Many of you fine people who love to sink your hours into RPGs will be well aware of the Call of Cthulhu system, and with good reason – it's a very interesting way to play that is packed out with opportunities to tell some truly messed up stories based in H.P. Lovecraft's rather twisted universe.While most of the world is totally unaware of what's happening around them, a brave core of adventurers do their damnedest to keep the darkest of forces at bay while retaining their sanity – perfect for when you've had your fill of battling dragons or flying through deep space.
Now, you're also probably aware of the range of board games that have spawned from the same universe, the most famous of them all invariably being Arkham Horror from Fantasy Flight Games, The original version was released through Chaosium back in the late eighties, but the newer version deals with many of the problems raised by its older sibling,streamlining the gameplay and making things just a little easier to handle when it comes to saving the world.
Not to say that it's a simple game to play – Arkham Horror is a monster, often descending into a mess when attempted by novices. If there was ever a game where you need to have experienced players at hand to help guide you through the whole thing, this is it. A convoluted rulebook mixed in with a wide range of options available to you each turn means that first time players may feel a bit swamped but if you can stick with it you'll be rewarded with a most enjoyable experience.
Ostensibly, we're looking at one of the first proper co-op games. You and your fellow players are working together in order to defeat a Great Old One that's attempting to take over our universe in it's own delightful way. Some are easier than others – it's suggested that newbies tackle Yig, while veterans can go all the way up to the big guy himself: Cthulhu. Before you lies the town of Arkham, filled with locations that will soon start swarming with monsters that are preparing the way for their master to arrive. All you need to do is stop them.
Players select a character at the start of the game, each of whom are given a range of items that will help them in the fight. You also choose your various stats that will determine things like how fast you move around the board, if you can sneak past enemies, how much awfulness you can withstand... you get it. Your chosen character also has two vital levels you need to keep as high as possible; their Health and Sanity. If either of these drop to zero or below during play, they die! Thankfully, should this happen it's not all terrible – you doget to roll up a whole new character. In fact, it can often be a good idea to do if all you've got in front of you is crap and you're coming close to the final battle. More on that shortly.
First though, how do you win? Well, throughout the game you'll be hunting down interdimensional portals that you'll need to travel through. Make it out the other side and you'll be able to close these doors by spending clue tokens that can be found or won by interacting with people and locations. Sealing the portal means an Elder Sign is placed on that space and getting six will win you the game. Option two is that previously mentioned final battle which is triggered when the Great Old One's Doom Track is filled, but this is a lot more dangerous...
The Doom Track essentially works as the Health points of your chosen enemy. Pretty much everything in Arkham Horror means adding tokens to the track so playing the game ends up in a battle to the death more often than not. Regardless of what's happening in Arkham, if the Great Old One awakens you all drop what you're doing and fight – unfortunately,should you die during this process it's permanent. No respawns, just the ignimony of defeat. You'd best hope that you and your colleagues have got enough firepower stocked up to make a decent go of combat.
As well as wandering monsters and an impending end-of-the-world situation happening, you'll also have to deal with an ever changing environment, those aforementioned dimensional rifts popping up all over the place and –most importantly – constant attacks on your mental and physical health. Playing Arkham Horror often ends up as an exercise in attempting to not screw up too badly while also praying that your dice rolls come up trumps. There is a LOT of dice rolling in the game, mainly around the combat system, which means that many players decry it as being entirely down to how lucky you get. Ignore those fools. It's a game that we play for enjoyment and after all, if you were always guaranteed to win, what would be the point in even setting the thing up?
I honestly don't see Arkham as a 'normal' game – for me, it's a logical extension of the Call of Cthulhu RPG. When you don't have the time to get involved in a long term campaign, it's the perfect way to scratch that itch, particularly if you see it as an opportunity to tell stories rather than just an exercise in moving around a board and rolling a bunch of dice. Just make sure that you have someone on your side who is more than happy to take the lead in showing you what to do...
