Comments on: Arkham Horror Video Review

By: Dollie

Dollie — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 19:02:09 +0000

I know a thing or two about Lovecraft.. The spells are in the game as part of the ‘gag’ it’s just the thing that comes with playing a Lovecraftian game. It wouldn’t be a true Lovecraftian game without them. As investigators encounter and learn knowledge of the mythos they will gamble with their sanity. You cannot shoot Cthulhu with a shotgun. There are games where you go around shooting the elder gods with pistols but Lovecraft fans find them to be a sort of disservice to what his literary philosophy was supposed to be about. He believed that the cosmos had an indifferent relationship with mankind and that humans have limited sensory faculties to comprehend the true nature of the universe; supposing one fragment of truth were to be discovered in a chain with another the piecing together of this knowledge would open up terrifying vistas of reality and the investigator would either go mad from the revelation or be driven absolutely batshit insane. In the Call of Cthulhu (CoC) horror roleplaying game.. all characters are either devoured or driven insane. In most games your dude gets more and more chicks, booty and reknown.. getting increasingly more badass and cool.. in Lovecraft’s cthulhu mythos everyone is a pawn in a chessgame where even the players do not understand the pieces. As children human beings stomp on ant hills; for no reason.

My beefs with the game: the sliders. Unless you’ve played the game many times and know the mathematical probability of how many cards do what and how to best use the sliders at different locations forget it you will find moving them around to be a chore either way. its the worst mechanic to the game. the amount of cards is an obstacle no question and the game not fitting itself back in the box very well especially with added expansion compounds this issues.
I just got a game called Tales Of The Arabian Nights. It has a spiral-bound book with like.. a sort of matrix of randomly generated numbers up to something like 2000 encounters. And that takes up a lot less space and in my eyes is the way games like this should be made. Arkham Horror is a game that should be using more paper for the cards you dont need tokens and cards for everything.
I recommend checking out the Call of Cthulhu horror roleplaying game it is basically the same as this but in your head (where the mythos belongs)

By: Mylander

Mylander — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:26:23 +0000

The BEST part of this series is adding all the expansions in at once, sitting down for half a dozen hours and getting obliterated by the board game itself. My friends and I almost never win, but that is a part of what makes it so fun!

By: RichardS

RichardS — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:44:10 +0000

Great game, although limited playability unless you have a devoted group of gamers that are into more complex games. Plus, the time it takes to play it makes it one where you have to almost plan around the game. But, if you’re into the Lovecraft Mythos, this is a must-have game.

By: kantpaper

kantpaper — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 04:35:21 +0000

I really like Arkham Horror. The game system is well designed and challenging. It produces a fantastic sense of dread and at times it just seems impossible to win. And, to be honest, I find that sense of impossibility exhilarating. But, as with many games, how much you, or anyone, enjoys it is a function of their willingness or ability to get into the theme. If the theme seems silly, the game will too.

Your comments about the spells I distantly sympathize with. But they are important thematically insofar as they staple of the Cthulhu Literary Mythos.

As you all pointed out, there are a lot of cards in this game. The number of cards can be difficult to manage and set up, but they are essential to the game’s re-playability; allowing for complex and different characters each game and allowing for a decent variety of encounters and mythos events. I have to admit that I’m one of those gamers who finds the management and set up of the cards an enjoyable aspect of the game; so this I find to be a sort of virtue.

I really enjoyed this game and your review of it.

Arkham Horror: 8.5

Board to Death’s Review of it: 9

By: ranoobu

ranoobu — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:15:28 +0000

This is one of those epic type games (in my opinion) because it can take hours and hours to play… if you are into the theme and want some adventure with a lot of depth in story, then you are playing the right game.

As others have said, the rules may be a bit intimidating. I recommend that you learn the game yourself and maybe play through a few solo games before teaching other people. Trust me, you never want to learn with everyone else.. there’s a lot of downtime you’ll include in an already long game.

The quality is all there and the rulebook is huge!

Note: the base game will somewhat seem really easy once you get the hang of it. You’re probably going to need at least one expansion to make the game more challenging.

I enjoy this game, but it’s definitely hard to find the needed time to play a full game. Sometimes, we play a few hours and come back to it.. just make sure you have enough room to leave it out.. because this game takes up a LOTTTTTT of space.

I rate this game an 8/10

By: Death and Taxis

Death and Taxis — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:25:33 +0000

With Arkham Horror, you get out of it what you’re willing to put in. Invest a little time and get back a great play experience in return.
The rules appear intimidating at a casual glace but there is a repetitive flow to the game that anyone can quickly pick up after playing a couple of rounds.

It does take up a lot of room, especially with the expansions and an opaque bag for the monster tiles would have been a nice touch but these are minor nitpicks.

By: Squibz

Squibz — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:07:51 +0000

I echo what some others have said, as well as what was said in the video. There are just too many bits in this for me. If someone was giving it away, I’d definitely take it, but it’s not something I’d consider buying for myself.

By: geekhype

geekhype — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:30:39 +0000

I think Arkham Horror is a well produced game, however there are things that make this game fall short for me.

It’s really “fiddly”!
-There are just entirely too many bits & pieces & sliders & upkeep…ugh… I kinda get a headache playing it ;(

So many rules!
-They are just entirely too many rules! It’s hard enough trying to understand them yourself when you’ve played it a dozen times, let alone, trying to teach it to someone!

I guess I’m a eurogamer @ heart, but don’t get me wrong, Arkham Horror is a great game and many ppl will enjoy the story that unfolds as you play and won’t be turned off by the rules & all the components. It’s just not for me. I do like its’ lighter cousin, A Touch of Evil from Flying Frog Productions. So try that out if Arkham Horror seems like a little much for you!

By: Kanin

Kanin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:30:03 +0000

I really enjoy this game. Yes I agree while a lot of pieces I think it ads to the game though as it makes for a huge variety. Was not a big fan of cthulhu until I got to playing this game and now it is one of my favorite games. My only 1 complaint is that when introducing it to new players I tend to not play with the board expansions as I feel it adds to much to what is going on. Hard enough to keep the experienced players on track, much less have to make sure the newbie player is not slacking and bringing the world to an end. All in all like I said this is one of my favorites to play. Especially in the summer as Fantasy Flight tends to hold scenarios you can download to rate you with people from all over the world. Lets hope they keep it up.

By: Hem

Hem — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:00:10 +0000

A masterpiece. My woman’s favorite. A whole universe. Not enough space in my flat to put everything from it (original game, 3 big box expansions, 3 and soon 4 tiny box expansions). Never the same story. A real role playing board game for people not interested in real gathering role playing game with a gamemaster and all… A simplified role playing game, that is. An original universe mostly from brilliant Lovecraft novels work. Not the usual old fantasy about dragons, goblins and all. Many players love it, mine never got disappointed with that one. Amazing how the cards you draw, the story of your character and the events that take place during a game can all gather into a almost plausible written story. My woman (a mostly dark fantasy writer) even wrote one short-story out of one of our games ! A masterpiece. I give it a 9.