Arkham Horror Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Learning How to Play
• Components
• Setup
• Playing the Game
• Winning the Game
  • Researching Clues
  • Warding Doom
• Core Concepts
  • Skill Tests
    • Modifying Tests
  • Damage and Horror
    • Being Defeated
• Action Phase
  • Move Action
  • Gather Resources Action
  • Focus Action
  • Ward Action
  • Attack Action
  • Evade Action
  • Research Action
  • Trade Action
  • Component Actions
• Delayed
• Monster Phase
  • Monster States
  • Steps of the Monster Phase
• Encounter Phase
  • Encounter Benefits
  • Finishing the Encounter
• Mythos Phase
  • Replenishing the Mythos Cup
    • Adding Mythos Tokens
• Additional Rules
  • Items, Allies, and Spells
    • The Display
    • Hands
    • Casting Spells
    • Assigning Damage and Horror
  • Anomalies
    • Placing Anomaly Tokens
    • Anomalies and Doom
    • Removing Anomalies
    • Anomaly Encounters
• Rules Reference
  • Golden Rules
  • Round Structure — Additional Rules Reference Notes
  • End of the Game
  • Rules Glossary
    • Ability Label
    • Action
    • Activation Token
    • Adjacent
    • Ally
    • Anomaly
    • Archive
    • Asset
    • Attack Action
    • Board
    • Buy
    • Clue
    • Codex
    • Component Action
    • Condition
    • Damage
    • Delayed
    • Destination
    • Devoured
    • Dice
    • Disengage
    • Display
    • Doom
    • Elite
    • Elusive
    • Encounter
    • Engage
    • Engaged
    • Evade Action
    • Event
    • Event Deck Holder
    • Exhaust
    • Exhausted
    • Feed
    • Focus
    • Focus Action
    • Gather Resources Action
    • Guardian
    • Half
    • Headline
    • Health
    • Horror
    • Hunter
    • Investigator
    • Investigator Role
    • Item
    • Keyword
    • Leader
    • Lurker
    • Marker Token
    • Massive
    • Money
    • Monster
    • Move
    • Move Action
    • Mystic
    • Mythos Cup
    • Mythos Token
    • Neighborhood
    • Neighborhood Card
    • Outbreak
    • Place
    • Patrol
    • Player Order
    • Prevent
    • Prey
    • Ready
    • Reference Card
    • Remnant Token
    • Research
    • Research Action
    • Retire
    • Rogue
    • Roll
    • Sanity
    • Scenario
    • Seeker
    • Set Aside
    • Shuffle
    • Skill
    • Space
    • Special Cards
    • Spell
    • Spend
    • Starting Card
    • Street
    • Street Card
    • Survivor
    • Talent
    • Test
    • Trait
    • Trade Action
    • Unstable Space
    • Ward Action
    • Watcher
  • Quick Reference

Game Overview

Terrible creatures from beyond time and space threaten the city of Arkham. The players must join forces to beat back the approaching doom. If left unchecked, these ancient evils will rise up and destroy not only Arkham, but the entire world.

Arkham Horror is a cooperative game. All players are on the same team and win or lose the game together. Each player controls an intrepid investigator—one of the unlikely few who have become aware of the growing threat to our world. The investigators explore the city, encountering places, people, and creatures both mundane and supernatural. Through these adventures, the investigators hope to gain the clues and resources needed to confront and ultimately thwart the Ancient Ones.

Learning How to Play

This Learn to Play booklet is designed to teach new players how to play Arkham Horror. To make your first game easier, this booklet omits some of the more complex rules and game interactions. The Rules Reference contains the complete rules of the game and addresses all exceptions that are not addressed here. Questions that arise during play are best answered by the Rules Reference.

Components

• 1 Rules Reference
• 12 Map Tiles — 5 Neighborhoods, 7 Streets
• 4 Scenario Sheets
• 12 Investigator Sheets — with matching token and plastic stand
• 6 Reference Cards
• 32 Headline Cards
• 40 Archive Cards
• 36 Anomaly Cards
• 96 Event Cards
• 72 Encounter Cards — Event and encounter cards have the same backs. Don't sort until setup.
• 12 Ally Cards
• 28 Item Cards
• 10 Spell Cards
• 26 Special Cards
• 37 Starting Cards
• 12 Condition Cards
• 62 Monster Cards
• 1 Event Deck Holder — Assemble as shown
• 48 Clue/Doom Tokens
• 42 Damage Tokens — 36 "1 damage," 6 "3 damage"
• 42 Horror Tokens — 36 "1 horror," 6 "3 horror"
• 40 Money Tokens — 31 "1 dollar," 6 "5 dollar"
• 5 Anomaly Tokens
• 30 Focus Tokens — 6 for each skill
• 6 Dice
• 24 Remnant Tokens
• 18 Mythos Tokens
• 10 Marker Tokens
• 6 Activation Tokens

Setup

To set up the game, follow these steps in order:

1. Choose Scenario

As a group, choose one of the available scenario sheets. For your first game, we recommend "Approach of Azathoth." Place that sheet in the play area. Return all other scenario sheets to the game box.

2. Prepare Board and Encounters

Arrange the neighborhood and street tiles as shown on the back of the scenario sheet. Each street tile has an icon indicating its type. Use tiles with the indicated icons.

Shuffle the encounter cards separately to create the encounter decks. Use only the street cards and the neighborhood cards that correspond to the neighborhoods used in the current scenario—for "Approach of Azathoth," use Downtown, Easttown, Merchant District, Northside, and Rivertown. There are exactly eight cards in each of these decks. Be careful not to accidentally include any event cards (see step three). Return all other neighborhood cards to the game box.

3. Prepare Event Deck

Each scenario has a unique deck of event cards that correspond to the five neighborhoods in that scenario. Event cards are kept in a single deck despite not sharing the same card back.

There is an identifying label along the bottom-left of each event card that indicates which scenario that card belongs to. Take the 24 event cards for the "Approach of Azathoth" scenario, shuffle them, and place them facedown in the event deck holder.

Return the event cards for the other scenarios to the game box.

Event cards have card backs that are identical to neighborhood cards. They can be differentiated from neighborhood cards by the clue icon in the top-left corner and the scenario name along the bottom of the card.

The event deck holder keeps the event deck at an angle to allow you to more easily draw cards from both the top and bottom of the deck.

Different Card Backs: The cards in the event and monster decks have different card backs, so you can easily tell what card is on top of the deck. After you shuffle a set of event or monster cards, cut the deck so the top card is randomized.

4. Create Monster Deck

Gather the monster cards indicated in the "Monster Deck" section on the back of the scenario sheet. Return all other monster cards to the game box.

Place the starting monsters as indicated on the back of the scenario sheet—for "Approach of Azathoth" place one robed figure on Independence Square and a second robed figure on the Black Cave. Place the monsters in the indicated spaces ready side up (the side with the larger art showing).

Then, shuffle the remaining cards to form the monster deck. Place it ready side up near the board.

5. Create Mythos Cup

The mythos cup is an opaque container (such as a dice bag, a bowl, or the lid of the game box) from which mythos tokens will be drawn at random. You will need to provide your own mythos cup.

Gather the mythos tokens in the quantities indicated on the back of the scenario sheet and put them into the mythos cup. Return the other mythos tokens to the game box.

6. Create Headline Deck

Shuffle the headline cards and deal 13 of them into a facedown deck. These 13 cards are the headline deck. Return the other headline cards to the game box.

7. Prepare Assets and Display

Separately shuffle the item cards, ally cards, and spell cards to form three decks and place them in the play area. Keep the special cards and condition cards sorted and place them off to the side.

Special cards can be items, allies, spells, or talents, but all share the same card back. Conditions are double-sided. You will be instructed to find specific special or condition cards by name, so keep each deck organized alphabetically.

Take the top five cards of the item deck and place them in a faceup row next to the item deck. This row of cards is called the display. The items in the display can be gained or bought by having encounters during the game. Certain locations—such as the general store—allow you to buy from the display by spending money.

8. Prepare Token Pools

Separate all tokens by type and keep them nearby for easy access along with the dice.

9. Prepare the Archive

The archive is a collection of cards that are used by scenarios to create an evolving narrative during the game. Archive cards have an assortment of different fronts and backs, but all share a large card number in the top-left corner of the card. Keep all archive cards in a single stack in numerical order until you are instructed to use them.

Each archive card has a number in the top-left corner of the front of the card. Because archive cards can have many different appearances, these card numbers are the best way to identify archive cards. The side of the card with the number in the top-left corner is the front.

10. Choose Investigator(s)

Each player chooses one of the investigator sheets. There are many investigators, and each one has unique abilities and skills.

Each player takes their respective investigator token (inserted into a plastic stand), one activation token, and one reference card. As a group, choose one player to be the leader. That player takes the leader activation token (the one with the flashlight on it) as their activation token. Players are hereafter referred to as "investigators."

Investigator Roles: Each investigator has one or two roles described on the back of their sheet. These roles offer advice about the strengths and effective strategies for that investigator and have no mechanical effect. We recommend choosing at least one mystic and one guardian for your first game, but feel free to experiment and have fun with different combinations!

Starting Possessions—Each investigator gains the cards and money tokens indicated in the "Starting Possessions" section on the back of their sheet. Investigator starting cards are easily identified by that investigator's portrait on the back of the card. Some investigators must choose between two or more of their possessions. You may review your options before making a decision. Return the unchosen cards and all unused investigator starting cards to the game box.

Starting Space—Place all of the investigator tokens in the starting space indicated on the scenario sheet. The starting space for the "Approach of Azathoth" scenario is the Train Station in Northside.

11. Final Preparations

With everything in place, all that remains is to set up the clues and doom that await the investigators in the coming story.

Spawn Starting Clues—Draw the top three cards of the event deck one at a time. For each card, place one clue token in the central area of its corresponding neighborhood tile. Then, add that card to its corresponding neighborhood deck by taking the top two cards of that deck, shuffling all three cards together, and placing them on top of that deck.

Place Starting Doom—Place one doom token on each space indicated on the back of the scenario sheet. (For "Approach of Azathoth," these are Arkham Advertiser, Independence Square, Velma's Diner, the Unvisited Isle, and the Black Cave.)

Spread Doom Once—Draw the bottom card of the event deck and discard it faceup next to the deck. Place one doom token in each space that has a doom icon next to its name on the card.

Final Scenario Setup—Resolve any effects in the "Finalize Setup" section on the back of the scenario sheet. (For "Approach of Azathoth," take cards #2 and #3 from the archive and place them faceup next to the scenario sheet; this area is known as the codex. Create the anomaly deck by shuffling the "Temporal Fissure" anomaly cards together and placing them in the play area. Return all other anomaly cards to the game box.) Cards in the codex provide scenario-specific rules and narrative. The codex is explained in detail later. For now, read those cards aloud in order, starting with the front of card #2 (the side with the number on it).

Tracking Your Turns: During the action phase and encounter phase, investigators can take their turns in any order. After you perform your two actions, flip your token to its inactive side. After you resolve your encounter, flip your token back to the active side.

Playing the Game

Arkham Horror is played over a number of rounds; each round consists of four phases:

1. Action Phase—During the action phase, investigators take turns performing up to two actions each (such as moving or attacking monsters).
2. Monster Phase—During the monster phase, monsters activate, attack investigators they are engaged with, or ready if they were previously exhausted.
3. Encounter Phase—During the encounter phase, investigators take turns resolving an encounter. Each encounter tells a short narrative about what the investigator experiences in their location.
4. Mythos Phase—During the mythos phase, each investigator draws two tokens that can cause clues, monsters, and doom to spread across Arkham.

After the mythos phase, the game continues to a new round starting again with the action phase. Each phase is described in more detail on the following pages.

Winning the Game

At the start of the game, it is not obvious how you win. You should begin by investigating every lead and studying the clues to unravel the scenario's mystery and discover a way to fight back against the encroaching doom.

The cards in the codex provide you with objectives that help you progress the scenario. The first objective in "Approach of Azathoth" on card #3 is to have three clues on the scenario sheet. After you complete your first objective, a card is added to the codex that provides you with a new objective. Continuing to complete these objectives eventually leads you to victory.

The Codex: The codex is the collection of cards placed in the play area next to the scenario sheet. These cards add scenario-specific goals and rules to the game. Rules on these cards are in effect until the card is removed from the codex.

Many cards show a number of clues you need to research or a number of doom you want to prevent from being placed. These show a clue or doom token next to the text to help you quickly spot them.

Researching Clues

The "Approach of Azathoth" scenario begins with three clues that are spread throughout neighborhoods on the board. By moving to any spaces in those neighborhoods and having encounters (which you will learn about later), you are able to gather those clues. However, it may take a few encounters to find them.

After gathering the clues, use the research action (which you will also learn about later) to research your findings. This is how you place the clues you gathered onto the scenario sheet to make progress toward your first goal.

Warding Doom

The cards in the codex also have conditions under which the eldritch forces working against you can hinder your progress. In "Approach to Azathoth," card #3 is flipped over if there are ever three or more doom on the scenario sheet. You can remove doom from the board to prevent this by using the ward action (which is described later).

You must not become too obsessed with your investigation because if doom is left unchecked, it can spread across Arkham and quickly overwhelm the entire city, causing you to lose the game. Balancing your approach of researching clues to achieve your goals while also warding off doom is your key to saving Arkham from ultimate peril!

Core Concepts

Before you learn more about the phases of the game, it is important that you understand some core concepts that are commonly referenced throughout the game.

Skill Tests

A skill test (or "test") represents a physical, mental, or social challenge you are facing. Cards instruct you to resolve tests, either by directly instructing you to or by simply showing a skill icon in parentheses.

To resolve a test, roll a number of dice equal to the value shown next to the skill on your investigator sheet. This value can be modified up or down by various game effects, or by a test modifier next to the test declaration (such as "–1"). Even if the modifier reduces your skill value to zero, you roll a minimum of one die.

Each five or six you roll is a success. If you roll at least one success, you pass the test. If you roll zero successes, you fail the test. The total number of successes you rolled is called your test result, which may be referenced by effects on the card.

After passing or failing a test, follow the card's instructions for the matching result. If a matching result is not listed, the card has no further effect.

Example Test: Dexter Drake is instructed to test lore. He has a lore of four, so he rolls four dice and gets the following results: [3, 2, 5, 1]. He has rolled a single success (the five). One success is enough to pass the test, but he was hoping for more. Dexter's magical gift ability allows him to reroll one or all of his dice ("...resolving a lore test, you may reroll one or all of your dice."). He doesn't want to reroll the five, so he decides to reroll only one of the dice. After the reroll, Dexter has rolled both a five and a six [3, 6, 5, 1], a total of two successes. He has passed this test.

Modifying Tests

Some components allow you to reroll dice, manipulate dice, or directly add successes to your test result. For example, you can spend a clue token or focus token to reroll one die. These occur after your initial roll but before your final result is determined.

Damage and Horror

Both your physical and mental endurance will be challenged on the streets of Arkham. When you suffer damage or horror, place that many damage or horror tokens on your investigator sheet, respectively.

Your investigator sheet shows your health and sanity values. If you have damage greater than or equal to your health or horror greater than or equal to your sanity, you are defeated.

When you recover health or sanity, you remove that many damage or horror tokens from your sheet, respectively.

Health and Sanity: Your health and sanity values are shown on your investigator sheet. To recover health and sanity, try having encounters at locations with icons matching those on your sheet, such as Velma's Diner.

Being Defeated

When you are defeated, remove your investigator token from the board and discard all of your cards and tokens.

Not only do you lose your investigator and equipment, the city of Arkham suffers as well. When you are defeated, you must place one doom on the scenario sheet.

You will need to select a new investigator to control. Return your defeated investigator sheet and token to the box and choose a new investigator that has not been played yet during this game.

As in setup, gather your new investigator sheet, investigator token, and unique starting possessions.

After the mythos phase is over, place your investigator token at the starting space (the Train Station for "Approach of Azathoth"). You are ready to continue the investigation.

While Defeated: Between your old investigator being defeated and your new one being placed, you do not have encounters and are unaffected by headline cards; you still draw two mythos tokens during the mythos phase as normal.

Map Spaces: Each neighborhood tile features three spaces (locations) that are separated by white lines. The central area of a neighborhood tile is not a space; you cannot move into it. Each street tile is a single space.

Remnants: Remnants represent the remains of arcane rituals or supernatural creatures. You can use remnants to more safely cast spells or exchange remnants for money during certain encounters at either the Arkham Advertiser or the river docks.

Action Phase

During the action phase, investigators move around the city, gathering resources and fighting off the encroaching evils. Each investigator takes one turn. These turns can be taken in an order of their choice.

During your turn, you perform up to two of the following actions. You can perform each action no more than once per round.

Move Action

Move your investigator token up to two spaces. You may spend money to move farther. For each dollar you spend, you move one additional space, up to a maximum of two additional spaces.

If you move into a space with a ready monster, that monster engages you. Remove the monster card from the board and place it near your investigator sheet. (When a monster is engaged with you, it is most helpful to keep its exhausted side up.)

Gather Resources Action

When you perform a gather resources action, you gain one dollar.

Focus Action

Choose one skill and gain a focus token that corresponds to that skill. That skill value is increased by one for as long as you have the focus token.

Focus tokens can be spent while resolving a test to reroll dice. For each focus token you spend, reroll one die, even if the skill being tested does not match the focus token.

You can have, at maximum, one of any given focus token. You have a focus limit on your investigator sheet that indicates how many focus tokens you can have at once.

Ward Action

When you perform a ward action, you resolve a lore test. For each success you roll, you may remove one doom from your space. If you remove two or more doom with a single ward action, you also gain one remnant.

Attack Action

Choose a monster in your space—even one engaged with you or another investigator in your space—and engage it by placing it near your investigator sheet (if it is not there already). You resolve a strength test modified by the monster's attack modifier.

For each success you roll, deal one damage to the monster. Mark this damage by placing that many damage tokens on the monster card. These tokens stay with the monster when it moves. If the monster has damage greater than or equal to its health, you have defeated it. When a monster is defeated, place it on the top of the monster deck; if the monster has a remnant icon, gain one remnant.

Evade Action

When you are engaged with a monster, the actions you can perform are limited. To disengage monsters, you can perform an evade action by resolving an observation test modified by the monster's evade modifier. If you are engaged with multiple monsters, you apply only the modifier that results in you rolling the fewest dice.

For each success you roll, you disengage and exhaust one monster by placing it in your space on the board with its exhausted side up. If you roll enough successes to evade all of the monsters you were engaged with, you may perform one additional action.

Research Action

Most scenarios require you to get a certain number of clues onto the scenario sheet. The research action is the main way of doing this.

When you perform this action, resolve an observation test. For each success you roll, you may place one of your clues on the scenario sheet.

Trade Action

When you perform a trade action, you and all other investigators in your space may exchange any number of allies, items, spells, money, clues, and/or remnants with one another. Health, sanity, talents, and conditions cannot normally be traded.

Component Actions

In addition to the above actions, some components allow you to perform unique actions that are described on those components. Each component action is preceded by the word "action" in bold.

Monster Cards: a. Health—How much damage is required to defeat the monster. b. Attack Modifier—This modifier affects the test during an attack action. c. Evade Modifier—This modifier affects the test during an evade action. d. Remnant—You gain one remnant for defeating a monster that has this icon.

While Engaged: While you are engaged with a monster, you can perform only the focus, attack, and evade actions. You cannot resolve an encounter.

Delayed

During the game, you might become delayed. When you are delayed, tip your investigator token on its side. At the start of your turn during the next action phase, you stand up your token, but you can perform only a single action that turn.

Monster Phase

The maligned forces of the mythos lurk in every corner of Arkham, threatening the investigators and furthering their own ends. During the monster phase, monsters move, attack, and advance their own twisted agendas.

Monster States

A monster can either be ready, exhausted, or engaged based on where it is physically located and what side of the card is showing.

• Ready—Monsters that are ready are actively seeking out investigators and are prepared to move or attack. A monster that is in a space on the board with its ready side showing is ready.

  If a ready monster is in the same space as an investigator (for any reason), the monster engages that investigator. Monsters that are exhausted or already engaged do not engage investigators in their spaces.

• Exhausted—Monsters that are exhausted are distracted or otherwise encumbered, usually due to being evaded by an investigator. A monster that is in a space with its exhausted side up is exhausted.

  An exhausted monster cannot move, attack, or engage investigators.

• Engaged—Monsters that are engaged have found an investigator and are about to attack. A monster that is placed next to an investigator's sheet is engaged with that investigator. Engaged monsters should be kept with their exhausted side showing so you can more easily see what you are up against.

  Most monsters can be engaged with only a single investigator at a time. There is no limit to the number of monsters an investigator can be engaged with.

While Engaged: While you are engaged with one or more monsters, you can perform only the attack, evade, and focus actions and you will not get an encounter during the encounter phase.

Monster Cards: a. Spawn Text—This text indicates what space the monster spawns in. b. Activation Text—This text indicates how the monster activates. c. Speed—This indicates how far the monster moves during its activation. d. Damage and Horror—The amount of damage and horror this monster deals.

Steps of the Monster Phase

The monster phase is resolved in three steps.

1. Ready monsters activate—Each ready monster activates according to its activation text:

   • Hunter—Monsters with hunter move toward and engage specific investigators, such as the investigator with the "lowest strength" or "most clues."
   • Patrol—Monsters with patrol move toward locations instead of investigators, such as the space with the "most doom" or the "unstable space" (see below).
   • Lurker—Monsters with lurker do not move. Instead, they cause some other negative effect to occur, such as placing doom on the board.

   When a monster moves, it moves a number of spaces up to its speed, unless the text specifies that it "moves directly," in which case it is placed in the specified space, regardless of how far away it is. Remember that when a monster enters an investigator's space, it stops moving and engages that investigator.

   The unstable space is a beacon for paranormal activity. The space marked with a doom icon on the top event card in the discard pile is the unstable space.

2. Engaged monsters attack—Each monster that is engaged with an investigator deals damage and horror to the investigator it is engaged with equal to the number of damage and horror icons at the bottom of the monster's card.

3. Exhausted monsters ready—Each exhausted monster readies; flip the card ready side up. The monster did not move or attack this round, but it is ready to do so next round. Since this monster is now ready, it engages an investigator if there is one in its space.

Encounter Phase

During the encounter phase, each investigator resolves a short narrative about what they are doing at their current location. These encounters can have a wide variety of effects based on the investigator's choices and test results. Investigators take turns resolving encounters in an order of their choice.

During your turn, you draw and resolve an encounter card unless you are engaged with a monster. While engaged, you do not get to have an encounter.

If you are in a neighborhood space, draw a card from the matching neighborhood encounter deck and resolve the encounter text matching the name of the space you are in. If you are in a street space, draw a card from the street deck and resolve the encounter matching the type of street you are in: Residential Street, Bridge Street, or Scenic Street.

Encounter Benefits

Neighborhood spaces have icons that indicate what encounters in that space are likely to involve.

The icons to the left of the arrow indicate the skills that are likely to be tested or the type of payment you might be asked to make. The icons to the right of the arrow indicate the expected benefits of the encounter. A reference for these icons is provided on the back of the rules reference.

The icons above "General Store" indicate that you are likely to be asked to spend money, and that you will receive common items for doing so.

Finishing the Encounter

After you finish resolving the effects of an encounter, discard that card to the bottom of the deck it was drawn from unless that card is an event card.

After resolving an encounter on an event card, if you gained a clue from your neighborhood, discard that card faceup to the event card discard pile. If you did not gain a clue, add it back to the neighborhood by taking the top two cards of the corresponding neighborhood deck, shuffling them together with the event card, and placing them all back on top of that deck.

Clue tokens are necessary to advancing most scenarios. Each clue token on a neighborhood indicates that there is an event card in the top three cards of that neighborhood's deck that will give you a shot at gaining that clue.

In addition to advancing the investigation, during a test, a clue can be discarded to reroll one die.

Reading Encounters: If you are playing with multiple players, have someone else read your encounter aloud to you. The reader should not reveal the results of a test or a choice until the test has been resolved or the choice has been made. This increases the suspense of every decision!

Gaining Cards by Name: If an effect instructs you to gain a card by name in ALL CAPS, find that card by name in the special cards or conditions decks. Conditions are double-sided. The blessed and cursed conditions are on opposite sides of the same card. The dark pact condition has hidden information on the back. When you gain it, draw a random copy without looking at the back.

Event Cards: Encounters on event cards represent chances to gain clues to aid in the investigation. If you fail to gain the clue from the encounter, it is added back to the deck to give you another shot at it later.

Mythos Phase

During the mythos phase, each investigator takes a turn drawing tokens from the mythos cup, starting with the leader and proceeding around the table clockwise. On your turn, draw two tokens from the mythos cup, one at a time, and resolve their effects. After you have drawn your tokens, do not return them to the cup.

Spread Doom—Spread doom once by discarding the bottom card of the event deck faceup and placing one doom token in the location on that card marked with a doom icon.

The more doom that builds up on the board, the worse off Arkham will be. Cards in the codex will indicate what terrible things happen as doom accrues.

Spawn Monster—Spawn one monster by drawing the bottom card of the monster deck and placing it on the board as instructed by its spawn text. If the spawn text refers to a monster's prey, that is the investigator that it moves toward when activating.

Read Headline—Draw and read the top card of the headline deck. The card effects only you unless it specifies otherwise. Then, discard that card to a faceup discard pile. If you are instructed to draw a headline card while the deck is empty, you must place one doom on the scenario sheet instead.

Spawn Clue—Spawn one clue by taking the top card of the event deck and placing one clue token in the area in the center of the corresponding neighborhood. Then, take that card and the top two cards of the corresponding neighborhood deck, shuffle those cards together, and place them on top of the neighborhood deck.

Gate Burst—Resolve a gate burst by taking the top card of the event deck and placing one doom token in each space of the corresponding neighborhood. Then, shuffle that card and the entire event discard pile together, and place them on the bottom of the event deck.

Reckoning—Resolve the reckoning effects—all effects preceded by the reckoning icon—of all components in play. Usually this will just be the reckoning effect of the scenario sheet, but some headlines or other cards might also have reckoning effects.

Blank—When you draw this token, nothing happens. You have been afforded a most brief respite from the ever-growing dangers of the mythos.

Another Round! After the mythos phase is done, the game continues with a new round, starting with the action phase. This continues until you have won or lost the game.

Replenishing the Mythos Cup

When you need to draw tokens but the mythos cup is empty, return all mythos tokens being used this game to the cup; then draw from the newly replenished cup.

Adding Mythos Tokens

Some rare game effects instruct you to add tokens to the mythos cup. These tokens should be taken from the game box and added to the mythos cup.

Additional Rules

There are a few more things you need to know to save Arkham. The next several sections describe anomalies and the items, allies, and spells you get along the way.

Items, Allies, and Spells

As you have encounters across Arkham, you will gain allies, spells, and items to help you to combat the evils of the mythos. When you gain one of these cards, draw one card from the corresponding deck.

If you are instructed to gain a card with a specific trait (like a "common item" or a "curio item"), reveal cards from the top of the deck until you reveal a card with the indicated trait. Gain that card and shuffle the other revealed cards back into the deck.

The Display

When you gain an item, instead of drawing it from the item deck, you can instead choose an item from the display that has the specified traits (if any). After you take an item from the display, draw a new item to replace it.

If you are instructed to buy items from the display, you must spend an amount of money equal to the item's value to take the item.

Hands

While resolving a test, you can use any number of cards with up to two hand icons total. For example, you could use a two-handed shotgun or a one-handed revolver while attacking, but not both at the same time.

There is no limit to the number of items you can carry.

Casting Spells

Unlike items and allies, using spells comes with a cost. When using the game effect on a spell, you must first suffer horror equal to the number of horror icons on the spell card. You may spend remnants instead of suffering horror on a one-for-one basis.

Assigning Damage and Horror

Some cards (mainly allies) have health and sanity values just like investigators. When you suffer damage or horror, you may instead assign it to one of your cards with a health or sanity value by placing the tokens on the card. You cannot assign damage to a card that does not have a health value, nor can you assign horror to one without a sanity value. When an ally or other asset has damage equal to its health or horror greater than or equal to its sanity, you must discard that card.

Sometimes you suffer direct damage or direct horror. Direct damage and direct horror cannot be assigned to allies or items. You must suffer it yourself.

Item Cards: a. Value—The amount of money you must spend to buy the item. b. Traits—Traits have no inherent effect, but encounters or other text might refer to an item's traits. c. Hands—The number of hands required to use the item during a test.

Discarding Cards: When you discard a condition, special card, or starting card, return that card to its deck. When you discard an ally card, item card, or spell card, place that card on the bottom of its respective deck.

Magic in the Mythos: Magic in Arkham Horror is an unknowable and terrifying force that can be bent to your will or turned against you and shred your mind. When you cast a spell, you first suffer horror equal to the number of horror icons along the bottom of the card.

Anomalies

Anomalies are strange and terrifying occurrences such as gateways to other dimensions. These are a result of doom spreading out of control, and are the first big sign that you are in trouble!

Anomalies are not used in every scenario, but are used in "Approach of Azathoth." A card summarizing these rules (card #2) is added to the codex if they are in effect.

Placing Anomaly Tokens

When any one space has three doom, place an anomaly token in the central area of that neighborhood tile. Likewise, if a neighborhood has a total of five doom, place an anomaly in that neighborhood. Do not place multiple anomaly tokens in the same neighborhood.

Anomalies and Doom

If doom would be placed in any space of a neighborhood tile that has an anomaly, it is placed on the scenario sheet instead, regardless of the number of doom still in the neighborhood.

Removing Anomalies

Both the ward action and anomaly encounters allow you to remove doom from your space. When you have removed all doom from a neighborhood, the anomaly in that neighborhood stabilizes and you remove the anomaly token.

Anomaly Encounters

During your turn of the encounter phase, if you are in a neighborhood with an anomaly, you must have an anomaly encounter instead of a normal neighborhood encounter. You draw the top card of the anomaly deck and resolve the section that corresponds to the amount of doom in your space.

Rules Reference

This document is the definitive source for all Arkham Horror Third Edition rules. This document is not intended to teach new players how to play the game. Players who wish to learn how to play for the first time should read the Learn to Play booklet instead. As questions arise during the game, players should refer to this document.

This document includes five main sections: golden rules, setup, round structure, end of the game, and the rules glossary. The rules glossary provides players with detailed rules listed in alphabetical order by topic.

Golden Rules

1. If a component's text directly contradicts these rules, the component takes precedence. The component overrides only the rule that applies to that specific situation.
2. If a rule or effect allows or instructs something to happen but another rule or effect states that it cannot, the "cannot" rule or effect takes precedence.
3. Any part of an effect that is impossible to resolve is ignored.
4. If an effect has multiple possible outcomes, the outcome is chosen by the players as a group. If multiple effects would occur at the same time, the players as a group choose the order in which those effects resolve.
5. Component Limitations
   • There are two broad categories of components: those that contain game information and those that do not.
   • Components that contain game information (such as investigator sheets and cards) are limited by the quantities in the game. Example: You would not be able to gain a spell if the spell deck is empty. Nor would you be able to choose a new investigator if all investigators are in use or have been defeated, devoured, or retired.
   • Components that do not contain game information (all tokens and dice) are not limited by the quantities in the game. If you need more of these components for any reason, you can use any suitable proxy, such as a button or components from another game. Example: If Jenny Barnes has all fifty-four dollars worth of money tokens and you would gain a dollar, you can mark that dollar by some other means or take some of Jenny's money tokens and make her use proxies because she doesn't need that much money anyway.

Round Structure — Additional Rules Reference Notes

The Rules Reference elaborates on the four round phases taught in the Learn to Play booklet with the following additional detail:

• During the action phase, game effects might allow you to perform actions during other phases, or "additional" actions; such actions are performed as normal and do not count against the two actions you can perform on your turn during the action phase.
• Monster Activation Step: Investigators choose the order in which monsters activate. If multiple spaces could be a monster's destination, the space closer to that monster takes precedence; if one or more of those spaces are the same distance from the monster, the players as a group choose which of those spaces is the monster's destination. Only ready monsters activate—engaged and exhausted monsters do not activate.
• Monster Attack Step: Monster attacks are resolved starting with monsters engaged with the leader and proceed in player order. If an investigator is defeated during the monster attack step, they disengage from each monster that they were engaged with and exhaust them. Only engaged monsters deal damage and horror.
• Monster Ready Step: If there are one or more investigators in a ready monster's space (after it readies), it engages one of those investigators.
• During the encounter phase, if you are engaged with one or more monsters, you do not resolve an encounter; instead, just flip your activation token to the active side.
• During the mythos phase, the drawn tokens are not returned to the mythos cup until the mythos cup is empty. You draw and resolve mythos tokens even if your investigator has been defeated, devoured, or retired. If you are instructed to draw a token but the mythos cup is empty, return all mythos tokens to the mythos cup before drawing.
• Reckoning (Mythos Token): When you draw a reckoning token, investigators must resolve the reckoning effects on the scenario sheet, on all cards in the codex, and on all cards in the investigators' possession. Reckoning effects are a type of mechanical effect marked with a red reckoning icon and surrounded by a red border, and are resolved only when the reckoning mythos token is drawn from the mythos cup. Investigators choose the order in which reckoning effects are resolved.
• End of Round: After all four phases are complete, play continues to a new round beginning with the action phase. Before continuing to the next round, if your investigator has been defeated, devoured, or retired, you select a new investigator.

End of the Game

There are many ways for a game of Arkham Horror to end. However, many of those ways depend on the scenario and the cards in the codex.

Winning the Game

There are no default ways to win the game. You must progress the cards in the codex in positive ways until one of those cards states that you win the game.

Winning the game typically requires gaining clues from event encounters, researching those clues, and spending the clues from the scenario sheet to resolve the effects of cards in the codex.

Losing the Game

There is only a single default way to lose the game, but there are multiple ways to lose the game if cards in the codex progress negatively.

Losing the game typically happens because too much doom accrues on the board causing doom to be placed on the scenario sheet, which causes the cards in the codex to progress negatively.

The players also lose the game if every investigator available to the players is defeated, devoured, or retired. If there are no remaining investigators for the players to play as, they lose the game.

Rules Glossary

There are three primary kinds of text that appear on components in Arkham Horror: mechanical text, reminder text, and flavor text.

Mechanical Text

Mechanical text is any text on a component that has some mechanical effect. Mechanical text is never italicized and it never appears inside parentheses. The majority of text on components is mechanical text.

Traits are a type of mechanical text that has no inherent effect but are frequently referenced by other mechanical text.

Some mechanical effects appear commonly or have nuances that cannot be easily described. In those cases, a card's text states only a keyword (a shorthand name for an ability) and reminder text that summarizes the rules for that ability.

Card text can state a cost and an effect separated by the word "to." In such a case, the effect following "to" is resolved only if the cost is paid in full. Example: An encounter states, "you may spend $3 to gain one common item." You choose to pay the cost of "spend $3" or not. If you pay the cost, you resolve the effect "gain one common item." Otherwise, you do not resolve that effect.

Either the cost, effect, or both can be flavor text. In such a case, mechanical text following the sentence elaborates on what happens. Example: An encounter states, "You may gain a dark pact to sign your name in blood. If you do, you feel power flowing through you; you become blessed." You can pay the cost of "gain a dark pact," but the effect "sign your name in blood" is flavor text and has no mechanical effect. Instead, the following sentence instructs you to "become blessed" only if you paid the cost of gaining a dark pact.

If you are unable to pay a cost in full, you pay no part of the cost and do not resolve the effect following "to."

You cannot become delayed as part of a cost if you are already delayed.

You cannot gain a condition as part of a cost if you already have a condition with the same name.

Some mechanical text begins with a conditional statement such as "if you pass" or "if you do." In such a case, the remainder of that sentence is resolved only if the circumstances stated are true. Mechanical text outside of that sentence are not subject to the circumstances being checked.

Reminder Text

Reminder text is parenthetical text in italics that summarizes a rule that applies to the component it appears on. It usually appears on the same line as the mechanical text it is relevant to, but it might appear on its own if it applies to an aspect of the component other than mechanical text.

Reminder text has no real mechanical effect as it is only summarizing an existing rule or rules. Reminder text is not a definitive source of rules text and might not state all nuances of the summarized rule or rules.

Flavor Text

All text on components that is neither mechanical text nor reminder text is flavor text. Flavor text, like a component's art, adds to the narrative quality of the game and the story told by the scenario. It has no mechanical effect.

Flavor text usually appears as italicized text that is not within parentheses. However, as part of an encounter, flavor text is not italicized. Flavor text in encounters is separated from mechanical text by a period, a comma, a semicolon, or the word "to."

Ability labels (italic text followed by a long dash) are a form of flavor text used to apply a name or narrative quality to the mechanical text that follows the dash.

Ability Label

Some instances of mechanical text have an ability label that appears in italics followed by a dash. An ability label has no mechanical effect.

Ability labels are used to name abilities or group a set of abilities with similar mechanical effects. The mechanical text that follows an ability label describes exactly how it affects the game.

Action

Actions are a type of mechanical effect that can be performed by investigators.

During the action phase, investigators take turns performing actions. During your turn, you can perform up to two actions.

Game effects might allow you to perform actions during other phases or "additional" actions. Such actions are performed as normal and do not count against the two actions you can perform on your turn during the action phase.

You can perform each action no more than once per round regardless of the source of the action or the current phase.

While you are engaged with a monster, the only actions you can perform are the attack action, the evade action, the focus action, and any action that is specifically allowed while you are engaged.

Mechanical text can allow you to resolve effects "as part of" an action. These effects are in addition to an action's normal effects.

Each reference card provides a summary of the actions an investigator can perform.

Activation Token

Activation tokens are used as a reminder of who has taken their turn during the action phase and encounter phase. An activation token has two sides: an active side and an inactive side.

After you have taken your turn during the action phase, flip your activation token to the inactive side. After you have taken your turn during the encounter phase, flip your activation token to the active side.

The leader token is a unique activation token. The investigator with the leader token is the leader. The leader token is used exactly like other activation tokens.

Adjacent

Adjacent is a quality of spaces and components that are placed on spaces.

Two spaces are adjacent if they share a border—a solid white line that separates spaces.

A component is adjacent to each space that is adjacent to the space it is on. And a component is adjacent to each component in an adjacent space.

A component or space is not adjacent to itself; a component is not adjacent to the space it is on, and a component is not adjacent to other components on the same space.

Ally

An ally is a type of asset represented by an ally card or a special card. All rules that apply to assets apply to allies.

An ally's health and sanity denote how much damage and horror can be assigned to them.

Mechanical text can instruct you to gain an ally. To do so, draw the top card of the ally deck and place it in your player area.

Mechanical text can instruct an ally to recover health or sanity. Recovering health removes damage, and recovering sanity removes horror.

Allies can be traded between investigators as part of a trade action.

When an ally card is discarded, place it on the bottom of the ally deck. When a special card or starting card is discarded, return it to its place in its respective deck.

Anomaly

An anomaly represents a strange occurrence in a neighborhood. Anomalies are represented by anomaly tokens and anomaly cards.

What an anomaly represents specifically is determined by the scenario. There are multiple sets of anomaly cards. Each is used by a different scenario. Example: The Veil of Twilight scenario instructs you to use the set of "Fractured Reality" anomaly cards while the Approach of Azathoth scenario uses the "Temporal Fissure" anomaly cards.

A scenario can add archive card two ("Anomalies") to the codex. That card adds the following rules to the game. These rules are summarized on archive card two and they are in effect only if that card is in the codex.

• When a space has three doom or a neighborhood has a total of five doom, place an anomaly token in that neighborhood's central area. Other tokens in the central area are unaffected.
• If additional doom would be placed in any space of a neighborhood with an anomaly token, place that doom on the scenario sheet instead.
• If you would resolve an encounter in any space of a neighborhood with an anomaly token, you resolve an anomaly encounter instead.
• To resolve an anomaly encounter, draw the top card of the anomaly deck and read the section based on the amount of doom in your space.
• When a neighborhood with an anomaly has zero doom, remove the anomaly from that neighborhood.

Each component that adds archive card two to the codex also instructs you to add an anomaly deck to the game. The encounters represented on these cards are called anomaly encounters.

Each anomaly card is split into three unique encounters. Each anomaly encounter correlates to an amount of doom that could be in the space of the investigator that is resolving the anomaly encounter.

Archive

The archive is the main tool with which a scenario drives the story and mechanics of the game. The archive is a set of numbered cards that can be used by any scenario to tell stories, add new rules to a game, provide a means of winning or losing the game, or do whatever else is needed by the scenario.

All archive cards are kept in numerical order in the archive when not in use. Archive cards are used for many different purposes and they have many different appearances.

Each archive card has a unique card number indicated in the top-left (on the front) and bottom-right corners of the card. Aside from this identifying feature, archive cards do not share any other defining quality.

Mechanical text (including that of archive cards) might instruct you to take a specific card or cards from the archive. Such effects describe how to use those cards.

• Most commonly, archive cards are added to the codex. Cards added to the codex provide additional rules and mechanical effects for as long as they remain in the codex.
• Archive cards that are added to the codex should be read and any instructions on them resolved.
• Mechanical text on an archive card that is preceded by a clue icon directs investigators toward their immediate objective. Following these effects will result in the investigators winning the game.
• Mechanical text on an archive card that is preceded by a doom icon states the circumstances that will lead toward investigators losing the game.
• Some archive cards represent epic monsters and are essentially oversized monster cards. Epic monsters are treated as monsters. They have all attributes that monsters have, and all rules and effects that apply to monsters apply to epic monsters.
• Mechanical text can affect specifically "non-epic" monsters. Such effects apply to monsters represented by normal monster cards, but not epic monsters.
• When an epic monster is defeated or discarded, return that card to the archive.

Asset

"Asset" is a collective term that refers to any card that is gained by an investigator. There are five types of assets: allies, conditions, items, spells, and talents.

Assets are represented by ally cards, item cards, spell cards, special cards, and starting cards. Special cards and starting cards specifically can represent any type of asset.

All assets, regardless of type, share some attributes, though where those attributes appear on a component differs by asset type.

An asset's name and art have no mechanical effect.

An asset's type line has no mechanical effect, but it does indicate what type of asset the card is.

An asset's text box includes its mechanical text and/or flavor text if it has any.

An asset with a health value greater than zero can be assigned damage. An asset with a sanity value greater than zero can be assigned horror.

If an asset has suffered damage equal to its health or horror equal to its sanity, it is discarded.

An asset cannot be assigned damage or horror in excess of its health or sanity, respectively.

When an ally card, item card, or spell card is discarded, place it on the bottom of its deck. When a special card or starting card is discarded, return it to its place in its respective deck.

Attack Action

The attack action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform an attack action, you choose one monster in your space, engage that monster, and test strength. For each success you roll, you deal one damage to that monster.

You can attack a monster that is engaged with another investigator in your space. If you do, you engage that monster and it is no longer engaged with the other investigator.

Each monster has an attack modifier that affects the number of dice you roll during your strength test.

If you are engaged with multiple monsters, you can attack only one of them and you apply only the attack modifier of the monster you are attacking.

If the monster you are attacking is exhausted, you do not engage it. The monster remains exhausted and you deal damage as normal.

After you defeat a monster as part of an attack action, if the monster has a remnant icon, you gain one remnant.

Board

"Board" is the collective term for all neighborhood tiles and street tiles as well as all spaces represented by those tiles.

Buy

To "buy" an item or spell means to spend money equal to that card's value and gain that card.

Mechanical text can allow you to buy an item or spell for "half price." In such a case, you spend money equal to half the card's value (rounded up) instead.

Multiple effects that halve the price of an item or spell are not cumulative.

After an effect allows you to buy from the display, if you could not or chose not to buy anything, you may discard up to two cards from the display.

Clue

Clues represent the information the investigators have gathered about unusual happenings in town.

Rules and mechanical text can instruct you to spawn one or more clues.

To spawn a clue, place one clue from the token pool in the central area of the neighborhood that corresponds to the top card of the event deck. Then, take that card and the top two cards of the corresponding neighborhood deck, shuffle them together, and place them on top of that deck.

Each clue in a neighborhood indicates that an event card has been shuffled into the top few cards of the corresponding neighborhood deck.

The mechanical text of an encounter in a neighborhood with a clue can instruct you to gain a clue from your neighborhood.

When you gain a clue, place it in your player area. Clues you have gained can be placed on the scenario sheet by using the research action or spent to reroll dice while resolving a test.

Gathering and researching clues is instrumental to winning the game.

The other side of each clue token is a doom token.

Clues can be traded between investigators as part of a trade action.

Codex

The codex is a game area that includes the scenario sheet and any other cards—usually archive cards—that you are instructed to add to the codex.

To add a card to the codex, place it next to the scenario sheet.

Cards added to the codex provide additional rules and effects while they remain in the codex.

Component Action

Mechanical text of components—primarily investigator sheets and assets—have unique actions that can be performed by investigators. These actions are labeled "Action:" in bold. Example: The Jenny Barnes investigator sheet states, "Action: If you have fewer than $3, you gain $3."

You can perform the component action of only your own investigator sheet or the component actions of assets only if those cards are in your possession.

Each component action is considered independent from other component actions. You can perform each component action no more than once per round.

Some component actions can be performed only under specific circumstances, such as while in a specific space. These restrictions are described at the end of the action text. Example: The rare books access special card states, "Action: You discard one tome if you have one. Then you gain one tome item. Perform this action only at Orne Library."

Condition

A condition is a type of asset which represents a status that is affecting an investigator, whether positive or negative. All rules that apply to assets apply to conditions.

There are three conditions: blessed, cursed, and dark pact. Blessed and cursed are on opposite sides of the same card.

Mechanical text that refers to a condition always refers to it by name. The name of a condition appears in all capital letters in mechanical text.

You cannot gain a condition if you already have a condition with the same name. You cannot choose to gain a condition as part of a cost if you already have a condition with the same name.

There are multiple copies of each condition. When you gain a condition, take one of those copies at random and place it in your play area. Example: There are six unique copies of the dark pact special card. When you are instructed to gain a dark pact, you gain one of those six at random.

Players cannot look at the back of their conditions unless mechanical text specifically instructs them to flip the card or look at or reveal the back of the card.

When a special card or starting card is discarded, return it to its place in its respective deck.

Damage

Damage can be suffered by investigators, assets, and monsters, and is represented by damage tokens.

A three-damage token is a stand-in for three one-damage tokens. A three-damage token and three one-damage tokens are interchangeable.

Being dealt damage and suffering damage are synonymous.

When you suffer damage, place that many damage tokens on your investigator sheet. When you recover health, remove that many damage tokens from your investigator sheet.

If you have suffered damage equal to your health, you are defeated.

If you would suffer damage, you may assign some or all of that damage to one of your assets instead.

Mechanical text can deal "direct damage." Direct damage cannot be assigned to assets.

When an asset is dealt damage, place that many damage tokens on that card. When an asset recovers health, remove that many damage tokens from that card.

If an asset has suffered damage equal to or exceeding its health, it is discarded. An asset cannot be assigned damage in excess of its health.

When a monster is dealt damage, place that many damage tokens on that monster. When a monster recovers health, remove that many damage tokens from that monster.

If a monster has suffered damage equal to its health, it is defeated.

Delayed

"Delayed" is a game state that affects investigators and is represented by an investigator token being tipped on its side.

While you are delayed, you cannot perform actions. Instead, the next time you could perform an action, you stand up your investigator token and skip that action; you are no longer delayed.

Mechanical text can instruct you to become delayed or allow you to become delayed as part of a cost.

If mechanical text causes you to become delayed while you are already delayed, nothing happens. Multiple instances of delayed are not cumulative.

You cannot become delayed as part of a cost if you are already delayed.

Destination

A monster's "destination" is the specific space or spaces the monster moves toward or affects. Example: The robed figure monster's activation text states, "Move toward unstable space." The monster's destination is the unstable space or unstable spaces if there are multiple.

Devoured

Mechanical text might cause investigators to be "devoured." An investigator that is devoured is defeated regardless of how much damage or horror they have suffered.

Dice

Arkham Horror uses standard six-sided dice. The game comes with four dice, but the number of dice you can roll at once is not limited by that amount. Feel free to use additional six-sided dice from other sources.

Disengage

To disengage a monster that you are engaged with, place it in your space ready side up. You are no longer engaged with that monster, and the monster is ready.

You can disengage a monster only if you are engaged with it.

Display

The display is a group of five set-aside item cards.

Mechanical text can instruct you to buy or gain items from the display.

After an effect allows you to buy from the display, if you could not or chose not to buy anything, you may discard up to two cards from the display.

If there are fewer than five cards in the display for any reason, reveal and set aside cards from the top of the item deck until the display has five cards.

If an effect allows you to buy multiple items from the display at the same time, the purchases are simultaneous.

Doom

Doom represents the threat of the Ancient Ones on the world. Rules and mechanical text can instruct you to spread doom one or more times.

To spread doom, discard the bottom card of the event deck. Place one doom on the space that corresponds to the space on that card that is marked with a doom icon. If there is more than one doom icon on the event card, place one doom for each icon onto the indicated space or spaces.

Each scenario adds one or more cards to the codex that indicate how doom that accrues on the board causes doom to be placed on the scenario sheet. Doom on the scenario sheet will eventually cause the investigators to lose the game.

Doom on the board can be removed using the ward action.

The other side of a doom token is a clue token.

Elite

"Elite" is a keyword ability that appears on monsters.

"Elite [number]" means "This monster's health is increased by [number] for each investigator." Example: During a five-player game, a monster with "elite 1" has five additional health.

Elite checks the number of investigators who started the game. The number is constant, even if one or more investigators are currently defeated.

A plus sign (+) appears in the monster's health value to indicate that the monster's health is increased by one or more mechanical effects.

Elusive

"Elusive" is a keyword that appears on monsters.

A ready monster with elusive does not engage an investigator in its space unless another effect causes it to do so. Example: You move into a space with a ready monster that has elusive, so it does not immediately engage you. You perform an attack action to engage and deal damage to the monster.

Encounter

An encounter is a short narrative represented by a card—usually a neighborhood or street card.

During the encounter phase, investigators take turns resolving encounters. During your turn, you draw and resolve an encounter card that corresponds to your space.

There are different types of encounters you can resolve depending on your space and other circumstances. Often you will have only one option available to you. However, if there are multiple options available, you choose which type of encounter you will resolve.

If you are in a space on a neighborhood tile, you resolve a neighborhood encounter. If you are on a street tile, you resolve a street encounter.

Rules and mechanical text can provide additional encounter options or restrict your options.

Encounters can instruct you to resolve a test. Such test declarations are presented either by a skill icon in parentheses following flavor text or by directly instructing you to test a skill. You resolve the declared test before continuing the encounter. Example: An encounter states, "You attempt to decipher the arcane script (lore)." The encounter has declared that you resolve a lore test, which you do before continuing.

Encounters that instruct you to resolve a test have a pass effect preceded by "if you pass" and/or a fail effect preceded by "if you fail." Read only the text that corresponds to the result of the resolved test.

Encounters can instruct you to make a choice. Such choices begin with "you may" or are presented as multiple options separated by "or." You make the decision before continuing the encounter. Example: An encounter states, "Test lore to teach the witch a recipe or spend one remnant to provide her with ingredients." You can either test lore or spend one remnant. You decide before continuing.

As a player, you might enjoy the game more if someone else reads aloud to you. The reader should not reveal the results of passing or failing a test or the results of a choice until the test has been resolved or the choice has been made.

After you finish reading the encounter, place that card on the bottom of the deck it was drawn from, unless it is an event card.

Engage

To engage a monster, place it in your player area. You are now engaged with that monster, and it is engaged with you.

An engaged monster is neither ready nor exhausted. When engaged with a monster, its card can be flipped to either side; however, it is recommended that it is placed exhausted side up.

Engaged

"Engaged" is a game state that affects monsters and investigators.

While a monster is engaged, it is placed in the player area of the investigator it is engaged with. While a monster is engaged, it is recommended that its card is placed with its exhausted side faceup.

An engaged monster is neither ready nor exhausted.

While you are engaged with one or more monsters, the only actions you can perform are the attack action, the evade action, the focus action, and any action that is specifically allowed while you are engaged.

If you are engaged with one or more monsters during the encounter phase, you do not resolve an encounter.

During the monster attack step of the monster phase, each engaged monster deals damage and horror to the investigator it is engaged with.

An engaged monster is still considered to be in the space of the investigator it is engaged with.

A monster can be engaged with only a single investigator at a time. An investigator can be engaged with any number of monsters.

If you are engaged with a monster and another investigator engages that monster, you are no longer engaged with that monster and that investigator is now engaged with that monster.

You being engaged with a monster and that monster being engaged with you are synonymous concepts.

Evade Action

The evade action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform an evade action, you test observation. For each success you roll, you disengage and exhaust one monster of your choice. If you disengage all monsters that you were engaged with, you may perform one additional action.

Each monster has an evade modifier that affects the number of dice you roll during your observation test.

If you are engaged with multiple monsters, you apply only the worst modifier from among all monsters you are engaged with.

You can perform the evade action only if you are engaged with one or more monsters.

Event

Event cards are used to spread doom, spawn clues, and resolve gate bursts. They can also represent encounters.

Event cards are primarily kept in the event deck, which is kept facedown in the event deck holder. The event deck holder allows you to more easily draw cards from either the top or bottom of the deck.

The event deck is one of two main tools with which a scenario drives the story and mechanics of the game. Each scenario has a unique set of event cards which are used while playing that scenario.

Event cards have many different appearances, all of which mimic the appearance of neighborhood cards:

• Event cards have all attributes of neighborhood cards, but with some additional attributes.
• Event cards have a clue icon in the top-left corner of the card to make them easier to distinguish from neighborhood cards.
• Event cards have text in the bottom-left corner of the card that indicates which scenario they belong to.

Event cards are used while spawning clues, during which they are shuffled into one of the neighborhood decks.

When you draw an event card from a neighborhood deck, resolve it as if it were a neighborhood card. That encounter can instruct you to gain a clue from your neighborhood.

After you resolve an encounter represented by an event card, if you gained a clue from your neighborhood, discard that card. If you did not gain a clue from your neighborhood, take the top two cards of that neighborhood deck, shuffle the event card and those two cards together, and place them on top of that deck.

Event cards are also used to spread doom, after which they are discarded.

Event cards are used while resolving a gate burst, during which they are shuffled and placed on the bottom of the event deck.

When an event card is discarded for any reason, place it in a faceup discard pile next to the event deck.

Event Deck Holder

The event deck holder holds the event deck during the game to more easily facilitate drawing cards from both the front and back of the deck as well as placing cards on the bottom of the deck.

Exhaust

To exhaust a monster, flip it ready side down. The monster is now exhausted and no longer ready.

If a monster is engaged with an investigator when it becomes exhausted, that investigator disengages the monster by placing it in their space, then exhausts it by flipping it ready side down. The investigator is no longer engaged with the monster, and it is exhausted.

Exhausted

"Exhausted" is a game state that affects monsters.

While a monster is exhausted, it is in a space on the board with its ready side down.

While exhausted, a monster does not activate, does not engage investigators in its space, and does not deal damage or horror.

During the monster ready step of the monster phase, each exhausted monster readies.

Feed

"Feed" is a keyword ability that appears on monsters.

After a monster with feed deals damage to an investigator or ally, it recovers an amount of health equal to the amount of damage dealt.

Damage that is prevented is not dealt and does not cause the monster to recover health.

Focus

"Focus" represents an investigator's ability to prepare for an upcoming task.

There are five different kinds of focus tokens, one for each of the five skills.

Rules and mechanical effects can instruct you to focus a particular skill or a skill of your choice.

To focus a skill, place one focus token that corresponds to that skill on your investigator sheet.

You can focus each skill no more than once. Each focus token you have increases the corresponding skill value by one.

While resolving a test, for each focus token you have, you may spend that focus to reroll one die.

Each investigator has a focus limit indicated on their investigator sheet. Your focus limit determines the number of focus tokens you can have at once.

If you are instructed to focus a skill but doing so causes you to exceed your focus limit, you must discard one of your focus tokens.

Mechanical text can instruct you to focus one or more skills "even if it exceeds your focus limit." In such a case, you do not discard focus tokens. These effects do not allow you to focus a skill more than once.

Your focus limit might change over time, either naturally or due to mechanical text. If your focus limit is reduced below the amount of focus tokens you have, you do not automatically discard excess focus.

Focus tokens cannot be traded.

Focus Action

The focus action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform a focus action, you focus one skill of your choice. You can focus each skill no more than once.

After you perform a focus action, if you have focus tokens exceeding your focus limit, you must discard one of your focus tokens.

Gather Resources Action

The gather resources action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform a gather resources action, you gain one dollar.

Guardian

"Guardian" is an investigator role.

If you are a guardian, it is your responsibility to protect your fellow investigators. That could mean helping them recover from trauma or dispatching monsters before they become a threat.

Guardians are likely to have abilities or starting assets that allow them to more easily defeat monsters, prevent damage or horror, or allow other investigators to recover health or sanity.

Half

Mechanical text can refer to half of a numerical value. In such a case, always round up.

Multiple effects that halve the same value are not cumulative.

Headline

Headlines represent the passage of time and the lurking threats to our world. A headline's title has no mechanical effect. Flavor text has no mechanical effect. A headline's type line has no mechanical effect. A headline's mechanical text describes exactly what it does and might include reminder text.

Rules and mechanical text can instruct you to draw and read a headline card. When you do so, you do as its mechanical text instructs.

When the mechanical text of a headline card refers to "you," it is referring only to the investigator that drew the headline card unless otherwise specified.

After you resolve the mechanical text of a headline card, discard it. When a headline card is discarded, place it in a faceup pile next to the headline deck.

If you are instructed to draw a headline card while the headline deck is empty, place one doom on the scenario sheet instead.

Some headlines have the rumor trait in their type line preceded by a long dash. All rumor headlines instruct you to add them to the codex and discard all other rumor headlines in the codex.

The mechanical text of a rumor headline is in effect for as long as the card remains in the codex.

Health

Health is an attribute of investigators, monsters, and some assets that represents the maximum amount of damage they can suffer.

Horror

Horror is mental trauma that can be suffered by investigators and assets and is represented by horror tokens.

A three-horror token is a stand-in for three one-horror tokens. You can exchange a three-horror token for three one-horror tokens or the reverse at any time.

Being dealt horror and suffering horror are synonymous.

When you suffer horror, place that many horror tokens on your investigator sheet. When you recover sanity, remove that many horror tokens from your investigator sheet.

If you have suffered horror equal to your sanity, you are defeated.

If you would suffer horror, you may assign some or all of that horror to one of your assets instead.

Mechanical text can deal "direct horror." Direct horror cannot be assigned to assets.

When an asset is dealt horror, place that many horror tokens on that card. When an asset recovers sanity, remove that many horror tokens from that card.

If an asset has suffered horror equal to or exceeding its sanity, it is discarded. An asset cannot be assigned horror in excess of its sanity.

Hunter

"Hunter" is an ability label that appears on monster activation text.

Monsters with hunter activations move toward and engage their prey.

Investigator

The term "investigator" refers to a player and the investigator sheet and investigator token that player controls.

The front of an investigator sheet has the following attributes:

• An investigator's name and occupation have no mechanical effect.
• An investigator's art has no mechanical effect.
• An investigator's focus limit indicates how many skills they can have focused at once.
• An investigator's ability or abilities are mechanical effects unique to that investigator.
• An investigator's health and sanity indicate how much damage and horror they can suffer before being defeated.
• An investigator's skills represent their collective strengths and weaknesses as a character.

The back of an investigator sheet has the following attributes:

• An investigator's starting possessions are listed on the back of their investigator sheet.
• An investigator's role or roles are described on the back of their investigator sheet.
• An investigator's personal history has no mechanical effect, but it might help you get into character.

Investigator tokens are used to indicate the positions of investigators on the board. Each investigator has an investigator token with art that matches the art on their investigator sheet.

Each investigator token should be inserted into a plastic stand while in use.

Defeated

If you have suffered damage equal to or exceeding your health or you have suffered horror equal to or exceeding your sanity, you are defeated.

When you are defeated, disengage all monsters, exhaust them, discard all of your cards and tokens, and return your investigator sheet and investigator token to the box. Then place one doom on the scenario sheet.

If your investigator is defeated, devoured, or retired, you must select a new investigator who will join the game at the beginning of the next action phase.

Selecting a New Investigator

1. You take one of the investigator sheets that is not being used by another player and has not been defeated, devoured, or retired during this game. Take the matching investigator token.
2. You gain the starting cards described on the back of your next investigator sheet.
3. You place your investigator token on the starting space indicated on the scenario sheet.

Investigator Role

Investigators fall into five roles that act as suggested methods of playing those investigators: guardian, mystic, rogue, seeker, and survivor.

Each investigator has a primary role and might have a secondary role. An investigator is likely to have an ability or starting assets that relate to their role.

Item

An item is a tool or some other equipment used by an investigator. An item is a type of asset represented by an item card or a special card. All rules that apply to assets apply to items.

Items represented by item cards have a value. Items represented by special cards do not have a value.

An item's hand icon denotes how many hands it takes to use the item during a test.

An item's health and sanity (if it has them) denote how much damage and horror can be assigned to it.

Mechanical text can instruct you to gain an item. To do so, either you take an item of your choice from the display or you take the top card of the item deck. Place the card you take in your player area.

More commonly, mechanical text will instruct you to gain an item with a specific trait, such as "common" or "curio." To do so, either you take an item of your choice with the specified trait from the display or you reveal cards from the top of the item deck until you reveal an item with the specified trait. Place that card in your player area. Shuffle any other cards you revealed this way and place them on the bottom of the item deck.

Mechanical text can instruct you to buy items from the display.

Items can be traded between investigators as part of a trade action.

When an item card is discarded, place it on the bottom of the item deck. When a special card or starting card is discarded, return it to its place in its respective deck.

Keyword

A keyword is a shorthand for a type of mechanical text that frequently appears on cards but contains nuances that cannot be easily described.

Keywords are usually followed by reminder text that summarizes the rules for that ability.

The following words are keywords: Elite, Elusive, Feed, Massive, Watcher.

Leader

The investigator with the leader token is the leader.

The monster attack step and mythos phase are resolved in player order starting with the leader.

Mechanical text can reference the leader or instruct the leader to resolve additional effects.

If the investigators must make a decision as a group but they do not agree, the leader has the final say.

Lurker

"Lurker" is an ability label that appears on monster activation text.

Monsters with lurker activations do not usually move. Instead, they cause some negative effect, such as dealing damage or horror or placing doom.

Marker Token

Markers have multiple different appearances while faceup, but all markers have the same appearance while facedown.

Markers have no inherent mechanical effect or meaning. Markers are placed by mechanical text of archive cards and other components, and what they represent and do is defined by that text.

Massive

"Massive" is a keyword ability that appears on monsters.

A monster with massive engages every investigator in its space. It engages all investigators that move into its space, even if it is already engaged.

To indicate that a monster with massive is engaged with one or more investigators, place it in its space ready side down (the same way you would normally indicate that a monster is exhausted).

During the monster attack step, a monster with massive deals damage and horror to each investigator it is engaged with.

A monster with massive cannot be exhausted. After you evade a monster with massive and perform the additional action, if you have not left the space, the monster engages you again.

Money

Money tokens come in two denominations: one-dollar tokens and five-dollar tokens.

A five-dollar token is a stand-in for five one-dollar tokens. You can exchange a five-dollar token for five one-dollar tokens or the reverse at any time.

Money can be traded between investigators as part of a trade action.

Monster

Monsters represent the enemies the investigator face during the game. Monster cards have many attributes split between both sides of the card.

There are three game states that affect monsters: ready, engaged, and exhausted. Each monster is in exactly one of these states at all times.

The ready side of a monster card has the following attributes:

• A monster's art appears on both sides of the card. It has no mechanical effect.
• A monster's spawn text describes how and where the monster spawns.
• A monster's activation text describes what a monster does when it activates.
• A monster's speed indicates how many spaces it moves during its activation.

Mechanical text can instruct you to spawn one or more monsters. To spawn a monster, take the bottom card of the monster deck and place it in the space described by the monster's spawn text.

Mechanical text that spawns a monster can describe how or where to spawn a monster. Those instructions override the monster's spawn text.

Monsters are spawned ready unless their spawn text or the mechanical text that spawns them instructs you to spawn them engaged or exhausted.

The exhausted side of a monster card has the following attributes:

• A monster's name has no mechanical effect, but mechanical text can refer to monsters by name.
• A monster's type line has no mechanical effect, though mechanical text can refer to monsters with specific traits in their type line.
• Some monsters have a remnant icon. This indicates that an investigator gains one remnant for defeating the monster as part of an attack action.
• A monster's art appears on both sides of the card. It has no mechanical effect.
• A monster's health indicates how much damage it must be dealt in order to be defeated.
• A monster's attack modifier applies only to the test resolved as part of an attack action.
• A monster's evade modifier applies only to the test resolved as part of an evade action.
• A monster's text box includes any abilities the monster has as well as the monster's flavor text if it has any.
• A monster's damage and horror icons denote how much damage and horror the monster deals when it attacks.

If a monster has suffered damage equal to or exceeding its health, it is defeated. Investigators most commonly damage monsters using the attack action.

Mechanical text can instruct you to defeat monsters directly without dealing damage to them. Example: The handcuffs special card states, "Once per round, after you damage, disengage, or are damaged by a human monster, you may defeat that monster." An investigator uses this effect to defeat a human monster, even if it has not suffered damage equal to its health.

When a monster represented by a monster card is defeated or discarded, place it on the top of the monster deck.

Move

Mechanical text can instruct investigators or components to move between game areas. Most commonly this is investigators or monsters moving from one space to another.

Mechanical text that moves an investigator moves only the corresponding investigator token unless the text specifically describes other components.

Mechanical text can instruct components to move a number of spaces which refers to spaces on the board. A component moved in this way moves from its space to an adjacent space one at a time, entering and leaving each space it moves through.

Mechanical text can instruct components to move directly to a space or other game area using the words "move directly to" or simply "move to." A component moved in this way is removed from its current space or game area and placed directly on its new space or game area. It does not enter or leave any other space or game area during the move.

Move Action

The move action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform a move action, you move your investigator token up to two spaces. You may spend up to two dollars to move one additional space for each dollar spent this way.

If you move into a space with a monster, that monster immediately engages you and your movement ends.

Mystic

"Mystic" is an investigator role.

If you are a mystic, you are adept at warding against evil. You should concentrate on removing doom from the board. You are the best defense against the Ancient Ones.

Mystics have higher-than-average lore which allows them to more easily remove doom using the ward action and cast spells.

Mythos Cup

The mythos cup is an opaque container (such as a Fantasy Flight Supply™ Dice Bag) that holds the mythos tokens during a game.

Mythos Token

Mythos tokens have many different appearances. Each mythos token has a unique effect when it is drawn from the mythos cup: spread doom, spawn monster, read headline, spawn clue, gate burst, reckoning, and blank (see the Mythos Phase section above).

Neighborhood

The term neighborhood refers to a neighborhood tile, the spaces in that neighborhood, and the central area of that neighborhood.

Each neighborhood tile has three distinct spaces and a central area. A neighborhood's central area is not a space.

Each space on a neighborhood tile has a name and icons that denote the most likely outcome of encounters in that space.

If an effect instructs you to place a component in a neighborhood without indicating a specific space, that component is placed in the neighborhood's central area.

Clues and other tokens in a neighborhood's central area indicate unusual activity in that neighborhood.

Neighborhood Card

A unique set of neighborhood cards corresponds to each neighborhood. Each set of cards is referred to as a neighborhood deck.

Each neighborhood card contains three encounters, one for each space in that neighborhood.

On your turn during the encounter phase, if you are in a space of a neighborhood, you resolve a neighborhood encounter.

To resolve a neighborhood encounter, you draw the top card of the neighborhood deck that corresponds to the neighborhood tile you are on and read the encounter that corresponds to your space.

Each neighborhood space has unique icons that denote a set of common effects that you can expect from encounters in that space. The icon or icons to the left of the arrow indicate which skills are likely to be tested and/or which components you can be asked to spend. The icon or icons to the right of the arrow indicate the expected benefits. Example: The general store space shows a money icon as a requirement and a common item icon as a benefit. While having an encounter at the general store, you can expect to spend money to gain common items.

Outbreak

A scenario can add archive card one ("Outbreak") to the codex. That card adds the following rule to the game. This rule is summarized on archive card one, and it is in effect only if that card is in the codex.

If a space has four or more doom, remove three doom from that space. Then place one doom in each other space in that neighborhood and one doom on the scenario sheet.

Place

To place a component, physically put the component in the zone indicated by the effect that is placing it.

Patrol

"Patrol" is an ability label that appears on monster activation text.

Monsters with patrol activations move toward their destination. The activation might indicate a prey that the monster engages.

Player Order

When investigators are instructed to resolve a sequence of effects in "player order," the leader resolves their part of the sequence first, followed by the other investigators proceeding clockwise around the table.

Prevent

Mechanical text can instruct you to prevent damage or horror. Damage or horror that is prevented is not dealt or suffered.

Prey

A monster's "prey" is the specific investigator or investigators the monster moves toward, engages, and/or affects with its activation text. Example: The hooded stalker monster's activation text states, "Move toward and engage lowest strength." The monster's prey is the investigator with the lowest strength or each investigator that is tied for lowest strength.

Ready

"Ready" is a game state that affects monsters.

To ready a monster, flip it ready side up. The monster is now ready and not engaged or exhausted.

While a monster is ready, it is in a space on the board with its ready side up.

During the monster activation step of the monster phase, each ready monster activates.

If a ready monster is in the same space as an investigator for any reason, it engages that investigator.

If a ready monster is in the same space as two or more investigators, it engages its prey. If the monster does not have a prey, the investigators choose which investigator the monster engages.

Reference Card

Reference cards exist as an easy way for players to reference the round structure and the actions that are available to them.

Reference cards are not exhaustive descriptions of all rules related to those topics. For full rules, see the respective sections of this rules document.

Remnant Token

Remnants represent the remains of defeated monsters, leftover ritual components, or other oddities discovered by the investigators.

You can spend remnants while casting a spell to prevent suffering horror.

Mechanical text can instruct you to spend remnants for other benefits.

Remnants can be gained most commonly from defeating monsters as part of an attack action or by removing two or more doom from a space as part of a ward action.

Remnants can be traded between investigators as part of a trade action.

Research

To "research" a clue means to place a clue token from your player area onto the scenario sheet. Clues are researched primarily by the research action.

You can only research clues that are in your player area unless an effect specifically allows you to research clues from other sources.

Research Action

The research action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform a research action, you test observation. For each success you roll, you may research one clue.

Retire

Mechanical text might cause investigators to "retire." An investigator that retires is permanently removed from the game.

After your investigator retires, you select a new investigator who joins the game at the beginning of the next action phase.

Rogue

"Rogue" is an investigator role.

If you are a rogue, you have a unique skill set that allows you to specialize on a specific task.

Each rogue has a specialty that is unique to them as a character. That specialty might overlap with another role or it might not. A rogue's specialty is described on their investigator sheet.

Roll

Dice are usually rolled as part of a test, but mechanical text can instruct you to roll one or more dice without instructing you to resolve a test.

Dice that are rolled outside of a test resolution cannot be manipulated by effects that manipulate dice or dice results as part of a test. Example: A dark pact instructs you to "roll one die." That die is not part of a test. It cannot be rerolled by an effect that allows you to reroll a die as part of a test.

Sanity

Sanity is an attribute of investigators and some assets that represents the maximum amount of horror they can suffer.

Scenario

During each game of Arkham Horror, you play using one of the provided scenarios. Each scenario tells a different story about the investigators fighting against the forces of the Ancient Ones.

Each scenario has unique instructions for setup which affects how the game plays out. The narrative text, map tiles, monsters, events, and how you win or lose the game are all determined by the scenario.

The front of a scenario sheet has the following attributes:

• A scenario's art and title have no mechanical effect.
• A scenario's starting space denotes where to place investigator tokens during setup. The starting space is the default unstable space.
• A scenario's reckoning effect is resolved whenever an investigator draws a reckoning token from the mythos cup.

The back of a scenario sheet has the following attributes:

• The setup map on the back of a scenario sheet is used only during setup.
• A scenario's monster deck list denotes which monsters are used during the game.
• A scenario's mythos cup list denotes which mythos tokens are used during the game.
• A scenario's "finalize setup" text instructs you how to complete setup.

Seeker

"Seeker" is an investigator role.

If you are a seeker, you are an intrepid sleuth. You should concentrate on gathering clues and researching their deeper meaning. Your work is instrumental in putting a stop to the evil plots at work.

Seekers are likely to have abilities or starting assets that allow them to more easily research clues they have gathered or that provide benefits for gathering clues or being near clues on the board.

Set Aside

Mechanical text can instruct you to set aside components. To do so, simply place them nearby for easy access.

Set-aside components remain set aside until an effect instructs you to do something with them.

Set-aside components or components that were previously set aside are treated exactly like other components of their kind including being discarded as normal.

Shuffle

To "shuffle" a set of cards, randomize their order so that no players know their relative order.

Skill

There are five skills that together represent an investigator's strengths and weaknesses as a character: influence, lore, observation, strength, and will.

Each skill is represented by a value. A higher value indicates you are better with that skill.

Rules and mechanical text can instruct you to test one of your skills.

Influence represents your charisma and social acumen. Although it is not a key skill for any standard action, many locations require you to test influence to receive their benefits.

Lore represents your academic and arcane knowledge and your capacity for wielding magic. It is the key skill for the ward action and casting spells. Few locations require you to test lore to receive their benefits.

Observation represents your attention to detail, spatial awareness, and problem-solving capabilities. It is the key skill for the evade and research actions. Few locations require you to test observation to receive their benefits.

Strength represents your physical prowess. It is the key skill for the attack action which is necessary to defeat monsters. Few locations require you to test strength to receive their benefits.

Will represents your discipline and moxie. Although it is not the key skill for any standard action, many locations require you to test will to receive their benefits. In addition, will is often tested to resist the negative effects of headline cards.

Space

A space is a portion of the board where investigators, monsters, and other components can be placed.

Each space represents a named location or street.

A space is adjacent to each other space with which it shares a border—a solid white line.

Special Cards

A special card could be an ally, item, spell, or talent. All rules that apply to assets apply to special cards.

Special cards should be kept organized alphabetically for easy access.

Mechanical text that refers to special cards always refers to them by name. The name of a special card appears in all capital letters in mechanical text.

Mechanical text can instruct you to gain a special card by using the word "gain," "become," or "joins." The mechanical text does not state the type of card being gained. Example: "Ezra Graves joins you" would yield the Ezra Graves special card.

To gain a special card, simply look through the organized pile of special cards for the named card.

When a special card is discarded, return it to the organized pile of special cards.

Spell

Spells represent mysterious and sometimes terrifying arcane rituals that can be learned and cast by the investigators. A spell is a type of asset represented by a spell card or a special card. All rules that apply to assets apply to spells.

Spells represented by spell cards have a value. Spells represented by special cards and starting cards do not have a value.

A spell's hand icon denotes how many hands are required to cast the spell or use the spell during a test.

A spell's horror icons denote how much horror an investigator suffers while casting the spell.

Mechanical text can instruct you to gain a spell. To do so, draw the top card of the ally deck and place it in your player area.

Mechanical text may instruct you to gain a spell with a specific trait, such as "Ritual" or "Incantation." To do so, you reveal cards from the top of the spell deck until you reveal a spell with the specified trait. Place that card in your player area. Shuffle any other cards you revealed this way and place them on the bottom of the spell deck.

Unlike other assets, spells must be "cast" to benefit from their effects. To cast a spell means to suffer horror equal to the amount of horror icons on the card and resolve the effects as described on the card, which always includes testing lore.

You suffer horror before resolving the test. If this would cause you to be defeated, you do not finish casting the spell.

You can prevent the horror you would suffer from casting a spell by spending remnants. For each remnant you spend, you prevent one horror.

While casting a spell with a one-hand or two-hand icon, the icon of the spell being cast counts toward the two hand limit during the spell's lore test.

Spells can be traded between investigators as part of a trade action.

When a spell card is discarded, place it on the bottom of the spell deck. When a special card or starting card is discarded, return it to its place in its respective deck.

Spend

To "spend" a component means to discard it as part of a cost.

Starting Card

Starting cards represent the unique possessions of the investigators.

A starting card can represent any of the five types of assets: ally, condition, item, spell, or talent. All rules that apply to assets apply to starting cards.

Starting cards should be kept organized—either alphabetically or by investigator—for easy access.

Starting cards are gained only during setup or when selecting a new investigator.

To gain a starting card, simply look through the organized pile of starting cards for the named card.

When a starting card is discarded, return it to the organized pile of starting cards.

Street

The term "street" refers to a street tile and the space represented by that tile.

There are three types of street spaces represented by street tiles:

• Residential street spaces are represented by street tiles that contain art of houses.
• Bridge street spaces are represented by street tiles that contain art of bridges.
• Scenic street spaces are represented by street tiles that contain art of densely wooded areas.

Doom cannot be placed in a street space. If doom would be placed in a street space for any reason, place that doom in an adjacent neighborhood space instead.

Street Card

Each street card contains three encounters, one for each type of street space.

On your turn during the encounter phase, if you are in a street space, you resolve a street encounter.

To resolve a street encounter, you draw the top card of the street deck and read the encounter that corresponds to the type of street space you are on.

Survivor

"Survivor" is an investigator role.

If you are a survivor, your advantages lie with surviving the relentless assault of the mythos and helping your fellow investigators do the same. Supporting one another will lead to victory.

Survivors are likely to have abilities or starting assets that allow them to more easily survive danger. They often have ways of improving their own or other investigators' chances of success with tests.

Talent

A talent is an inherent or learned aptitude that benefits an investigator. A talent is a type of asset represented by a special card. All rules that apply to assets apply to talents.

A talent's health and sanity (if it has them) denote how much damage and horror can be assigned to it.

When a special card or starting card is discarded, return it to its respective organization.

Test

A test is an abstraction of an investigator struggling to overcome some challenge. To resolve a test, follow these steps in order:

1. Determine Dice Pool

• Your dice pool is the number of dice you will roll. To calculate your dice pool, begin with the value of the skill being tested, including the increase from focus (if applicable).
• Apply any test modifier provided by the encounter or whatever component instructed you to perform the test. A positive modifier adds dice to your pool. A negative modifier removes dice from your pool.
• Choose any number of your assets or other components with a total of two or fewer hand icons to modify the test. If the test is part of an action, no more than two hands worth of assets can be used throughout that action.
• Effects that provide "additional dice" or state that you get an increase to the tested skill must be used during this step before dice are rolled.

2. Roll Dice

• Roll a number of dice equal to your dice pool.
• If your dice pool is less than one, you roll one die instead.
• The number of dice you can roll is not limited by the number of dice provided in the game.

3. Manipulate Dice

• For each focus token or clue token you have, you may spend that token to reroll one die.
• You may use any number of effects of your chosen components to reroll dice or alter the results of the dice.
• If an effect instructs you to reroll a number of dice that is greater than your dice pool, you reroll all of your dice instead. Example: You have a dice pool of one die and an effect that allows you to reroll "up to two dice." You reroll your single die once.
• Effects that add successes to the test result are used during this step, after dice are rolled but before the final test result is determined.
• You may spend clue and focus tokens or use other effects to manipulate dice or add successes in any order.

4. Determine Results

• Each five or six result is a success. The total number of successes is the "test result."
• If you have one or more successes, you pass the test. If you have zero successes, you fail the test.
• The consequences of passing or failing a test are determined by the effect that instructed you to resolve the test.

Trait

A trait is a type of mechanical text that has no inherent effects. Other mechanical effects may refer to a card's trait.

Traits are presented under a card's name in their type line, and they are usually preceded by a dash.

Trade Action

The trade action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform a trade action, you exchange any number of allies, items, spells, money tokens, clues, and remnants with one or more other investigators in your space.

You can trade with an investigator even if that investigator is engaged with a monster.

Items, allies, and spells that were used by an investigator during their turn and then traded to another investigator during that same turn cannot be used by the second investigator until the start of the following action phase.

Unstable Space

The unstable space is a space that changes over the course of the game.

If there are one or more cards in the event card discard pile, the space marked with a doom icon on the top card of the discard pile is the unstable space. If multiple spaces on that card are marked with a doom icon, each of those spaces is an unstable space.

If there are no cards in the event card discard pile, the starting space is the unstable space.

Ward Action

The ward action is an action that can be performed by investigators.

When you perform a ward action, you test lore. For each success you roll, remove one doom from your space and return it to the doom token pool.

If you remove two or more doom as part of a ward action, you gain one remnant.

Watcher

"Watcher" is a keyword ability that appears on monsters.

A monster with watcher does not restrict which actions you can perform while you are engaged with it. This rule overrides the normal restriction that while engaged you can perform only the attack, evade, and focus actions.

If you are also engaged with one or more monsters that do not have watcher, the normal engaged restriction still applies to you for those monsters.

If you move while engaged with a monster with watcher, that monster moves with you and remains engaged with you.

Quick Reference

Mythos Tokens

• Spread Doom—Discard the bottom card of the event deck faceup and place one doom token in the location on that card marked with a doom icon.
• Spawn Monster—Draw the bottom card of the monster deck and place it on the board as instructed by its spawn text.
• Read Headline—Draw and read the top card of the headline deck. The card affects only you unless it specifies otherwise.
• Spawn Clue—Take the top card of the event deck. Place one clue in its neighborhood and shuffle the card into the top two cards of that neighborhood deck.
• Gate Burst—Take the top card of the event deck. Place one doom token in each space of its neighborhood. Shuffle the card into the discard and place it on the bottom.
• Reckoning—Resolve the reckoning effects of all components in play.
• Blank—No effect.

Encounter Icons

Tests/Payments: Test Lore, Test Influence, Test Observation, Test Strength, Test Will, Spend Money, Spend Remnants

Rewards: Recover Health, Recover Sanity, Gain Common Item, Gain Curio Item, Gain Spell, Gain Ally, Gain Money, Gain Remnants, Remove Doom

Street Encounters: Residential Street, Bridge Street, Scenic Street

Finishing an Encounter

After resolving an encounter on an event card, if you gained a clue from your neighborhood, discard that card faceup to the event card discard pile.

If you did not gain a clue, add it back to the neighborhood by taking the top two cards of the corresponding neighborhood deck, shuffling them together with the event card, and placing them all back on top of that deck.