The Game of the Month series highlights one of the many games in our library at Ravenwood Castle. We will briefly describe the game, how to play it, and why we like it.

July’s Game of the Month column is written by our Assistant Innkeeper, Karington Hess.

Game: Arkham Horror

Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games

At Ravenwood Castle we pride ourselves on our ability to offer our guests unique and exciting experiences. July’s Game of the Month is also all about the immersive experience. Published by Fantasy Flight Games, Arkham Horror is set during the roaring twenties and pits players against horrors from beyond time and space. Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulhu, the game virtually drips with mystery, terror, and theme.

In Arkham Horror, players take on the roles of investigators including a gangster, a psychic, a private eye, and a dilettante. All have been drawn to the sleepy fictional coastal town of Arkham, Massachusetts, where a terrible force threatens to engulf the entire world. Portals to other worlds have begun opening all over the town, allowing monsters of all kinds to overrun Arkham. The players’ goal is to close the gates using clues that they collect around the board, which is laid out as a map of the town of Arkham.

When a player moves to a location on the board they draw a card from the deck that corresponds to that location. The player reads the card aloud, and may have to pass a skill test based on their investigator’s individual statistics. If they succeed they may encounter a helpful ally, an ancient trinket, or come face to face with a terrible monster. If they fail, they may find themselves wounded, driven insane, or lost in time and space!

After the players have taken their turns, the game itself takes a turn. One player draws a card from the mythos deck and places the appropriate tokens at their locations. This may cause monsters to move around the board, waylaying unwary investigators. This mechanic creates a constant state of suspense, as the players do not know what the mythos deck has in store for them!

The next time you visit Ravenwood Castle, grab a copy of Arkham Horror from our board game library, chose your investigator, and immerse yourself in the story! If you will be joining us for Con in the Castle, you will even have the opportunity to play Arkham Horror with the designer himself, Richard Launius!

Jim Reed

Jim Reed is a lifelong gamer who started with the original red box Dungeons & Dragons. After spending 20 years in the corporate world, he decided it was high time that work be fun and struck out on his own. Jim now owns and operates Ravenwood Castle, and spends his days ensuring his guests have as much fun as he does.