How to play Arkham Horror Card Game Rules
Essential instructions and gameplay to get Arkham Horror Card Game started quickly..
If you like it, please share this page! My goal is to make it easier for tabletop gamers to get their game started!
This section covers gameplay rules.
Click here to get our guide on how the setup Arkham Horror Card Game.
Players: 1 to 2 | Game duration from: 60 mins | Game Complexity: EASY
How to play Arkham Horror: The Card Game rules in simple steps Arkham Horror: The Card Game rules pdf / rulebook | Play Arkham Horror: The Card Game Online Link 1 [amazon box=”B01L3ZTXS0″]
What is the objective of Arkham Horror Card Game?
Players take the role of investigators and work together to solve mysteries and overcome challenges by building a card deck around their investigator’s abilities. A series of inter-related scenarios create a mysterious storyline. Explore dangerous locations, find clues and attempt to evade or defeat the Mythos treacherous forces. As players progress, they gain experience and add powerful new high-level cards . The danger and challenges also increase, and they must protect themselves and solve the mystery.
Step by Step Guide on How to Play Arkham Horror the Card Game
Step by step guide on how to play Arkham Horror Card Game. The game is played over a series of rounds. During the round, Investigators go through Mythos Phase (encounter the forces of the Mythos), Investigation Phase (move and explore locations), Enemy Phase (defend against enemies) and Upkeep Phase (re-group and plan for the next round) . During 1st round of the game, skip the Mythos Phase. Once all phases are over, the round is over and the game proceeds to next round. Here are the steps and rules for each phase.
richardlow 90 minutes
Mythos Phase
In this phase, players encounter the forces of Mythos. Skip this phase if it is the 1st round of the game.
1. Place 1 doom token on the current agenda
2. Compare the total number of doom tokens in play and doom threshold of current agenda
If the number of doom tokens in play is equal or greater than the threshold, advance agenda deck by:
– removing current doom tokens in play
– flipping current agenda card over and following instructions on the reverse side
– remove agenda card from play after following instructions,
– draw next card from agenda deck to become active agenda card
Investigators draw Encounter cards
In player order, each Investigator draws the top card of the encounter deck. There are two types of cards and ways to resolve them:
Treachery – when drawn, resolve ability and discard
Enemy – when drawn, an enemy is spawned and Investigator who drew card engages the enemy (unless instructed by card)
ENGAGING ENEMIES
An enemy can be engaged with an Investigator when drawn or engaged when the Investigator and Enemy are in the same location. Once engaged, it follows the Investigator. If multiple Investigators are at the same location, the Lead Investigator chooses which of the Investigators the enemy engages.
Some Enemies have a “Prey” instruction that dictates who they engage.
Investigation Phase
Each Investigator takes a turn. As a group, choose who to go first. When an investigator’s turn ends, choose the next investigator and so on.
Each Investigator has 3 actions during the turn. There are various tasks that may be performed and they can be done in any order or as many times they like, as long as there are enough actions.
Draw a Card
Draw 1 Card from top of your deck
Gain a Resource
Take 1 Resource from the token pool.
Activate an action trigger ability
Investigator resolves action trigger ability on an encounter card at their location or on current act or agenda card
Engage Enemy
Investigator engages the enemy and places the enemy in their threat area.
Investigate Current Location
Move to New Connecting Location
Play Asset/Event Card
Evade Enemy
Investigator engages the enemy and places the enemy in their threat area.
Fight Enemy
Investigation Phase: Investigate Current Location
Conduct intellect test against location’s shroud value. If test succeeds, discover 1 location clue and take one clue on the location and place on your investigator card.
No clues are discovered if test fails.
Investigation Phase: Investigate Move to new connecting location
Move your mini card to any location marked as connection to current location (indicated by icons at bottom of location card). If connecting location is unrevealed, it is turned to revealed side.
Investigation Phase: Play Asset or Event Card
Play selected card by paying resource cost. For event cards, resolve effects and place in your discard pile. For Asset cards, place them in your play area and it remains there until ability/effect causes it to leave play.
Investigation Phase: Fight an enemy
Conduct combat skill test against enemy’s fight value. If successful, deal 1 damage to enemy (may be modified by weapons, spells or special attacks). Place damage tokens equal to damage dealt on enemy. If enemy is defeated, place card in encounter discard pile. If enemy has Victory points, place it in shared Victory Pile instead.
If combat test fails, damage value of failed attack is applied to you instead.
Enemy Phase
Enemies go after the Investigators in this phase.
Resolve the following steps (if there are no enemies, move to next phase)
1. Hunter enemies move
2. Enemy attacks
Enemy Phase: Hunter enemies move
Enemies with hunter keyword move once to a connecting location in direction of nearest Investigator.
Exhausted hunter enemies and hunter enemies at a location with one or more Investigators do not move.
If hunter enemy moves into location with Investigator, it immediately engages that Investigator.
Enemy Phase: Enemy attacks
Each ready engaged enemy attacks their corresponding Investigators. Investigators resolve attacks in player order.
During Enemy attacks, deal both damage and its horror value to the engaged Investigator Damage reduces Investigator’s health value
Place damage tokens on Investigator’s card or asset cards that have health
Horror reduces Investigators sanity value
Place horror tokens on Investigator’s card or asset cards that have sanity
If damage or horror exceeds the asset card’s health value, it is defeated and discarded
If damage exceeds Investigator’s health or horror exceed’s Investigator’s sanity, Investigator is eliminated from the game
Value can be found at the bottom of the Enemy card
After the attack, exhaust the enemy. Enemies are not exhausted during attacks of opportunity.
Upkeep Phase
In preparation for next round, resolve the following steps:
Each Investigator turns their mini card face up
Ready all exhausted cards. Unengaged enemies that ready at the same location as an investigator engages at this time as well.
Each Investigator draws 1 card and gains 1 resource
Those with more than 8 cards on hand have to choose and discard until only 8 remain
Winning in Arkham Horror Card Game
Players need to work together to advance through the scenario. Act deck represents the progress of the Investigators/players in a scenario. Advancement is achieved through spending clues. Spent clues are returned to general token pool.
Advancing through the spending of clues DO NOT COST ANY ACTIONS and can be done during any INVESTIGATOR’s turn.
Number of clues required can be found at the bottom of the current Act Card.
If Act Card has an “Objective”, flip card over to “b” side and follow instructions on the back and set aside. Next Act Card becomes the new current active Act Card
As the players advance through a scenario, they will eventually reach a resolution.
Some of these resolutions are favourable (and can be considered “wins”); others are less favourable and leave the investigators in bad situations.
Players win by trying to advance through the different scenarios to a “FAVOURABLE” resolution.
If Agenda Deck reaches the end, a (usually darker) event will occur.
When any encounter card triggers a resolution—denoted by the text “(→R#)”—the players have completed the scenario and should refer to the resolution text that matches that number in the Campaign Guide to discover what happens next.