Game 4 Set-up GOO: Shub-NIggurath; Investigators: Joe Diamond, Leo Anderson, Harvey Walters, and Vincent Lee

More to come . . .

The Professor

I just posted the result on the stats thread...but here's an interesting set of circumstances which Joe encountered. As I don't really fancy myself a fiction writer, I'll just lay out the facts, instread of writing "Joe, having defeated the Mummy in the streets, now faced a more deadly terror from the skies..." Seriously, I'll save that for another time. Here's what Joe encountered while in the streets...having just defeated a Mummy

GOO: Shub-Nigurrath (Monster Toughness +1)

Mythos Card: Strength of the Earth Environment (Mystic) All monsters with a moon dimensional symbol have their toughness, combat damage (if any), and horror damage (if any) increased by 1.

Sky (and descending on Joe): 2 Wraiths Undead/Physical Immunity/Nightmarish 1/Overwhelming 1

Armed with the Gladius of Carcosa, and a handful of Clue Tokens, and fortunately still Blessed, Joe fought the 2 Wraiths. His Skill slider provided him with a 3 Fight/2 Will. I thought to myself, "Okay, when will he go to the Asylum or Hospital, or which shall I pick-up...a Madness or Injury card/

Round 1: Joe manages to make his Horror check with a roll of two dice (Nightmarish cost him 1 Sanity); With his fight of 3 and the sword +5, along with the Wraiths -2 Combat Rating, Joe had to roll 5 successes (Wraiths: 3 (Monster Toughness) +1 (Mythos Card) +1 Shub-Nigurrath's slumber Ability) on 6 dice. Along with 2 Clue Tokens he manages to kill the first Wraith (-1 Stamina due to Overwhelming 1)

Round 2: Joe doesn't manage to make his Horror check (losing 2 Sanity; Wraith 1 + 1 from the Mythos Card). Combat, too, doesn't go as well, as he expends the last of his Clue Tokens (2) and out of 12 rolls, doesn't yield the necessary 5 successes, and Joe suffers a loss of 3 Stamina (Wraith: 2 +1 from the Mythos Card).

Round 3: This round, without the aid of Clue Tokens, Joe manages to roll four success out of the needed five ~ while he would take another 3 points of Stamina, driving him to the Hospital, Leo intervenes with his special ability, and Joe hangs-on with 1 Stamina.

Round 4: Being Blessed finally pays off, as Joe manages to roll 5 successes on 6 dice. The other Wraith slumps to the cobblestone street and Joe exhausted from the ordeal (1 Sanity/1 Stamina), limps toward St Mary's Hospital.

The next game featured the following cast:

Investigators: Darrell Simmons, Jenny Barnes, Marie Lambeau, and Kate Winthrop

GOO: Shudde M'ell

[Turns 1-8, Frightening Activity in Dunwich] Everyone started with decent equipment, save Kate who managed to go through most of the game with no weapons whatsoever. During the first three rounds, the Investigators witnessed a gate opening at Wizard's Hill , followed by two additional Mythos cards aimed at Wizard's Hill . Thus, two 'quakes to accompany the Monster Surges, and Gardners' Place choked on three (later four Clue Tokens). While Jeny did head north to Dunwich to clear the streets, the others quickly around the town, picking-up clues, and having fairly worthwhile encounters.

[Turns 9-16, Hope for New Day, turns to Utter Despair] The Investigtors managed to make their way through several of the Gates, close some and seal others. In one turn, Marie Lambeau ripped a Doom Token off of the track, using her special ability, while Jenny Barnes exited and sealed one Gate after having endured an Other World, while Darrell managed to successfully cast Find Gate , return to Arkham , and sel the portal. At this point, the Investigators had sealed five Gates, and now the race was on to scramble for the last few clues on the board and make our way to Dunwich (the only location with viable Gates. Unfortunately, things went badly for the next few rounds, as a Gate Burst at the Unnamable brought our focus back to the city of Arkham. Meanwhile, several Allies abandoned us in our time of need as the Terror Track inched upward. The Dean Blight caused another seal loss, and the effects of the Rumor Riots caused no end of disruption, especially after failing to control it.

[Turns 17-25, Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures] At the time, Darrell successfully closed a Gate at Independence Square, while Marie attempted to complete a Task ( Mineralogy Report ), Jenny completed a Mission ( The Light of Reason ), and Kate looked for clues in both the Unnameable and the The Unvisited Isle . As Kate moved forward to assist Darrell who slogged his way to the train station, a Wraith swooped down upon the unsuspecting Kate. In the end, the one who proved surprised was not the young lady wielding the spell Bind Monster . The two ladies (Marie and Jenny) quickly departed the Science Building , and in two truns managed to make it to the Northside Streets , in time to pass a Map of Arkham and a Find Gate Spell to Darrell as he dashed to catch the last train for Dunwich . Awaiting his arrival, several creatures and cultists attempted to stop his advance. With a pistol and a Flamethrower at his disposal, he dispatched the sentries, and with a bit of luck jumped past the Dark Young atop the Gate at Cold Spring Glen . As the Doom Track inched its way forward, reaching 11, Darrell had managed to successfully any nasty encounters, cast Find Gate , return to Arkham , and seal the sixth Gate. The ladies waited for him along the Train Station 's platform. Returning to Arkham with 1 sanity and 2 Stamina meant he would need a lot of tender, loving care . . .

frostling1 said:

Horror: When Darkness Comes (has single player scenarios & lots of expansions), Sci Fi: Race For The Galaxy (it's a card game but expansions add a one player option), Fantasy: Lord of The Rings (can be played solitaire as with many coop board games).... more ideas on Board Game Geek

Try FFG's great silver game "Red November"

The most recent game featured the following cast:

Investigators: Gloria Goldberg, Amanda Sharpe, “Ashcan” Pete, and Rita Young

GOO: Hastur

[Turns 1-4, Trepidation] While not everyone started with weapons, everyone had a job to do, and they set out to do the best they could with what they had available to them. Gloria headed straight for the Bank of Arkham to unearth the secrets hidden within with the pair of Safety Deposit Keys which fell into her possession. Amanda, spending all of her money, travelled to Dunwich in order to investigate the strange happenings there, gaining additional clues due to her Press Pass . While there, she accepted an offer ~ adding two Doom Tokens to the Track, for both an Ally ( Richard Upton Pickman ) and a Skill ( Grapple ). Meanwhile, Pete and Rita had made short work of the few monsters roaming Arkham , and entered the Gates appearing at The Witch House and Independence Square .

[Turns 5-8, Other Worlds to Explore] As the Investigators made their way around the town, they discovered more and more about the evils of Hastur , and feared that they would never discover the clues necessary to seal the Gates, securing their future and that of the towns of Arkham and Dunwich . Pete and Gloria both possessed copies of the spell, Find Gate , which they used well to quicken their pace through the Other Worlds, R’lyeh , Yuggoth , and the Plateau of Leng . With her retainer, Rita headed to the Curiositie Shoppe. Later, she met Pete at the Shoppe, and together they made several outstanding purchases including the Enchanted Blade and the Sword of Glory.

[Turns 9-13, The End is Nigh] Gloria raced to the South Church , lit candles, and prayed for their valiant effort against the Great Old One, who would appear at any time. Her prayers answered, both she and Pete continued across the town, Blessed from above. Despite their attempts to close as many of the Gates, as possible, Hastur would soon make his appearance and they would need to prepare for battle against him. Fortunately, they kept the monster count very low, never filling the Outskirts . . . and never increasing the Terror Track, until…

The Next Act Begins! With the next Mythos card displayed and the Act I card revealed, the Investigators added the last two Doom Tokens to the Track . . . awaking Hastur !

Battle Ready! The Investigators waged a battle against Hastur which proved successful ~ here’s what they had at their disposal:

Gloria: 7 Clue Tokens, a Blessing , and the Lamp of Alhazred

Amanda: 5 Clue Tokens, Ally ( Richard Upton Pickman ; Attacks not affected by Physical Resistance ), Skills ( Grapple and Marksman ), Dynamite , Molotov Cocktail , Gladius of Carcosa, and Carbine Rifle

Pete: 5 Clue Tokens, a Blessing , Holy Water , Petrifying Solution , an Enchanted Blade , and an Enchanted Knife

Rita: 2 Clue Tokens, Alien Device , and Sword of Glory

First round: Removed 5 Doom Tokens, with two additional ‘hits’ / All Investigators passed the Luck check
Second Round: Removed 6 Doom Tokens (includes the one having endured two ‘hits’ from the First round) / All Investigators passed the Luck check
Third round: Hastur destroyed . . .peace returned to Arkham . . . for now . . .

It's always a pleasure reading your reports, Professor! Thanx for sharing and well done!

Thank you, Julia! [Tip my hat]

Now that I've used all 24 Invstigators from the Basic Game and Dunwich, I'll shuffle them for the next 6 games against Abhoth, Azathoth, Cthulhu, Ithaqua, Yig, andYog-Sothoth. Arkham's never safe for long!

The Professor

Now I would reall like to try Arkham Horror only by myself for once, but my problem is the time: it takes so much time to set up all pieces from the basic game and the Dunwich Horror Expansion when you do it all by yourself!

12 minutes, start-to-finish; ready to play!

Or you can just leave it set up on your dining room table. Simples.

I've thought about playing this game by myself, I just don't know if I can do it. I almost prefer the other players opinions and the table chatter on top of the excitement of the game. I just don't know if the game would be as fun by myself. Plus I'm not sure how much more difficult it would be by myself, since the game doesn't scale in anyway until 5 players. The game gets exponentially easier with each player you add, suffice it to say the reverse would also be true. A friend an I played a two player game and we couldn't eve complete that, it came down to a single clue token in the final battle. Let me know if you all think diferent.

greenlantern92 said:

I'm not sure if you have expansions, but if you have any extra boards, go for a 3-4 investigator game (I'd say 3 unless you're playing Kingsport's Board too).

greenlantern92,

Of the 30+ games I've played, 90% have been solo games with 4 Investigators. As a role-playe for many years, I agree with you that there's a bit of excitment around the table with mulitple players sharing ideas, kabitzing about this or that, and ultimately trying to defeat the bad guy/solve the riddle. But this game is completely different, in that you can truly enjoy AH in solo mode. Find some really good music to accompany the evening ~ jazz works well, and some of the more eerie sounding stuff fits the bill; pour yourself a strong drink (if necessary), and run the game (adventure) with 4 Investigators. When you're done let us know what you think. Also, don't forget to record your games on Tibs' spreadsheet ~ see other post.

The Professor

I like playing Arkham solo quite a bit, and prefer 2 - 3 investigators at once. With 4 I find I'm forgetting to use specific investigators' special abilities, but just one is way too hard (with the potential of 2+ gates opening while you're in the other worlds).

Playing it solo reminds me of the gamebooks I loved as a kid; sure they're not the same as a bout of D&D with a group of people, but the adventure is still a lot of fun.

If you play with base game only, 2-3 investigators are enough.

Base game+1 exapnsion town=3 investigators

Base game+2 exapnsion towns=3-4 investigators

Base game+3 exapnsion towns=4 investigators

Ofcours, playing with more than 4 would be best, but 4 is as much micromanaging I'm willing to suffer

I was considering about picking this game up just because I saw that you can play by yourself. But then I started to think is it lame, or maybe pathetic. Seeing all your posts here how great can one player experience be made me to finally decide about picking it up this week. Can someone give me a few pointers about set up or how to generally learn rules a bit quicker? Thanks.

The best advice I have is always follow the phase orders in each turn, and keep the rules open next to you while you learn the game. I had this great worksheet someone put together when I was first learning it, let me see if I can track it down.

You can download it here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/22286/universal-head-arkham-horror-rules-summary-refere

It includes the expansions, but they're color coded so you can ignore those sections and just use the information for the base game.

Thank you very much

Can someone answer what do symbols in lower left and right corners on the board locations mean? For example magnifying glass or a book. Thanks.

Those let you know what you can typically expect to get from encounters there, if I remember correctly.

So far I've played alone, first to learn the rules and second because I'm moving soon. I hope to have a big table in my new house and to find a few people to play with It's still a lot of fun, but I can't handle any more than 3 investigators at once (and that happened against Azathoth, who makes for an easy game). With two I usually get whooped Wait...actually with two investigators I've always lost, so far Might be that one investigator makes for an easier game than two, if you have the means to last a couple of rounds in the final combat.

herself said:

Then I hope you are already aware of this: http://www.projectaon.org/en/Main/Home

Hey there,

on wednesday I ordered the game after having enjoyed it the evening before with a couple of friends. Before this I had joined in the game for three times during the last nearly three years. And finally I decided to hold it in my hands.

Today I received the package.

It feels so... different ... and ... exciting to hold your own "copy" of it in your hands. First thing I realized: There is a lot more to it then it looked like when I played the game with friends days before ... ANd I need some kind of special toolbox with nice little "spaces" for all the different items.

So I decided to play a solo game - and just like this Gruduzla-thing-guy from youtube (with his really incredible tutorials for this game) I decided to play it with three characters (Dexter Drake, Mandy Thompson and Michael McGlen (random pick)); and "we" fought the almighty Shub-Niggurath (randomly picked).

When I outfitted the characters I had plenty of luck when drawing stuff - powerfull spells, guns, toys and useful skills a lot.

The game led to a couple of interesting situations, in which I realized: these rules, the faqs and even the internet do not really provide all the information about how to deal with THAT kind of situation ... But I think this is the typical outcome when you play the game the very first time alone, on your own, without the different and shouted opinions of others - and all that with becoming fully aware of the span and scope of the rules etc. (Is this **** Flute of the Outer Gods really such a powerful toy? And does it give the user of this device ALL the kills as trophies?). Anyway ..

On the one hand I had pretty much luck on this first game - very often the gates appeared on the same locations (although I really had taken care to shuffle the Mythos cards a lot), so Shub kept going with sleeping, and the monsters turned out to gather outside town for a couple of beers; also it was funny to have a couple of Mythos cards that automatically discarded some of the monsters the very moment they appeared. Finally: This team of a mage, the scientists and the gangster really frightened me a lot - I never ever expected to get so many kills on the monsters. Actually I never saw something "equal" during the four times of gameplay before; and I double-checked the rules a couple of times, and there was no other judgement then this: I played by the rules, the dice kept going the way they should, and I just received the kills. Cool!

Bad luck happened a lot as well: Really: During the whole course of the game I only managed to close three gates, and only one those was also sealed. Almost anytime one of the investigators was in one of the outer regions something weird happened, and they got banned to the LiTaS many times ... (Again a question: It is correct that the investigator doesn't lose any item when he gets dragged into LiTaS?).

So by the end of the game things looked pretty well. But then hell broke loose - a series of bad luck in dicing and really just worst draws from the monster cup melted down the resources of my investigators like a flamethrower does on vanilla icecream. And suddenly 7 gates were open simultaneously, and Shubidoo awakened. Bad Luck: Ms. Thompson was in LiTaS by that time, and therefore out of the final deathmatch before it even started. Luckily my remaining two investigators had plenty of kills and trophies ... And we managed to bring Shubidoo down to 1 doom-token (one silly decision less in this final deathmatch and I would have won). But then tGOO ate the last piece of my investigators.

As an aside: Everything was pretty well shuffled; and there was no thing or person or whatnot that I choose, I only made random picks. And it was nothing else but the core game.

It was real fun; it was the first time that I grabbed a few concepts of the game; and time flew like crazy. I really look forward to the next match. And I think I will keep it that way that I play the game on solo with three investigators. And maybe, when the stars are right, I will even manage to learn enough of the rules that I do not have to double check everything ...

Bottomline: Soloing the game is real fun, and I think a lot more then bystanders or "outsiders" might believe ...

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Mad

LITAS only causes you to lose items if you were LITAS by being knocked out.

I have found solo Arkham Horror to be absolutely amazing. I don't have a gaming group at all, in fact this was my first board game. I saw that it was solo-able and jumped at the possibility. Believe me, i was not let down. I never thought that I would be able to play a board game and have as much, or more, fun than playing a video game. I love the tactile feel of the pieces, the beauty of the Arkham artwork, that complex but exciting rules...etc etc. Every solo game I've played (around 15) has been exciting, challenging, and has felt complete. I don't feel like I'm missing anything from playing it with a group. I have played it a few times with my girlfriend and it is basically equally as enjoyable. No more and no less. I believe that playing solo also greatly reduced the length of the game as I am able to finish in less than two hours nearly every time (win or lose).

Arkham Horror 1 player is everything I hoped it would be and more.