Arkham Horror Review (Fantasy Flight Games)
I have actually owned this game since right about the time the second printing was released, so about a year and a half has passed between when I first got the game and now, but during that time I read the rules and tried to set it up, only to find out my table at the time was too small to hold the game. Well time has passed and my table has grown so I decided to dust this one off and take it for a spin these past few days with a bit of solo gaming to learn the rules. This renewed interest also happened to appear right at the time when I received a small cash bonus at work, so with green in hand I ran out to pick up whatever expansions I was able to find. Sadly all I could come away with was the Dunwich Horror expansion, but since I was technically still learning the game I figured that was enough for the time being instead of going on a full-fledged obsessive search.
Arkham Horror is based off of the Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos and Fantasy Flight has packed this game full. Everywhere you look the game is seeped in theme from the flavor text to the artwork on the board to the characters themselves. The presentation of the game is exceptional and when fully spread out is very colorful and gives you plenty to look at (sometimes too much because over the past few days I’ve sat in front of the board for many hours and it was in the ninth or tenth hour that the locations in Arkham started to become familiar).
What is interesting about this game is the learning curve. Really there are two going on: One for the person learning the game and one for the people playing the game. I feel after ten hours I’m getting to a point to where I’m comfortable with the system and could successfully run a multi-person game and have answers for just about every situation that comes up. For the people just playing the game the learning curve is much shorter and should be flowing pretty well in just a few turns. The discrepancy is because of the subtle little rules here and there which someone who is just playing really doesn’t need to know because there is so much variety and randomness in the game that the chances of them encountering a specific situation is rare but you do need a “expert” there just to keep the pace of the game going. With this game the pace needs to be kept pretty quick to keep the feel of the game pleasant.
Let me speak to the randomness to this game. There is a ton. From items, to skills, to spells, to events…the direction the game is going will change on a dime. That brings some high highs and some low lows to this game. For example last night my characters were in bad shape and monsters were getting out of my control. The city can only hold so many monsters and any above that limit go to this space called The Outskirts and once that space reaches a certain number of monsters a Terror Point is added to the Terror Track. The Terror Track for the most part isn’t really a problem, but at this point I couldn’t get the monsters under control and once it reaches a certain level the Great Old One is woken and the chances of winning the game gets very slim. I started to feel like things were lost and the next few turns would bring about the end of the world when I pulled a card that stayed in play for some time that prevented the terror track from increasing! Once I pulled that card relief washed over me as I realized I may be able to get this under control before all was lost.
Emotions run up and down really quick, at times there is so much going on that it seems like all is lost and you trudge through the next few turns expecting the game to end (which there is a good chance that it will) at other times you’ll have a control which is just unsettling because you know that every turn of the card or toss of the dice could cause all chaos to break loose. It has been some time since a game has sent me on such an emotional roller coaster with ups and downs every step of the way.
I managed to get through my first game (solo with four characters) last night and managed to keep the Great Old One from appearing by sealing six gates (one of three victory conditions). Here is my problem with the game as I played it. AH works great for some solo game play (this and Silverton are my two recommended games if you have a few hours free and nothing planned and wanted to do some solo gaming). The problem is that there is so much to remember that I know I missed things. I know there were traits that I missed or penalties that I forgot about for a few turns but there were just as many bonuses or perks that I was missing as well. There is a lot for one person to keep track of and a lot of information that I was absorbing and only so much my brain could take. So it was mentally taxing. By the end of the game my eyes had glazed over and I was running on instinct until the sealing of the sixth gate and I felt like one of the creatures I was trying to fight back…I was feeling much like I picture my characters would be feeling in their situation.
I will bypass the typical five point rating that I typically do since there is still a lot to the game that I haven’t seen and mainly am sharing my initial impressions and thoughts, but what I will say is to this point I have been having a blast. The emotions is quite fun where I’d be giving fist pumps as I strike down monsters and the next turn have my shoulders drop and entire body deflating as a critical role is failed. With this game, for the most part, you’re just along for the ride, you will have multiple choices for your character during each situation that unfolds in front of you, but usually after that you have to let the winds of chance bring in the result good or bad. Arkham Horror isn’t about if the world ends or not. At the end of the game it is about telling a story that tells of how the world was devoured by evil incarnate or if a ramshackle group of ramblers can defy the odds and save the world. This is a story that can be told over and over with new characters, new adversaries and new action every time.
‘Til Next Time - Happy Gaming
LvT
