Since there is no one in my family or among my friends that likes board games (well, at least like games likes this), I was thinking about buying Arkham and play it as single player.

Is there anyone with any experience in playing Arkham singleplayer mode? Is it any satisfying in spending 2-3 hours alone playing this game? And what about expansions, which expansions suits singleplayer the most?

Single-player is my typical session, but only because it's difficult to get people together. Whenever people are available who would like to play, of course, I prefer that. But you can still have a fun time alone.

I don't think any expansions better suit solo play than others. I know that Lurker has a number of components that encourage player cooperation, but since I would highly recommend you play with at least 2 or 3 investigators, that wouldn't be an issue anyway.

It's also useful to play the game solo I think the first time so that if you do play with people you've already seen how things work and interact with each other. In that regard it's useful to play by yourself now and then anyway as a refresher depending on how often you and a group would be playing. My friends and I only play once a month at best so now and then if I'm stuck working at home I'll pull it out and run through at least a few turns to keep everything fresh.

Solo play also turns down the length of time depending on the investigators. I've played solo games using four investigators that took 60-90 minutes. You could conceivably do all your laundry on a lazy Sunday and play a game of Arkham by yourself.

Primarch,

This is a question that gets asked with great frequency ~ out of nearly 150 games, I've played more than 95% of them in solo mode. I add a mix of Nox Arcana music and a glass of red wine and enjoy the horrors. As I've been playing for more than five years, I do include all of the expansions, which makes for a longer (or really shorter ) game.

If you're relatively new to the game, I would follow the advice by many others and introduce one large and/or small expansion and enjoy the flavor of each one. Even in solo mode, it plays best with four Investigators . As redripper mentioned, you can actually get some things done around the house in between each set of four turns. Late last year, I spent a lot of time in my game room, playing AH and packaging up pieces from our business to ship out to our customers.

Cheers,

Joe

I used to play often solo Arkham; a good point is that being the game completely coop, you can assign multiple investigators to yourself so that actually soloing it is still a complete and complex experience, rich in interactions and collaborations.

Soloing one investigator... this is another cup of tea. One-investigator games often end up in final battle, while if playing 3 or 4 investigators, you're able to score victories by sealing or closing gates.

I'll add, on behalf of those who left the board and cannot hence answer your query, that one of the strongest Arkham Horror player ever, Avi_dreader, soloed almost all of his 400 plays.

Really, Arkham's great when soloed.

As for the expansions... they are all good. But the best thing is to start with the core game. Have a sip of the flavour, embrace the madness and try to figure out if you like the game or not. Then, think about how to expand it!

Thank you for all your answers I think I will pick up Arkham this weekend. Until then, try to read up on the rules (wish me luck!)

Best of luck with the rules then!

And for any question, just ask! The community is lovely and always ready to help!

Hi again, sorry to be a pain in the behind.. I noticed that eldritch horror also has a single player mode.. Has anyone had any experience with both Arkham and eldritch? And if so, which one do you prefer for single mode?

Hey, no probs with questions coming

AH vs EH: the debate could last eons (strange or not they are). Long story short: the games are different and offers you quite a different experience even if they share the same universe and some recurring elements.

EH: global map. Mythos a lot more brutal. A little watered down theme with more christian elements. Clever dynamics and a *brilliant* wording. A general better view of everything, also due to the almost ten years of Arkham experience. Not so high replayability: AOs have specific decks of 24 cards, there are just 6 mystery / AO (in case you get also the Forsaken Lore expansion). And it's more luck dependant (mathematically provable; and, as said several times, nothing against luck-dependant games, but you need to know to check if you're ok with that): not only due to the fewer number of dice you roll, but also due to the fact that some actions are not properly plannable (you enter OW without knowing where you'll be going, hence you don't know what stat will be tested to close the gate) and that there are cards that can destroy you a game you're totally in control of.

AH: local map. Mythos less brutal. More true to the original HPL spirit, in my opinion, and great flavor in encounters, especially with the Pharaoh, Dunwich and the King in Yellow. Some problems with the wording, most of them addressed by the FAQ. You need at least Dunwich to raise the number of cards to a decent amount. *huge* replayability. And if you play it strategically, it pays you off. You can win, you can lose, but match are close, and fun, and it's unlikely that when you're in control of the game, a single card destroys everything. Less luck (my win-loss ratio is 93%; other advanced players here have similar win-loss ratio so that if luck were that impacting, this wouldn't have been possible).

For soloing: I soloed both, and more or less it's the same.

My personal view of the games: I like AH better. I know that others would say the opposite (especially if you post the very same question in the EH forum). Best thing would be if you can try them. Or get both

I recently picked up Arkham Horror and am really struggling playing solo with 2 and 3 investigators. Should you avoid monsters quite a bit for the first 5-6 turns and build up your strength and grab clues? I just find by and large the monsters are **** tough (especially the ones with 3+ toughness) and usually spank my investigators handily.

First of all, welcome to the Carnival You just bought a great game, a whole world of madness and a family on-line ready to support you on any query

Then: there are no monsters coming with more than 3 toughness in the core game, unless you play against Shub, or some particularly nasty Environments are in play.

Monsters are never the main goal in Arkham; the main goal are gates. Focus on clues and sealing gates. Whack down monsters when needed (i.e., monster limit approaching or you need to clear the path for the gate); for this reason, you should better have someone able to fight properly (good weapons, a good Fight skill, and some spare Sanity to waste). Also, if you see the game as too hard, go with four investigators for the first games. Or three. I won't be playing core Arkham with 2 before knowing what's going on on the board.

Also, you could find interesting reading about some Basic Strategy in AH.

And play some games against Azathoth: he's the easiest coming in the core game, giving you plenty of time to put the six seals needed on the board!

Hope this helps

JULIA

Solo is a great experience in AH, but just remember when you solo it is hard to know if you got a rule wrong. No one is there to catch you! Solo players can play with others after a while and get some real shocks

single player is very challenging, at least if you play like i like to play. I only use one investigator, because in the Cthulhu Mythos stories there usually only one protagonist. you can play solo however you want, this is just how i play.

)

Running just one investigator should allow you to win a lot during final battles

I've just started playing as a single player and it is pretty fun - I don't have to finish the game in one setting, and don't have to rush with my actions I can actually learn the game and the components. On YouTube there is a guy called Catweazle who plays Arkham Horror solo and really goes into depth about playing solo, and it inspired me to play more as the solo player and have fun with it.