Not a "must" for Lovecraft - Fans ...

... Provides Arkham Horror. It gave us (me and 3 other mates that almost every Sunday to meet common game night) do not really like. Do not get me wrong, we found them all not bad, but all these 5 star reviews I can only difficult to understand.

The game material itself is bulging - many monsters must be fought, 8 Ancient One, 16 investigators (as is almost everyone's favorite - stereotype), endless many small Pappmarkierungen and at least as many cards. Say the scope is enormous.

I think further comments to game mechanics I can save myself, which you can read in other reviews. Primarily it comes to shut the gates and therefore arrest the big old, or to fight this when he shows up for.

What I want to say this yet - I know more than one of Lovecraft's stories. I would not describe myself as an ultimate fan, but the fascination of his stories and his spiritual work have left quite positive traces in me. In other words - the big old ones are just too awesome to not to like. And who reads between the lines, in addition to the horror stories also can recognize one or the other message. So I liked the setting of "Arkham Horror" but very.

Back to Arkham Horror.

The first major flaw is the game instructions. The is utterly confusing and leaves open questions. As we (wanted or play) for the first time playing, we sat for two hours at the table in order to understand the rules before we even began only with the first round. Of course I expect in any game, that you understand it right away, but there are also limits somewhere. Well, then we did not care, we were full of hope for a great game that unfolds its potential only with full understanding. Pages PDF hergehalten from the Internet, emerged from the more than from the original - - One week later a 5 has rulebook. In some cases we have even ransacked forums, just to know how the game works. Something does not have to be.

Furthermore you can like to ignore. But not about the fact that the game (for us!) Was simply boring.
Yes, boring. We have gesitzt four hours at a game (in which we had the rules quite well there and nurnoch rarely had to take the rules on hand), and there was not a single real "moment of tension". To put it to say so: The game is very complex, but it is this complexity does not pay off. You sit there and play half the time so to himself. Since one quasi play against the game, you have to play as a team. For, I'd say quite freely "Deathmatch - types" that's just nothing. There is also no real sense in the race as in games like Hero Quest eg. - A la first come, first served. I think this is a lot of bother - missing playful competition. At some point, it may be that one sits permanently in St. Mary's Hospital or the Arkham Asylum (to these places to get, if - I drücks times from the gamer lingo - Health / intelligence drops to zero). Battle - fight - endurance - intelligence, etc. is often put to the test, and depending on how you are the controller on his investigator cards, one is doing better or worse. If you get a particular card, you have the controls are just inconvenient and then one is unprepared (and by that I mean, one knows not jweiligen cards at the respective places), It's mostly in the pants. The game gives a nothing that is sometimes very frustrating.

And is important to mention - who themselves can not make mental cinema to the game, which should be equal to leave it alone.

And now for the big old. Whichever is pulled, certain game elements change. About the fascination of these beings I have to I think to say anything further. We once had a final battle against Nyarlathotep where 2 were swallowed up quite quickly by 3 investigators, and the last the great ancient quasi defeated (with no luck) on his own. Toll, won, we thought. Because the Ancient One could have the same emerge without nearly four hours yawning boredom and always the same Chose: Somehow come to the next gate, the other world survive (where you will be thrown but often in space and time).

My personal conclusion: potential wasted. The game is a playful quantity, rather than quality. The developers had better times endeavored thoughts to a more dynamic gameplay, rather than in details and the (not necessarily bad!) Facets (of the many extensions still potentiates itself) something to lose. Admittedly, we have not played it, but the first impression is more mediocre as well. Plus points are setting and diversity, but the latter is also a shortcoming somewhere. Lack of fun and boredom can therefore make up neither a bulging box even an octopus-headed monster. It is definitely not a "must" for Lovecraft fans, everyone else, I can only advise against it, that will deter it.