Overview

Eldritch Horror is a cooperative game of global investigation and horror set in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Players are investigators traveling the world to solve Mysteries and prevent an Ancient One from awakening. Each round, investigators perform actions, resolve encounters, and face Mythos events that spawn monsters, open gates, and advance the Doom track. Players win by solving three Mysteries before the Ancient One awakens; if Doom reaches zero, investigators face a desperate final battle.

Components

• 1 game board (world map with named locations, numbered spaces, paths)
• 12 Investigator sheets with matching tokens and plastic stands
• 4 Ancient One sheets (double-sided)
• 122 Encounter cards (America, Europe, Asia/Australia, Other World, Expedition, General)
• 51 Mythos cards (green, yellow, blue)
• 16 Mystery cards (4 per Ancient One)
• 40 Asset cards, 14 Artifact cards, 36 Condition cards, 20 Spell cards
• 43 Monster tokens (34 normal, 9 epic), 9 Gate tokens
• 36 Clue tokens, 20 Eldritch tokens, 30 Improvement tokens
• 20 Travel Tickets (8 train, 12 ship)
• 78 Health/Sanity tokens, 4 dice, 1 Doom token, 1 Omen token
• 4 Reference cards, 1 Lead Investigator token, Rumor tokens, Mystery token

Setup

1. Place game board centrally. Organize tokens.
2. Choose an Ancient One (Azathoth recommended for first game).
3. Create Monster cup with non-epic Monster tokens.
4. Each player chooses an investigator, places token on starting space, takes starting possessions and Health/Sanity.
5. Place Doom token per Ancient One sheet. Place Omen on green comet space.
6. Set up 4 Asset cards in the reserve.
7. Build the Mythos deck in 3 stages per Ancient One instructions (green, yellow, blue cards in specified quantities).
8. Spawn starting Gates, Monsters, and Clues per Reference card. Place Active Expedition token. Draw first Mystery card.

Turn Structure

Each round has 3 phases:

1. Action Phase

Starting with the Lead Investigator and proceeding clockwise, each investigator performs up to 2 different actions:

• Travel: Move to an adjacent space; spend travel tickets for additional movement (Train Tickets for train paths, Ship Tickets for ship paths).
• Rest: Recover 1 Health and 1 Sanity (not if a Monster is on your space).
• Trade: Exchange possessions with another investigator on your space.
• Prepare for Travel: On a City space, gain 1 travel ticket of your choice.
• Acquire Assets: On a City space, test Influence to gain Asset cards from the reserve (not if a Monster is on your space).
• Component Actions: Perform actions listed on your Investigator sheet, Asset cards, or other components.

Each action can only be performed once per round.

2. Encounter Phase

Starting with the Lead Investigator, each investigator resolves one encounter:

• If Monsters are on your space, resolve Combat Encounters against each Monster (one at a time).
• Otherwise, resolve a Location Encounter (draw matching encounter card) or Token Encounter (interact with Clue, Gate, or other token on your space).

3. Mythos Phase

The Lead Investigator draws and resolves the top Mythos card:

• Advance the Omen token along the Omen track.
• Resolve the Mythos card’s effects (spawn Gates, spawn Monsters, advance Doom, trigger ongoing effects).
• Check for Monster Surge if indicated.
• At the end, the Lead Investigator may pass the token to any player.

Actions

Combat Encounters

When fighting a Monster:

1. Will test: Roll dice equal to your Will skill. Each 5+ is a success. Apply successes to resist Horror (lose Sanity equal to Monster’s Horror value minus successes).
2. Strength test: Roll dice equal to your Strength skill. Each 5+ is a success. Apply successes as damage to the Monster.
3. If the Monster is not defeated, it deals its damage to your Health.
4. Repeat until Monster is defeated or investigator flees/is defeated.

Tests

Roll dice equal to the relevant skill. Each result of 5 or 6 is a success. Improvement tokens on a skill add +1 die. Some effects modify the number of dice rolled or the success threshold.

Clue Tokens

Spend a Clue token to reroll 1 die during any test.

Gates

Spawn from the Gate stack onto indicated spaces with a Monster. Investigators can close Gates by resolving Other World Encounters.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Investigators Win

Solve 3 Mysteries (as indicated on Mystery cards drawn throughout the game). Mystery requirements vary: defeating specific monsters, spending Clues at locations, closing Gates, etc.

Investigators Lose

• The Doom track reaches 0: the Ancient One awakens. Some Ancient Ones have a final battle; others end the game immediately (e.g., Azathoth devours the world).
• A Mythos card effect specifically ends the game.

Investigator Defeat

If Health or Sanity reaches 0, the investigator is eliminated. Another investigator may take their place from the remaining pool.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Improvement tokens: Gained through encounters; permanently add +1 die to a specific skill.
• Conditions: Gained through encounters or Mythos effects. Some have Reckoning effects triggered by certain Mythos cards.
• Spells: Provide powerful abilities but often have negative Reckoning effects.
• Epic Monsters: Red-colored tokens with clipped corners. Not placed in the Monster cup; spawned by specific Mythos/Mystery effects. More powerful than normal Monsters.
• Rumor Mythos cards: Have ongoing effects and At Midnight triggers. Must be solved to remove them.
• Delayed: An investigator who is Delayed cannot perform actions during the next Action Phase. They become un-Delayed after skipping their actions.
• Component rule (golden rules): Effects on cards override the rulebook. “Cannot” is absolute.
• Travel tickets: Maximum 2 at a time. Excess must be discarded.
• The Reference Guide is the definitive source of rules and overrides the rulebook on conflicts.

Player Reference

Round: Action Phase (2 actions each) > Encounter Phase (1 encounter each) > Mythos Phase (1 Mythos card)

Actions: Travel, Rest, Trade, Prepare for Travel, Acquire Assets, Component Actions (each once per round)

Tests: Roll dice equal to skill; 5+ = success; spend Clue to reroll 1 die

Win: Solve 3 Mysteries

Lose: Doom reaches 0 (Ancient One awakens)

Combat: Will test (resist Horror) > Strength test (deal damage) > Take damage from Monster