Learning to handle things myself - w/Arkham Horror

After getting just one game of Firefly under my belt, I was hooked. I woke up the morning after playing and set out all the bits to play a game solo, it wasn’t AS fun by myself, but it was still enjoyable. I made an impulse decision (the first of many to come as it pertains to board games) to go find another game I could play by myself. I loved the theme of Firefly and the stories that popped back into my head as I played, so I figured I would go looking for another game that would tell me a good story, even if I was playing by myself.

I hopped in my truck, asked Siri for directions, and headed out once more to the game store in Pascagoula that had immediately fascinated me at the possibilities for endless hours of fun in a box. Arriving at the store, I had no Idea where to start; there were so many games, and they all looked amazing, and I quickly realized that I needed a bit of a hand.

“So, I bought Firely here yesterday, and I had a blast, I loved all the cards and I actually really enjoyed how long it took to play! What else do you got?”  I asked the store manager, eagerly anticipating a rundown of a few similar games. 

Well, it turns out my question was pretty vague, “uhhhh…Well if you liked all the cards, and a story is what you’re looking for, there’s no shortage of that here,” he said as he pointed to a series of boxes belonging to a game called Arkham Horror. He continued on to point out that there was a much newer game, called Eldritch Horror and that it was more streamlined, the rules were easier to understand, and it was a bit less complex but still carried its weight. I would hear none of this Eldritch Horror talk. It seemed a whole wall was filled with Arkham Horror and the many expansions, and I even remember saying “I think the more complex a game is the better it probably is!!!”  He tried to warn me that not all complexity equaled excellency, and I would find that to be true with other games later, but right then…I didn’t care, Arkham Horror looked gloriously robust, and was a sure fire way to get me lost in a board game while I sat in my little hotel room.

Over the next several weeks, I would spend a ridiculous amount of time playing this game. I even put my do not disturb sign out on my door for days at a time because I didn’t want hotel services to clean my room and potentially mess up my elaborate setup. I had moved furniture to fit all the components and I could just take my own trash out, it wasn’t worth the risk.

I had just started playing board games, but what I loved about Arkham Horror was that I could play  solo with a variable number of investigators, and also…THE CARDS, there were so many cards, and so many different things to encounter, I knew pretty much immediately that I would be buying expansions sooner rather than later. I will say that I have had more fun playing WITH other people, but the solo experience I had was another major selling point on the hobby itself. I could now buy games and take them underway with me, and if no one wanted to play a game with me, I could still enjoy getting my cardboard fix.

Before I continue on to my overview and thoughts on Arkham Horror I want to talk about solo gaming in general.  Clearly, based on the fact I am writing this blog at all, I enjoy board games and I look for every opportunity to play board or tabletop games. My career and lifestyle has made solo board gaming almost a necessity at times due to the many commitments of my job and the differing watch schedules and work rotation of those I work with. But one of the primary reasons why I have made tabletop gaming such a part of my life is because of the social aspect of it. I used to play a lot of video games, and even when playing with other people, It was easy to get so glued to the screen that it felt like I was playing by myself and the social aspect was lost. Board games have provided a way for me to game with other people and actually interact meaningfully while doing so. I wish that I always had other people standing by to sit around the table with me, but that is not always the case, so I regularly seek out games that can be enjoyably be played with a group, as well as played solo in a pinch should the need arise. I will always choose to play with other people if they are available, but if I must go it alone I have been pleasantly surprised by the options that I have found.

Arkham Horror. What do I think of it? Well I love it..allow me to explain.

For starters, the rulebook isn’t terrible. There are a lot of rules. You will be looking at the rulebook at least a handful of times during your first few games. But there is an index, and it’s not too difficult to understand the flow of the game and know where to reference the various mechanics. Just be aware that there are a lot of mechanics and options at play.

The components. Well, I think I have covered that there are an abundance of cards, it takes up a lot of table space to lay out just the base game with the many piles of cards in addition to your investigator sheets  and  the plethora of cardboard bits. But the components do their job, and the artwork is thematic and engaging. Another caveat, if you plan on buying all the expansion and playing “all-in” your gonna need to break out the table leafs, ITS BIG.

For anyone uninitiated, Arkham Horror is a Call of Cthulhu game based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. In AH, players will team up as 1-8 investigators and set out in the city of Arkham, along with various other worlds, to attempt to seal gates, defeat monsters, acquire a gambit of items and spells to help along the way, and, if necessary, face off in a final showdown against one of the Great Ancient Ones. The theme is immersive, and the options are limitless. I have played this game A LOT and it has never felt the same twice, never have I thought “yeah,yeah I’ve been here before…lets just get to the next part.”  In fact, there are still some of the features that I have yet to fully experience, which is part of what makes this so appealing to me, If I were actually involved in an attempt to save the world from the likes of Cthulhu or another horrible Ancient One, I wouldn’t have time to experience everything the city of Arkham has to offer. While some turns have obvious things that need to be done, the players are always looking ahead and being forced to make tough decisions about what they can actually do and what needs to be sacrificed in order to get the job done.

The game is played with each turn consisting of 5 phases. First, a mythos card is drawn that will trigger a gate opening at a listed location, along with a monster (or monster at every open gate if a gate already exists at the location), monsters on the board will move based on their type and symbol, doom may be added to the doom track (getting you closer to waking up the ancient old one, and an event of varying consequence and duration will occur). Players will then perform an upkeep phase, where they can adjust their skills, collect any bonuses they are entitled to during the upkeep, and refresh exhausted cards. After upkeep, players will take turns moving around the board base on their allotted speed, stopping to fight any monster they occur. After all players have moved, any investigator that has not traveled through a gate will face an encounter at their current location. Each neighborhood of 3 locations has a deck of cards to draw from and face an encounter for the specific location and several locations have specific encounters you can choose to do instead of a random encounter, such as buying items at the general store, getting blessed at the church, or healing health and sanity. Once investigators in Arkham itself have all completed their encounters, those in other world locations will draw from the other world encounter deck and face an encounter there. During encounters and monster battles players will have to pass skill checks based on their equipped items and skills, requiring them to roll some dice and meet specific requirements as outlined on the encounter card or monster stats. Once all 5 phases are complete, if the ancient old one has not been awakened, a new round will begin and the players will continue on their investigation. There is much more to discover, but one more thing I will mention are clue tokens. Clue tokens are also spawned during the mythos phase and gathered by investigators during their investigation. These clue tokens are used to reroll dice on skill check, spend during various encounters, or most importantly permanently seal gates getting the investigators closer to saving Arkham, and the world.

Arkham Horror isn’t for everyone, and you will find that most people nowadays will recommend Eldritch Horror over it. I will admit that Eldritch Horror does do a good job of serving the theme and still carries enough complexity and depth for most folks to get their fill. You will hear that Arkham Horror is overly fiddly, and I can’t completely discredit that, there are a lot of pieces and a lot to manage, but saving the world isn’t supposed to be easy.             Arkham Horror was my first real exposure to solo board gaming and the replayability continues to excite me every time I break open the box(es). I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great cooperative game that can enjoyably be played solo.

As my time in Mississippi drew to a close, I packed up my bags and headed to Texas to pick up my wife at the airport. She had flown down to meet me for the drive back up to Washington and I was eager to share this new hobby of mine with here and hopefully get her as excited as I was. On the trip back, I dragged her into a board game store, for the first of many times we would walk around deciding together on our next game to add to our budding collection. After two gaming stores now I had enjoyed both, but not every gaming store I have visited since has been of equal quality and there are several things that I have noticed that both contribute to a good experience as well as turn me off to visiting again. In my next post, I will talk about what I look for in a gaming store, and what I feel have been the failures of some of the stores that I have been to. Additionally, I will talk about the first game I purchased together with my wife, Forbidden Island.  So until next time, keep gaming and…?stay dry?  (This whole transition into the next game thing is a bit tough for some games!).