The fictional New England town of Arkham, Massachusetts is a central part of the Cthulhu Mythos. It’s home to many stalwart investigators that have been created in Mythos based games like Call of Cthulhu. It’s also a quiet little town with plenty of shadowy mysteries to solve.
Many Cthulhu fans had their first encounter with the Great Old Ones thanks to the Arkham Horror board game. The most recent edition was released in 2018 featuring revamped rules with all new expansions. The popularity of the game remains strong as it expands into new game lines and experiences.
Akham Horror spun off into an expandable card game in 2016. This game recently introduced some new ways to explore the heart of the resistance against the creatures of the Cthulhu Mythos. There’s never a bad time to start seeking the truth about Cthulhu and what better place to do it than Arkham?
Arkham Horror: The Card Game
In 2016, Arkham Horror: The Card Game brought the joys of the board game to Fantay Flight Games’ Living Card Game format. It features everything that’s fun about the original game with flawed, colorful investigators exploring locations searching for clues while encountering awful minions of the Mythos. It also cut down the play time to an hour or so, allowing players to get in multiple games in an evening.
The game shifted to a different format in 2022 by releasing expansions a two boxed format. One box featured new investigators and cards for their deck while the other focused on the storyline episodes to play through. The cards remain the same, so anyone with an older deck can still play the new storylines.
Arkham Horror: The Role Playing Game
The card game offers a taste of role playing by allowing player to customize their decks as they play through a storyline. Fans who want a more satisfying RPG experience can check out the Arkham Horror: Role Playing Game Starter Set that was released at Gen Con. The box lets players take on the roles of fan favorite investigators playing through an adventure inspired by the classic Night of the Zealot storyline from the main Arkham Horror Card Game core boxed set.
Edge Studios built a simple system using pools of six sided dice that can be explained in minutes to players new to the hobby. The storyline also contains classic elements of mythos investigations such as decoding pages from a cult member’s diary. There’s even a slide puzzle that must be solved in the middle of a monster attack to up the tension.
Welcome to Arkham
Arkham may not exist in the real world but it’s been detailed like it does. Call of Cthulhu has published several guides throughout the years. Welcome to Arkham further brings the town to life as an illustrated guide to the neighborhoods and personalities that make up the town.
The book is an excellent choice for any fan of the Mythos as it is not tied to any of the games and focuses on the fiction. It uses artwork from across the entire Arkham Files line to highlight the important people, places and things across Arkham. It also expands out into other places in so-called “Lovecraft Country” like Dunwich and Innsmouth.
Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Arkham Horror Role Playing Game Starter Set and Welcome to Arkham are available through online vendors and Friendly Local Game Stores.
