Eldritch Horror Board Game First Impressions
Eldritch Horror is Arkham Horror on a larger scale.
But less table space.
Across the globe, ancient evil is stirring. Now, you and your trusted circle of colleagues must travel around the world, working against all odds to hold back the approaching horror. Foul monsters, brutal encounters, and obscure mysteries will take you to your limit and beyond. All the while, you and your fellow investigators must unravel the otherworldly mysteries scattered around the globe in order to push back the gathering mayhem that threatens to overwhelm humanity. The end draws near! Do you have the courage to prevent global destruction?
Having played Arkham Horror quite a bit I did want to give Eldritch Horror a try to see what the fuss was about.
I’m just going to look at the differences between the two.
Setup
Set-up time is a bit quicker, only due to the fact there’s less ‘stuff’. You still have to sort tokens, stack cards, pick and set up your character, and lay out the board for the particular Ancient One you’re against in this game.
You don’t have those changing stats on your characters, they’re fixed and can be upgraded.
Mythos Phase
The Mythos Phase (if that’s what it is called) is a lot smoother. The cards are easier to read and straightforward. Follow the symbols and you’re OK.
Actions
Actions are similar. You can move one space (No Speed stat) from City to City. As you’re moving to a City any Monsters there isn’t an issue as it’s a City, not a street like Arkham Horror, you have room to hide.
You can, as an action, take a Rail or Boat ticket to allow extra movement in later actions.
Also, you don’t have to go to the Hospital/Asylum to heal. You can just rest and gain a Sanity/Health. You can also buy stuff as an action from a selection of cards rather than going to a shop space.
Eldritch Horror Summary
Some other things I like…
Each Ancient One has its own deck making the story of the game a little better.
You can take a loan to help buy stuff, or you might get an injury. Later, if you still have the debt/injury/madness etc a Mythos card can trigger them. Maybe they send the boys round to ‘recover’ the debt, maybe you unknowingly signed a blood pact and you’re in serious trouble. Your injury could worsen, your mind could be taken over.
Yes, some cards are instant death… But who cares right? It’s Lovecraft.
All in all, it’s a good game. Better than Arkham? Yeah, probably but it’s Fantasy Flight, in 3 years time when it has 5 more expansions is that set-up/tear-down time going to be an issue again?
Jesta ThaRogue
