Catchupalooza - Arkham Horror the Card Game

Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, and Chris Yi take a look at Arkham Horror the Card Game, a game that two of them had not played until recently, and what they think about it now: buy it, bring it, or bury it.
Link to Live Play: • Arkham Horror the Card...
Link to Review: • Arkham Horror: The Car...
Support The Dice Tower at www.dicetowerki...
Support the channel by becoming a member!
/ @thedicetower
Subscribe to our newsletter, "The Dice Tower Digest": dicetowerdigest...
Buy great games at www.GameNerdz.com
Check out the friendliest conventions on Earth!
Dice Tower Cruise - www.dicetowercr... (January 15-21, 2023)
Dice Tower West - www.dicetowerwe... (March 8 - 12, 2023)
Dice Tower East - www.dicetowerea... (July 5-9, 2023)
Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com
Get a great game table here! www.rathskelle...
BGG Link: boardgamegeek....

[@MysteryLarry]

Easily my favorite game. Six years in and it’s amazing how much creativity the designers put into each scenario. Each one feels so distinct!

[@Angrybadger86]

I like using the Arkham Cards app since every scenario is on there and you can just setup the game and read the flavor text from your game instead of flipping through the pages. Great app. Some of the episodes are even narrated which just adds to the theme.

[@justanerd1138]

Thanks for the app recommendation. I used to use the old Arkham Horror LCG app but that app stopped receiving updates. I've been planning to continue playing through the many campaigns I have and did not know something current was out there.

[@DrMcFly28]

Arkham Card app and ArkhamDB are pretty much obligatory. I'm usually not one for "companion apps" and whatnot but the quality of life improvements with these ones is off the charts.

[@superfeng99]

Absolutely my favorite board game ever. Thanks so much for recovering this great game! I highly recommend (for Camilla and Chris) if you're interested in trying a new campaign with Zee, playing The Path to Carcosa (the investigator and campaign expansion recently got rereleased in the new format.) By far my favorite campaign, and elevates the game to a whole new level, even better than The Dunwich Legacy. It really shows you what this amazing game can do. P.S. Remember, ALWAYS heed Daniel's warning...

[@travis3571]

Also I would mention that as a new player, one of the best things you can buy are the stand alone investigator packs. Each comes with an entire competent precon deck and all the cards you'd likely want to upgrade so it takes much of the analysis paralysis out of players who might feel overwhelmed on what changes they want to make as they progress.

[@lystic9392]

For all the card games that I missed out on, I'm so happy I got into this one almost from the start.

[@halforange1]

This video does a great job of summarizing public sentiment about Arkham Horror the Card Game. Thanks!

[@danacoleman4007]

Being that I no longer have anyone to game with, I'm even more thankful for this great game than I was initially!

[@scottelam3726]

Rewatch this one and focus on the BOX... it moves by itself!!! Scary stuff.

[@RILOVINCO]

I thought I was crazy but you see it too

[@alexkhughes]

I think Zee is right that the game itself is a bit divisive. There are a lot of rules to learn and learning to survive through failure is the name of the game. Then there's the cost. Getting one campaign is more than most board games. Getting all of them--well, you shouldn't want to get all of them. Just the ones that seem neat to you. With it's difficulty, it's not everyone's cup of tea. But, if it /might/ be your cup of tea, I cannot recommend it enough. Even as someone with very little interest in deck building, the game is just an absolute masterclass in design, mechanics, and theme. Every time they show a new investigator, I immediately want to make a deck for them and see how their mechanics change up the game. It might be for you. It almost wasn't for me, but with a little effort getting into it, it's grown into one of my favorite games.

[@gleasoneast]

Came back to watch this after the Top Ten A games… peaked my interest!

[@rpgamerpro9972]

While I like the Lord of the Rings theme better than Lovecraftian themes in general, I feel that Arkham Horror the Card Game does a much better job at creating an atmosphere and capturing the theme than does the LOTR LCG. These multi-reviewer reviews are nicely formatted and very informative. Thank you.

[@tomihawk01]

Totally agree. Bought a load of LotR LCG shortly after I got into Arkham and it just didn't grab me in the same way at all. The campaigns don't have the same cohesive, immersive story and character progression and attachment to a deck of cards that Arkham does. Arkham feels like a big step up in rules and mechanics and game design, which is why I was so disappointed when I realised that Marvel Champions was based on the LotR LCG mechanics. I get what they were going for, but I always thought they missed out on the opportunity to tell an immersive monthly serialised comic book story if they had used Arkham mechanics and the old release schedule instead.

[@joeferreti9442]

I don't know much about both games. But maybe FFG should take the mechanical system of AH LCG and make a new LOTR game, where new/unknown characters are sent on quests/campaigns in the LOTR world.

[@tomihawk01]

Personally I'd enjoy that more, but I can also see that LOTR fills a different space and a lot of people must be buying it if it's still active in FFG. I think maybe I bought LOTR expecting a similar experience to AH and didn't appreciate it for the game it's actually trying to be. It's also interesting that they are releasing the third campaign first in their reboxing/rerelease and I've seen comments that this is when it hit its stride. I'll give it another shot at some point. I never sold the parts I bought. Maybe I'll enjoy it more without the expectations this time.

[@danacoleman4007]

100% agree!

[@stealthshadowsquid5674]

So easily the best game I’ve played. It’s so much fun by yourself and with friends. It’s got solid mechanics and every campaign always does something interesting. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a board game to sink time into!!

[@superfeng99]

Oh, and speaking of what Camilla mentioned about the locations, I totally agree, the game by itself can almost suffer from its modularity, especially with the location connections and deckbuilding. That being said, there are a lot of external components/websites/apps that have been developed that really make this game shine. To just name a few: ArkhamDB is the de-factor site people go to when building decks. Every card is on there, you can create all the decks with whatever investigators you want, you can filter the cards by what expansions you own, and it can handle and manage upgrading decks and spending xp. There is also an app called ArkhamCards, which effectively is a structured Campaign Guide, which also keeps track of xp/trauma/earned story assets/campaign log entries.

[@JordanPeacock]

I loved both that I can play it solo and play it with my kids. I've easily put more hours into this physical game than any other... it's not even close.

[@AhJong0]

Love catchapoluza- would love to know which investigator they each played, I know Camilia mentioned Roland.

[@williambryan8341]

I would love to see a Dice Tower group play through the latest campaign (Edge of the Earth) to really see how the game has evolved.

[@PedroSantos-sg9gz]

Favorite game. Easy. Each campaign brinca something new and exciting. The investigators feel distinct and the story really pulls you in

[@dereklee7009]

Probably my favorite game. Bust out a campaign ever now and then and prepare for the beat down 😂

[@Schaeff72]

Thanks for covering this. I’ve always had some of the same trepidations around all the packs to but and what to get. This new core set and scenario boxes may actually get me to take the plunge on this one.

[@danacoleman4007]

One OF. I can't figure out how OFF became popular.

[@robertthurman9866]

This game offers so much. Every chapter has 2-5 endings. And your ending changes how and where you start the next chapter. There are now about 70+ different investigators. Replay value is unlimited.

[@ronaldbell7429]

My biggest frustration with the game is the initial deck construction. I know a lot of people really get into it, but I definitely don't. I kind of enjoy upgrading the deck with XP between scenarios. But I really wish FFG had produced more individual starter decks. The ones they did build were nice but they're all 1-color decks so they could even contain the upgrades you might want. I don't need that. I just don't enjoy the slog of putting a deck together (and then helping the other players, who are all less enthusiastic about it than I am). But I really enjoy the game. Oh well.

[@jonathana6298]

I recommend checking out ArkhamDB. If you’re not into deck building, you can search popular decks, put it together, and play. The very popular ones usually include general play guides on what the deck is trying to do.

[@mr.horseshoe2301]

Just NetDeck. All the popular ones are really strong. Saves a ton of time.

[@freeheeler00]

My dudes, I love this format. Just talking about games sometimes is all I am looking for. I don't really like playthroughs much and demos are good for when you are learning but I just love cool folks having conversations about a good game.

[@RazzleDazzle23]

What i have to add is, that the new storage boxes are excessively huge. I hope they continue the 'return' boxes, so i can trash them

[@Pseudonym_83]

Love this game, great video. Would love if you guys did more Arkham Horror LCG content.

[@henrikwakman7776]

This is one of my favourites as well. Why not review one of the new repackaged campaigns, like Path to Carcosa? Or some of the remaining one shots?

[@Bleuchz]

Soooo jealous of people that play as a group. I've only ever been able to play solo and it stands alone as my favorite solo game :)

[@TRXMediapl]

Do you tend to play true solo or two hands?

[@Bleuchz]

@@TRXMediapl True solo

[@michaelrichard1320]

The only game I've sold and then bought back. Amazing game that's worth the commitment.

[@ThymeKeeper]

I got rid of it and LOTR and re-bought LOTR. I'll probably give this another try. I feel like the core box scenarios don't really show off the games that well.

[@refreshdaemon]

I do think that this game has a ton of upfront "stuff" to understand in order to appreciate. I've found that its first time experiences are much more successful when you have someone that knows the game running the game to help present all the options and process the rules. I've taught this game multiple times to people with some level of gaming experience and it's usually gone over well (except the time we tried playing it 4 and 3 players, once each--way too long!), as long as I was either playing with them or overseeing the game. It's not for everyone, but I do think its campaign nature with a strong emphasis on story makes it particularly unique among card games and still recommend it to anyone who's able to endure the rules overhead or has someone to absorb that for them.

[@Magnito33]

My absolute favourite game. I play it almost daily. Every campaign is great. Not a dud among them.

[@yhaerysthethird6088]

Is the core game good? I keep hearing that the first time players should skip it. Is this true?

[@adammarlin3854]

Highly recommend the Path of Carcosa campaign. So so good.

[@tomihawk01]

Absolutely love this game. Got multiple cores, all the standalones, return tos, custom tokens, play mats, books.... But I totally get where you're comming from. Its not for everyone. What I would recommend to anyone wanting to try it is find someone who plays it and skip the core box campaign. It doesn't really shine until Dunwich. Dunwich isn't even the "best" campaign but probably the best for first timers since it doesn't have extra rules and mechanics. Also don't be tempted by the standalone scenarios as a one-off introduction to the game. They are really punshing and not fun for beginners. Learned that the hard way.

[@yhaerysthethird6088]

Are you sure it’s okay to skip the core game and just buy the Dunwich legacy one? Won’t I need stuff or decks from the core game? Becuase I am going to play with for the first time with friends soon and it will be our first play through. Planning to play the core game first but why do you say start with Dunwich?

[@tomihawk01]

​@@yhaerysthethird6088Sorry, my comment may have implied you can/should skip the core set all-together. What I meant was you can skip the scenarios from the core set if you know someone who has the game and can bring you straight into Dunwich. You definitely need to buy the core set to have your own playable copy of the game. The core set has a lot of cards and all the tokens you need to play. The core set scenarios aren't bad, and I still recommend them for learning the game, but trust that it gets better.

[@BillySpenc]

Arkham always brings it for me my favorite game and always up to playing it!

[@DrMcFly28]

This is one game I originally had no interest in and only grabbed on a bargain sale to "try once and resell". My absolute favorite game now. I'm just sad that FFG didn't improve the haphazard core game experience - the combination of horrible pre-made starter decks and pretty underwhelming campaign will be enough to turn plenty of people off before they have a chance to get to the good stuff.

[@muskyoxes]

Too many "story" games are just random shuffling of random events and they ask you to make your own story out of it. That's not a story to me. I love how this game has _real_ stories, yet your characters still go on their own arc personal to you

[@kumanight]

Really enjoyed this game but I couldn't get a group to play it consistently. Only played the first two scenarios and sold it. Marvel Champions replaced this game for me

[@ethanplaysforsarah]

I have a recommendation for Catchupalooza… The Red Dragon Inn games! HOW has The Dice Tower not made a review for any of them-they’re such a popular party game in our home!!! Would love to see what people rank it!

[@chuckm1961]

You might not want to see how people would rank it…

[@ethanplaysforsarah]

@@chuckm1961 Nonsense! Negative reviews are fine--it signals to the game makers that they can make it better. And besides, everybody's opinion is different. We just are surprised such a big name like Dice Tower hadn't even touched our favorite game.

[@RamonMercadoReyes]

I know it’s Catchupaluza… but my brain always reads Chopacabra… 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@FestaNoYoutubiu]

This catch up thing would be much more entertaining if you would show some of the actual gameplay.

[@DTChrisYi]

We've got a link to a recent play-through we did in the video description if you'd like.

[@erupendragon7376]

Zee sold me on this game as a solo game, and it is not! That’s my biggest complaint. This plays best with 4. 3 is Ok. 2 is a different game. Solo is just bad.

[@cableshaft]

I only play it solo and really enjoy it as such. I have to play it on easy though. That's still plenty difficult for solo, at least for me.

[@erupendragon7376]

@@cableshaft that’s exactly it. I own 3 campaigns and a couple one shots. I feel I should love the game, but every time is an ok experience looking at everything I’m missing out. Got to play on Easy. Which is a bit too easy. Normal is impossible; too much RNG for a solo. Then deck building. Solo you gota fight and investigate. Most deck builds and characters I want to use are not possible on Solo. Game is clearly designed for a group with different specialties. Swiss knife deck building is boring. I have tried 2 hand; but is boring. Game has RPG elements; story is great; tension building is best I’ve seen. All the atmosphere elements would enhance with more players, and they die out the more mechanical things you have to do ie two hand, and shuffle endlessly.

[@markusschmidt9260]

@@erupendragon7376 It's true, that not every campaign or even character are equally well good for solo. I would say, Mystics are the by far best options for a new solo player, while characters like Amanda, who has a good card pool for fighting, or Ursula, who can run away most enemies, are strong seekers for solo. I would avoid most guardians for true solo, and also somebody like Rex, who needs special tricks to even use his ability most of the time. True solo is certainly most difficult, to a point, where I think, 4 players is even getting too easy. I'm in a group currently playing 4 players on hard, and we will likely go for expert soon, as it is not really a challenge anymore. 2 or 3 are likely the sweet spot for most campaigns. But the only scenario, that is really bad designed for solo is Where the Gods Dwell from Dream Eaters cycle.

[@erupendragon7376]

@@markusschmidt9260 I would love to experience the game in Expert or Hard. 60% of my characters and cards I will never use Solo. Thanks for the mystic insight. I have only play Mystic on the dream eaters campaign and it was a disaster. I will try again for Worlds Edge.

[@jtt8886]

Always play two characters when playing solo.