Arkham Horror: The Card Game - Right For You / Wrong For You - Review

[@Gauravonomics]

It would have been good to start by explaining that you play as investigators, and potentially spend a lot of time delving deep into their backstories and abilities, and constructing/ upgrading their decks. I love the Arkham Horror world because of the investigators, and I love it that the same investigators carry across all the Arkham games. In Arkham Horror LCG specifically, I love that the card pools for each of the five investigator colors bring to life their personalities and powers, and you can customise each investigator by mixing and matching cards from different colors. I also love the immersive storytelling within each 8-scenario campaign, and how your decisions in each scenario impact future scenarios. I also love that each scenario has location cards that create a map, and act/ agenda decks that progress the story and the tension. Plus, each scenario has multiple setups, paths to resolution, and resolutions themselves, which lead to immense replayability, especially if you play the same scenario with new investigators. The storytelling in the 8-part campaigns really differentiates it from Lord of the Ring LCG and Marvel Champions LCG.

[@stevegeorge7773]

Agree with you. Not sure if they know much about lovecraft, it’s background and all of what you mention. They should have done their research.

[@peterloderup5819]

It's good to see some FFG content on here. Arkham Horror: TCG is incredible.

[@Quackalope]

Glad we got to show it off :) - I have Barkum that needs to be edited as well!

[@buddywahlquist2467]

A couple of slightly different perspectives... 1. The core box is where you have to start, but it is NOT a good representation of the entire experience, which makes jumping in very difficult. Chances are you might get and play through the core box and not be impressed...but after playing a single campaign be hooked for life. For a lot of people, you have to make the buy-in of core box plus campaign (about $150) before really knowing if it's right for you. 2. Availability is a big issue, and you probably can't just jump into whatever campaign you want. You likely have to get whatever is available. If you do jump in, I STRONGLY recommend buying the current campaign while it is still in it's initial print run. You don't have to play it right away, but if you miss it, it might be a while before you can find it again. 3. One glaring issue that was not brought up...if you are getting into the game, you're going to want a second core set (not just for 4 players). In AHtCG you can have 2 copies of a given card in your deck, so every single product contains 2 copies of every player card...EXCEPT THE CORE SET! The core set gives you just one copy of most player cards, and these are the most iconic cards in the game. If you try and build a deck from a list that you find online (arkhamdb.com), you will almost always need a second core set.

[@ThomasHelms]

I'm definitely on point 1 right now. I feel potential of the game in the core, but the core itself is such a letdown at only 3 scenarios. And point 2 why I'm thinking of selling my core; I personally want to play in release order and hate the notion of being chained to a release cycle. Oh, and point 3 definitely attributed to my dislike of the core... There's is no way I'm buying another core if core didn't sell me on the experience.

[@denisloebner4882]

yeah 2 cores are a must for all the standard cards (i heard people arguing for 3 to 4 core sets so a 4 player party can freely build 2x guardian or so decks as well). the core campaign is meh at best and more a tutorial id say; i do like the midnight masks though. i would start with the campaign that you can buy complete but that is not the ongoing one cos that one is usually 1-2 bucks more expensive per mythos pack (at least here in europe).

[@refreshdaemon]

Regarding point 3 (which is something I hate about FFG's business practices), I just ended up making proxies of all the 1-ofs. It's not like I'm going to be going to tournaments or anything and I'm playing this solo so it worked fine for me.

[@buddywahlquist2467]

I ended up getting my second core set after completing my first campaign, once I knew I loved the game. Also, just ordered those campaign guides from lulu.com!

[@DireMcCann]

Figured that from other reviews, there’s a huge initial investment just to get the flavor of the game... then if you do like it... there’s 4 more cycles at $100+ each. That tells me A)there’s tons of immersion potential and B) better really think about it being an OCD completionist... Right now, I’ll pass on this and nab a couple big box games on my wish list...

[@alexmillette1054]

Yes this game can be expansive, but the gameplay and narrative is so amazing. For me it’s a board game in a card game format and because of this it allows this game to be modular in a way that is just impossible for a regular board game.

[@gulnaga4386]

Absolutely love AH:TCG! Though they didn’t cover the best part! If you fail a scenario... you continue on with the consequences! Often play it 2 and 4 player. Rarely true solo (but fun)! I... have all the bits except the novellas. It is one of my top 3 boardgames (alongside KDM and Twilight Imperium)

[@cristaniancatembung1160]

It is safe to say that I am IN TOO DEEP in this game. Not for the weak of will.

[@iamponer]

Like Finn?

[@cmchristensen]

This is currently my favorite game. I think the innovation behind Arkham is that mechanically, it's not innovative at all. What I mean is that the base components of what makes this game work are extremely stripped back - build a deck, play a card, grab a resource. The brilliance of this simplicity is in how customizable these base mechanics can (and do) become. Keywords give meaning to a cards special abilities, symbols designate where you can and can't go, even a flipped card has meaning in the information it hides. And the secret sauce that glues it all together and makes it beautiful is the mechanics of flavor text and art, driving your imagination to experience the radiant narrative of a well built world.

[@biznesstime83]

Great game. So glad to see it discussed here. And it’s got such a big community behind it to help out anyone getting into it. I was and Arkham Horror 2nd Edition fanboy and tried to stay away from the LCG. But I got sucked in around when Dunwich was finishing up and have gotten everything since (except the investigator decks which sold out before I could get them). If anyone is looking to jump in I would recommend the core and then whatever cycle is current. (It can be hard to find all the mythos packs for older cycles)

[@muskyoxes]

The latest core box, of course, has enough for four players in one box. Is that edition really so recent? This video is fairly new and didn't seem to know about it...

[@williambryan8341]

Great video!! I'm a massive AH:tcg fan. You should consider doing another updated video considering that they're releasing the game in a very different format nowadays. You no longer have to buy two core sets. And the campaigns are now going to be released differently.

[@JackgarPrime]

Funny timing. I bought a copy of this as a Christmas gift for a friend of mine about a week or two before you put this video out.

[@starshocker]

Great video. Always love a lovecraftian, Chtulhu theme game and this one sounds truly appealing as you talked about it here. I'm also not against losing from time to time, so I wouldn't even feel annoyed. Let's investigate some monsters and unravel the horror.

[@denisloebner4882]

Its my most liked game as well but i am not full deep into it (missing the circle undone and a few of the solos as well as most of the novels). my favorite part has to be the attention to detail; every mythos pack plays very differently and tells a unique story and experience. This game just has so much heart and soul you will remember (almost) every scenario that you play for the first time.

[@GrungiAnkhfire]

How does one print these amazing campaign guides?!!! They look a-ma-zing! This was a great video, really good job Kadeus and Jesse :D Having played a little bit of Lord of the Ring (not the later stuff though), a bunch of Marvel and even the old Call of Cthulhu LCG, Arkham is for me the most innovative of the bunch. The combination of the base system of token pulling, scenario-specific rules, and above all the location system having you explore vastly different environments is just amazing. You have scenarios in a train, others in a single building, city, or across huge swaths of lands. Some procedural generation, some exploration, some straight up Pandemic-like gameplay... Each scenario (of which there are now more than 50 all things considered) has something that's particular to it. As a (video) game designer, I am constantly amazed at what the designers are bringing to the table. I have never found a game that is so good both mechanically, with simple but evocative systems, as well as consistently innovating within its own boundaries. It's also very much failing-forward, you do not get stuck most of the time for failing a scenario. I will stop before I write a novella, but love Arkham

[@buddywahlquist2467]

Yes, I must have these campaign guides...

[@GrungiAnkhfire]

@@buddywahlquist2467 Kadeus pointed me to this Reddit post with instructions and files! www.reddit.com/r/arkhamhorrorlcg/comments/gao5at/choose_your_own_adventure_campaign_guides/

[@biznesstime83]

Agreed with everything said here. And I really want to get the bound copies of campaign guides. They look incredible.

[@dggomes]

I just found them here: drive.google.com/drive/folders/19CTc3A31SKVNAwd-6VJM5urxggeSgDtK

[@PedroSantos-sg9gz]

Best game ever! If you can buy a Core Box and one of the stand alone expansions like Murder at the Excelsior Hotel. You only need two core boxes if you really get into the game or want to play with more than 2 players. Even then, you now have the investigator starter decks that you can buy. Scenarios can also be played standalone and not part of the campaign.

[@roofustheman]

One of my favorite games. I’m all in - I have every release to date. I wouldn’t want to be someone just getting started right now with how hard it is to find some of this stuff.

[@fufu1405]

Its not even that hard... Sure if you want everything at once. But if you’re gonna get started, Core Box + Expension with first one or two mythos decks and you’re good for a month until next paycheck when you can get the rest of the remaining Dunwich cycle.

[@jacobb5484]

They’re likely releasing combined sets in the near future

[@pinocho7746]

I would like to see a competitive lcg Cosmic Horror game, like Magic or similar.

[@christianbay7614]

I love Arkham Horror LCG. One thing that did not get enough focus in this review is that each player plays an investigator and the campaign is a well written story and you are going through that story over the duration of the campaign where your choices, succeses and failures affects the outcome of the story. In addition you have progression of your investigator through out your campaign which very much separate it from most other boardgames / LCG, it give it a bit of an RPG feel.

[@marduk3604]

Right For You/Wrong For You is one of your best segments.

[@Quackalope]

It will be coming back a lot more :)

[@jmarcin]

This wasn't explicitly mentioned, but I'd argue that one more reason not to get into this is if you're already pretty deep into a different LCG (or CCG). I personally can't imagine collecting 2 or more of these simultaneously; it'd be overwhelming in both content and cost.

[@JohnDoe-jr4pt]

As someone who started playing Lord of the Rings LCG and Arkham Horror LCG about a year and a half before Marvel champions released and now has everything for all three games: YOU CAN DO IT! Small caveat though, I only do the deck construction for AH and netdeck LotR. Also, I've only played about 1/2 of the LotR scenarios.

[@ImperatorZed]

@@JohnDoe-jr4pt LotR ended so I started picking up Nisei's Netrunner... gotta keep on grinding.

[@stevenburton7725]

I’m so happy that they changed the releases so that they are far easier to reprint, and that they did reprints!

[@bobsteel1981]

This is one of my favourite games as well, and the system is one I really enjoy. I have most of it, but the UK really has problems getting FFG games in stock sometimes. To give some additional on the system: there is a lot if similarity to a TCG or CCG (Trading or Collectable Card Game) such as Magic the Gathering or Pokemon, but with one major difference - a difference that means I will never play another TCG. Every expansion pack in an LCG has the same cards in it, and you build your decks out of any card you have. Whereas TCGs have packs with a random selection of cards from the set and you have to either buy many many packs to get playsets, or go online to third-party sellers and buy the cards you want (or trade with other players) - some people like what is basically gambling and microtransactions in a card game, but it's not for me - that's why I like LCGs more. If you're playing one of the non-co-operative LCGs, you can just go online, build a deck, and buy only the packs you need to complete that deck - you can do the same with a co-operative one, as long as someone that you play with has the other packs so you don't miss part of the story. One criticism I will make about the consistency of this game: you can break the flow yourself. You can go on standalone missions as side quests between story missions. And one time I was on a train between two fairly close towns for one mission, then took a side mission to Venice before arriving at the station for the next story mission. If that continuity break annoys you: be careful of which side quests you do, and when. Another thing to note: there have been two special packs released so far for tournament size play: one scenario has up to twelve players collectively working together in three separate groups to solve a mystery. The other has an unlimited number of players (yes any number you wish - you just need one copy per group of up-to four players) trying to survive against a monster from a fiftie's horror film. Both of which include rules for normal group / solo play. Worth a look. Other games that use the same system that I know of (all from FFG so far, I don't know of any from a different company): Arkham Horror * Call of Cthulhu A Game of Thrones Legend of the Five Rings Android Netrunner The Lord of the Rings * Star Wars Marvel Champions * Warhammer Invasion Warhammer 40k Conquest * TLOTR, AH, and MC are the only ones that are co-operative (and not-coincidentaly my favourite). These three are also the only ones that I am collecting, though I do have all of Conquest. FFG dropped that one fairly quickly though. As for the innovativeness - it is the only one of those that uses the tokens in a bag to determine your success, it was the first (and only so far that I am aware of) LCG that used an upgrading mechanic during the campaign that allows you to craft and improve your deck, and had multiple outcomes for each mission beyond win or lose - those outcomes also affect how the next mission plays out. You also do not end your campaign when you lose a mission: instead you get the worst outcome and still move on. So in all: it is quite unique in terms of LCGs, however all of its mechanics have been used in other games - it just combines them well into a great game. Additionally: if there is the odd pack or two missing from your collection of the co-operative ones and you're waiting for it to come back into stock, you could print the cards you are missing until it comes back into stock / you find a copy. It doesn't really work for the competitive ones though as any tournaments you play in will ban printed cards. (Man this comment got long - didn't intend that. :) )

[@stephenhanbury]

Marvel Champions is my favourite game and they were both bang on about 'you have to like the theme'. I decided to try Arkham Horror LCG at one point and couldn't get over the theme.

[@DriedMoss]

I appreciate the point of view from both sides, I didn’t agree with Quackalope’s Arkham Horror TCG being on his “Disappointed” games list, but that’s what I need to get better at, which is being able to agree to disagree and looking passed the irony when influencers say they are not influencing, and it’s just their opinion, which is what many fail to realize...that’s...okay...

[@robinrising9929]

arkham horror, without the novels, is $1200 as of right now. And even if you just got one set, it's $120. If you have the money for it I'd say go for it. But, you could have a fantastic game collection for 1200 and always have something new in your life. It's also fairly hard to resell piecemeal. Love it, but I had to go digital and cut it off so I could have more experiences.

[@panoti4264]

The game has a strong theme which is awesome if you like the horror H. P. Lovecraft. The game is designed for experts and is a lot fun for expert players. If you do not like complex games do not play or buy it. In my gaming group, we played the recently. Before we played a lot of cooperative games. The half group thinks the game is too complex to be fun and rather prefer simpler games. So we prefer "Legends of Andor" over Arkham Horror the Cardfame due to theme and complexity. It does not mean we play it anymore. Legend of Andor is much simpler and more fantasy themed.

[@AureliusAudio]

Best Card Game out there.

[@danacoleman4007]

a game of thrones living card game!

[@burningalice]

This game is incredible. Every new game we get is entertained for a few plays before being set aside for Arkham again - the stories and drama that develop out of our sessions are amazing

[@danielkeim8558]

This game is incredible and in my top 10 of all time after only buying the core set on sale, the full Dunwich Legacy campaign, and a wooden insert. I have thoroughly enjoyed the content I have but literally the only thing holding me back from buying a bunch more is availability and cost adding up.

[@richarddurrer9617]

Nice video. If you do join the Discord, Kadeius is very approachable about teaching the game system. I'm lucky enough to be in a weekly campaign with him, and honestly, it's one of the highlights of my week. Kadeus is very patient and very good at creating a fun place to play a game.

[@SteelyStrummer]

I own the first couple full expansion cycles, but I still haven't played beyond the core box. I really need to get this to the table more. That said, the main reason is that when I have time, LotR LCG is always the one that hits my table instead. LotR LCG remains my favorite game of all time. AH is definitely like a more streamlined version of LotR (for better or worse), but it also differs in that it features a much larger focus on a campaign style linkage between each scenario. Great game, though, no doubt!

[@SteelyStrummer]

@Comic Collective I looooooove the art in LotR!

[@HotKeyMax]

Basically the best board game :)

[@alexandermosbacher2203]

Hello. Great Video, really helpful. Short question: what are the books with the flavour text - where can I get them?

[@JUBEJU22]

the flavour text was from the campaign book that comes with the game. He had them printed into hardcover books by the looks of it.

[@buddywahlquist2467]

BACK TO BACK "RIGHT FOR YOU/WRONG FOR YOU"?! It really is the most wonderful time of the year... Also, it's right for me.

[@buddywahlquist2467]

Also, I'm in Johnson City, TN...not nearly 9 hours away...we could film the Marvel Champions RfY/WfY...

[@sm1ttywerb]

I used to have a bunch of stuff for this, but I decided that I only needed one endlessly expanding game, and Kingdom Death was the winner lol.

[@apokai]

Awesome video! Late comment but what about the revised core they launch on October? Seems to address the issue for new players wanting to join and concern about issing some initial campaign. But I might be wrong. Still investigating (pun intended)

[@arashgrgsson3841]

tnx for this great video

[@Quackalope]

Most welcome

[@HatterM111]

Arkham LCG is one of the best games ever 🖤

[@fotisbar9026]

I love the glass tokens!! Where can i find them??

[@natewinslow557]

Search Elise gee tokens

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

What was the site for the for the deck builds?

[@alexpartenopei1021]

an excellent game, if expensive. would certainly make my top 5 games of my collection (along with Okko Chronicles, Nemesis, A Touch of Evil and This War of Mine)

[@onlysily]

Do you also need 2 of every expansion pack if you wanna play tge expansions in 4 people ?

[@UnStr4tegic]

No, only the core box has this limitation. Buying any of the expansions (deluxe box/mythos packs) gives you enough cards to play for 4 people

[@dultanur]

Quack? Got a question: would you recommend this game to someone who wouldn't be able to buy the booster packs (or whatever they're called) easily? I have to buy from overseas so I would be playing with the base game plus maybe 1 or 2 expansions for a loooong time. Still yay, or nah?

[@mmccluskey2867]

FFG have changed the way they are packaging campaigns glib forward. New edge of the earth campaign is an entirely packaged in one box. Investigators and their cards are in separate box. Will make it easier to buy now going forward

[@dultanur]

@@mmccluskey2867 thank you, that sounds good. So for a noob, a base set plus edge of earth would be a good start?

[@sanderneeft306]

This game is going back and forth between my number 1 and number 2 game of all time. The only negative thing I experienced with it is the amount of time a campaign can take. Especially when you are putting together decks and breaking them up again and again. While you're playing it, it's a 10/10 for me!

[@robopastierik2966]

what is your No 1 game ?

[@sanderneeft306]

When I made this comment it was Gloomhaven I think. Now it's between, frosthaven, Brass Birmingham and Arkham horror LCG@@robopastierik2966

[@Urek968]

This game is great but the price to get deep into this game is steep. And the fact that stuff is always out of print making it really hard to get all the stuff you want makes me not recommend it unless you love cuthulu mythos like myself.

[@Urek968]

@@baysidejr Yea I have to pre order all the stuff for inns mouth even know I don't really want to cause of all the Kickstarter games coming out right now. Cause It will be out of stock for who knows how long. I still can't get all the packs for circle undone cause they have been out of stock for like 4 months. I can't imagine what it would be like just starting out right now. Unless they start printing these like crazy and always have them in stock

[@Tharukan]

I really fell in love with the atmosphere and the idea of this game since I first saw it on SU&SD. I think this could easily be favorite of mine. Everything about this game looks amazing and made just for me... ... buuuut it has one of the poorest price points there is in board gaming imho. 45 Dollars for a tutorial level entry point just to see if you like the game is close to a rip-off. Mind you that's for 2 players, if your actually wanna play the entry missions of this 2 - 4 player game with 4 players, double that. Sure, KDM is ridiculously expensive as well, but at least that's not just cards and cardboard (literally all there is in the core, I heard they even cheaped out on giving you a bag, one of THE essential part of this game), there are superb minis there and a ton of content and value in general. It's overpriced for sure, but not as much as Arkham Horror LCG is. And that's coming from someone that spent over 500 bucks on the ATC/TA, 300 bucks on Oathsworn and over 600 bucks on Stormsunder just this past year, so I'm on board with spending way too much on single board games in general. But with this, you end up spending more than each of these for less content and zero minis or deluxe components. Really hate the price point since I'd love to get into this game, but standing as it is, not even I can justify that to myself. Great video though, confirmed what I knew about this game already but was very entertaining anyways! Thanks!

[@headovmetal]

This is awesome! My favorite game!

[@ThomasHelms]

After watching this and your Cthulhu Death May Die Right/Wrong video, I think I have a better grasp on why I don't care for the regular Cthulhu mythos; essentially, real life is struggle, why would I want a similar experience in a game? That and I'm more about punching Cthulhu in the face. AH LCG does an excellent job of telling stories, but I feel like that drives the experience more than the gameplay, which is why it doesn't work for me.

[@jcw59able]

1. Been waiting for this video. 2. I now think I’m pronouncing Kadeus wrong

[@denisloebner4882]

Hope you recorded that game :-)

[@worldrecipeoflife3806]

is the entire game available as an app? if so, how does it compare to the tabletop?

[@jonathana6298]

I always wanted to get into this, but I always felt like the LCG model was better suited for a video game in terms of distribution, accessibility, and complete-ness. Just make it all DLC?

[@amunra_111]

I know that voice from somewhere.....

[@Quackalope]

From somewhere :)

[@Negowa2]

Nice deep dive. You don't need everything for this game, if you don't want to spend your precious "resources" on it. These whole shiny, completionist, FOMO philosophies are yucky. I play once a month, so my collection is building at a slower rate, which is more manageable financially. I also go halves with my mate who I play with. I'm on my 3rd expansion cycle, and once I finish that, I'll replay them all. Thats another 2 years of playing (one session a month) without spending any more money.

[@rko3501]

too brutal of a game without house rules. A lot of intricate details on the cards which can be missed easily and it affects gameplay tremendously. In short - if you feel like you are not losing badly, you are playing it wrong. lol

[@Fatpie42]

Accessibility is terrible and it's got nothing to do with deck construction. (The base game doesn't have enough cards to do much deck construction.) The rulebook is awful. It's a short whistlestop tour of the rules with a massive "reference guide" that is impossible to navigate. Just look up the BGG forums on this game and it's endless arguments over how the cards work and interact that inevitably bring up other rules and further complicate the issue. Just when I thought I'd pinned down the basic rules, one of these threads would seem to indicate that the game worked completely differently. And then there's the fact that you are at the complete mercy of whatever tokens you draw from the bag, which can make a lot of the game feel a bit repetitive. There was enough interesting to keep me trying to learn this game and the artwork is gorgeous, but the lame rulebook was a complete deal breaker.

[@sairam71]

About Sums up my experience. Accessibility is terrible and yes If you can get past it it’s great. The rule book is poor and it’s actually not that hard to learn. They of course learnt from this and simplified everything in marvel champions. The saving grace for all this is the story and immersion is pretty amazing. I wish they did like a rework of rules book and rules set and make it a little More accessible without sacrificing theme.

[@Fatpie42]

@@sairam71 Has anyone made a simplified rulebook? The core set puts their rulebook forward as a basic "how to play" but it feels like it skims vital rules. "Attack of opportunity" was a rule that completely ambushed me. And I'm still not clear on which card text counts as an action and which card text is free to play/automatically activated. I'm sure to hardcore players, this sounds like a lack of effort but I really tried. And there are too many people already selling the core set of cards (often with at least a few extra card sets), otherwise I'd already have sold my copy of the core set, but if someone could help me unlock this, I'd give it another go.

[@EddieDubs]

Every time this guy says "novel", it gets clearer that he's never read any Lovecraft.

[@lastburning]

The token draw system is just basic randomization no different from dice. I don't see how that can be someone's favorite part of the gameplay. There's too much complexity and fiddliness for too little depth. The game's crazy expensive too. Everyone says that you should buy 2 core boxes which is already 80€ and that's just the very beginning. Arkham Card Game is very much a content based game that can't stand on its own without continuous new content.

[@mmccluskey2867]

The clever part of the chaos bag use is it’s manipulation. It always you to increase or reduce difficulty. Every scenario may have different rules for what is in and what the tokens do. Every investigator has some inherent skills. Sometimes this allows them to interact with the chaos bag differently. Token a might be bad for one investigator, good for another. One investigator may have abilities to draw multiply tokens and choose. Some tokens drawn in a particular order may effect subsequent tokens. You can construct your deck to allow you more control of the chaos bag, this sacrifices your abilities elsewhere, you have to balance that. This chaos bags adds so so much to the game. One of my favourite, If not the favourite, mechanism in any game iv ever a

[@mmccluskey2867]

Also re 2 cores, there a new revised core being released in autumn which includes everything for a 4 player game at much less than that

[@r3art]

Game looks interesting, but the writing is total cringe, but I guess people who play this don't read much, so better than that