Is the Arkham Horror RPG even an RPG… or is it a board game?

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[@DaveThaumavore]

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[@douglasrood2650]

I actually like this starter box because it plays different than just having another mythos RPG. I have Call of Cthulhu and I have Delta Green, I don't need another basic mythos RPG so I kind of like the variety this game gives you.

[@johnsullivan4124]

I just finished running this set at my local gaming store for five players. I too purchased and printed the Loot Studios bundles and we used the player characters, the Ghoul Priest and the Ghoul miniatures. I ran it three nights, roughly four hours each. Point of fact, my players loved the puzzles, one insisting that I not give any puzzle answers as he lovingly translated the letter Rita found and solved the first sliding puzzle. I noticed a typo in the character folios. It reads you use Athletics to dodge a melee attack but the rules read you use your Melee Attack skill. I emailed Edge Studios for an answer and my email was refused. Hmmm... Also, there is an encounter using the woods map. As the players approach, they must bypass or overcome several Ghouls guarding the entrance before they can enter the entrance hole leading to the ritual site. Overall everyone really enjoyed this boxed starter set. From what we can tell, Edge Studios does indeed plan on releasing a complete set of rules, but apparantly not until next year due to delays. I throughly enjoyed your review, and agree on several points. Overall for $35, this is a great deal. Thanks again for your review and keep up the good work.

[@sonder_ua]

Dave literally started to shine on his video... looks like that Ennies award really changes people :D

[@Psyga315]

5:40 Wouldn't be a Fantasy Flight game without a fuckton of tokens.

[@experimentsininsanity4478]

Just want to drop a comment championing the excellent Arkham Horror Living Card Game. It's this totally unique fusion of card game and RPG mechanics that kinda plays like a cooperative/solo, card-based RPG-lite, where your deck functions as your character and you play through reactive, story rich campaigns over multiple sessions. Lots of player choice both in deck construction / evolution and within the scenarios themselves. Highly recommend checking it out!

[@liftinginapolo]

I just started playing the revised core set last month and it’s fabulous. I play solo and it’s hours of engrossing fun. Can’t wait to break into the expansions. This RPG starter set looks like the same basic story or enemy group(s).

[@DarkadeTV]

It's such a great experience. It might not be an rpg but it for sure is a role playing experience

[@CarrollLiddell]

Arkham Horror 3rd edition is very enjoyable imo. Its a really tight good design. And the Arkham Horror LCG (ehose first expansion is The Dunwhich horror) is exceptional. I'm really glad they're branching out into the in between space of boardgame and TTRPG.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Hmm, I'll have to check out 3rd edition.

[@1AngelAlita]

@@DaveThaumavore Nah, don't bother.

[@Sorc47]

My group has tried 3rd edition a few times and I don't think we had fun at any point. It felt like there was no decision making, since most of our turns were spent chasing doom tokens Pandemic-style and we barely had a chance to do some investigating, let alone other actions. We all agreed that we much prefer Eldritch Horror.

[@1AngelAlita]

@@Sorc47 Exactly. I get why some people like it, it's a streamlined modern pandemic style coop where you don't have to do much thinking. But magic of 2e or even Eldritch is totally gone.

[@TATOOINETABLEFLIP]

Picked it up day of release and dug right in. I’ve ran two sessions and while we love it (we’re all five of us seasoned RPG players), the puzzles bring the game to a dead stop. We had fun doing the translation puzzle, but abandoned the first slider and decided against using the second when the time comes. We’re all really looking forward to the full ruleset and further adventures!

[@vitore.sanches7712]

4:10 Simply loved the joke! XD Also, I think they should have called it "Mansions of Madness: Analog Edition". It would fit way better to the way this game feel and play.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Yeah, that's a better name. It would cut down on the confusion.

[@matthewkoutzun]

A bit more research shows that a full core rule book with character creation is already on the way.

[@vanyadolly]

As a fan of the boardgame.. this actually makes this more appealing. 😂 Like you said, it doesn't make much sense otherwise since Call of Cthulhu already exists. The scale seems like it fits the official Arkham Horror miniatures that they've been releasing with AH and Mansions of Madness. The puzzles were also a MoM feature.

[@bullno1]

This seems like it targets board gamers. That's literally the first campaign of the card game. Flying nightgaunts are the most annoying part of it too lol.

[@DaveThaumavore]

I remember flying creatures assailing me between locations in the board game. So annoying.

[@otakuofmine]

I do both ttrpg and board games, and I cant see this appeal to any boardgamers. It barely has anything going on at all.

[@robertthurman9866]

This is Mansions of Madness more than Arkham Horror. Granted not much of a difference in content but it is in presentation. This is a gateway for fans of the card game to get into RPG's.

[@Subcomandante73]

I think the idea of this product is as a bridge between the board games and rpg's. It doesn't seem to be trying to replace CoC.

[@BloodyAltar]

I wished they did Legend of Dragonholt but with a Arkham Horror theme instead of this.

[@Woodclaw]

The core idea of investing dice and having wounds be those dice seems pretty neat, but everything else feels very clunky, as if the designers where trying so hard to find a way to add more tokens / sheets / stuff on top of could have been a very streamlined game.

[@b.lloydreese2030]

Developer 1: and here's arkham horror, ive spent hours making it as streamlined as possible. Developer boss: hmmm, im not really feeling it. Can you add tons of superfluous tokens? Dev 1: uhhhh... DB: oh, and i think it should need more dice. Like twice the amount of dice we'll include in the box. D1: uhhhh..... Db: the combat, i like it, but its not clunky enough, can you require a sliding puzzle to be solved during the fight? D1: (visible confusion)

[@CarrollLiddell]

Solid review, I've been pondering getting this set or not. The mechanics seem fun but the need for large dice pools or some sort of tokens for tracking everything seem annoyingly cumbersome.... With a few tweaks I think it could be a great game. Also there is a core rulebook announced.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Oh, that's a relief about the core rulebook. I hope it has regular character sheets.

[@loap4634]

I think they would have that, otherwise. @@DaveThaumavore

[@gdotbat]

I literally just found this game on amazon while I was searching for Arkham Horror The Card Game products and I had to find out what this was all about. I have been waiting for a Genesys based Cthulhu/Arkham mythos RPG, which Edge would produce since they have the licensing for the system, but nope, that's not what this is. Super disappointed. Still seems like a cool system though, I like the blend of board game and RPG. I will certainly be trying this out.

[@TATOOINETABLEFLIP]

Oh, and well done on the analysis and unboxing! Great video!

[@bjornjunker6320]

Looks like they took the majority of their inspiration from Mansions of Madness 2ed not Arkham as much, the same puzzles is in that game althouh there you run them from the app . Also if you have Mansions of Madness any edition you most likely have both the monsters and investigators in high quality already . Mansions of Madness 2ed is one of my favorite boardgames to bring out ! This makes for a more detailed Mansion setting and Im guessing a tad bit less linnear and more up to the players what they will do and go next

[@gddion]

I was really intrigued by this because I too played the hell out of Arkham Horror second edition but for a role playing game I want something that leans into the building dread and then eventual sanity breaking terror that defines Lovecraftian horror and for that Trail of Cthulhu is my game, the Gumshoe system does a great job of staying out of the way of the narrative which is what the genre needs.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Yeah, investigative RPGs have evolved way past the linear breadcrumb approach featured in this product.

[@kentrench2726]

Agree that Trail (and Pelgrane' Press' other games Fear Itself & Esoterrorists) lean into the intrigue & the reward of investigation that few other horror games do. Cthulhu Hack does an awesome job of showing the players degrading without weird random psychological conditions and is great for making games on the fly. I really like the quality of this Arkham Horror starter & I can see folks having fun, but my personal preference is the suspense, 'creepy atmosphere and hopefully survival in a horror game.

[@Wraithing]

Great to take a look and hear your thoughts. Looks like there's an imminent hardcover Core Rulebook for this - game stores are taking pre-orders. Perhaps EDGE are trying to do a Free League: Blade Runner thing with this game? Looks very attractive, but I've more mythos games than I'm likely to get around to. Reckon if I needed to 'out-pulp' Chaosium's Pulp Cthulhu, I'd go with Cthulhu Awakens or Realms of Cthulhu for Savage Worlds.

[@radelc]

I bet Cthulhu Death May Die minis would work well, not for 75mm but still.

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@radelc 75mm is ridiculous and impractical and I’ll be the first to admit that.

[@stanislavsarenko1587]

Thanks for video! Before actual play with friends, I’ve tried game on my own and noticed that combat scene appeared to be very easy: with 2 investigators like Joe Dimond and Daisy Walker both ghouls were eliminated after first round with out any single chance for them. Maybe i did something wrong?

[@eliasscorsone3220]

Dunwich Horror isn't the only Lovecraft story where the horror is identified and stopped: The Cast of Charles Dexter Ward has a professor figure it out and defeat the sorcerer.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Good one, yes.

[@johnwood6750]

This feels like the same kind of mess that Fantasy Flight made with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Third edition, which was the same sort of Boardgame/RPG hybrid, doing neither thing especially well.

[@chromeego7903]

I know it has that reputation but did you every play Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying? It had some great innovations. The premis that only one person every reads the rules anyway (the GM), so why not put the rules the players use on cards so they dont have to read a whole fighters/mages/rouge/cleric manual - is sound. I ran it a few times with players who WILL NOT READ game books, and yet were able to make 'Warhammer' flavoured PC's and handle a new system playing clerics, mages and fighters right off the bat. Thats pretty special. It also pioneered lots of useful GM aids &trackers for events. Arkham Horror might be useful for board gamers who don't feel confident running a game but are comfortable with tokens and dice manipulation. Its also copying WFRP 3rded ethos on the the very real problem of modern rpgs 'how do I make Them BUY my product & not just pirate the pdf?' I don't think they want compete with CoC as a full rpg (as if they could). But I think you are right, a halfway house between Arkham Horror the Board Game and a murder mystery dinner table game might have a limited audience...but then again I remember Sut Up and Sit Down saying those Chinese dinnertable semi-RPG games are the 'next big thing'.

[@davestory8614]

It just felt like a board game to me. When the full rules come out, I will try to make a more open setting/scenario that allows for RPG aspects to be utilized. Otherwise, by itself, this box fails as an RPG by my standards

[@nicklarocco4178]

This game very much reminded me of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay's 3rd edition. Lots of tokens, and cards, and trackers. I do think it has its own place as a sort of more action forward ideal of the Lovecraft Mythos. Let's be honest, even with the Pulp rules if you run into a few ghouls in call of cthulhu there's a pretty good chance you're just going to die. And magic is basically reserved to be a tool of last resort. The focus here on more action, and more accessible magic is cool. I'm also glad to see Edge using normal dice. I hate the proprietary dice of the Star Wars and Genesys rpgs. Also JOE DIAMOND!

[@bluecarpettiles]

Arkham Horror 2e was our gaming groups first purchase and we played it a hell of a lot. It’s a lot of fun but I prefer Elder Sign and Mansions of Madness

[@josephgreene9789]

Second edition is poorly designed, but honestly it’s really fun. There’s something about it that is incredibly immersive and fun.

[@DaveThaumavore]

Yeah, I shouldn't be too harsh on it. I had a lot of fun with it, especially earlier on in my time with it.

[@vitore.sanches7712]

I think they achieved a way better result with Eldritch Horror (then dropped the ball on Arkham Horror 3rd), but both Arkham 2E and Arkham Card Game are great.

[@BrianHazardVideos]

Yeah, our group got a ton of mileage out of 2nd ed. once upon a time.

[@BrianHazardVideos]

​@@vitore.sanches7712Eldritch is great.

[@marxmeesterlijk]

I can't take a product that has the magic shop literally called "ye olde magic shoppe" serious. I can see myself making that up as a DM when I'm unprepared and still I would feel embarrassed about it.

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@marxmeesterlijk it’s very RenFest. Makes me want a turkey leg.

[@armstronghawkins9183]

So....If I show you a receipt confirming I have purchased the 3dprint files from Loot Studios, how much I gotta pay you to print them at 28mm? : )

[@Mankcam]

Lots of bling, but I'll pass on this one. More likely to get the boardgame version.

[@Will_GM_for_Food]

As a longtime fan of Call of Cthulhu, I'm not even sure why this product exists, unless its to cash in on the existing artwork from the Arkham Horror LCG.

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@Will_GM_for_Food it definitely got me wanting to play Call of Cthulhu.

[@Will_GM_for_Food]

And don't get me wrong, Arkham Horror LCG may be one of FFG's finest products.

[@otakuofmine]

@@DaveThaumavore well, than it had one positive effect in the end.

[@b.lloydreese2030]

Im really interested in this, but i really dont want to deal with all those tokens and such. Really would like a stripped down easy to understand and play game like shadowdark but lovecraft. Also would love 28 to 32mm miniatures i can go buy, not have to print out. I had checked out arkham horror card game at the library to try out the 1 player version and was just overwhelmed with all the crap i had to sort through. I returned it without even playing. And if i want to play a horror game with tokens and cards, final girl can't be beat. Theres just the right amount of cards.and tokens and that almost overwhelming, but for a solo game its manageable. Don't look back also has horror stuff down and i suppose i can generate a lovecraft villain for that game too. Tempted to buy this but i just dont know.

[@jasonnewell7036]

Literally, my first thought upon seeing this was a product was, "But Call of Cthulhu exists..." I definitely think they are going for the closed ecosystem style game. I doubt very much that it will facilitate the making of your own scenarios or characters and instead force players to use the game's pregenerated material. An investigative game where you don't write anything down? That seems crazy to me. It looks more like the investigation only exists to move you to the next combat encounter (most of the traits and abilities shown in the video were combat oriented) rather than the investigation being the point. If I was to make a comparison about this game, I'd say it was like the comic book character, Spawn. It looks really impressive at first, but once you get past the surface it has no depth or substance.

[@tommykay7427]

I mirror your question precisely. Add to that...when you already have all the different RPGs out there....who is the game ment for?

[@UtubeEric12345]

Just a humble suggestion, but do you think you can come up with a script “model” that puts the spoilers to the end of the video? Several times now I have had to stop watching a video just to avoid the spoilers. And I am guessing most of the video is actually spoiler free, but since you seem to start with them quite early I just have to forgo almost the entire video :/

[@hatchlingdm]

Damn bought this thinking it was an expansive experience.

[@SeizureToday]

Everything about this makes me want to play more Call of Cthulhu and more Arkham Horror: The Card Game (which might be my favorite game?), but very little of it makes me interested in Arkham Horror: The Role Playing Game. Also, I thought the OG Arkham Horror WAS a spinoff of Call of Cthulhu?

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@SeizureToday Yeah Launius called his board game Call of Cthulhu The Board Game when he first submitted it to Chaosium. But they changed the name.

[@BalooSJ]

Sort of, but it has developed in its own direction - particularly since FFG took it over. Call of Cthulhu is a *really* bleak and deadly game (and also a game with far, far too many skills). Arkham Horror Files games tend to be more... pulpy. In CoC, getting into a fight is almost never a good idea. In most Arkham games, it's a necessary and encouraged part of game play. In CoC, magic is something to stay far, far away from, and mostly comes in the form of rituals that are pretty useless for most PCs. In Arkham, there are several characters that focus pretty hard on magic (particularly in the card game).

[@mysticmouse7983]

Seems aimed at an introductory audience. Not hardcore rpgers. The puzzle would be happily handled by my family. I like the no pencil writing! No messy rubbing out all the time.

[@richardextall2002]

At this point, I've lost all interest in anything based on the Lovecraft IP. There are only so many times you can sell the same piece of old rope.

[@jasonnewell7036]

If you have to lay it flat then it is a GM mat, not a GM screen.

[@zachmckinney2497]

A giant mess. It looks like they wanted to copy the alien rpg starter set, make their own version, and then either due to time or mandate made a serious of poor choices.

[@jasonnewell7036]

Ugh! I hate sliding puzzles more than any other kind of puzzle.

[@skyblazeeterno]

Directors cut of Broken Sword pc game added unnecessary sliding puzzles

[@jasonnewell7036]

@@skyblazeeterno why would you do that to people?

[@skyblazeeterno]

@@jasonnewell7036 well I don't know. I'm guessing sliding puzzles as locks was kind of popular around the time the Directors Cut was being made. Thankfully they do not dominate the game

[@ronwisegamgee]

8:16 I'd have to disagree with you there, mainly (but not solely) because you stated it as an absolute. Testing the player's wits can immerse the player far more than simply rolling dice to see if their character figures out the puzzle. Likewise, testing the player's wits allows them to interact with the game world in a way that's more merit-based rather than chance-based. That being said, the puzzles in Mansions of Madness grind the pace to a halt and are my least favorite aspect of it. It also often creates a bottleneck in terms of progressing a scenario as these puzzles involve supernatural forces that are normally beyond the capabilities of mortals to interact with outside of their strict parameters. Mundane puzzles (such as locks) should have the possibility of circumnavigation if the PCs can find alternatives to lock-picking (such as bolt-cutters or destroying the container itself to access its contents), all while applying appropriate consequences (taking extra time, creating lots of noise, using up resources, pissing NPCs off, etc.).

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@ronwisegamgee the way the scenario is written, each player gets to slide the square up to three times on their turn. It’s awful.

[@hovhannesbeaver8161]

You lost me at badly designed. 2nd edition is the best game ever.

[@BalooSJ]

Arkham 2nd edition is a very flavorful game, but the actual game design isn't all that great (though my opinion might be colored by overbuying expansions, which mess around a bit too much with the core gameplay). Eldritch Horror does pretty much all the things Arkham 2nd does, but much better.

[@hovhannesbeaver8161]

@@BalooSJ I’m one of those “odd balls” who finds the rules almost perfect. But I understand while I find the rules easy to follow a lot of people did not.

[@BalooSJ]

@@hovhannesbeaver8161 My complaints with AH2 are mainly two-fold. One is that there's a lot of fiddly stuff, like the paired stats you can move around with focus and things like that. The other is that you generally have very little control over what happens in the game. You go somewhere, draw a card, and pretty much anything can happen. As someone described a different game in a review: it's more of a ride than a game. And that can be fun, but it means success is more up to random chance than player skill. Eldritch Horror has a lot less fiddly stuff, and you can make a pretty good guess about what you'll be rolling in various places. You're trying to find a clue, it's a fair chance you'll be rolling Observation. If you're having a city encounter, it'll often be Influence. It's not a hundred percent sure, but enough that you can play the odds.

[@pfcravt]

Some of these complaints are just weird. "made for board gamers"

[@otakuofmine]

it clearly goes to the marketing as RPG, calling itself "roleplaying game". than you should expect a ttrpg and not a half baked board game as such.

[@pfcravt]

@@otakuofmine except that's not what people expect of a board game either. Tell me you don't know anything about modern board games without telling me

[@otakuofmine]

@@pfcravt and I didnt say that? i said 'half baked' as in not an actual (or good) board game. and not what people expect of a board game... maybe read closely first before responding

[@pfcravt]

@@otakuofmine that is laughable. The point made was simply board games. Half baked was added later on. So... Yea whatever.

[@Gallivant..]

I think you are mistaking this product as a starter set. It appears to be more inspired by Arkham Horror the Card Game rather than by the board game, both by FFG. AH the Card Game is composed of boxes of self contained adventures, like this seems to be. The components of this game look very similar to the card game as well. Also, FFG and Edge Studios are both owned by Asmodee, the second largest tabletop game publisher after Hasbro. Asmodee in turn is owned by the Embracer Group.

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@Gallivant.. it says it’s a starter set on the box. I just found out that they announced a core rulebook. What is with the comments for this video?!

[@GenuineMattyC]

7.2 is not a bad score. It's not a great score, but that doesn't make it a bad game by any means.

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@GenuineMattyC yeah, hence the note at the bottom when I show the score.

[@DarkadeTV]

Why throwing shade on "board game people"? xD

[@blairblack281]

hard pass.

[@1AngelAlita]

Ehh, those puzzles look like from Mansions of Madness.. as for the scale of minis, I see FFG/Asmodee/whatever is back to old tricks from Star Wars universe.. change the scale of minis, so we can't use the old minis from Mansions of Madness... it's also a complete joke that the minis are too big for the mats... overall great review but the game... hard pass.

[@DaveThaumavore]

@@1AngelAlita just to be clear, the minis were designed by a third party called Loot Studios, and they designed the bases to fit on one-inch grids. The reason they’re oversized in my video is because I enlarged them myself before printing them. I personally like larger minis, but they preclude me from accurately using one-inch grid maps.