Objective of the Game

In Eldritch Horror, players take on the roles of investigators working together to prevent an Ancient One, a cosmic entity of immense power, from awakening and dooming humanity. You'll travel the globe, uncover ancient lore, solve mysteries, and confront terrifying monsters. If the investigators successfully solve three Mysteries before the Ancient One awakens, they win the game. If the Ancient One awakens, or if all investigators are eliminated, mankind is doomed, and the investigators lose.

Game Setup

To set up Eldritch Horror, follow these steps:

1. Place the Game Board: Unfold the main Game Board and place it in the center of the play area. If any side boards (like Antarctica or Egypt) are being used due to a chosen Ancient One or Prelude card, place them adjacent to the main board.

2. Organize Tokens:

   • Create a Gate stack by shuffling the nine Gate tokens face down and placing them within reach.
   • Create a Clue pool by shuffling the Clue tokens face down and placing them in a pile. If side boards are in use, include their specific Clue tokens and Gate tokens.
   • Create a general token pool with all Health, Sanity, Improvement, Travel Ticket, Eldritch, Mystery, and Rumor tokens. Also add any standard expansion tokens, Focus tokens, and the Adventure token. Add all Impairment tokens to this pool as well.

3. Choose and Place Investigators:

   • Players decide who receives the Lead Investigator token.
   • Starting with the Lead Investigator and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses an Investigator, takes their corresponding Investigator sheet, and places their Investigator token on the space indicated on the back of their sheet.

4. Receive Starting Possessions, Health & Sanity: Each investigator takes the starting possessions listed on their sheet, including any Assets or Spells. Then, they take Health and Sanity tokens equal to their maximum Health and Sanity, placing them near their sheet.

5. Determine Ancient One: As a group, choose one Ancient One sheet. Place the chosen sheet face up near the board and resolve any setup effects listed on it.

6. Create Monster Cup: Place all non-epic Monster tokens into an opaque container (like a bowl or box lid) and shake to randomize them. Epic Monster tokens are not included.

7. Separate and Place Decks:

   • Remove and return to the game box any Research Encounter cards, Special Encounter cards, and Mystery cards that do not correspond to the chosen Ancient One.
   • Shuffle all Expedition Encounter cards into a single deck.
   • Shuffle the Spell cards and Condition cards into separate decks. Place these face up.
   • Set the Mythos cards aside for later.
   • Separate all other cards by their backs and shuffle each deck.
   • Shuffle and place the Unique Asset deck near the standard Asset deck.
   • If applicable, shuffle and lay out the Mystic Ruins Encounter cards.
   • If applicable, shuffle and place the Adventure cards near the board.

8. Draw Prelude Card: Draw one random Prelude card and resolve its effect immediately, unless it specifies otherwise. These cards alter setup and game conditions.

Game Flow

The game of Eldritch Horror progresses through rounds, each consisting of two phases:

1. Action Phase: Starting with the Lead Investigator and proceeding clockwise, each investigator performs up to two actions. Investigators can perform each type of action only once per round.

2. Encounter Phase: Starting with the Lead Investigator and proceeding clockwise, each investigator resolves one encounter. If an investigator is on a space with Monsters, they must resolve Combat Encounters first.

After the Encounter Phase, the Mythos Phase occurs:

1. Advance Doom: Advance the Doom token one space on the Doom track.

2. Draw Mythos Card: Draw the top card of the Mythos deck and resolve its effects. These cards often spawn Monsters, Gates, or trigger other world-altering events.

3. Advance Omen: Advance the Omen token one space on the Omen track.

The game continues until a win or loss condition is met.

Actions and How to Play

During the Action Phase, investigators can perform the following actions:

• Travel: Move your Investigator token to an adjacent space. You may then spend Travel Tickets to move additional spaces, one per ticket. Train Tickets are used for Train paths, and Ship Tickets for Ship paths.

  • Moving to Side Boards: Specific paths connect the main board to side boards. Some movements between side boards and the main board do not require an action but can only be performed once per round. Other movements may be part of an Acquire Assets action.

• Rest: Recover 1 Health and 1 Sanity. This action cannot be performed if there is a Monster on your space.

• Trade: Exchange Assets, Spells, or Artifacts with other investigators on the same space.

• Prepare for Travel: Acquire Travel Ticket tokens. Consult the manual for details on how many tickets are acquired.

• Acquire Assets: Gain Asset cards. This may involve spending money or other resources. Some effects may allow you to gain a Debt Condition to add successes to your test result.

• Focus: This action is introduced in certain expansions. Consult the manual for details on this section.

• Component Actions: Some components may have specific actions associated with them. Consult the manual for details on this section.

Tests: Many effects require investigators to perform a Test. To resolve a test, roll dice equal to your skill value. If you roll at least one "5" or "6", you pass. The number of successes is your Test Result. You may spend a Clue token to re-roll one die immediately after rolling.

Improvement Tokens: These tokens increase a skill's value. When you improve a skill a second time, flip the token to its "2" side.

Impairment Tokens: These tokens represent permanent impairments to skills. They negate Improvement tokens. An investigator cannot impair a skill if it would reduce its modified value below 1, and a skill cannot be impaired more than twice.

Delayed Investigators: Investigators can become Delayed, preventing them from performing actions. To recover, they stand their Investigator token upright during the Action Phase.

Lost in Time and Space Condition: This condition removes an investigator from the game board, making them unaffected by most game effects. They win or lose with the group.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends immediately when one of the following conditions is met:

• Victory: Investigators immediately win the game if they solve three Mysteries.

• Defeat: Investigators lose the game if any of the following occur:

  • The Doom token reaches the "0" space of the Doom track, signifying the Ancient One has awakened.
  • All investigators have been eliminated from the game.
  • A card effect causes investigators to lose the game.
  • The investigators are required to draw a Mythos card but cannot because the Mythos deck is empty.

There is no specific scoring system detailed in the provided text for determining a winner beyond the immediate win/loss conditions.

Tips for Winning

• Utilize Clues Effectively: Clue tokens are vital for solving Mysteries and can be spent to re-roll dice during tests, increasing your chances of success.

• Manage Health and Sanity: Keep a close eye on your Health and Sanity. If either reaches zero, your investigator is defeated, which can lead to a loss for the entire group.

• Strategic Movement: Plan your movements carefully. Traveling to different locations is key to gathering information, acquiring necessary items, and confronting threats, but be mindful of the different path types and the Travel Tickets required.