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An Arkham Horror virgin ponders is it time to lose it?

Posted by Miira Auroora

21 Feb 2012

Miira Auroora

(Miiru)

Finland
Vantaa

Okey, now I've said it. I'm an Arkham Horror virgin modest

.

And because I had hard time sleeping last night(because of a stupid loud neighbor) I started thinking about why I haven't played AH. You see, I am sometimes a bit embarrased about this.

Of course there are multiple reasons. For starters, none of my gaming friends play it. I think most of them prefer something less time consuming. I do know one friend of a friend who according to Facebook loves AH, but I have a feeling she doesn't play it right. She says their sessions only last about 1,5 hours. Doesn't everyone else say it lasts at least 4 hours? Or maybe she and her friends are just THAT good at it. How could I know.

There's always my fiancé who does play almost anything I desire.(And that wasn't supposed to sound so dirty...) But he does have one minor flaw. He sucks at listening to rules explanation and he refuses to read them by himself. Usually he starts to yawn when I read the rules and when we start he doesn't have a clue what he should do.

Now, I've gotten the impression that the rulebook of AH is a huge son-of-a-b.... So I'm a little concerned my fiancé would lose his sanity before the game even starts.

But then again, he loves Elder Sign. And we own Mansions of Madness, just haven't gotten around to explain the rules to him. That's going to take a while... But the point is, that I think the theme might be appealing to him. We both do love games with somewhat supernatural theme.

And then there's the co-op aspect. So far, my fiancé has liked every co-op game we have played. But is AH too much for him?

I just don't know what to do here. If I wanted to play AH I presumably would have to buy it because none of my friends have it. And then if we end up not liking it, I'll just have to let it gather dust on the shelf or sell it to someone. I guess I'll just go look at some video reviews and try to figure out this thing. Is it time or not?

17 Comments

Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:52 am

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Markus M.

(DeePee)

Finland
Helsinki
Uusimaa

A 1,5 hour session of Arkham Horror is not unheard of. The lenght depends a lot on the number of players, the great old one in play and how experienced the players are. I think my longest game so far has been a little less than four hours with most games ending at around two hours.

A good thing about Arkham Horror is that only one person at the table needs to really know the rules. Since it is coop and there is no hidden information one persno can act as the rules referee. Just be prepared to make decisions on the fly because there are a lot of weird interaction between the various elements of Arkham Horror. This is a both a good thing because you'll be seeing new things every time you play and a bad thing because it is not always clear how to play them out.

I'd suggest just taking the plunge if you feel like it's game you'd like. Arkham Horror is a pretty popular game and it's hard to imagine that you won't find someone willing to buy it from you if you end up not liking it.

PS - I wrote a review of Arkham Horror a year ago - you might want to check it out.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:09 am
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Gert Meyer

(gert74)

Denmark

The good thing about co-op games is that you do not have to explain them (much) before hand (as Markus alluded to). So you can just explain the basic turn sequence and then deal with everything else as it comes up.

Now, the rulebook is not massive. But it is somewhat poorly structured. So it can be hard to find that one rule you need right now in the middle of the game.

I find the game works best with one player being very familiar with the game and basically driving it along from phase to phase. You could do a quick solo game to get the feel for it before introducing it to others. That should cut down on the need to halt the game to frantically look through the rulebook for some little rule you remember reading but now just can't find again.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:19 am
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Ken Dilloo

(bigloo33)

United States

Washington

Always bet on Chorizo!

Well, if you are just trolling to find someone to AH devirginize you....

If your fiance doesn't like rules, AH might be too much. Playtimes are long, and it does seem rulsey at first. There are also plenty of little rule quirks to deal with.

Many would disagree, but MoM and ES, can give the feel of AH, without the 4+ hr (I had one game go around 8 hours, no lie). If you have MoM, give it a shoot. It is pretty straightforward, rules wise, especially for he investigators. May be a problem thatMoM is much better with more, but have him play a few investigators with you as keeper.

ES is a much different game, but captures most of the feel of AH. Might be a good alternative, but if you are looking for clear rules, it isn't the best choice.

I would at least try MoM, since you have it, and go from there. The AH experience is great, but if you aren't into long games, with tough rules to master, could be too much of a challenge.

Hope that helps.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:23 am
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Heiko Günther

(lee elektrik)

Germany
Saarbrücken
Saarland

I spent 100 GG so you can read this.

To be true, I would love to still be an AH virgin.

That game would still be mysterious, hinting at forbidden and ancient knowledge and all that stuff instead of the memory of some tedious going through repetitive and not too interesting moves to satisfy some clunky rules mechanics. Very sorry, but that's how I always perceive AH. The theme is fun and I like sitting around with the guys and taking part in the story, I even enjoy 'playing' AH for those reasons, but I could do without a lot of the gameplay.

Mansions of Madness on the other hand feels like an oiled engine, the rules don't stand in the way of the experience and of course, with a good keeper, you are immersed in the theme better than in AH. So, I would call it an overall better experience and, on top, a great game.

But, alas, everybody has his own opinion on that. I would play that first (since you already own it either way) and once you grow bored of it perhaps try AH. But you don't need to.

Ah, BTW, ruleswise, MoM is far easier to explain in case you play the keeper; you just need to give a general impression of what the investigators can do on their turn and introduce all other rules as you go.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:03 am
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Edwin Nealley

(herendil66)

United States
Ardmore
Pennsylvania

Aren't we all when we start? whistle

I decided at the start to avoid the spin-offs, and just go for the grand, sprawling box of Lovecraftian ~~goodness~~ evil that is AH- my feeble attempt at sanity in the matter, and as you can see I am quite sane- quite- quite. goo

As others have said if YOU understand how to resolve the rules, you can help others through the game- and this one works pretty well solo, because instead of a gamemaster opponent, it's players vs. the game/Great Old One.

But if you decide to try it, do yourself a favor and download the Universal Head Rules Summary- it condenses the rules to a minimum of fuss and a mixmimum of utility, and they are beautifully done. (IMHO the Arkham Horror file is THE classic Universal Head summary): Universal Head ARKHAM HORROR Rules Summary & Reference

It will help make your 1st experience a winning one, whether or not you are victorious.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:50 am
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Patrick Grogan

(corkysru)

United States
Renfrew
Pennsylvania

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals." Agent K. Oh my what he would think of people had he known about what the internet would become.....

Lose the (AH) virginity! Even if it's not with your fiancee it's a fun thing to do! It really is an awesome game. But the first time might be some what painful and time consuming if you don't have an experienced player or two.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:02 pm
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Greg Frank

(gf_ripper)

United States
Walnut Creek
California

I say go for it. Arkahm Horror isn't really all that complicated. The rule book is a bit long and feels like a complicated game but once you start playing, you realize it is pretty simple. I would recommend reading the rules and giving it a play through on your own. You don't need to play the whole game, just enough to get the idea of how the game works. Then explain a high level overview of the rules to your fiance and/or gaming group. Once you start playing you can go into more details during the game. Since the game works in phases this makes it really easy to do.

Arkham horror is one of my favorite Co-op games and I highly recommend it especially if you liked Elder Sign. Elder Sign to me is a super light version of Arkham Horror. Yes the games are different yet share the same theme. However, when I played Elder Sign, I felt they looked at Arkham Horror, Watered it down to its bare bones gameplay and modeled a card game after it.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 5:50 pm
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Jerry Martin

(Syvanis)

United States
Loveland
Colorado

My wife and I average 1.5 - 2 hours games including set up and take down.
This is 2 player games, both know the rules well and how to play well (for the most part), Plus I made a carrying/playing case that has almost everything ready to go a the start of the game. Set up takes only a few minutes and tear down less than ten.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 6:18 pm
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Peter Gray

(Techstar)

United Kingdom

I love AH but agree that set up and take down can be a pain unless you have invested time in a custom setup that reduces/ eliminates this, and this is only worth it of you think you will play it a lot. First games also tend to be drawn out affairs due to an initially steep learning curve.

My gaming group sadly try and avoid it after several abortive attempts caused by lack of familiarity with the rules - at least one player needs to be more than passing familiar with them. Elder Sign is definitely AH- uber light. and we have had more success with that.

If you want to get your other half interested have you it may be worth considering the Print n Play game Arkham Express as a low cost introduction - the cost of a couple of dice, some printer paper and the time it takes to cut it out. Like Elder Sign it gives a flavour of the full blown game with the addition of more common elements than ES.

If you take the plunge and buy the full game, the advice to try a few solo games first is worth following, and if you can leave it set up for a bit (spare room, or large board under the sofa) it pays off.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 7:58 pm
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Bobby Warren

(Bobby4th)

United States
Glendale
Arizona

When my friend and I play with his wife, the three of us usually get the game set-up, played, and put away in under 2 hours. That includes time for their under-10 daughters to ask for things and for them to let the dog out on occasion.

We haven't played it since Elder Sign came out, though. We get much the same feel from it in a much shorter time, though it is much easier to win.

Posted Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:43 pm
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Miira Auroora

(Miiru)

Finland
Vantaa

Thanks guys!

I think I'm going to start with reading the rules by myself. You're all right about that AH being a co-op, my fiancé doesn't have to know every single rule. He'll eventually get the gist of it.

Posted Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:02 am
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Chris Poor

(crispy66)

United States
Murray
Kentucky

Has anyone tried coming up with a variant that deals with the various issues that make the game last so long?

I mean, aside from adding extra Doom tokens or lowering the number of seals needed, has anyone tried to come up with a streamlined way to play that does not lose the stuff we love, and doesn't totally screw up any balance there is in this game?

As I see it, the story, the narrative is what is so great, and it is hard to cut things out without abridging the story - everything added (relationships, personal stories, epic final battles) all ADD both time and narrative, and I love them all. I could strip it down, but it would no longer be an epic story of struggle against vast odds, it would be a pale shadow.

Rambling there, sorry. I'm gonna look at this idea and see what I can come up with - Arkham light, anyone?

Crispy

Posted Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:08 pm
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Miira Auroora

(Miiru)

Finland
Vantaa

I haven't looked at the variants section but knowing BGG I would assume that at least someone would have tried. Would be interesting though.

Has anyone anything to say about Witch of Salem?

Posted Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:46 am
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Bobby Warren

(Bobby4th)

United States
Glendale
Arizona

Miiru wrote:

I haven't looked at the variants section but knowing BGG I would assume that at least someone would have tried. Would be interesting though.

Has anyone anything to say about Witch of Salem?

I like Witch of Salem. There is less story telling, but it plays much quicker.

Posted Thu Feb 23, 2012 4:23 pm
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suicide puppet

(suicidepuppet)

I will say this-Arkham Horror is the best game I have ever experienced that does EXACTLY what it is supposed to do. I have read accounts of people banging their head on the table, throwing the game across the room, etc.

It is designed to drive you crazy

Now that you 'understand' that, smile and know that, imho, it is the best boardgame I have ever played. ES is very good and where I started. I played 5 back to back sessions of ES-left the playing area intact and just played turns as time allowed - and by the 2nd day I was convinced. I just felt a sense of quality that is so lacking in other games. So I ordered AH.

Within 15 minutes of removing the shrink I spun my laptop around and went all in-ordered all 8 expansions. My wife thought I had lost my mind. She was right.

AH is the ultimate Meta game experience. Never read HP Lovecraft? Now's your chance. Want to change up the game so it never gets boring? Add expansions. Have a bit of a crafting instinct? There are several fan created expansions that add even more plus you get a satisfaction from crafting your own materials. There is even software available for free to produce your own original material. I bought extra boxes of ES and the Miskatonic expansion and plan on grabbing a core box as well just to make custom content with.

The AH community is one of the best I have ever found and I owe a lot of my appreciation to the BGG and FFG community for helping me 'see the light'

I hope this game brings much madness to your gaming table, it is fun as hell solo and once people get the 'wink wink' and that smile crosses their face you will know.

Where else do you get to play a gun totin', whiskey drinkin' nun out to kill an alien demon? Now THAT is awesome

Edited Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:50 am
Posted Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:48 am
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