Arkham Horror LCG Review (Revised Core Set) - Help My Wallet?
Vložit
- čas přidán 14. 07. 2024
- Fantasy Flight Games has released a new revised core set for the Arkham Horror card game! This Living Card Game is constantly printing new cards in a unique blend of role playing and deck builder. In classic lovecraftian board game fashion, 1-4 players will each choose an investigator and scenario. The main win condition goal won't be known yet, as you'll have to complete objectives from act cards. Turn after turn, you will perform actions that will eventually progress the scenario and draw encounter cards along the way. As always, flavor text in on point here, monsters are particularly menacing, the locations set an excellent scene, and elder signs activate awesome character abilities! The cardplay is excellent with a wide variety of ways to play around with the game's mechanics and strategize how to use your resources. However, Arkham Horror LCG only has 3 scenarios (though it's more like 2.5), and for 60 bucks, is that enough bang for your buck? And would you even prefer the card based gameplay over other lovecraftian games like Eldritch Horror or Mansions of Madness?
Support us on Patreon:
/ shelfside
Our Website!
www.shelfside.co
Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
amazon.com/shop/shelfside
Table of Contents:
Intro - (0:00)
Overview - (0:41)
How to Play - (1:15)
Pros - (3:28)
Cons - (19:21)
Recommendations - (25:29)
Ashton's Personal Score - (29:03)
Games featured: Eldritch Horror, Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-gi-oh, Ashes: Reborn
Shelfside Social Media:
/ shelfsideyt
/ shelfsideyt
/ shelfsideyt
Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: / ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: / doyduh2
Stuff Used: Michael Vrazitoulis- A lovecraft Dream
• A Lovecraftian Dream |...
#boardgames #tabletop #review - Hry
Some people have pointed out that in 4P, you can start to build your team comp a lot more better, and even cover up each other's weaknesses! While this doesn't change the randomness of flipping so many encounter (bad) cards, it certainly does make the difficulty easier than predicted. If ya got more info on 4P, would love to hear! -Ashton
If you're playing solo, you kinda need to be able to do everything at once. You need to be able to handle enemies, otherwise you'll get overwhelmed. And you need to be able to get clues, otherwise you won't be able to progress. And you need to do all of that consistently. I think pure solo is probably worst way to play due to how restrictive it is on your deckbuilding. The more players in the party, the more each player can safely specialize. For example, one player can be a dedicated clue gatherer, while the other - a monster killer, none of which would fly on their own in solo.
@@ABIGPLAN Thanks for this! I've only played Roland solo, and found his ability to get clues off of combat REALLY helpful for tempo and 'beating' locations where his lore just didn't cut it. Time to two headed next time! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Roland is pretty good all-rounder thanks to his ability, high strength, and decent intellect. Good choice.
Watch "The Whisperer in the Darkness" youtube channel. They have done a break down of each Investigator in the revised core. Check out their take on Wendy, this sounds like your style. There are now close to 50 completely different investigators for the game. And you can take the newest investigators, go back to the first scenario and they are all on equal footing with the original investigators.. The balance in this game is amazing. Never get tired of all the ways to play the game.
@@robertthurman9866 thanks for this! luckily wendy is in the base set too, so I'm gonna play her first next time. But 50 investigators!!!? That's crazy, no wonder ya can just keep playing ahaha -Ashton
Solving the mystery by throwing money at is hilarious
One investigator from the expansions is literally designed to just keep throwing money at his problems - he's a weakling, but has a large inheritance (in the form of constant resource influx), and just pays his way through the game. :)
@@DrMcFly28 I’ve heard some people had a blast turning Preston Fairmount into the “werewolf millionaire”. However winning “Curse of the Rougarou” is a tall order.
As a big fan of tcgs I really like arkham horror, for me the game plays really well. I like how it can be played cooperative or solo and both ways feel complete. The multiple layers of randomness make each replay feel different, preventing me from getting bored with just the same scenarios. I also really like the deck-building element since each deck feels very diffrent depending on your investigator, what you choose to focus on, and what the other players decks are doing. The dual nature of cards also feels great since it adds to the layers of strategy. For me gameplay comes before everything and arkham knocks it out of the park, my only complaint is how long setup can be. While not on the same level as the gameplay I found the atmosphere and the story to be stellar with how everything fits together to create a good story. This comes from the multiple endings, the flavor text on (the agenda, act, and locations), the art all giving off a dark noir vibe, and the fear of reaching into the chaos bag and pulling a bad number. Only real overall big complaint for the game is just how expensive it is to collect, protect, and store. Since you always want to be expanding for more cards or scenarios. You will need to sleeve all those cards in order to keep them looking good. Then once they are all sleeved they take up a lot of room so you need to do something about storing it.
Yep, in the expansions the encounter cards are getting stacked just as you wanted them to. By advancing the agenda new encounters get added to the pile, which then in turn make new enemies appear.
As you said the theme just drips from these cards and the deckbuilding gets so enticing once you have some more build options to choose from.
I adore the arkham horror lcg, and I especially like the path to carcosa and the circle undone, as the latter had my most memorable board game experience where our group was narrowly able to win by sacrificing one of our own.
That was a very thorough and complete review. For me the game is a perfect 10, but that is me. Your observations on four player and and the repetitive nature of the Agenda and Act cards are valid. In many of the later campaigns you have several Agenda and Act #2 cards and which one you use is determined by events that may or may not have occurred earlier in the game. It does get much better as far as replay ability. However it will still not be a game for you. That is the one thing nice about living in the golden age of gaming is we can all find that perfect game. Good hunting!
Cheers man! I've actually gotten comments that say that 4 player can be easier since you can assemble your team in a more directed way. The sheer increase of randomness part will still be a thing, unless you deckbuild with some expansion cards to start preventing them apparently. The jump from 2 flips, to 3 flips a turn for 2 vs 3 player was really the turning point for me in multiplayer to get me a little frustrated.
So many games for sure, especially lovecraft and/or LCG! Keep playing games :) -Ashton
I'm with @Robert Thurman that AH LCG is a 10/10 for me but IMO that's only if you rate the game's entire catalog as it currently stands. And that's SO HARD to do as a new player. The advice that was given to me by the person that introduced me to the game is that the core set is "the tip of the iceberg" in terms of the design and storytelling possibilities. With each campaign, that continues to be more and more true for me.
This is definitely a "long haul" game as @Shelfside indicated. And I think the review is accurate if you're judging the game based off of the core set alone. "This game is basically a demo". So true.
I love this game. Your review is concise and very well done, my pick for the best video to show others what this game is about to garner their interest.
Great review! I'd argue that the game becomes somewhat easier the more players there are, due to being able to cover the other investigators weaknesses. Love the new artwork and it's nice they provided a decent insert.
thanks for sharing that! I reasoned that the randomness overrode the investigator weakness compensation, but seems like that wasn't quite the case! I would imagine that the investigator team comps get way better past the base game too -Ashton
As much as it is a money sink, buying the core expansions drastically improves the experience. The cycles are much more replay able and because they are 8 scenarios long the deck building really gets to flourish. I can understand the hesitancy and even if you were to grab it I would recommend waiting for the rerelease of the cycles (so you don't have to hunt down all the mythos packs)
Thanks for this! It definitely seems like once you hit a certain point, the replayability just gets good with the deckbuilding and investigator depth. I will keep an eye on the rerelease of the cycles, and am holding onto my copy of the game in case I do get a desire to give it another go -Ashton
I personally can’t wait for the reprint of The Dunwich Legacy campaign in this new release format. It’ll be so much easier to collect (even if it’s $100 for both the investigator and campaign boxes)
Your sentiments almost exactly match mine when I got the core set. The game improved dramatically once I invested in a single expansion campaign (Dunwich Legacy)… of course it’s a lot more cash to spend, but if you like the gameplay enough and see some promise I would highly recommend getting at least one expansion cycle to blow the game wide open!
another one recommending to buy more sets huh! The core set has been put aside for now... will return it seems :) -Ashton
The best and most accurate thumbnail in board games
As for my experience 4 players is easier because every archetype can be so much more focused on one role. You can have your seeker staying at locations cleaning them off clues and your fighter will always have stuff to attack being relevant. Also, doom doesn't scale on player count so you have more actions (granted also more actions needed) before the agenda advances.
Anyways great review :)
Thanks for sharing! I actually did not take into account how doom doesn't scale on player counts, you're right! I think in our 3P games we were concerned on the 'doom advancing' agendas, and that's why I got the impression that doom was scaled. -Ashton
Very useful video. Thank you!
Love your reviews
thank you!!! Got more stuff coming all the time :) -Ashton
the middle syllable of Necronomicon is “nom” like nominal. So it’s a play on “name (or words) of the dead”.
I like this game a lot, but imo it only shines with campaign play, which is a huge investment. I also prefer it in multiplayer, since there’s fun to be had in the atmosphere of chaos and overwhelming futility and celebrating the high highs of drawing the right tokens on a skill check.
Thanks for the review!
Hey! Thank you for the pronunciation, I think we've always been saying it wrong so this really helps to clear things up. Still a fun word to say for me! For sure, definitely seems like campaign play is the way to go, but glad I could help ya guys out by covering this core set! Perhaps more Arkham LCG from us in the future? Very uncertain :) -Ashton
I love how you describe Wendy as a 'homeless lady' when she's just a little kid 🙂
If you do ever find yourself interested in exploring more of the game, definitely try to find the Carcosa cycle. As for side scenarios; Murder at the Excelsior, Curse of the Rougarou, War of the Outer Gods.
Ahaha I don't know why I always pictured her as a homeless lady, but yeah she is quite young. I think that's because we RP her as just a homeless lady in Mansions! Thanks for the scenario suggestions! -Ashton
Thanks for the thorough review, I just picked this one up and was bummed it only came with three scenarios. If I enjoy my initial playthrough I'll probably pick up an expansion to see if it adds more fun. I believe the expansions add 6 more scenarios per box.
I see a lot of potential in the core game's story and choice, kind of like a d&d game without a DM. This appeals to me cause I've played the DM a lot in the past and it is nice to be a player in the story with everyone else. The token bag does seem to get a bit grueling after a while, especially when the encounter and monster draws conspire to give you a bad day. I think our next game will be with an "easy mode" token bag so we can enjoy the story and not get bogged down with card playing/management so much.
I definitely feel this way too! We had one game on expert, and were like... nah this really isn't fun with the bag grabs, let's go back to standard ahaha. I will recommend Mansions of Madness for being part of a cool story! I used to DM Call of Cthulhu RPG, and it fills in that spot of getting me that lovecraft feel without the prep work. Cheers! -Ashton
A good and thorough review of the game. Very entertaining as well!
Thanks mate! More coming for ya guys :D -Ashton
@@Shelfside looking forward to it!
Playing the first scenario of the Arkham LCG, I was surprised at how immersive the location cards felt. Like, by having just a picture and destription, it allowed my imagination to picture so much more than what a picture of a floor on some cardboard would do. But then, that didn't quite seem to last going into the second scenario, where each card is either a whole section of the city or a building.
I felt a similar way! I could really get into the feeling of my house in the beginning, reading all the flavor text and just seeing the act/agenda cards line up really well. But even in the conclusion of that scenario for me, I kind of... forgot where I was in the house. This 'forgetting' where I was got worse in the 2nd scenario, slightly better in the 3rd scenario, but I tended to think of location cards as just 'cards' at some point, not actual locations like I would move onto in other lovecraft games. I felt like the 2nd scenario had ridiculous potential, but due to the nature of the game, it just had to be streamlined. Heard the 'midnight masks' is a pretty cool story overall too -Ashton
@@Shelfside I personally found it hit the sweet spot for me. Picturing cultists swarming to the library as roland apprehends and interrogates them (or picks up clues from their corpses) was hilariously vivid to me. I feel like all it took was just looking at the board state while my partner was doing their turn to quip up some silly anecdote of what was happening.
Funnily enough, the allies just do so much for me to get that feel of having side characters. Picturing Rita running back from the library to downtown chasing the 'byakee?' thing that snatched Roland was a fun bit of imagery to.
That said, the tactical card play is what makes this thing come together for me ultimately. I do have a bit of cognitive dissonance about my sudden desire to go out buying a bunch of crap though (was originally going to wait until the dunwich cycle and just sit on that for awhile and just MAYBE get the carcossa one when it came if we got enough out of it, but now I'm tempted to get investigator packs, the edge of earth stuff, maybe another one off scenario (already got the hotel...lol)).
A very slippery slope this game is lol!
@@anjovimusic Thanks for sharing! As you guys continue to tell me about your awesome stories I am opening up more to buying more packs... agh a slippery slope indeed. I do kind of wish there was a version with tiles, and maybe I'll just use my own minis too. Roland as a character actually really entertained me too, love his silly fed style :3 -Ashton
Thanks for this. Please do a review of one Arc to get a view of the next step. As to content and the experience. Base box is a teaser for sure. I hear Carcosa arc is good or maybe try the new one box edge of the earth.
Heard carcosa was also good! One day it seems, and there has been many a rumbling around here to buy more boxes ahaha -Ashton
Fair and great review! Only LCG left to review is Marvel Champions. I am kinda curious if Marvel Champions LCG would get a lower or higher review than your Arkham Horror. Love your channel and keep up the great content!
Thanks mate! We're gonna take a break from LCGs for now, so many games to cover for us! But we have heard many a requset for Marvel LCG, will keep it in mind :) -Ashton
great video!
Thank you! -Ashton
Tho your insights are just for the core set. Where they are more true. The 3 random things you mensioned.
1 doom bag: If you can get 2 above what you need it’s about 80%-75% chance of success.
2. Encounter deck: there is ways to negate these cards. And they all mostly willpower and agility tests.
3. Player cards: about 15 different cards in deck and selective mulligan helps to start. And with good cards you can go throug the deck faster.
Thanks man! The mulligan certainly did help our games. Having ways to negate encounter cards is awesome! I don't think I saw any of them in the core set, at least in the preconstructed decks, but that would definitely add more tension with decisionmaking. Cheers! -Ashton
@@Shelfside i do not remember what where in the core set anymore. But yes there is cards to negate the encounter deck. There is also cards that tell you take multible tokens and choose one to keep. And many others. The core set is just a intro. What I have seen from the dunwitch legacy (they will do a 2 box version of this soon) the scenarios do not seem that hopeless. Compared to the last scenario in the core set.
When there is more then 2 players these cards become very valuable. especially If you have ancient evils card in the encounter deck. That will ruin a run fast with 4 players. Tho with a full campaign you should not reset the game. To get good ending. It is much more fun when you have Failed some and they bite you later. In core set it does not emulate the failed scenario well.
With two players all dunwitch scenarios have been close and the looming failure makes the scenarios tense.
@@jaakkosippola7191 Sweet! Thanks for this information, it definitely seems like my next run-through will be a two-headed one to really flesh out the deckbuilding and team comp potential! Cheers! -Ashton
@@jaakkosippola7191also, 3 player is the sweet spot for arkham
I enjoyed this vid. Ya got yerself a sub.
thank you! More reviews coming! -Ashton
Honestly, Arkham LCG's core box is really a how-to tutorial, broken into three games. I have played midnight masks a million times (I use it to test my decks) but I don't think you truly get a feel for what Arkham really is until you've played a cycle. I think the criticism of cost is accurate - at no point would I say Arkham is a great 'value' game. It's worth it to me because I play it constantly, but if I didn't, I'd say it's quite pricy for what you get. The repetitiveness goes away as you have more content because you're not constantly replaying the same three scenarios and you have so many different investigators that you can build different ways that it keeps on being exciting. The chaos bag is not as random as it might seem. After all, you can normally math out the odds - on easy, being +2 means you succeed most tests, and +3 typically protects you from everything except auto-fail, so worth doing on key checks. Similar calculations for other difficulties. You may get unlucky or extraordinarily lucky, but that's fine. As you buy more cycles, you also get way more player cards, so the card pool feels far less limited. With just the core set, I agree that there really aren't enough options to truly enjoy deck-building much.
Unfortunately, Arkham is a very all-or-nothing game. It's great if you're going all-in and buying insane amounts of content (at bare minimum, core + full cycle, preferably with investigator starter decks), but really kind of subpar if you only own a little bit of content or if you play casually, not really trying to get to the full depth of it.
Thanks for sharing! The demo-y tutorial feeling of the box definitely got to me. It certainly looks like once you hit a certain threshold of expansions, the replayability gets really really good! We just unfortunately can't dig in that deep, and that's why comments like these are really useful to me (and others!) Cheers man! Agree on the all-or-nothing game personally, I have no motivation to take out the core set unless I have more cards to add -Ashton
This is probably my favorite game. But it is not cheap. My group takes turns buying the card packs to help with costs. With everyone using different classes wanting the same card is almost never an issue
that is super cool how you guys split it! I definitely think that is the way to go to keep costs down, and then awesome how you guys can consistently play together. Cheers! -Ashton
This is the boardgame that got me into boardgames with my buddies XD
that's awesome! Lovecraft magic doing its work it seems, Arkham Horror the Board Game was one of the first board games we played :D -Ashton
Arkham lcg has great coop gameplay that is just challenging enough on standard difficulty while still being winnable with good decision making.
Even if you are not a core fan of the Lovecraft story genre, the gameplay is enjoyable even if the rules can be a little tricky occasionally. Sometimes you make mistakes while learning the rules which will lead to unintended wins or losses, you just enjoy it and move on and do better next time. Some scenarios are easier with more players, some are much harder, due to certain encounter effects.
Its one of the few games from the arkham files which doesn't feel intentionally stacked against you. It is tough but it is fair.
I agree with your score of 5/10 for the core box because of lacking content, however if evaluated with the purchase of a full cycle the game is a 9/10 and only loses a point due to cost. Adding a full cycle adds a substantial cost. But almost every cycle is a great story and cycles such as path to carcosa are very replayable and respect your time with their straightforward setup.
I agree that the difficulty feels VERY well tuned! No complaints at all for a standard difficulty. The rules were surprisingly chunky, but again, not too many problems there.
It certainly seems like once you spend a decent amount of money, the game goes a LONG way, especialy in that replayability sector! Cheers! -Ashton
I've always thought that Location cards should have been large like the size of tarot cards. It would make the art on the cards and info on the card locations a lot better since everyone at the table will want to be able to easily read that information.
Totally agree on that! I think that would do wonders to help my personal enjoyment, yet I understand that from a cost standpoint, or even transportation, people would like them to stay the way they are. Just another personal barrier that prevents me from wanting to play 2+ -Ashton
I like this idea, but yeah, I can see why they didn't do that. They want everything to fit in a standard card box. I think that if they released the game in the revised format initially, it could have been possible and accepted. There are many scenarios that take up a lot of the table even with a standard card size though.
@@jalarson23 agree with this, I think lots of the accessibility appeal is having it all fit in those trading card deck boxes. Hearing that there's huge maps sounds epic :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside A lot of the "map" is revealed at certain points and that is part of the reason it's done this way. Depending on how the story progresses, certain parts of the map are shown or not shown.
@@jalarson23 thanks for sharing! -Ashton
I kinda feel the random card flips actually help with the replayability, it's like sometimes you get an epic play of Pandemic because the deck shat on you.
I think they do help! For me, the random card flips weren't quite enough variance to override the repetitiveness of the 2 story driven decks, but that's just me! cheers! -Ashton
The immersion opens up when you hit the campaigns and find a good theme for your investigators. I would highly recommend Murder at the Excelsior Hotel (a wonderfully replayable standalone) and the investigator decks for your second go around. Try out Jacqueline Fine, I think her playstyle will solve a lot of your issues with the game's randomness. On that note, you should consider what modifiers are in the chaos bag, and try to attempt skill checks that will overcome the lion's share of what you could draw, a lot of the scenarios' symbol tokens only hurt you if you fail the check.
Thanks for this mate! Does Jacqueline Fine also come in the Murder at the Excelsior Hotel pack? I've been recommended Path of Carcosa, so may go with that one first if I decide to delve back in.
We did find that having at least a +2 is good to give decent chance during the bag, otherwise the check is basically a fail. I think it may just be too much bag grabbing for me ahaha. Cheers! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Jacqueline Fine comes in her own investigator pack. Carcosa is a great campaign, and was the first one I purchased.
@@MrThorne522 noted! Cheers mate! -Ashton
If only they had started this whole series with a core set like this and expansions in 2 large boxes for scenarios and investigators seperately. It wouldve prevented so many headaches ...
I heard that even the velvet bag is new!!?? That blows my mind -Ashton
Great review. I also miss the other guy. You both make a great duo reviewers. Hope you can bring him back too. Also isnt it Necronomicon an not Necromonicon
Oh man, you're right on that pronunciation. Thanks for the clarification!
Daniel will be in some videos coming up, don't worry! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Great. Can't wait. You both make really good quality reviews with humor. Loving it
Yea im definitely gonna relax a bit on crazy edits and try to make more vids that dont take so long to make hahaha
-Daniel
@@Shelfside we love the crazy edits. We know it takes a lot of effort to make. Your channel is just waiting to explode to the moon with viewers best quality of reviewing I've seen on board game community.
Hey Ashton! Was wondering if you could recommend any of your favorite Arkham games and/or card games?
Love your channel and experience you bring to your reviews!!
Concurring with most comments, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to “just” review the core set scenarios as you’ll only get the true flavour of the AHLCG world after at least 1 full campaign cycle. Also, personally I felt the game became tremendously more enjoyable when we got over the “play to win” mindset and just immerse ourselves into the character and story and accept failure is inevitable..
Can’t wait to see how your experience may change after getting your hands on the re-release cycles ;-)
Sure thing! This review may just be a pre-cursor to me going down the rabbit hole, but I certainly wanted to share the experience of the core box, and the mechanics in it! Will see how much money I pump into this game in the future haha -Ashton
Great review, as usual.
I disagree on the vote but the opinions are well explained (for me it is a game only with structural defects related to the genre, and the identification increases by a lot once you create your own custom deck).
Just two tips (from a longtime arkham lcg player).
1-it is the only game for which I consider a playmat necessary (not those of the fantasy flight, but the more complete ones with all the spaces for the cards. I had mine made from a file bought on etsy), it improves a lot the ease and clarity of play, allowing you to focus only on gameplay and choices.
2-I highly recommend using one of the custom apps instead of tokens and the bag. It tends to cause semi-involuntary cheating (effectively mixing the tokens in the bag is much more difficult than it seems) and to lengthen the game a lot (consider that in subsequent episodes you will already have a lot to organize, check and keep an eye on, so anything that simplifies things is in my opinion to be used).
P.s. I'm glad you've been reviewing all major titles lately. i think it is much better for the algorithm and channel growth. at least in these early stages.
Thanks man! It's been fun reviewing these major titles, especially as you guys request them.
I actually had a line initially in here about how it felt like the core box wanted me to buy a playmat, with the slots for allies/accessories/etc. If I were to delve in deeper solo, that would be first of mind. I also didn't even know there was a custom app! That would definitely help, I did feel like the doom and clue token management could get a little clunky- I'm not a huge fan of double sided tokens when they're all that small. Cheers! -Ashton
I agree - the decks and card didn't really drive me in the theme
I wanna see you guys review Too Many Bones
oooh! Good suggestion, one of our friends has it, we haven't played it yet, but I would be open to making a review -Ashton
You should review Arkham Horror 3rd edition, which is a board game with cards. Fixes all the issues you have with the card game. Plus you can play solo.
I have been looking for reliable card sleeves. I have heard stories online about card sleeves that have torn or frayed cards along the edges.
I was wondering what brand you recommend or have used that protect the cards well?
good question! We haven't bought them in a while, but we generally use Ultra Pro card sleeves for our card games. They typically give you some extra sleeves too (~63 sleeves in a 60 pack), to account for some of the sleeves having some problems. -Ashton
Ryker Card Sleeves
Just curious. At 22:45 I see some cards in your gametable cupholder. Are those Arkham-related or your YuGiOh stash spot?
haha, I'm pretty sure they are Arkham related. Yugioh cards haven't been on this table very often -Ashton
At a few points in this review (like the start of the Recommendations) this game is called a deckbuilder. That confused me, since that mechanic didn't come up in the explanation. Are the other LCGs deckbuilding games like Dominion?
No, this is technically 'deck construction', where you build a deck before the game starts.
good question! Yeah as covered by Michael, you have a pre-built deck before the game starts -Ashton
It might be a dumb question, but since this is a "revised" set, does this mean that the expansions/booster packs will also be revised and re-printed, and the old ones are incompatible with the new one? I'm asking, because I really want to get into the LCG and I only have the Eldritch Horror game.
from all I know so far, they're planning on revising some of the biggest expansion sets to this, but I'm sure someone else can elaborate more! -Ashton
revised just means repackaged. The content is all the same, but is now in neat boxes
@@rattenusrattoonus1880dont talk what you dont know, the revised edition has more cards than the original core set. unlike the original core set, you dont need two core sets to deckbuild 2 good decks.
For me life is rife with randomness and that's what gives many games I enjoy verisimilitude along with more replay. I love this game, although I would have also preferred dice. 8.5/10 from me.
Very fair review. I'm a big fan of the game but it's definitely a wallet drain - especially with the old model where most of the packs will be playable cards that will very likely never see play.
Cheers Simon! I remember ya suggested we review it, so glad to see ya here. I'm just not that motivated to spend more money past $60 on expansions, but I definitely see the pull for people! -Ashton
In short: Cool game, should be half the price. That's for the whole thing btw, not just the core box.
I agree, many of my friends like to pick up the game used because of price! Cheers! -Ashton
Been thinking about it - If/when I make the investment, I'd have to cop the core + at least one of the campaign expansions boxes.
I'm playing Gloomhaven - and that game - for the value alone - trumps pretty much anything else I've encountered.
But Arkham Horror seems cool - and I like card games, so I think it'll be something that I'd enjoy.
But I think you're honestly paying for the Artist's work moreso than anything.
Gloomhaven completely blows this game out of the water when it comes to value ahaha. But at least this game has the bonus of being fairly transportable! Best of luck with the buying! -Ashton
I think you hit the nail on the head as to why i didn't enjoy the LCG as much as I thought I would. The card play aspect takes away from the immersion too much.
Cheers! Perhaps the expansions help a bit with this... but since you're deckbuilding weapons/assets/buddies to bring into this lovecraftian adventure, it just wasn't the right fit thematically. -Ashton
have your all tried arkham horror 3rd edition the board game, would like to know your all perspectives on it as immersion is what i am looking for as well as story, but the game length of eldritch and arkham is really putting me off. appreciate the in-depth review guys
well, awesome that Daniel picked it up the other day! Likely sometime next year for a review :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside thanks guys, you guys really do the best reviews and videos out there
@@victorybhg more stuff coming! Excited to see what we come up with :D -Ashton
Mansion of madness is great because of how it delivers a story to you. Arkham lcg is great because of how it let's you be the main characters of its story.
I would agree! Arkham LCG definitely makes it feel like you have more control too with your deck. I think for our group, that is really inconsistent, and likes simpler if lovecraft is at hand, Mansions is a cleaner fit. Good points! -Ashton
Hi, great video. Can you please measure Resource Tokens 3 and 5, Clue/Doom Tokens 3, investigator lead token ? I want to order the coin cases before my game arrives.
Sure thing. The resource tokens 3 size are 0.75 across, and the 5 tokens are 1 inch across. Both of these are hexagons.
The clue/doom token is a circle, and 0.75 in diameter.
The investigator lead token is 1.9 inches across, and is a pentagon. Lemme know if you need anything else measured! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Thank you very much, it helped me a lot.
This is what I thought when I tried it a few months back. Great concept and execution, but the way the core set is done, is just not for me. Maybe if it was 30€ I'd be more accepting of it, because I can get other way more replayable games for 60€ that are worth my time more. But with some expansions I saw I can see why this game could be a great buy for some.
same here! I got some of the LOTR LCG content vibes, but that was about $35 for me, and I couldn't really get on board with the $60 MSRP here from my value standpoint. But hey, the deckbuilding apparently boosts it MAD hard, even getting you to replay scenarios (I doubt the first one in this box though). Cheers! -Ashton
Who knew Roland would eventually jump franchise, turn to the dark side and murder everybody ...
Great vid. I agree with a lot of your points but think the story and upgrading of characters over the course of a campaign really makes up for the flaws.
As to the lack of a board, I completely disagree. I would argue that it has an incredibly variable board based on the cards laid out on the table. The core alone has a board that takes place in a house, then two different boards that crisscrosses the whole town of Arkham. Later campaigns have you explore a jungle, a temple, catacombs under Paris, a moving train, and different lovecraftian outer planes of existence.
Also the game has developed overtime and designers started leaving scenario cards out of play to start and then shuffle in the harder boss monsters as the game progresses.
Granted it takes investment beyond the core box to really get the joy of the game. FFG knows where their bread is buttered. But the same scenario played with different investigators can feel very different.
If anything, I would recommend trying one of the standalone scenarios like Murder at the Excelsior Hotel. It’s cheaper than a full campaign but has lots of variability. Only drawback is that it doesn’t come with new characters or additional player cards. And if you want to try a campaign I’d say Forgotten Age if you want an Indiana Jones vibe or Innsmouth if you want more of a mystery vibe.
Thanks for sharing Samir! See, I really liked the idea of having the variable board with the cards laid on the table, but in practice, I think the art was just too small that it didn't quite immerse me as well as I thought. Totally see the awesome scope it can make, and wow, going under Paris sounds super sweet. I did have a feeling that it would shuffle in more cards to the encounter deck over time, and glad that you confirmed my theory!
Have heard recommendations on Path of Carcosa, but will also keep your rec's in mind! Cheers! -Ashton
@@Shelfside carcosa is a really good campaign, but I know some of the blister packs to complete the campaign are harder to find. I would have an easier time recommending once it gets its full campaign in a box treatment.
But my biggest warning is that AHLCG can easily become a lifestyle game.
In for a penny, in for a pound. It does make for a good solo game though (like you said in your video) Playing two handed solo is my preferred playstyle.
@@biznesstime83 aaah! Lifestyle game is really hard on us right now. I suppose I will wait for the full campaign in a box thing, then see re-evaluate how I feel. And yep, I think I would like to revisit just playing everything two headed to get that investigator synergies. Cheers! -Ashton
Are you excited for unfathomable? It’s pretty much BSG with a love craftian coat of paint
oh so so excited. Got a buddy with it preordered, can't wait! Will get a review out for ya guys -Ashton
This is an interesting review of the game since the revised core set has been released. I'd say that your review is fair up to a point, but like you mentioned, this is a living card game. Meaning it's ever evolving. It's a mediocre introduction for many, but your also getting a lot of player cards that are meant to be built upon with expansions. That being said, there is a lot of free scenarios made by fans and some print to play scenarios that are sponsored too. The game gets much better with expansions too. It's just an investment. Of course, that can be a big barrier for some.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Definitely wanted to review this base set to give people an idea of the introduction here, but didn't know about the free scenarios. It's almost like a hobby in of itself, and you get so much out of it with the deckbuilding, community, and eventual massive replayability once you hit a certain involvement. Cheers! -Ashton
You are completely right. The core set is probably even lower than a 6 for me. Theirs almost no replay value and the card pool is so weak and devoid of fun interactions. The only thing that saves it is the branching storylines, theme and production value. It's honestly pretty insulting what you get for 60$. The value proposition certainly doesn't get any better as each cycle is like 100$ but even one extra cycle makes a huge difference in fun factor and replay value.
I'd say this game improves exponentially for every cycle you add (to a certain point). Just adding Dunwich, Carcosa and The Forgotten Age makes this an easy 10/10 for me and probably my favorite game along with Spirit Island. It's just a shame the core box is so poor on it's own. Like if they made it 100$ and added Dunwich it would have been so much better for new players.
you should trying Arkham Horror 3rd edition
I've thought about it, just couldn't pull the trigger on buying it on how crazily streamlined it seemed. Perhaps one day after our lovecraft backlog, still got unfathomable :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside cool ;)
Can you review TerraFyte next?
Arkham Horror lcg is by far my favorite game. It’s story driven, it has depth and an unsurpassable amount of customizability. Judging this game by just playing over and over the core set is not really a good to way to understand the brilliance and richness of this game. It is costly to play this game, that’s true. Having said all of this, your analysis of just the core set on its own is pretty accurate. Everyone that plays this game will tell you: the core set gets your card collection started and is in fact a big tutorial, but that’s all it is, a tutorial. It just gets much better from there.
Awesome! Really cool to hear that veterans can confirm that my analysis of just the core set is accurate. As many other commenters have pointed out, there are many recommended sets to delve into for more lovecraftian stories! Cheers! -Ashton
eldritch horror needs a 2nd edition so badly. They just need to fix the mythos deck (and perhaps the encounter decks also) to somehow be boss-specific so it tells a coherent story. That's all it needs to do.
Yeah, sometimes they can tell a really cool emergent story but it will just as often be a confused dream-like mess
-Daniel
Thanks for talking me off the ledge. Great review
glad this helped ya! Cheers! -Ashton
I loved arkham horror the lcg. But it was a little too clunky for movement for me and it just got too expensive. I sold all of it which was a lot and bought mansions of madness 2nd ed. And all of its expansions. I still had money left over too lol.
We love MoM 2nd ed over here! I'm sure the deckbuilding actually adds way more depth in Arkham LCG over it, but MoM is still my go-to pick for a lovecraft night. Plus you saved some money it seems :3 -Ashton
@@Shelfside I won't lie the cycles they had come out added a ton of replay ability. The original came out in 2016 so there is a ton of content. My favorite out of the cycles had to be the path to carcosa. The story was pretty awesome. But I just got burnt out moneywise and I wanted to be able to play with others more easily.
@@kyleweeks2941 Ok, great, that's another vote for Path to Carcosa! Man, it REALLY looks like you guys want me to dig in deeper huh... HMMM... :) -Ashton
This is a game I tried many times and just couldn’t get into it. I like the innovation with how it’s played. But I hate the lack of organization of the cards in the box. I hate that it’s near impossible to have random plays with people. Because a big part of it is making your deck but a random friend isn’t gonna know if they have a good deck.
Idk I see the appeal for some, but I just didn’t like it. And I know I’m being nit picky.. but the fact it didn’t come with a bag for the tokens pissed me off lol
Much like Marvel Champions, board game organization becomes a game in it of itself XD. It is a shame that they don't have some organized insert. But at least it was fixed with the revised core set. BGG has great horizontal or vertical dividers for organization. Between that and a dollar store foam board, problems were solved.
@@candle8389 yea but for me the organization was just part of the problem. Most board games have awesome inserts you can buy third party. Really it boiled down to the fact I’m not a fan personally of playing games solo, and it’s not a game I can just whip out and ask someone to play.. and I don’t wanna keep paying for more scenarios..
I'm with you on the organization for sure, I really did not like setting up each scenario with all the encounter sets and scenario cards. It really seems like I should come up with my own organization system, being that everything is the same size, with many multi-sided cards that can get jumbled together easily. Cheers! -Ashton
Where is Dunwich (first campaign) review?
While I do agree that (from a scenario perspective) the core set is very minimal; ones needs to understand that when buying an LCG, you are committing to buying expansions (that's just how that business model works, and that's how you get the most fun out of the game).
for sure! That's definitely why I couldn't assign an overall score: the journey certainly still has much more to go! It does feel like a bit of a hobby in itself with deckbuilding, organizing, etc., and that's super awesome. Cheers! -Ashton
I intially liked this game (8/10), but after playing Marvel Champions, I agree it's a 6/10). Theme aside, no luck bag in Marvel, and you cycle your deck much faster. Marvel is my favorite coop / solo card game.
man, looks like I need to try it then :3 -Ashton
Please do everdell. I really want to know your thoughts on it.
we just played it two days ago! Review slowly in the works :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside Thank you!
One thing that I like to tell new LCG players.....
If you like abundance as a theme and in the mechanics of the game, play Marvel Champions LCG.
If you like scarcity as a theme and in the mechanics of the game, play Arkham Horror LCG.
Both themes respectively fit like a glove.
cheers for this, looks like need to try Marvel! -Ashton
man i've dumped too much money into this game. bought every set up to Innsmouth. Waves of feeling awesome, and games of pulling 3 auto fails across 2 turns. I think you gotta have a group that likes it, otherwise, fuggedabouddit
We've had -4's twice in a row on our end, and yeah it definitely felt pretty disappointing, but then again, you can always weave a story around it! I personally just really don't like replaying the scenarios when I lose though, it can feel like a grind after a certain point ahaha -Ashton
@@Shelfside it's like the dark souls of board games to me. Replaying the scenario is hard when the loss is fresh on your mind, but it's a big part of the game. In a way, you learn more about the game and how you're supposed to play the game to win.
@@jalarson23 Great way to put it! Approaching it more like a serious minded video game is something I didn't consider, and now I want to play with Daniel who loves dark souls -Ashton
Too expensive for me, we need a blockbuster but with game rentals instead. i actually don't care about owning cardboard stuff, i just want the experience.
ahaha I would love that! I have heard that some local libraries will provide board game rentals: I haven't personally seen them, but it seems like an awesome thing! I also have gone to plenty of FLGS before covid to just try games out (Agricola and Cutthroat caverns comes to mind). -Ashton
I always feel weird when I hear someone swearing at a prize in lcg games. Every lcg core box is an investment that needs to be passed through, and if the core box doesn't meet expectations, selling it will pay off. I am also surprised you would prefer rolling dice. The feeling of holding a chaos token and pulling it out of a bag is incomparable to throwing a dice and its nicely customized in other scenarios.
Nice review, although I disagree with the rating :)
Thanks for sharing! Agree on the whole price thing, and it actually looks decently efficient for the price once you invest a couple of sets or so, since you can deckbuild like crazy.
I was surprised too that I would prefer rolling dice! But then again I'm typically not too opposed to rolling dice anyways, especially in lovecraft themed things. Cheers! -Ashton
I don't always recommend this, but in addition to the many other individuals recommending that you try out an expansion (doing it for the player cards alone adds so many more deckbuilding options), playing this game on Tabletop Simulator sounds like it could provide another interesting view on the game (there's a version of it floating around on the internet somewhere). The setup is mostly taken care of (so you don't have to go through searching through encounter sets), you can zoom in and out and magnify certain cards to look at everything in their full splendor, and you can pretty easily look at what each investigators' stats are. Furthermore the playmats are included so you can easily determine how many of each asset you can have in play (plus you've already purchased the game so you're still supporting the creators).
I don't think it's necessarily better, but it is an option to show how the game plays in another setting.
Thanks for sharing this! I generally like playing card games in person, especially for the sake of this review, but will definitely keep that in mind for the future! Definitely faster :) -Ashton
In later campigns the encounter deck actually progress with time in a scenario. Usually you dont shuffle all of the encouter cards in the deck from the beginning, those are added due to in game effects.
Plus, there is actually an FAQ online. :)
oh that's very helpful! Only got to play the base game so far, will definitely be covering so much more AHLCG in the future -Ashton
Let's compare this with Magic The Gathering
- Controlled budget for AH instead of chasing rare cards for stupidly high prices forever in MTG: advantage AH
- Some cards are better than others in AH, but they are still balanced overall. In MTG, they are definitely not : advantage AH
- Deep deckbuilding in both cases except, yes, MTG is older so deeper... AH is on the right tracks though :advantage MTG
- Toxic competitive community for MTG vs great collaborative gameplay for AH : advantage AH (at least, for me)
- AH can also be played Solo, and remains quite enjoyable! Or more precisely Soluo... You can simply control 2 characters yourself... Even 3 or 4 if you get enough cards and you're not afraid of the complexity (I suggest getting the characters starting decks for that)
Basically, AH is roleplaying with card decks and doesn't require a Game Master... You can even play on your own.
Best Board Game Ever from my point of view.
Replay value is also huge once you get plenty of characters and cards to play with...
Of course, this gets a little pricey over time... But not that much, considering the number of hours I spent playing it by now!
The only downside is that sometimes, some packs get out of stock. Reprints are coming, always, you just have to be patient.
(oh and these 5 ressources token are needed... very much... Try playing with Preston Fairmont to see... He's a millionaire :) )
ahaha thanks for sharing! Definitely agree how MTG can be so so pricey once you start delving into deckbuilding. Hoping to play and review some more AHLCG this fall! -Ashton
I have been looking for reasons to enter on this LCG… but I feel very annoyed by how FFGs squeeze your money… I haven’t play this game but I feel that they are selling me and incomplete game… for example why they do not include the come back box cards in this new release… those only have a few cards but for what I understand it gave the replay ability to the core game content… why Should I want to buy almost an empty box for so much money? Where is the value? Maybe some veterans on this game can gave me their points of view… maybe I just overreacting…
You’re not overreacting. I feel the exact same way
From a bunch of other comments, it looks like you need to buy at LEAST one more box for more deckbuilding + scenarios, so you're in about $120 MSRP!!? That's really steep for me as well, but hey fans of this game really like it, so much for the point I am curious on what's next. Just haven't had a desire to buy anytime soon. -Ashton
I played this game solo. I purchased the mod expansion for this game. I completed two campaigns. Dunwich Horror, a forgotten age. I didn't like this game. So I decided not to play the remaining expansions. I had to sell all of this game. Eldritch Horror, Arkham Horror 2nd and 3rd editions, and Mansions of Madness were much more fun than this game. I own almost all of FFG's Arkham Horror games. lcg was a failed game for me.
I hate the distribution model of this game. The basic edition in our country is an incredible overprice, AND WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A BAG INCLUDED!
the revised ed has a better distribution model, FFG ditched the "you need 2 core sets to deckbuild" mindset because all cards now come in 2 pcs. the revised core also has the bag included. its a really good game and ffg made it more accessible
I can confidently say that the core book campaign is one of the weakest. If you really want to get the "lovecraft" (Though technically Robert W. Chambers) horror aspects of story. Look at the Carcosa Campaign repack coming up.
It's generally considered to be the best campaign story with elements that aren't purely attached to card mechanics. One that actually both rewards and punishes playing it multiplayer in ways that you wouldn't singleplayer.
With the much smarter repackaged versions of the older campaigns splitting them into the "Campaign" and the "investigator cards", you might find Arkham Horror LCG clicks for you then like it did for me.
Thank you! More rerinforcement that I really need to check out the carcosa campaign. Will get it one day! -Ashton
Kinda sad that AHLCG gets a 5/10, the core set is supposed to be a tutorial and the game gets better with each expansion. and with the revise core set and ffg ditching the cycle packs, the game is now more accessible to new players. also the game is better experienced with each campaign so no need to but everything all at once.
though i understand the sentiment, the game is not really welcoming to new players to board game due to its difficulty.
I gave the Revised Core Box a 6/10. However, the expansions for this game are fantastic. The Core box is easily the worst part of the game. I will say though if you have problems with the core parts of the game with deckbuilding and co-op, it's more of that and maybe not for you. But it is better with more cycles.
I also would give this a 6/10 if I didn't have to play it so many times for this review ahaha. So many repeat plays definitely burned me out a bit. Will need to try the more cycles :) -Ashton
AHLCG is not horror. It's a puzzle. With never enough cards, unless you grab some off the internet and print yourself. There's at least 100 puzzles for free and at least 50 free investigators, so enough combinations to last a lifetime.
Only two real scenarios. Thats a pass. Replay value low. Thats a pass. The fact i already have Lord of the Rings LCG and still don’t know what to think of that. This is a pass.
glad this helped inform your decision! Lots of other lovecraft games out there for sure if LCG isn't for ya! -Ashton
I think the base game scenarios are terrible and overly difficulty/luck based. Also you don't have any real deck building. Dunwich Horror mixed in significantly improves the experience. The scenarios in this are much more entertaining too.
I also hated the base game and tried it about 10 times - 5 years later, I got the expansions and now I see the appeal.
well dang, more motivation to check out the expansions! -Ashton
If you like this... you'll LOVE Disney Villainous 😉
Ahaha I haven't forgotten, we just have so many games! I have a feeling I'll like Disney Villainous more than this one though x) -Ashton
I've only played the first scenario (twice) and thought that the game was "ok". My friend seems to really like it, and if he asks, I'll play again, but I'm in no way eager for it, but I'm also not big on the Lovecraft/Cthulhu theme. At this point it feels overdone like Zombies. It's like FFG has an idea for a game and says "what can the theme be?" and someone brings the warhammer down on the deceased equine in the room and then says "LOVECRAFT!!!!" and everyone cheers.
Look at "Unfathomable". FFG has this super amazing well loved Battlestar Galactica Game that they want to reprint but need to change the theme, so they just wheel out the dead corpse of Cthulhu and prop it up and dust it off. "Here it is! Lovecraft again!". ugh. They could have done so many different things, but they went with that. Ok..
I would be interested to see what your Marvel Champions review would be like, and even compare it to this game or the LOTR lcg. (which I've never played).
Marvel doesn't have the same scenario based story lines. So it feels like there is a bit more replayability there. Drop Spider-man and Iron-man vs Rhino, yeah, you won, now maybe try She-Hulk and Cpt Marvel against him to see if you can beat him. Increase his difficulty from a Stage 1/2 to a Stage 2/3.. then move onto Klaw and Ultron...
bahaha we've yet to try Unfathomable, so fingers crossed there if it can live up to the BSG hype! I also think the game is just 'ok' like you, and if someone asks, I'll totally play again.
I'm gonna take a little break from LCGs from now. I've never tried Marvel, but don't remember too much of the LOTR Lcg. I just remember equipping things being way more crazy in LOTR, since each player controlled 3 heroes, each with their own HP. Then the scenario design was way worse than it is in AH, and it was still 3! Man, it really does seem like replayability isn't even a deciding factor in these core boxes ;) -Ashton
First of all, I would heavily disagree that lovecraftian horror is a dead horse. It is very much alive and kicking horse. It might be "overrepresented" in board gaming (which I'm sure is not true if you take into account all the board games, not just popular/successful/FFG ones), but outside of it, you'll be hardpressed to find much of lovecraftian horror, not to mention actually good one.
Second, a company only has access to certain IPs, they can't just make the game in any IP willy-nilly. Aside from access, choosing IP is pretty important decision, as it is going to reflect on the interest to the game and sales. FFG has loyal lovecraftian horror playerbase, so this setting is not just a safe bet, but it is also san IP that they have access to and which makes sense in terms of what the game is about.
Third, they didn't half-ass it. They actually made a full brand new cast of characters for this game instead of re-using icons like they do with the mainline games.
Fourth, your replayability argument is kinda silly. The way you describe replayability in Marvel Champions can be done in Arkham Horror LCG x10. There are so much different characters, different ways you can build them, different team comps you can assemble with them, and different scenarios you can play them in.
Sad to see a 5 when MoM gets a 9, or 10. AHLCG is so much richer, strategic and thematic than MoM’s constant dice chucking. It’s overwhelming yeah, and deck building is not for everyone but this game is a 10/10 for me. Specially after playing the Dunwich and Carcosa expansions.
Cheers! I can only evaluate what I've played in this core box, so I'm hoping that with later expansions this game does in fact raise up! MoM does have constant dice chucking that has worn in me a little from later playthroughs, but a lot of the reason for fun in that is the deduction from connecting the NPC dots, or seeing my friends go insane and wreck havoc on the map. -Ashton
So, you haven't played Arkham Horror the Boardgame 2nd edition yet?
PS: Don't waste your time with the 3rd edition.
I've played AH way back about 6-7 years ago. I'm not sure if was the 1st or second edition. Actually played with Daniel! We the IDEAS it was going for, but felt it was -too- sandbox-y overall. Then, the mythos/encounter phase I remember being insanely random feeling, where cards will just teleport you all over the place. Would be interested in trying again, and I remember the game having stores, and cash for you to buy items was very exciting for us back then. 3rd edition just seemed... ok to me on a glance, never played it though -Ashton
kinda weird reviewing just the core set when it's pretty obviously not intended as a standalone, but fair play i suppose. be better to just do a real review and maybe warn people that the core box is just an intro. /shruggie don't even know where to begin with everything this video gets wrong, but basically sounds like it would prefer arkham: lcg to be another stale mythos game that dies after a few years. glad they didn't go that way and there's a good reason arkham LCG has lasted so long compared to everything else referenced in the video.