grab a "deluxe" expansion (they have 4 or 5 campaigns out now and they all start with a deluxe expansion). The deluxe expansions give you a bunch of new cards and the first couple of scenarios of that campaign. Then, after that, you'll need to track down the 6 (six) chapter packs to get the rest of the cards for that cycle and the rest of the scenarios for that campaign.

To date, FFG has not bundled any cycle together so that you can just buy the whole thing. That means if you are coming in later to the party (such as I am now), you either have to wait until they reprint the cycle (and they do reprint, but it can be frustrating waiting) or you have to pay through the nose. As it is, a single whole campaign will probably set you back at least $150US (that doesn't include this base set). If you look at it like a monthly subscription, then you are talking about $15 a month and we are talking about 8 months of stuff...

** As of this writing FFG's reprint of the first released campaign - The Dunwich Cycle, has just recently hit stores (online and brick and mortar). It is a great time to grab the cycle if you want to get started.

Still with me? Then let us talk about what's here in the base game.

As mentioned before, you get a starter set of cards (there are over 230 cards in the box). You get a handful of investigators to choose from and more than enough materials to build a couple of decks to play. Will those starter decks be the best decks ever? No. Will they make the game unplayable or unenjoyable? No. Honestly, if all you ever did was play your base set, there is a decent amount of value for your $35US ($32 on Amazon Prime).

Each investigator has their own unique skill, a unique equipment card and a restriction to the types of cards that can be used in their deck. Cards are divided into six different categories so you can't just pick willy-nilly. Don't want to figure out what should be in your deck? That's ok, the base game defines starter decks for you to use - just find the cards and away you go. The investigators play differently (moreso to my mind than some of the other FFG games in this genre) because the decks of cards are really what give you your options.

As with FFG's other games, each investigator has different skills and most of the things you want to do revolve around skill checks. Your cards help you manipulate these checks (or mitigate the results when they don't work out for you). Because of this, decks tend to be aimed at either mitigating things you are bad at (so you aren't so bad at it), or being REALLY good at what you are good at.

For example, Wendy Adams here. She is not good at fighting (the fist symbol) - the higher the skill the better. She is pretty great at being elusive (the winged foot). With the right cards in her deck, she can turn her ability to be elusive into sneak attacks and has other ways to damage the enemies that will find her.

Her buddy Roland on the other hand is not fleet of foot at all and often gets trapped because of it. However, he has an arsenal of weapon cards available to him - which combined with his excellent attack skills let him brute force his way through the bad guys. The outcome might be similar, but the path there was not. Fighting is not the main thing either - its simply one thing that gets done while your investigator(s) look for clues to unravel and advance their story.

And while the base game has a limited set of scenarios (technically three, but the first is really trivial and designed to teach you how to play, so two decent scenarios), they give you a good taste of what you may find if you choose to go down the path of the real cycles. Even so, the setup for these offer a little bit of variability to give them some replayability. When coupled with the different investigators and the cards you'll actually see and play from your deck, even the same scenario won't come out the same twice.

But again, after playing this min-campaign a few times, you'll want to move along to really explode your choices and what the system has to offer. More importantly, in this kind of game and specifically this game, the story is the thing and that's something this game does well - once you get into it. You get to be part of the story! It is a little like a complex "Choose Your Own Adventure" with a Lovecraft/Cthulhu theme. The base set here, is like a short story - the longer novel? That's what the campaigns bring you.

So, if you enjoy the whole Lovecraft theme and are looking for a fun episodic story that lets you unravel the stories in different ways, then this is your game. In spades. If you are on the fence, just a few plays with this base set by itself might answer your questions about the game.

One last word of warning. The game can feel a little daunting at first. It can feel a little mechanical at first. After a couple plays, all that starts to fade into the background as your investigator unravels the story and moves through the game. Trust me, what seems like a mountain of stuff will disappear quickly enough.

You don't have to believe me - with over twenty-four thousand users rating this game, it currently sits at #20 in the game rankings. This is a fun game with a good story. It might take a little work (and some cold hard cash) to get started, but once you get running, you won't even notice.

** Double last word: If this theme is not your thing, a slightly less mechanical and less complex game with a different theme but otherwise similar is Marvel Champions:The Card Game. It too is an LCG, but is very recent and has a slightly different model for base cards and expansions. It is not a reskin - it is its own game and system, but with a different target audience.

I'm about to start into the Dunwich Legacy Cycle. I'll be back to review the cycle (as a whole) once I've played through it to talk about what I find (while trying not to spoil it to much).

Be sure to check us out at PunchBoard Media!

Cult of the Not So New June 2010

Hey! It has been forever and a day ago, so let's do this thing! It is time to look back at the hotness from 10 years ago! 

BGG user JonMichael Rasmus (jmsr525) has been doing analysis of the games and their trends each month for what seems like forever. I like looking back, because frankly, there are lots of good games that didn't come out in the last two years, and lots of games you probably heard of that don't get played anymore (for good reason). So sit back and enjoy this blast from the past. Based on information in the geeklist - BGG Top 100 Analysis June 2010

Prime Movers

This is the biggest climber of the Top 100 for the month of June 2010 - War of the Ring Collector's Edition which jumped 46 places to claim #47.

Not a huge surprise really. The game was given a CRAZY special edition. You might have seen one at conventions (or on eBay for $1000-$2000). It was (is) really nice.  As you'll see in a minute, it re-sparked interest in the original game as well and I suspect that a large number of people that hadn't rated the game before, suddenly did. And ranked this one as well, only higher.

Falling Stars

Well, technically none, (Falling Stars being those games that dropped more than 10 spots in the top 100), but these games each fell four spots.

• Ingenious - this is a great Kniza games with double hex tiles. As with so many of his games, you score points in six different colors (based on placing colors in lines) and then your end score is the lowest of the six, so you have to work things evenly. It is a clever game, but luck of the draw has a little bit of a role to play, so I much prefer playing this as a four-player game in teams. This dramatically reduces the luck factor and adds a new dynamic to the game. 
• Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit #1 - the goal of the starter kits for ASL was to reduce the complexity of the game for new players by limiting the scope of what was available and happening. This had been around for 5-6 years by this point, so no idea what pushed it out a few spots.
• Hive - Hive is a wonderfully well done abstract game where each hex tile has a bug on it. Each bug "moves" differently and the goal of the game is to surround the other player's Queen Bee. Both players tiles touch and cannot become separated from the rest. It is a good game that (to me) is tense almost from the word go. BGA has a great implementation available for online play (I'm playing a game of this now as a matter of fact).

Hot Lava Birth

• Imperial 2030 - #91 - another Max Gerdts rondel game based on his original Imperial game. While I like most of his rondel games, I personally wasn't enamored with Imperial and thus never attempted to try 2030. Today this sits at #219, so it didn't stay hot long.
• Union Pacific - #100 - this is an Alan Moon stock game with a theme that wasn't licensed from the UP corporation, so re-production of the game itself was never done despite interest in a re-print from consumers (UP was a remake of an earlier Moon game - Airlines). So around this time (2010) it was announced that UP was going to finally get a reprint (sort of). It was getting redone (again) - to be reborn as Airlines Europe. Since the reprint was a year off, UP probably got a little interest and jumped up. Today there is little interest in UP and the game sits at #620 on BGG's charts (Airlines Europe is #390). If you find a copy and get to play it, you'll see something that looks like Ticket To Ride (Alan Moon's real hit), but don't be deceived - UP is a decent stock game and aside from theme (trains) there isn't much that is similar. 

Top Ten Trends

Well, the only change in the Top 10 for BGG in June 2010 was El Grande, which rose back into the Top 10 (at #10). El Grande (not unlike its name) is one of (if not THE) kings of area control games. This is your classic Euro game at its best. Frankly, this is still a great game that holds up. It plays up to five players and can induce a lot of AP, but real is one of the "best of show" kind of games. If you have never played this, you are truly missing a good game experience. El Grande is still in the top 100 sitting at #63.

Top 5 Winning Movers

These are the highest ranked games that have shown any positive position movement in the last month that aren't in the top 10.

• War of the Ring - I mentioned this at the top of the show. Well, whether the game itself is that good (I haven't played) or whether assisted by the Collectors Edition, the standard game itself jumped up. Today it sits just outside the top 100 at #111 - which is a huge testament to what is pretty much a theme specific two-player game (and yes, I know, it plays more than two, but we all know its a two-player game).
• Combat Commander: Europe - STILL one of my all time favorite games. Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Buttercup is marrying Humperdinck in a little less than half an hour, so all we have to do is get in, break up the wedding, steal the Princess, and make our escape after I kill Count Rugen. Much like the Princess Bride, the reason this is one of my all time favorites? Each and every time I play Combat Commander, I come away with some fantastic session that gets retold over and over again. I didn't just play a game. I lived an adventure. I'm no Grognard or WWII buff, but this game is not just fun, but a story that unfolds in front of you the whole time.
• Railroad Tycoon - haven't heard of this? Well, it was eventually rebranded as Railways of the World (2009). Still doesn't ring a bell? How about Age of Steam or Steam (no not the video game platform). RRT was a slight revision of the original AoS with a larger map, some plastic bling and more friendly rules. It wasn't (isn't) a bad game - not in the least. I kinda is a table hog, but it looks good and is fun. I suspect that people started getting their hands on RotW and the ratings started going up on this one a bit. Don't believe me? Today it still sits outside the top 100 at #118. Pretty decent!
• Ra - another true classic (this was the twelfth game entered into the BGG database). Another Knizia to boot. This is a great combination of push your luck and auction (and a simple auction at that). Probably one of Knizia's best games of all time (so many of his games feel the same, this doesn't). If you have never played Ra, I don't know how you can call yourself a boardgamer...
• Go - been around for 4000+ years, still widely played. Must be doing something right. 

And that's all for this look back at BGG history and what was hot a decade ago.

Be sure to check us out at PunchBoard Media!