How to Play Eldritch Horror in 10 Minutes - The Rules Girl

The Rules Girl is back with her longest video yet: learn how to play Eldritch Horror, a cooperative Lovecraftian adventure game, in just 10 minutes! In Eldritch Horror, you and your friends play the role of investigators, defeating Lovecraftian horrors, closing gates to other dimensions, and looking for a way to stop an Ancient One from awakening and destroying the world. The goal of the game is to win, and your team win by solving three mysteries, tasks that include searching for clues, using ancient artifacts, and confronting epic monsters.
Table Of Contents:
00:10 Introduction - ERRATA: Eldritch Horror is playable as a solo game.
00:21 The Goal of the Game
00:42 Investigator Overview
00:50 Anatomy of a Round
01:10 Action Phase - ERRATA: Players may have at most 2 tickets of any type, meaning that it's possible to travel 3 train segments at once if you have 2 train tickets.
01:51 Acquiring Assets, Resolving Tests
02:25 Encounter Phase
02:36 General Encounters, Encounter Tests
03:02 Location Encounters
03:25 Research Encounters
03:31 Clues
03:38 Expedition Encounters
03:44 Complex Encounters
04:04 Other World Encounters and Closing Gates
04:15 Combat Encounters
04:51 Ambushes
04:59 Defeated Investigators
05:27 Devoured Investigators
05:34 Mythos Phase
05:45 Yellow Mythos Cards
05:52 Reckoning Effects
06:15 Spawning Gates
06:22 Green Mythos Cards
06:24 Monster Surges
06:32 Spawning Clues
06:42 Blue Mythos Cards (Rumors)
06:55 End-of-Round Housekeeping
07:12 Mysteries and Victory Conditions
07:20 Lose Conditions
07:26 Doom, Awakenings, Final Mysteries
08:08 Setup
09:16 Game Recommendations
If you enjoyed this video, please consider liking and subscribing. Also feel free to answer our strategy question: What’s your favorite investigator and why?
If you’re interested in getting a copy of Eldritch Horror, its expansions, or any of our other recommendations, consider using the below affiliate links:
Eldritch Horror: amzn.to/2t2QBz0
Expansion - Forsaken Lore: amzn.to/2t2S20E
Expansion - Mountains of Madness: amzn.to/2ugWKYJ
Expansion - Strange Remnants: amzn.to/2t2Bjuj
Expansion - Under the Pyramids: amzn.to/2t2Rfg3
Expansion - Signs of Carcosa: amzn.to/2t2XAYL
Expansion - The Dreamlands: amzn.to/2ucE6QM
Expansion - Cities in Ruin: Coming Soon
Arkham Horror: The Card Game: amzn.to/2t2TLCY
Mansions of Madness: amzn.to/2sOmhnT
Elder Sign: amzn.to/2uhf7gc
Pandemic: amzn.to/2sOyU2e
Flash Point Fire Rescue: amzn.to/2uhdMGe
Music Credit:
Ghost Story - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Learn more at rulesgirl.com

[@Naomania]

"The goal of the game is to win" is my fav quote 😂

[@madzid1235]

well...shes not wrong

[@CountDewkeww]

Every time, the way she says it, it makes my heart happy.

[@Gyrogyro]

Jeez, this must have been a nightmare of a video to make. Fantastic job! I've already played a few games of Eldritch Horror but I still watched this to make sure I wasn't missing any rules. If anyone ever asks me how to play Eldritch Horror, I'd send them right to this video! If I may make a suggestion for a game, perhaps Fury of Dracula: 3rd Edition? My friends and I want to try it, and a good concise rules video would be a huge help! :)

[@travisbicklejr]

Just gotta say: This video is exquisitely well-produced and written! Bravo and thank you!

[@ghostspooky4974]

You explained a game that would take me 25 minutes to explain the basics of in less than half that time. This is amazing, and I'll be using this next time I try to get newcomers to play it.

[@MystiaBird]

Just when I thought this game couldn't be explained faster than RTFM's video... you went and halved it! Nice job, these videos are a blessing for game nights :D

[@TheRulesGirl]

To be fair, RTFM does cover more of the minutia and edge cases than we do :-P I'd love to see if a first-timer can jump right in with just our video.

[@oscarmoscarm]

This is just what I intend to do for my first time with this game. Will try it solo. Video is pretty explanatory but covers a lot of stuff, so I might go over it a couple of times more just to jump in. The only thing that is not quite clear for mi from the first view is the strength test part on the encounters phase (I replayed it a couple of times but not yet quite sure about how to deal damage; might need to take a look at it on the rule book). Other than this, I feel like I can just jump in. Thanks, Rules Girl!

[@TheRulesGirl]

Oscar Manrique We weren't 100% clear in our explanation of combat. Basically, deal 1 damage for each success you roll. At the same time, the monsters deals damage to you equal to the number next to the strength test minus your successes. The monsters total HP is the big number on the right, and any damage it takes stays on it until it dies (or, in rare cases due to reckonings or mythos effects, heals)

[@oscarmoscarm]

That was quick! Much clearer now! Will try to dive in right away. Thanks again.

[@obi-wanshinobi1356]

RT's is still better

[@rednessvf]

Whoa, you tackled Eldritch?! Man, I like this channel.

[@TheRulesGirl]

Haha, thanks!

[@controllerfreaks9835]

Best “how to” for this game I’ve seen. Great job! Thanks!!

[@marcelinebeckerrosas9023]

"2-3 hours" me and my friends with the perception of reality completely altered finishing the game in 6-8 hours

[@kiritama48]

Yep I feel that.

[@Sweetestsadist]

Just discovered your channel. Thank you so much for this. Years ago, there were videos titled "UFBRT". They were the best way to get a rules comprehension after reading the book and a perfect rules refresher. Ever since they quit making new content I hoped that someone else would take that format up. You do it quite well; better even since you focus on the game and don't throw up little memes. This is now one of my favorite channels and I will recommend it to all my gamer friends. Again, thank you. I love your videos.

[@stephenheninger8498]

I love this game. I have all of the expansions. I also have and enjoyed both pandemic and flashpoint fire rescue. Both are good recommendations. Thanks for the video. I sent this video my game group to get them ready before we played and that helped quite a bit. May are Game Nights be forever fun.

[@BlueRanger7PL]

These rules were explained with attention to detail and the video was well thought through. Excellent job!

[@dreammatter1734]

Hands down the best tutorial video for this game. Thank you so much for your hard work!

[@r.s.slager7447]

Wow, I absolutely LOVE your videos and will recommend and watch them regularly now that I've discovered your channel! I did notice one tiny error that I couldn't find addressed in any of the comments (and please inform me if it's been noted and I missed it); the two travel tickets may be the same type/color (~ @1:49). It's a minor oversight, but worth noting. Please, keep these amazing videos coming and thank you for making them!

[@AlexAlex-fv2wk]

Great job!! I love playing this game but explaining it to new players can overwhelm them. Now I send them this video first so that they have an idea of what is going to happen. YOU ROCK!!

[@GeneralHail]

You are really great! I searched for Eldritch explanation in my mother tongue, but they are all like over 30min long and talking about stuff nobody needs or cares about - so I found this video and I have to see it is really good, fast and simple. Noice!

[@Vikingowa1983]

Wow! That was fast and perfectly awesome! Thanks for that💖

[@stogrady]

Exceptionally well done rules summary. Thanks for this great video :)

[@creatorsupreme2490]

My gf lost her handbook on this game. Thanks for your quick explanation. You're a life saver.

[@quuids8895]

This is fantastic, I'm really impressed with the content and the quality! Thank you very much!

[@TheMartinChronicles]

I'm only three years late but I just had to say that this video is fantastic. It's quite impressive what you were able to do in less than ten minutes.

[@9493time]

This video is a lifesaver. Just got this game, can’t wait to play it.

[@writeheroics7490]

I came out to this channel for Suburbia but found this video at the top of the list. Eldtrich Horror is on sale today at Amazon for less than $40, so I may need to buy it after seeing this video too. :)

[@GeeksAndGuinness]

Learned to play EH via Rules Girl. Proceeded to be addicted to this fantastic game. Thank you!

[@buddhawasright]

better than being addicted to Guinness!

[@bburns]

Great job with the animations! All games should come with vids like this!

[@YoshiOhashi]

This channel is one of the best discoveries I made this year! You're awesome!

[@CrossfitBrent]

Nice refresher. Quick and to the point. Subscribed... Thanks!

[@kalegcos1]

1. Great Voice - check 2. Fantastic guide - check 3. Easy to understand - check 4. Subscribed - check

[@frankmarckusky5630]

Nice explanation you earned my subscription.

[@Keindzjim]

and mine ;)

[@SirMechanico]

Fantastic video! Love the Channel, been here since the start. Keep up the great work!

[@JohnWeigmann]

Super nice video! It helped a lot making me begin to understand this game's complex rules. The editing is awesome, and your voice gives me ASMR for some reason (?)

[@mikejonesnoreally]

0.0 Amazing. I don't think you missed a single point. You've done a great thing for one of my favorite games! Better yet, you make the game sound as fun as it really is, heck you even went a little Pollyanna with it when you were talking about the end of the world, that was a funny bit! Well done!

[@expressionofwill5307]

Wow it's amazing how much effort went into this.

[@krambis12]

Great job on this - I'm impressed. My favorite game, and you nailed the rules!

[@Keindzjim]

Good overview of what looks like a good but complex game

[@Sanro1982]

Didn't see it yet, but I already liked it just because i was missing new videos.

[@bmramey]

I hardly subscribe to anything. This was fantastic. Thanks! I look forward to using your others.

[@itspietime314]

I still feel like playing this for the first time is going to be daunting but this was a really great crash coarse and I'm excited to play!

[@ilqrd.6608]

I hope you are paid for this. Splendid job!

[@somuchforyouz0rz]

Great video and the best explanation of the rules I've found yet, thanks!

[@jackthatmonkey8994]

What the heck you actually explained the basics of this heckin' game within 10 minutes

[@anthonywestbrook2155]

Keyflower has so many parts to it. You could rock through it so much faster than anything good that's out there. Please teach Keyflower!

[@kingma1513]

Thanks for posting this video. Great explanation. You talk very fast and my head is spinning but you did a great job explaining everything. I loved the "if you like these games you might also like" at the end of the video.

[@AOCSpectrum]

Thank you so much! Very clear and straight to the point

[@binhlam07]

Wow subscribed. Thanks for this

[@HazerD]

Very useful. Picture and instructions always help me absorb rules easier. Also, you sound like the daughter of Maximilian Pegasus 😂

[@ReinerSchwarz]

Neat and concise video. Thanks a lot!

[@tonyjoe2102]

Awesome video. Extremely helpful.

[@SunnyNeuroshima]

I think it's important to note that this video, whilst very useful, is not meant as a replacement for the rulebook. If you've come to Eldritch Horror as a complete newbie to the game, know that this video is more a (great) summary of the main points rather than an extensive tutorial. EH is by no means a particularly complex game, but there is no way a ten-minute video can possibly explain every rule found in the game's rulebook and reference guide, which come to a combined 32 pages. Newbies: by all means watch this video. It will give you a good understanding of the basics but you will need to consult other sources - for example, more extensive video tutorials or the rulebooks themselves - if you are to be in a position to play EH. Players already familiar with EH and its rules: this video serves as an excellent summary and refresher to jog your memory, should you need it. Having said all the above, I wish to clarify that The Rules Girl is doing some wonderful work to assist players in our hobby. I enjoy watching all your videos; they are very well done and your hard work in producing them is much appreciated by many.

[@TheRulesGirl]

Neuroshima brings up an excellent issue we have with our format. Our goal isn't necessarily that you'll have a flawless knowledge of the game after one video, but rather that you make it through your first game with the help of the rulebook. For a game like this, we expect that most audiences will still need to review parts of the rulebook, but when they do, they'll have a basic enough understanding that they'll know where in the rulebook to look. We tested the video on 2 groups of first-timers that were both able to play through their first game (albeit with a bunch of reference guide checks), so I consider that a huge success!

[@studiogizo]

allah razı olsun bacım (god bless you sister)

[@Johnprestonevans74]

Amazing overview of one of the heavier board games out there. Excellent job. Subscriber +1.

[@michaelemerson570]

I really like your concise explanations! This game was a real pain to understand at first but now I actually get it so thank you! I wondered, are you planning to do NetRunner? That one I really can't get my head around...

[@FuturisticSp00n]

This is excellent and very handy for introducing new players to the game! Would love it if you did Battlestar Galactica next, that one's always hard to explain to new players.

[@TheRulesGirl]

Ooo, BSG would be fun.

[@ripwitch9833]

Hmm, this seems easy enough, you did a good job explaining it! Just gotta get into a game to get into the flow of things!

[@Jackthetattedone]

Great video. Thank you!

[@nagaenigma]

The background music reminds me of the band Bohren & der Club of Gore, which is the perfect band to listen to while playing this game :)

[@nobodynobodoy2695]

Not sure I got everything, but certainly was quick and useful.

[@viesturskokarevics2427]

Best board game tutorial ever.

[@kyur3813]

1:44: "If you in a city you could also prepare for travel, obtaining a sea or train ticket if you don't already have one of that color [...]" - This is incorrect. The restriction is to have a maximum of 2 tickets total in any combination. Also note that this given example is also incorrect, as a city has to have a corresponding travel connection (sea/train) in order to be able to gain a ticket of that color. Following the shown example with London, players can only aquire sea tickets here. 7:12: "If at any time you complete the objective on the Mystery, solve it and draw a new once." - This is incorrect, as the card text will often say that the Mystery is solved at the end of the Mythos phase. The Rest and Acquire Asset action also have the restriction that they cannot be taken when there is a monster present at the player's current location. Otherwise, good video !

[@crazycoolkids00]

Yeah, I saw that. It wasn't as in-depth as you often need it to be, but this was a good summary.

[@Fiddlevlad]

Have my like, sir. This should be the top comment.

[@Slaneshhhh]

I have to confess, I watched it for fun as I played many games of EH an still I learned like 3 rules.

[@abcdefghijk921]

Very well done!

[@ErkinZahedi]

Awesome video.

[@akratch]

Great editing

[@megumirhee9475]

This is an awesome video; i wish there was one that explained the extra mechanics the expansions add in to the game...

[@mioszmephir2926]

Awesome video it was very helpfull, thanks :)

[@HTLGC]

At 4:30 during the combat phase, why does the player lose 3 HP? Shouldn't it have been 2 HP since he got 1 success, monster's strength is 3, so 3 - 1 = 2? Thanks for any help!

[@Garrett2486]

Nice and concise. Could you do Fury of Dracula next?

[@Slaneshhhh]

oh my god please Dracula!

[@rode8173]

Great job. Will be playing this soon. Did you make any videos with the expansions?

[@slawczee]

Thank You 💝

[@999slawter]

Awesome job, thank you!

[@leonx132]

hey love how descriptive this video is so i hope its ok that i linked it on a workshop page for this game on table top simulator as to help new players

[@thesearemyhobbies]

Great game, great explanation!

[@khoinguyenlevu3350]

Thank you very much i'm fcking in love with this game :D

[@matthiasmoser6096]

Isn't it a 1 to 8 player game?

[@floodkevin4716]

So how many times do I need to watch until it sticks? 😭😭😭

[@harshkamalgangu]

Wlep

[@gianniroubot3546]

you rule indeed. thanks!

[@sergsergio3506]

I have a couple of question about the game, hope you could answer me them 1) Can I fight monster and close portal if they both on the same position? 2) when I win the monster, do I get something? 3) if I get an illness like "dark pack" by methose cards, and the illness is activated by the symbol on the mythos card, will is the illness is activated at the same turn?

[@KnakuanaRka]

Mostly a great video, but I don’t understand how the combat mechanics work. So first, you test your sanity, and lose from your sanity the monster’s Horror minus the number of successes. But then next part is what confuses me: so you test strength, and the number of successes is your damage, but then you say to take the remainder of something in health damage. The graphics show 2 health removed from the investigator and placed in “1-3=❤️❤️” (I’d criticize the math, but whatever), but then those two hearts and another one from the investigator are removed for a total of 3 lost, which doesn’t make sense if you were using the “3❤️” text on the monster card and remove 1 for the 1 success. And the “3🧠” text next to the sanity test doesn’t seem to be used at all. Could someone sort this mess out?

[@twinostrich8045]

There are some graphical errors in the video, but you basically have it. The strength test is the same as the will test (sanity test), but using health instead of sanity. You test your strength against the monster's damage. If you score fewer successes than the monster's damage, you take damage equal to the difference. Then, you deal damage to the monster equal to your number of successes, regardless if you took damage or not. Then, if the monster has damage on it equal to or greater than its Toughness (white number in green splotch), it is defeated. The 3🧠 is the monster's horror. The 3❤ is the monster's damage. Sorry this took 5 years to reach you!

[@KnakuanaRka]

@@twinostrich8045 That makes way more sense. Thanks. I assume in the graphics, the first two hearts are supposed to be removed from the player, and the third one from the monster?

[@twinostrich8045]

@@KnakuanaRka I think so. For monsters the health tokens work in reverse; you add them to the token to track how much damage it has taken (I do it this way for investigators as well, personally). It shouldn't have left the investigator card, it should have come from the pool.

[@eugenelir7876]

Can you please do Arkham Horror LCG next?

[@ph0ngLP]

It's surprisingly similar. I really like these FFG games, but instead of simply giving you the rules and round lay-out, they should also suggest a methodology for executing a turn. The players should reassess everything on the board, on their character sheet, on their companions sheets, about the mission, and what assets and current stats they have BEFORE THEY DO ANYTHING. It's really easy to get tunnel vision. Like in LCG, it's easy for a player to really want to get an asset in play, when he could have committed/sacrificied the value of the asset in hand to another player's pull at a pretty pivotal moment, thus resulting in an additional clue and completion. The amount of depth is incredible in all these FFG games, but players need to be encouraged to re-review everything at all times and need a communication phase. If I was FFG, I would put that as a Phase in all the games. Basically, a Phase where all the players account for their status to other players, their goals, suggestions, etc. Re-checking everything on the board, the mission, and their current abilities and assets. Overview Phase or something. Edit: Players will often make poor decisions. They see some horror tokens on another player, but they aren't really aware of the player's horror limit or how many tokens are on the character. This player might have some good assets or abilities still. There is just so much upkeep going on, that everyone forgets it's a cooperative game, and there needs to be a phase to breath and everyone explain their situation.

[@ValosarX]

So strange listening to a beautiful happy voice explaining such a dire subject matter. It fits perfectly with Lovecraft.

[@marcosousa4029]

You are amazing. Thx.

[@OmnipotentO]

So it's kind of a more complicated pandemic. It's on sale rn I'm gonna get it!

[@TheRulesGirl]

Enjoy it! We love this game. It's definitely more complicated than Pandemic, but it's real good.

[@BobbyJuno]

Let's say I fail a clue right. Does that clue card get discarded for another clue card on the next round OR since the location of that clue token remains the same, the clue card remains the same until it has been successfully completed. Same question for the gate challenges too I guess, I just started playing with sort of a solo introduction last and got a little hung up by those.

[@twinostrich8045]

You discard the card and get a new one next round.

[@skoffs]

THANK YOU!!

[@InsaneAI_UA]

well done

[@SoupSonYo]

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?????? PLZ COME BACKKKKKKK

[@Kelferaz]

She/They joined The Dice Tower so you can find it under them

[@rwogh]

At 4:23 shouldn't the player roll 4x dice since their Will is 4? Am I missing something?

[@twinostrich8045]

The will test on the monster has a -1 modifier.

[@mrsnayarlhats4242]

I love eldrich horrors

[@4Nn1E]

Great video, but nowhere in the rules does it say you can only have one ticket of each kind. The maximum is 2, but they can be the same.

[@cardboardcritique]

Where did you get the graphics to make this? These look like FFG assets? I'm intrigued how you did it.

[@JezzaN1]

Would this be suicide to attempt as somewhat of a newbie to board games (despite having played a lot of videogames and what not over the years) with a group of people that are also predominantly new to board games? I love the theme of the Cthulu Mythos, as well as deep and engaging stories, but i'm just wondering if this would be too difficult and overwhelming without having someone who has already played / familiarised themselves with it.

[@cunfewshun]

JezzaN1 I'm a newbie too and I wish I saw this yesterday cuz it would've helped a lot. I played this the other day for the first time, it's fun but we literally took over an hour to set up and it took about 6 hours for us to get close to losing but we did keep getting distracted. I would give it a try but just make sure you play with ppl who are willing to go for the long game.

[@cunfewshun]

Oh none of us knew how to play either, so it was a struggle to get it set up but after a few rounds, we got the hang of it

[@overlord-t5y]

I want an AI board game bot with your voice so i can play board games with someone who cares about board games.

[@CroatZg]

Explain this, its the 1st phase(action phase) and theres a monster on my space. What if anything can I do? The game implies I can just walk away from the monster...

[@twinostrich8045]

You can just walk away from monsters. Especially at the beginning of the game, you might be unlucky enough to get started with a monster on your space that you can't defeat cause you don't have the stats or gear. It's totally valid to just flee.

[@xicy133x]

1*-8 players. It says on the box

[@UmlautBanana]

How well does this video apply to Arkham Horror? I've never played either.

[@pandamage22]

Christian Legge Eldritch is way more streamlined than Arkham. The rules are similar but Arkham is a lot more finicky.

[@gabyvandinterenpmp956]

My wife hates games. Why didn't I marry the Rules Girl instead?

[@nothingEvil101]

This game seems way too complex for me… I tried playing it with a few friends yesterday but I didn‘t understand anything reading the rulebook.

[@Ishtarru]

So, a slightly more complex version of Elder Sign. Am I the only one who loves reading the flavor text on these cards in a dramatic voice?

[@davidkyo1985]

'Course not. The narrative is one of the most important elements of these games. I've only ever played this once with a guy who was like, "Ok roll 2 successes otherwise lose 1 SAN and doom goes forward yawn"; never ever played with him again. Although immersion with the core set does get kind of crappy with 4 or more players because there's a lot of encounters that get repeated.

[@Monarchyman1]

It’s actually 1-8 players.

[@wyattcole5452]

One to eight, not two to eight

[@phantom7986]

What? Wait! How do I open the box?