Overview

Arkham Horror (Third Edition) is a cooperative board game set in the Lovecraftian town of Arkham, Massachusetts, 1926. Players control investigators exploring the city to uncover clues, fight monsters, and prevent Ancient Ones from destroying the world. The game uses a scenario-driven system with modular map tiles, and all players win or lose together based on the scenario’s objectives.

Components

• 12 map tiles (5 neighborhoods, 7 streets)
• 4 scenario sheets
• 12 investigator sheets with matching tokens and plastic stands
• 6 reference cards
• Cards: 32 headline, 40 archive, 36 anomaly, 96 event, 72 encounter, 12 ally, 28 item, 10 spell, 26 special, 37 starting, 12 condition, 62 monster
• 48 clue/doom tokens
• 42 damage tokens (36x1, 6x3)
• 42 horror tokens (36x1, 6x3)
• 40 money tokens (31x$1, 6x$5)
• 24 remnant tokens, 30 focus tokens, 5 anomaly tokens
• 18 mythos tokens, 10 marker tokens, 6 activation tokens
• 6 dice
• Event deck holder
• Rules Reference booklet

Setup

Setup varies by scenario. Generally:

1. Select a scenario and follow its setup instructions.
2. Build the map using specified map tiles.
3. Prepare the event deck, mythos cup, and various card decks.
4. Each player chooses an investigator, takes their sheet, starting items, token, and stand.
5. Place investigators and initial monsters/clues per scenario.

Turn Structure

The game is played in rounds. Each round has 4 phases:

1. Action Phase

Each investigator (in player order) performs up to 2 actions. Each action can be performed at most once per round. While engaged with a monster, you may only Focus, Attack, or Evade.

2. Monster Phase

1. Each ready monster activates (usually moves). Monsters entering an investigator’s space engage them.
2. Each engaged monster deals damage and horror to its engaged investigator.
3. Each exhausted monster readies.

3. Encounter Phase

Each investigator draws and resolves an encounter matching their space (neighborhood or street), unless engaged with a monster.

4. Mythos Phase

Each investigator draws 2 tokens from the mythos cup and resolves their effects one at a time (in player order).

Actions

Action	Effect
Move	Move to an adjacent connected space
Gather Resources	Gain $1
Focus	Place 1 focus token on a skill of your choice (max focus per skill)
Ward	Attempt to remove a doom token from your space (test lore)
Attack	Attack an engaged monster (test strength or other skill)
Evade	Attempt to evade an engaged monster (test observation or agility)
Research	Attempt to discover a clue at your space (test observation)
Trade	Exchange items/money with another investigator in your space
Component Actions	Use special abilities on cards/items that say “Action:”

Skill Tests: Roll dice equal to your skill value (plus modifiers). Each 5+ is a success. Compare successes to the test’s difficulty.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Victory and defeat are determined by the active scenario:

• Win: Complete the scenario’s objective (varies by scenario – typically involves gathering clues, closing anomalies, and defeating key threats).
• Lose: If the scenario’s doom track fills, or if all investigators are defeated, or if a specific failure condition triggers.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Engagement: When a monster is in your space, you become engaged. While engaged, you cannot Move, Ward, Research, Trade, or have encounters. You may only Focus, Attack, or Evade.
• Damage & Horror: If damage equals or exceeds your health, or horror equals or exceeds your sanity, you are defeated. Your investigator is eliminated from the game.
• Focus Tokens: Spent during skill tests to add +1 to the result per token spent.
• Doom: Doom tokens advance the Ancient One’s plans. Accumulating too much doom triggers catastrophic events.
• Anomalies: Spatial rifts that spawn monsters and spread doom. Can be closed through specific scenario actions.
• Conditions: Status effects (e.g., injured, haunted) that affect investigators.
• Remnants: Special tokens placed by certain effects that interact with scenario mechanics.

Player Reference

Phase	Summary
1. Action	2 actions per investigator (each once)
2. Monster	Monsters activate, attack, ready
3. Encounter	Draw encounter card for your space
4. Mythos	Draw 2 mythos tokens each

Dice Result	Outcome
5+	Success
1-4	Failure

Engagement Limits	Allowed Actions
Engaged with monster	Focus, Attack, Evade only