The year is 1926, and it’s the height of the Roaring Twenties: flappers dance until dawn in underground speakeasies, savoring illicit alcohol supplied by up-and-coming mobsters. Yet the booze can’t quite drown out a creeping sense of dread, as if the source of this unease is something otherworldly. Strange things are happening in the small town of Arkham, Massachusetts—people are vanishing without a trace, and madmen and bizarre creatures now haunt the darkened streets. The very air seems to thicken with a foreboding mist that creeps through the town’s streets. Dark shadows have fallen over Arkham.

About the game

The game features four scenarios, each with its own Ancient One and unique game board. You can challenge Cthulhu, Azathoth, Hastur, and Shub-Niggurath, whose power in the material world grows throughout the game and with the detectives' failures. To win, you'll need to gather clues, close gates, and defeat monsters, but now each scenario offers its own victory conditions, which are initially unknown to the players. The scenarios are designed so that each adventure will differ from the last.

Every detective you play as is unique, with their own backstory, motives, and set of characteristics, both primary (stamina and sanity) and secondary (observation, strength, will, etc.). Unlike the previous version, you can now choose your starting equipment.

Cooperative Horror

"Arkham Horror" is a fully cooperative game, meaning that all players win or lose together. To win, you’ll need to fulfill a set of conditions that depend on the scenario, but these conditions are not immediately obvious—players will have to conduct their own investigation and either reach the end or perish in the grip of unfathomable horror.