Objective of the Game

Welcome, brave investigators, to the chilling world of Arkham! In Arkham Horror (3rd Edition), you and your fellow players are humanity's last hope against ancient evils threatening to consume the city. Your main goal is to collaboratively progress the story in positive ways by completing objectives found on the codex cards, ultimately leading to a glorious victory. But beware, the forces of the Mythos are relentless, and if the codex progresses negatively, or if all investigators are defeated, devoured, or retired, Arkham will fall!

Preparation (Setup)

Alright, gather 'round, let's get this nightmare started! Setting up Arkham Horror is like preparing for a ritual – precise and crucial. Here’s how you get ready to face the cosmic horrors:

1. Choose Your Scenario: First, pick a scenario sheet (or randomly select one if you're feeling extra brave). This sheet will guide your setup.
2. Lay the City: Place the neighborhood and street tiles as shown on your chosen scenario's setup map. Don't forget to put the initial doom tokens and monster cards in their designated spots.
3. Deck Building 101:
   • Shuffle the street cards to form the street deck.
   • Shuffle the neighborhood decks that match the neighborhoods you're using.
   • Gather the event cards (look for the clue icon in the top left and scenario name at the bottom) that match your scenario, shuffle them, and place them facedown in the event deck holder to create the event deck.
   • Shuffle the monster cards listed in the scenario to create the monster deck. Place it nearby, ready (dark) side up.
   • Take 13 headline cards at random from all available ones and shuffle them to create the headline deck.
4. Mythos Cup: Place the mythos tokens listed in the scenario into an opaque container to create the mythos cup. This is where the true randomness of the horrors lies!
5. Asset Management: Separately shuffle the item cards, ally cards, and spell cards to create the normal asset decks. Draw 5 cards from the item deck and place them faceup in a row next to the deck to create the display.
6. General Supplies: Keep the following accessible to all players: the special cards (alphabetized), condition cards (organized by type), all other tokens (organized by type), and archive cards (in numerical order).
7. Choose Your Champion: Each player selects an investigator sheet and its matching investigator token, plus 1 activation token and 1 reference card. One player takes the leader token (the flashlight) as their activation token – they're the leader for this round!
8. Starting Gear: Investigators gain the money tokens and starting cards listed on their sheets. Make smart choices if you have options!
9. Starting Positions: Each player places their investigator token on the starting space indicated on the scenario sheet.
10. Initial Clues: Draw 3 event cards one at a time. Place 1 clue token in the central area of each card’s corresponding neighborhood tile. Then, shuffle that event card with the top 2 cards of its corresponding neighborhood deck and place all 3 on top of that deck.
11. Initial Doom: Draw the bottom card of the event deck and discard it faceup. Place 1 doom token in each space that has a doom icon next to its name on that card.
12. Final Touches: Resolve the ‘finalize setup’ instructions on the scenario sheet. Add indicated archive cards to the codex and read all cards in the codex before starting. If anomaly cards are used, shuffle them to create an anomaly deck.

The Game Round

A round in Arkham Horror is a tense dance between investigators and the encroaching darkness, broken down into four distinct phases:

Action Phase

This is your time to shine, investigators! In an order chosen by the players, each investigator takes 1 turn, performing up to 2 actions. Remember, you can only perform each action once per round. After your turn, flip your activation token to its inactive (dark) side.

Here are your available actions:

• Attack: Choose 1 monster in your space (even if it's engaged with you or another investigator). Engage it by placing it near your investigator sheet, exhausted (light) side up. Then, perform a STRENGTH test modified by the monster’s ATTACK modifier. For each success, deal 1 damage to the monster. If its damage equals or exceeds its HEALTH, you've defeated it! Place it on top of the monster deck. If it has a remnant icon, gain 1 remnant. If the monster is already exhausted, you don't engage it.
• Evade: Need to get away? To disengage from a monster, perform an evade action by making an OBSERVATION test modified by the monster’s EVADE modifier. If you're engaged with multiple monsters, use the modifier that results in you rolling the fewest dice. For each success, you disengage and exhaust 1 monster of your choice by placing its card in your space exhausted (light) side up. If you evade all engaged monsters, you get an additional action!
• Focus: Choose 1 skill and gain a focus token matching that skill. This increases that skill value by 1 as long as you have the token. You can only have one of each type of focus token, and your investigator sheet has a focus limit.
• Gather Resources: Simple but essential – gain 1 dollar.
• Move: Move your investigator token up to 2 spaces. For each dollar you spend, you can move 1 additional space, up to a maximum of 2 extra spaces. If you enter a space with a ready monster, it immediately engages you, your move ends, and the monster card is placed exhausted (light) side up near your sheet.
• Research: Test OBSERVATION. For each success, you may place one of your clues on the scenario sheet.
• Trade: You and any other investigators in your space can exchange any number of allies, items, spells, money, clues, and/or remnants. You can even trade with an investigator engaged with a monster!
• Ward: Test LORE. For each success, you may remove 1 doom from your space. If you remove 2 or more doom with a single ward action, you also gain 1 remnant.
• Component Actions: Some cards and components grant unique actions, always preceded by the word "action" in bold. Each individual component action can only be performed once per round.

Monster Phase

The creatures of the night stir! This phase has three steps:

1. Monster Activation: In an order chosen by the players, each ready monster activates according to its activation text:
   • Hunter: Moves toward and engages specific investigators.
   • Patrol: Moves toward locations instead of investigators.
   • Lurker: No movement, but causes other negative effects.
   A moving monster moves up to its SPEED towards its destination or prey. If it enters an investigator’s space, it stops and engages that investigator.
2. Monster Attack: Starting with monsters engaged with the leader and proceeding clockwise, each monster engaged with an investigator deals damage and horror to that investigator equal to the icons on its card.
3. Monster Ready: Each exhausted monster readies (flip its card ready side up). If a newly ready monster is in a space with an investigator, it engages them.

Encounter Phase

Time for some unsettling discoveries! Investigators take turns resolving encounters. You draw and resolve an encounter card unless you are engaged with a monster (in which case, no encounter for you!). Have another player read your encounter aloud, keeping the results secret until resolved.

• If you are in a neighborhood space, draw from the matching neighborhood encounter deck and resolve the encounter for your specific space.
• If you are in a street space, draw from the street deck and resolve the encounter matching the type of street you are in (residential, bridge, or scenic).

After resolving an encounter on an event card: if you gained a clue from your neighborhood, discard the card faceup to the event card discard pile. If not, shuffle it with the top 2 cards of its neighborhood deck and place all 3 on top.

Mythos Phase

The veil between worlds thins, and strange things happen! Starting with the leader and proceeding clockwise, each investigator draws 2 tokens from the mythos cup and resolves their effects one at a time. You resolve these even if your investigator is defeated, devoured, or retired.

• Blank: Nothing happens. Phew!
• Gate Burst: Take the top card of the event deck and place 1 doom token in each space of that neighborhood. Then, shuffle that card and the entire event discard pile together and place them on the bottom of the event deck.
• Read Headline: Resolve the top card of the headline deck. It usually affects only you. Discard it faceup. If the deck is empty and you need to draw, place 1 doom on the scenario sheet instead.
• Reckoning: In a player-chosen order, resolve all effects preceded by the reckoning icon on all components in play.
• Spawn Clue: Take the top card of the event deck and place 1 clue token in the center of that neighborhood. Then, shuffle that card with the top 2 cards of the corresponding neighborhood deck and place all 3 on top.
• Spawn Monster: Draw the bottom card of the monster deck and place it on the board as instructed by its spawn text, ready (dark) side up.
• Spread Doom: Discard the bottom card of the event deck faceup and place 1 doom token in the location marked with a doom icon on that card. If there's more than one icon, place 1 doom for each.

Remember, mythos tokens aren't returned to the cup immediately. When the cup is empty, all drawn mythos tokens are returned to it, then you draw again.

End of Game and Scoring

Arkham Horror isn't about points; it's about survival and saving the world! The game ends in one of two ways:

• Victory: You win the game by positively progressing the cards in the codex until one of them explicitly states that you have won. This usually involves completing scenario-specific objectives and gathering enough clues to advance the narrative.
• Defeat: The players lose if the codex cards progress negatively, leading to a loss condition. You also lose if every available investigator is defeated (health or sanity reduced to zero), devoured (a specific effect that instantly defeats you), or retired (permanently removed from the game). Keep those investigators alive and sane!

Tips for Winning

Arkham Horror can be brutal, but with a few strategic insights, you can increase your chances of saving the world:

1. Focus on Objectives, Not Just Monsters: While fighting monsters is often necessary, remember that your ultimate goal is to progress the codex and complete scenario objectives. Don't get bogged down in endless combat if it distracts from the main mission. Use Research actions to place clues on the scenario sheet and advance the story!
2. Manage Doom Effectively: Doom tokens are a ticking clock for the investigators. Keep a close eye on spaces accumulating doom, especially those that might trigger anomaly tokens or other negative effects. The Ward action is crucial for removing doom from your space, potentially earning you valuable remnants in the process.
3. Utilize Trade and Focus: Communication and cooperation are key! The Trade action allows investigators in the same space to freely exchange assets, money, and clues. Coordinate with your team to ensure everyone has the tools they need. Additionally, don't underestimate the power of the Focus action. Boosting a key skill for an upcoming test can be the difference between success and a terrible fate.