arkham horror board game review

So, I got into this game called Arkham Horror recently. I saw a few people talking about it online and I thought, “Hey, that sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday.” So I gathered a bunch of my buddies, ordered some pizza, and prepared for a deep dive into this Lovecraftian nightmare.

First off, getting the game out of the box was a bit of an event. I opened the box and it was packed full of stuff. We’re talking about a mountain of tokens, a bunch of cards, and these sheets for each character we could play. Setting it all up took a good chunk of time. We laid out this big board, put these clue tokens in their spots, and sorted out all the different decks. It felt like we were preparing for a real investigation, not just a game.

Once we got going, it was clear this was no walk in the park. This game, it’s cooperative, meaning we all had to work together. We moved our characters around the board, tried to gather clues, and seal these, like, interdimensional gates to stop monsters from popping out. It’s all based on the stories by H.P. Lovecraft, so you can imagine the kind of creepy stuff we were up against.

We spent hours playing, and honestly, it was intense. We were totally immersed. We really felt the theme, and it’s got this great storytelling aspect. There are all these random events that can happen, which keeps you on your toes. You really have to plan your moves and make the most of what each character can do.

Here’s the deal, though. It’s a long game. Like, really long. We played for about four hours and we still hadn’t finished. And that was okay with us. We loved the story it was telling and how involved we got. But I can see how it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

Is it fun?

• Yeah, it’s fun, but in a very specific way.
• It’s not something you just casually play on a weeknight.
• You really need to set aside a good chunk of time and be in the mood for a deep, thinky, cooperative experience.

I think we only scratched the surface, to be honest. We are not even near to finish it. I saw online that there are a bunch of expansions for it, too. Some people say the game is impossible without those expansions, but I don’t think that’s true. I guess I’ll see. I’m already thinking about when we can play again and try to actually beat the thing. We might have to get some of those expansions, just to see what they add. Anyway, if you’re into long, story-driven games and you like working with your friends instead of against them, you should definitely check out Arkham Horror. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of snacks and a whole lot of patience.