A cooperative adventure game full of theme, depth and many diverse game mechanics throughout.

Taking place in H.P. Lovecrafts roaring 20's; complete with the Cthulhu Mythos, this game has it all! Not being a Lovecraft fan, but loving the science fiction qualities, the era (1920's), and the fact that it's a cooperative game, pulled me into this one. First of all, I will say that I loved this game and I will give a brief review on some of the different parts that make this game so wonderful.

The Overview:

I will try and simplify the rules of the game as best I can, but I suggest downloading the full rules from Fantasyflightgames.com to get the full picture. Basically you take the role of an investigator in the fictional town of Arkham. There are Plenty of characters to chose from and all have various stats, starting equipment and special abilities. Using your character in tandem with the other investigators (Other players), you are attempting to close gates in Arkham to prevent creatures from appearing in the city streets and eventually awakening the Ancient One. The Ancient One is a great creature who is attempting to wake and destroy Arkham. There are different Ancient Ones you can play with and all have different stats and special abilities as well. As your characters maneuver around the board, they are attempting to gather clue tokens in order to seal the gates, as well as items and spells in order to battle monsters that are spawning from these gates. Trying to close the gates requires travelling into them and into another dimension where you encounter various *Gate* cards which could include skill checks and/or monsters to fight. Once you have closed enough gates, you win the game as a team; or if you can defeat the Ancient One once it’s awakened (Although not recommended to try).

A basic game consists of Investigators gathering clues; attempting to close gates using clue tokens, gathering various item cards to beef up their character; and fighting off any new monsters that appear on the board through new gates appearing through Mythos cards. The games can be pretty chaotic sometimes with the amount of things to manage and keep an eye out for as you go along, but the detail is really good and game has everyone always involved.

The Theme:

The Theme is the main thing about the game that I love. I’m not a Lovecraft fan, but the overall theme of battling an ancient monster from another dimension, while monsters roam the streets of a 1920’s town, really gets me involved. The game actually gives you a sense of dread as you’re playing it due to the amount of new monsters and terrible situations that constantly plaque your characters as you progress through the game. Getting close to closing that final gate, just to have another appear halfway across town really keeps your team focused on the goal and working together as a team to fulfill your ultimate goal. Adventure Gamers, Role Players and even Strategy Buffs will love the Theme of the game. 10/10

Learning the Game:

The game is quite simple to learn in it’s most basic elements. Whenever teaching the game there are only a few factors I would make sure a new player should know.
1. Their character: With a variety of skills, special abilities and just basic things a character can do, this is the first thing I would show.

2. Closing Gates: Using clue tokens and knowing how to travel through a gate is important.

3. Monsters: How combat works and what creatures can/could you fight.

4. The board: Just showing the players how the board works and where important places are (Like the Hospital and Asylum)

The Components:

There are top notch components throughout the game. Let me warn you though. There are tons of components. Lots of cards, lots of counters, a huge board, lots of characters , monsters and Ancient ones as well. All the components work very well, and are of the highest quality, but I may warn you that they will take a large table to properly house all of them effectively. 9/10

Does the Wife Like It?:

I’ve played this game with my wife and she quite enjoyed it. She may not have grasped all the strategies in the game as a whole, but just moving around, battling monsters and powering up her character gave her a sense of accomplishment. We didn’t win the game, but she had a fun time and would like to try it again once she can see how different strategies work in the game.

The Pros:

1. Awesome theme! Lovecraft, Roaring 20’s, Monsters, Horror. It has it all.

2. Cooperative! Working together as a team is just the best thing in a board game. Figuring out strategies and picking a balanced team is always fun.

3. Depth! With many expansions, tons of components and a variety of ways to actually win the game, this is one that you’ll want to keep coming back to.

The Cons:

1. Setup: This game is a monster in terms of components, so it takes awhile to setup and put away. Unless you are very organized with your storage, this is one to put out in advance.

2. Game Length: This isn’t a short game by any means. Game times are usually going to take any where from an hour at least, up to 4 or 5 hours for some games. This doesn’t include setup and can vary based on what Ancient ones you’re fighting and Luck in general.

3. Bad Luck: This game has a lot of luck in the game based on random cards and dice rolls, so even the best strategists will be pounding the board when their best laid plans go astray. Sometimes everything will work out fine, and other times you’ll be dead before you know it.

Overall:

Overall I love this game and the theme always has me coming back for more. The amount of components, setup time and luck factor are a bit of a hindrance sometimes, but overall the game is a blast if you have a solid evening to plan things out. There are many more expansions out there and they add more flavor and depth to an already wonderful game.

A Solid 9/10