The game underwent several revisions in this process. In 2004 online game company Skotos acquired the rights to Arkham Horror from Richard Launius, and later arranged publication with Fantasy Flight Games. Chaosium announced reprints several times, but they never occurred, and Chaosium discontinued production of the game in 1991. The original printing of Arkham Horror sold out. Arkham Horror was the only of these games to see professional publication.

Īrkham Horror was one of several Lovecraft-based board games submitted by Launius, with other designs from the same period including 'The Trail of the Brotherhood', 'DreamQuests', and 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'. The game won the 'Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Boardgame of 1987' award in the Origins Awards, becoming the first Lovecraft themed board game to achieve significant popularity. It was edited in-house by Chaosium, who added such features as the Doom Track, a method to track progress toward the total failure of the players, and was published in 1987 as Arkham Horror. by Richard Launius as Call of Cthulhu: The Board Game, a new strategic game based on their Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. In the second edition, when the doom track fills, this typically begins a final opportunity for the players to directly defeat the creature and win otherwise they lose.Īrkham Horror was originally submitted to Chaosium Inc. In the 1987 edition of the game, this ends the game, and all players lose. As gates open, a 'Doom Track' advances if the track reaches its end, a powerful horrific creature known as the Ancient One breaks through into Arkham. While exploring city locations or other worlds, the investigators face random events which may benefit or harm them.

The investigators travel through the city, avoiding or fighting the monsters that enter through the gates, visiting city locations to acquire tools, and ultimately entering the gates.Īfter traveling to the other world and returning, the investigator can try to close the gate.

Each investigator has several attributes (such as 'sanity'), and cards representing items, spells, and other things. Gates to other planes open throughout the town (represented by tokens placed on the board.) Players take on the role of investigators, represented by a character card. Street, building and outdoor locations are featured. The game board is set in Lovecraft's fictional Massachusetts town of Arkham in 1926.

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