Arkham Horror: Lovecraft Letter Rulebook

Table of Contents

Contents
Setup
Playing the Game
State of Mind
Sanity Checks
End of the Round
- The Deck Runs Out
- One Player Left
Starting the Next Round
End of Game
Card Effects
Rule Mistakes
Classic Version
Credits

27 Game Cards
6 Reference Cards
18 Mythos Tokens

Setup

Give each player a reference card.
Find the Stowaway Eggs card and set it aside faceup.
Shuffle the other 26 game cards to create the deck. Place it facedown within reach of all players.
Take the top card from the deck and set it aside facedown. It won't be used this round.
Deal each player 1 card from the deck as their starting hand.
The player who most recently solved a mystery goes first.

2-Player Only: Take 5 more cards from the deck and set them aside faceup. These also won't be used this round, but they will give you some information about what your opponent might have.

Playing the Game

Arkham Horror: Lovecraft Letter is played over a series of rounds. Each round, you collect clues to investigate an eldritch mystery while trying to hold onto your sanity—or embracing the horror.

The card in your hand represents the clue you're currently investigating. Each turn, you draw 1 new card, then play 1 of your 2 cards. Playing certain cards will drive you Insane, which gives you access to powerful Insane effects on cards you play but also forces you to make a Sanity check each turn to see if you break down completely.

To win a round, you must either be the last player left in the round or reach the end of the round with the highest numbered card of the remaining players.

Arkham and Other World Cards

The deck is made up of 2 types of cards.

Arkham cards have only a Sane effect.

Other World cards have both a Sane effect (top) and an Insane effect (bottom).

The number of diamonds/gems indicates the quantity of this card in the deck.

Player Turn

Take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, follow these steps in order:

Draw 1 card from the deck into your hand.
Play 1 of the 2 cards in your hand.
Use 1 effect on the card you played:
- If you are Sane, you must use the card's Sane effect.
- If you are Insane, you must choose whether to use the card's Sane effect or Insane effect. If the card doesn't have an Insane effect, you must use its Sane effect.
Discard the card you played and end your turn. (See p. 6.)

Played and Discarded Cards

The area on the table in front of you is your discard zone. Whenever you discard a card, you must place it faceup in your discard zone. All cards in your discard zone must stay visible to everyone throughout the round.

In general, you can use a card's Sane effect or Insane effect only when you play it during your turn. You do not resolve any card effects when you're forced to discard a card from your hand (e.g., by The Musician, p. 11), when a card is placed directly into your discard zone (e.g., by Tommy Gun, p. 14), or when you reveal a card during a Sanity check (p. 7).

Note: The Dilettante and Cthulhu are important exceptions to the above. You must resolve their Sane effects when you play or discard them from your hand (p.10).

Out of the Round

Some card effects knock you out of the current round—you've completely lost your grip on reality and can no longer solve the mystery.

When this happens, place your hand faceup in your discard zone. Until the next round, the other players skip your turn, and they cannot choose you for card effects.

State of Mind

At the start of each round, all players are Sane and may use only the Sane effects on the cards they play. However, once an Other World card is placed in your discard zone, you're driven Insane by contact with forbidden knowledge. (Remember: When you play an Other World card, it does not enter your discard zone until after its effects resolve.)

Once you're Insane, you may use Insane effects on cards, but you must make a Sanity check at the start of each of your turns. You remain Insane for the rest of the round.

Sanity Checks

If you're Insane at the start of your turn, you must make a Sanity check before drawing a card. To make a Sanity check, reveal cards from the top of the deck equal to the number of Other World cards in your discard zone. If you reveal an Other World card, you fail the check and are out of the round. If you reveal only Arkham cards, you pass the check and continue your turn.

After passing or failing a Sanity check, place all revealed cards faceup in your discard zone.

Note: If you must reveal more cards than there are remaining in the deck due to a sanity check, reveal the entire deck instead.

End of the Round

The round ends when the deck runs out and any player must draw a card or when only 1 player is left in the round.

The Deck Runs Out

If any player must draw a card but the deck is empty, all players still in the round simultaneously reveal their hands.

The remaining player with the highest numbered card wins the round. The winner takes a Mythos token from the supply and flips it to the side matching their state of mind (Sane or Insane).

If multiple players still in the round are tied for highest numbered card, they share the victory. Each tied player takes a Mythos token.

One Player Left

If you are the only player still in the round (i.e., all other players have been knocked out), you win the round. Take a Mythos token from the supply and flip it to the side matching your state of mind.

Starting the Next Round

To start a new round, repeat steps 2–6 of setup. (Shuffle the cards, set some aside, and deal each player 1 card.)

All players begin the round Sane even if they were Insane at the end of the previous round. The player who won the previous round is the first player. If the previous round ended in a tie, randomly choose 1 of the tied players to go first.

End of Game

The game continues until someone wins. You win immediately if you meet any 1 of the following victory conditions:

You have 2 Sane Mythos tokens; or
You have 3 Insane Mythos tokens; or
You successfully use Cthulhu's Insane effect during a round.

Note: You can collect both Sane and Insane Mythos tokens during the game, but you must count them separately when checking for victory conditions. Multiple players can simultaneously win the game.

Card Effects

8. The Dilettante (Arkham) x 1 / Cthulhu (Other World) x 1

Sane: If you play or discard this card from your hand for any reason, you are out of the round.

Insane: If you play Cthulhu while you have at least 2 Other World cards in your discard zone, you win the entire game (regardless of how many Mythos tokens you have). Cthulhu itself does not count toward the 2 Other World cards you need. (It is not discarded until after it is resolved.)

If you discard Cthulhu at any time (regardless of how many Other World cards are in your discard zone) or if you play Cthulhu with fewer than 2 Other World cards in your discard zone, you must resolve its Sane effect, and you are out of the round.

7. The Entertainer (Arkham) x 1 / Shoggoth (Other World) x 1

Sane: When choosing a card to play, if you have this card in hand and another card with a 5 or higher, you must play this card. Do not reveal the other card in your hand. If you have both The Entertainer and Shoggoth in hand, you may choose which of them to play.

Insane: If you play this card while Insane, and you have a card left in your hand with a 5 or higher, reveal it and immediately win the round.

6. The Sailor (Arkham) x 1 / Randall Tillinghast (Other World) x 1

Sane: Choose another player and secretly trade hands with them.

Insane: Collect all other players' hands, secretly look at them, and add them to your hand. Then secretly give each player 1 card of your choice from your hand. You may give away the card that was in your hand before you took the other players' hands.

5. The Musician (Arkham) x 2 / Stowaway (Other World) x 1

Sane: Choose any player (including yourself). The chosen player discards the card in their hand and draws a new card. If the deck is empty, the player draws the card that was set aside facedown.

Insane: Choose another player. Take their hand, secretly look at it, and add it to your hand. The chosen player draws the Stowaway Eggs card that was set aside. (This is now their hand.) Then play 1 of the 2 cards left in your hand, using 1 of its effects and discarding it as normal. If you play Cthulhu, Stowaway counts as being in your discard zone.

4. The Urchin (Arkham) x 2 / Necronomicon (Other World) x 1

Sane: Until the start of your next turn, when any player chooses who they will use a card effect on, they may not choose you. You can still be affected by cards that affect all players (e.g., Randall Tillinghast).

Note: If you use a card effect that chooses another player while all other players are protected by The Urchin or Necronomicon, no effect happens. (You still discard the card.) However, if you use an effect that chooses any player while everyone else is protected (e.g., The Musician), you must choose yourself.

Insane: If you play this card while Insane and choose this effect, you cannot be knocked out by any means for the rest of the round.

You must still make a Sanity check each turn. If you reveal an Other World card, continue as though you passed the check.
If you play or discard The Dilettante, Cthulhu, or Stowaway Eggs, you are not out of the round.
If a player uses Investigators or Cultists to guess your hand, you must still honestly tell them if they are correct, but you are not out of the round if they are.
If a player uses The Boxer or Deep One to compare hands with you, and their hand is higher, neither of you is out of the round.
If the deck runs out, reveal your hand as normal. You still lose if you don't have the highest card.

3. The Boxer (Arkham) x 2 / Deep One (Other World) x 1

Sane: Choose another player. You and the chosen player secretly show each other your hands. Whoever has the lower number is out of the round. If you have the same number, neither of you is out of the round.

Insane: Choose another player who is Sane. They are out of the round. If you use this effect while there are no Sane players left in the round, no effect happens. (Discard the card normally.)

2. The Fed (Arkham) x 2 / Nightgaunt (Other World) x 1

Sane: Choose another player and secretly look at their hand.

Insane: Choose another player and secretly look at their hand. Then take a full extra turn (i.e., draw 1 card, play 1 card, use 1 effect, discard). Do not make a Sanity check during your extra turn. If you play Cthulhu, Nightgaunt counts as being in your discard zone.

1. Investigators (Arkham) x 5 / Cultists (Other World) x 1

Sane: Choose another player and guess a number other than 1. The chosen player must answer honestly whether they have a card with that number in their hand. If they do, they are out of the round. You may guess 0.

Insane: Choose another player. If they have a 1, they are out of the round. If not, guess a number other than 1. If they have that number, they are out of the round.

0. Tommy Gun (Arkham) x 1 / R'lyeh (Other World) x 1

Sane: Choose any player (including yourself). Reveal 2 cards from the top of the deck. Place all revealed cards in the chosen player's discard zone. Since the revealed cards are neither played nor discarded, none of their effects are resolved (including The Dilettante's and Cthulhu's Sane effects).

If there are less than 2 cards remaining in the deck when you would reveal 2 cards with this ability, reveal the entire deck instead.

Insane: Flip the deck upside down so the bottom card is revealed. For the rest of the round, all players can see the next card that will be drawn from the deck. Players may not look at any other cards in the deck.

At the start of your next turn (before you do a Sanity check), you may end the round. If you do, resolve the end of the round the same way as when the deck runs out.

0. Stowaway Eggs (Other World) x 1

If you play this card, you are out of the round. Unlike The Dilettante or Cthulhu, you are not out of the round if you discard this card.

Rule Mistakes

Accidental or not, there are many ways a player could make a rule mistake, such as failing to answer honestly when chosen by Investigators or not playing The Entertainer when required.

Players should make sure they understand all game rules and always double-check their cards, as mistakes like these can strongly disrupt the play experience.

Classic Version

To play the classic Lovecraft Letter game, remove Tommy Gun and R'lyeh from the game. At the end of each round, players cannot tie: Players with the same number in hand are knocked out.

Credits

Original Lovecraft Letter Design: Seiji Kanai

Additional Game Design: Jorge Zhang

Illustration: Mauro Dal Bo, Walter Brocca, Joshua Cairos, Matthew Cowdery, Stanislav Dikolenko, Graey Erb, Anders Finer, Tony Foti, Aleksander Karcz, Robert Laskey, Adam Schumpert, Stephen Somers, Pixoloid Studios, Shane Tyree, Magali Villeneuve

Graphic Design: Randy Delven, Jay Hernishin, Tony Mastrangeli

Creative Direction: Brianna Woodward

Production: Guadalupe Gonzalez, Jorge Zhang

Rulebook & Technical Editing: Kevin Ellenburg, Jeff Fraser

Copy Editing: Dan Varrette

Marketing: Krystal Rose, Preston Wing

Head of Studio: Mike Hummel

Z-Man Team: Bryan Bornmueller, Randy Delven, Kevin Ellenburg, Guadalupe Gonzalez, Jay Hernishin, Mike Hummel, Krystal Rose, Preston Wing, Brianna Woodward, Jorge Zhang

Special Thanks: Bill Altig, Justin Anger, Michael Blomberg, Andy Christensen, Teresa Dery, Joe DeSimone, Halley Feil, Emily Frenchik, Austin Litzler, Brian Mulcahy, Katrina Ostrander, Luke Peterschmidt, Sean Ryan, Alex Schlee, Jacinda Wilson

Playtesters: Mickaël "Froh" Garcin, Daniel Marcaida, Ghie Marcaida, AJ Marcaida, AG Marcaida, Melissa Miller, Brook Nichols, Mark Pamintuan (Friendly Meeple), Ravi Patel, Ben Schillmoeller, Yury Shulman, Jeremy Stull, Jonathan Westfall, Chenshu Yu, Jonathan Zhanay