Arkham Horror
#1
Fri, 01/04/2013 - 20:02
Arkham Horror
I got this awesome board game for Christmas. Its based in the Cthulhu Mythos written by H.P. Lovecraft. The players cooperate and play against an evil god trying to take over our universe. Its a very difficult game and fans have dubbed it "the game that hates you" because you can spend hours playing it, get your asses kicked the whole time, and then lose anyway. Numerous expansions are available, adding many hours of fun. Does anyone play this?
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=6&esem=1
I've read about it but don't own it. I've been big into board games over the last year or so. This one you can play solo right? I think that's what appealed to me about that one. Would love to check it out.
Go to boardgame geek.com. Awesome site if you like board games. Arkham Horror is high on my want list. Over Christmas I picked up a very cool game. Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures. You basically have dog fights with the ships from Star Wars. Also picked up Pandemic and Star Wars The Card Game. I am more obsessed with board games than video right now.
Muchkin has been our most popular game in the house this year. Good for all ages - my 7 year old daughter can play on her own and my 5 year old plays on mom or dad's team. We have the Zombie expansion as well (I actually prefer vanilla Munchkin to the zombie add-on).
Yes, I have it and yes I love it. It is a great game, one that you can also play solo. Though as mentioned you should control more than one character. I have found you really should use 3+ as 2 just isn't enough to get things done. It has a great monster movement mechanic that can continually change how you play the game from turn to turn. The theme is amazingly well done.
The expansions are pretty cool, but honestly until you've played this game dozens of times I can't see wanting/needing any expansions. It is my understanding that the more expansions you have in play the longer(generally speaking) the game goes on. A few weeks ago I played an AH game that had 3 expansions. With 5 players it took about 5.5 hours. So it was quite lengthy, however 3 of those people had not played before and that significantly slows things down. There may have also been whisky involved.....
I definitely second the comment about boardgamergeek.com or bgg as it's commonly known to those into board games. It is a great site and you can find out information on any game you have or are thinking about buying. Rules questions, session reports, video/written reviews, and much more.
- Raider30
I am h2daddy on bgg if anybody else gets on the site. I will have to put Munchkin on my list also. I posted on bgg yesterday that I have trouble learning the rules of new games by myself so that I can teach my family (my gaming group). Watching videos help but still a problem. How hard is Arkham Horror to learn to play?
Munchkin is a super fun game. As long as your kids don't get upset when someone acts in a manner to foil their ambitions as that is a large part of the game, helping and hurting others. I've got 2 ten year olds and we have a blast with it.
I am the same way you are h2, I have a difficult time learning from a rule book. I much prefer to play the game already with someone who knows how to play it. I learn best that way. That being said, I taught myself AH. The rule book is extremely well done. In fact one of the most common responses on bgg in the AH rules forum is "follow the rule book". If I can do it I'm pretty sure anyone can. Due to the length of the game and the potential for downtime between turns I haven't tried playing this with my kids yet. I'm just not sure they would be interested.
Defenders of the Realm is a very good co-op game which can also be played solo. My kids do like this one. Also two other super good, super easy to learn co-op/solo games are Castle Panic and Forbidden Island. Both are pretty cheap too.(I think Forbidden Island is like $15 or so. Or Survive: Escape from Atlantis. This also is a great one for families, again if you have kids that can handle someone sinking their boat with a whale and eating their guy with a shark, heh.
- Raider30
I learn about the new games I want and the rules from watching Wil Wheaton's TableTop Gaming series (very well done).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6oMBSiL7Zs
Most of the games they play don't interest me all that much so I usually don't watch all his videos. Plus he's just got this 'punch me please' attitude that I have a hard time getting past(much like he did in STNG - my wife and I refer to him as "Fucking Wesley" whenever he shows up - as in ::groan:: "fucking Wesley is here again"). His videos are well produced though, but make sure to read the comments section as they sometimes get rules wrong(but hey, who doesn't!)
- Raider30
Thanks Lou. I will be checking those out. Picked up Munchkin. Not sure we are playing it right but we are having fun. Turns out my nine year old is meaner than shit. He loves to stickit to people.