I have been thinking about buying this game, i have read reviews about it on the computer, but i am still not to sure if I should get it. i can not seem to find much of the information i have been looking for. i am probably just looking in the wrong places, but i have looked for a long time trying to read about the game. Can anyone tell me:

-the obective of the game

-how the monsters work

-how the combat is resolved

-does the game use plastic miniatures, or does it just use tokens

-and is the game worth the money

Thanks

well to answer your last question first, yes its deffinatly worth the money, i think ffg games are really well made, and when you open the box you really feel like its worth it, an investment so to speak,.

the point of the game, is to stop the great one from destroying the world, by either killing it if it awakes or by keeping dimension gates closed, and or closing them.

combat takes many forms, this can be done in a number of ways via spells weapons etc, against cultists or spawn from below, you can have your stats increased or decreased by lots of things too.

the miniatures used to play the game are made from a very thick cardboard that is placed in a clear plastic holder.

its a great game with so many variations, that can even be played by one player, go get it, i highly recommend it, you wont be sorry

facepalm said:

Close or seal off the GOO. The rules have some text about something called a final combat and it being a win, but sounds iffy, best ignore that .

facepalm said:

Monsters appear on the board or through encounters and investigators have either avoid them or fight them.

facepalm said:

Dice rolls .

facepalm said:

Tokens, and lots of 'em.

facepalm said:

For me yes, but then, Agricola is worth the money for some (if I never have to even see a game of Agricola being played, I'll be happier for it), so YMMV.

Thanks, the answers really are appreciated. i think i will probaly pick this game next opprotunity i have. one more thing that i forgot to add, is the game a really fast paced or is more of a slower game? by the sound of it, it sounds like a fast paced game, which is something i like in games. thanks again

facepalm said:

I don't know how much detail you want, but for what it's worth, here's a summary:

The game is cooperative. The objective is to prevent the awakening of a powerful monster called the 'Ancient One'. There are different Ancient Ones to battle against, and you only play against one in each game, so you can choose what sort of game you want. If you fail to prevent the Ancient One awakening (by sealing shut dimensional portals around the town of Arkham) you have to fight it, which is usually incredibly difficult.

The board represents the town of Arkham. Every turn, dimensional portals open and monsters come out of them and wander around the town. The players have to explore the town, collecting weapons, spells and magic items, then travel through the portals to nightmarish Other Worlds, survive, return, and close the portals on their way back through them. Combat is resolved by rolling dice. It's the most complex part of the game, since there are usually a lot of modifiers which affect how many dice you can roll, or change what the results mean.

The game uses no miniatures, just huge numbers of counters and lots of decks of cards. (Like, at least twenty different decks, so you need a big table).

The game is highly modular (i.e. you can add new bits and swap components in and out to make the game more difficult, easier, or just different). So it's got a lot of replay value. It's the best value for money of any board game I ever played. And I've played a fair few. Including chess.

Expect 3+ hours for the first game. I recommend doing a game or two solo to learn the rules/phases/whatnots, that way teaching others is a smoother transition. AH is not a "open the box, setup and play" game. Sure, you can play it as such, but are probably looking at 5+ hours.

thanks everyone, a longer game does not bother me to much, i like long games like descent and runebound, but i ussualy get annoyed and just want it to end when it comes near the final batlle, especially when i know its obvios whats going to happen. (4 players go up against a dragon in descent they have some of the best armour and weapons avaible, they have a lot of conquest (lives) i know they are going to win so i think just get it over with) but i do not think Arkham is going to be that type of game, it sounds like a game that keeps the players entertained until the end.

facepalm said:

Gnnnnnnn.... calm, calm, I might fail my will check. Man, does the pope **** in the woods ?!?! YOU SHALL BUY FFG ! VOTE FFG !

hi facepalm, its a longer game than most, something to get your teeth into not one that a quick fantasy flight..............ha ha see what i did there....oh dont mind me

wow darknight, that was a good one.

anyways, thankyou everyone for the advice. well i am asking questions what is the best expansions i should get?

For an expansion? Depends on what you want.

New boards, investigators, ancient ones, universal add-ons (injury/madness, epic battle, personal stories): Dunwich, Kingsport, or Innsmouth.

New monsters: All of them except Dark Pharaoh, but King in Yellow's are only used with its herald.

Clever new mechanics: Any of them, but King in Yellow offers the fewest.

New items: Any except Innsmouth (and Dark Pharaoh only has spells and a new item type: exhibit)

Gate bursts: Dunwich, Kingsport, Black Goat, Innsmouth (but to a lesser extent)

Cheaper expansion: Dark Pharaoh, King in Yellow, Black Goat

Strong pervasive theme: Dark Pharaoh, King in Yellow, Innsmouth

Heralds: Any, but you have to download the ones for Dark Pharaoh and Dunwich Horror

Guardians: Kingsport only

No significant "dilution" problem: Kingsport (rifts never dilute!), Black Goat (everything's diluted to begin with...)

More difficulty: I'll give each expansion a rating from 0 to 5 on the difficulty increase (5 is the hardest expansion, 0 is no increase)
Curse of the Dark Pharaoh: 1 (look to this expansion for theme, not difficulty)
Dunwich Horror: 3 (The AOs and some monsters can be rough, but the Horror itself doesn't wake up often and doesn't hurt too much. Added gate locations are a pain though
King in Yellow: 2 (The Next Act cards can be painful, and so can the herald, but not too much so)
Kingsport Horror: 4 (Nasty AOs and up to three active rifts, each as deadly as the Dunwich Horror. Epic Battle makes final combat MUCH harder!)
Black Goat of the Woods: 3 (Some nasty Mythos cards and gate bursts, but nothing too bad. The herald is a HUGE problem though)
Innsmouth Horror: 5 (AWFUL Ancient Ones, NASTY mythos cards, and the dreadful, dreadful town of Innsmouth)

In general though, from what I've seen, Dunwich and Innsmouth are tied for most loved expansion, but Dunwich is better to get first. King in Yellow is the most popular small-box expansion.

Tibs said:

But one of the cleverest. As opposed to Black Goat, which has many new mechanics, but none of them are clever (except maybe the Dark Druid).

Tibs said:

wow thanks for all the infomation i see you put a lot of effort into that,i think it soundslike i might try to get king in yellow most likely after i get the other game, then possibly innsmouth or curse of the dark pharoh.

facepalm said:

lol, you evil SoBs you talked him into the two hardest first

hmmm, i think dunwich might be the best first eh?

darknight said:

Do you really want to live forever?

lol, isnt that starship troopers

facepalm said:

No no no. Tibs! You left out a piece of crucial information. The best monsters are in Dunwich. If you don't get Dunwich your in game monsters will be boring and too easy. The injury/Madness cards come with it also. It also comes with good items, spells, and allies.

Kingsport has the famously fun Epic Battle Cards, and mediocre monsters, its board can be a bit dull, although it never dilutes, which in a way is nice (but the board itself is still rather dull). It also comes with a good amount of equipment.

Innsmouth has a tremendously fun board. It has Personal Stories. It has almost no equipment, and it's monsters are *very* mediocre. It comes with as many investigators and Ancient Ones as Dunwich and Kingsport combined.

Still, if you asked me which one of the three main expansions to get first, I'd say Dunwich. An improved monster cup is essential.

I tried to be objective with "best" and "worst" and stuff like that, but yes I will admit that Dunwich's monsters are the best. Kingsport's are all right, Innsmouth's are all right (although a boost in cross monsters is welcome), and Black Goat's are essentially, the newer the monster, the weaker it is. Except Dark Druid, which is wild wacky fun.

Tibs said:

I do love the Dark Druid. I'd love to design a herald to showcase him. No ideas yet though.