Andrew Klosky

It seems a little odd to write a review of a book of rules for a game I have neither played nor intend to play. But the Arkham Horror: Deluxe Rulebook has fewer than half of its pages (10-45) dedicated to the rules of the third edition of the Arkham Horror board game, for which it was published. I have thumbed through that portion of the book, and it confirmed me in my disinterest in the game. In particular, while I generally like modular boards that contribute to variable setup, I find that approach--which distinguishes the third edition from its predecessors--sort of incoherent in a game based in the geography of a city for which it is named. I have so many other games to play comparable "Arkham Files" adventures (Elder Sign, Arkham Horror: The Card Game, and recently Arkham Horror: Final Hour) that a sprawling board game with many expansions does not entice me. To be honest, the one item that piques enough curiosity that I would be willing to play someone else's copy of the game, is that the designer is Nikki Valens, whose previous (and very different) creation Legacy of Dragonholt was pretty excellent.

The rules are divided into "Learn to Play" and "Rules Reference" sections, as is typical for the larger games from publisher Fantasy Flight Games, although this distinction isn't especially clear from the design of the table of contents. Illustrations are mostly confined to useful pictures of the physical game components. The "Rules Reference" section is organized alphabetically into 495 topics with individually numbered sentences, making it look a bit like an old Avalon Hill wargame rules document, although its actual logical flow--or lack thereof--is entirely different. There is also a detailed index to the rules section (44-45).

A slightly larger part of the book is taken up with "lore," principally "Welcome to Arkham." This profusely-illustrated gazetteer supplies atmospheric details for locations in the game. It has been subsequently republished in a significantly expanded version as Welcome to Arkham (2024). Even though I have expressed some doubt about the game utility of the later book, this original text does obviously lend itself to the particular features of the Arkham Horror game.

At the end of the book there are two short stories focused on the Arkham investigators Calvin Wright (the "haunted") and Daniela Reyes (the mechanic) respectively. These two player characters were introduced to the Arkham Files games after the publication of the Investigators of Arkham Horror volume, and so this supplement attempts to complete the lore of this sort. Since 2018, however, even more new investigators have been created in the various games and their expansions, and as far as I know they have yet to receive similar treatments. Each of these stories is perhaps a little longer than the average for those in the earlier book, and they are comparable in quality, with attractive art as well.

The whole thing is a folio-sized production on glossy paper. My favorite element of this book is in fact the four-page introduction by Richard Launius, the original designer of Arkham Horror, describing its creation and development from the 1980s to the advent of the third edition over three decades later. This text is illustrated with pictures of components from prototypes and the earlier editions, along with a photo of Launius and second edition co-designer Kevin Wilson.… (más)