Game Components and Preparation Enclosed in your Arkham Horror box, you will find the following game components:
1 Rule Book (this book)
1 Game Board
1 First Player Marker
5 Dice
16 Investigator Sheets
16 Investigator Markers
16 Plastic Investigator Stands
196 Investigator Status Tokens
56 Money Tokens
34 Sanity Tokens (10 “threes” and 24 “ones”)
34 Stamina Tokens (10 “threes” and 24 “ones”)
48 Clue Tokens
24 Sk** Sliders
189 Investigator Cards
44 Common Items
39 Unique Items
40 Spells
20 Sk**s
11 Allies
35 Special Cards
8 Retainers
8 Silver Lodge Memberships
8 Bank Loans
8 Blessing/Curse Cards
3 Deputy Cards
8 Ancient One Sheets
20 Doom Tokens
179 Ancient One Cards
63 Location Cards
67 Mythos Cards
49 Gate Cards
60 Monster Markers
16 Gate Markers
3 Activity Markers
3 Explored Markers
1 Terror Track Marker
6 Closed Markers
Before you play your first game of Arkham Horror, carefully punch out the cardboard pieces so that they do not tear. Next, slide the 16 plastic stands onto the bases of the 16 investigator markers. Be sure to keep all components out of the reach of small children and animals. Component Overview The following is an introductory summary of the various
components included in Arkham Horror. This summary should help you identify the components and understand the ways they are used as you read through these rules. Game Board The game board depicts the city of Arkham and the “Other Worlds” to which investigators may travel during the game. See “Game Board Breakdown” on page 21 for a complete discussion of the game board. First Player Marker This marker is given to the player who acts first in a turn. The marker is pa**ed to the left at the start of each new turn. Dice Players roll the dice to make sk** checks, fight battles, and determine other random outcomes. Investigator Sheets and Markers Each player receives one investigator sheet that describes the abilities, sk**s, and starting equipment of the investigator he controls. Each player also receives one investigator marker used to indicate his investigator's current position on the board. See “Investigator Sheet Breakdown” on page 21 for a full
description of investigator sheets. Investigator Status Tokens • Sk** sliders track the investigator's current sk** levels. Investigators make sk** checks throughout the game in the course of their adventures.
• Sanity tokens represent an investigator's current level of mental health.
• Stamina tokens represent an investigator's current level of physical health.
• Clue tokens represent vital insights and information an investigator has accumulated either before or during the game. Investigators can spend Clue tokens to gain bonuses on sk** checks or to permanently seal gates.
• Money tokens represent the investigator's current wealth. They are spent to purchase equipment, pay fines, etc. Investigator Cards The small cards included in Arkham Horror are called investigator cards. They represent useful allies the investigators may meet and items they may acquire during the
course of the game. There are six types of investigator cards:
• Common Items are ordinary but useful items that can aid an investigator.
• Unique Items are unusual, sometimes bizarre, and possibly
magical items that can greatly a**ist an investigator. Elder signs, which can permanently seal gates, are found in this deck.
• Sk** cards represent an investigator's abilities. Sk** cards typically either give a bonus to a certain sk** or allow you to roll the dice again when you fail a certain kind of dice roll. Sk** cards are rare and expensive to acquire.
• Spells are magical rituals that an investigator can perform using the Lore sk**.
• Allies are people that offer to a**ist the investigators in their adventures. Allies are the most powerful investigator cards and can be found either at Ma's Boarding House (a location on the game board) or through encounters at some of the more dangerous and unstable locations in Arkham.
• Special cards represent unique privileges or obligations. These include Retainers, Silver Twilight Memberships, Bank Loans, Blessings, Curses, and Deputy of Arkham cards. Special cards have a wide variety of effects. Ancient One Sheets At the beginning of every game of Arkham Horror, the players randomly determine which Ancient One will threaten the city. An Ancient One sheet lists the powers, combat statistics, and worshippers a**ociated with each of these alien beings. See
“Ancient One Sheet Breakdown” on page 19 for full details. Doom Tokens Doom tokens are placed on the doom track on the Ancient One sheet as new gates open in Arkham. When the doom track is filled up with doom tokens, the Ancient One awakens!
On the back of each doom token is an elder sign icon. When an investigator successfully plays an elder sign to permanently seal a gate, a doom token is removed from the Ancient One's doom track, flipped over to its elder sign side, and placed on the sealed location. Sealing a gate using Clue tokens does not reduce the number of doom tokens on the Ancient One's doom track in this manner. For more information on sealing gates with both elder signs and Clue tokens, see page 17. Ancient One Cards The larger cards included with Arkham Horror are called Ancient One cards. These represent events that take place within Arkham or the Other Worlds. These events can include confrontations with monsters, beneficial encounters, etc. There are three types of Ancient One cards: Location cards, Gate cards, and Mythos cards.
Location cards represent the encounters that take place at the various locations in Arkham. Each of the nine neighborhoods on the game board has a deck of seven cards dedicated to it, and each card has one encounter for each of the locations in that neighborhood. For more information on locations and neighborhoods, see page 21.
Gate cards represent the encounters that take place in the Other Worlds. Unlike the Location cards, which are divided into separate decks for each neighborhood, the Gate cards are all shuffled together into one deck. For more information on Other Worlds, see pages 8–9, 21.
Mythos cards depict major events in Arkham. One is
drawn each turn during the Mythos Phase. When a
mythos card is drawn, it has several effects. It identifies
a location where a gate opens, it determines monster
movement in Arkham, and it presents an event that may
affect the investigators. Most mythos cards also list a
location where a Clue token appears. Monster Markers Monster markers represent the monsters roaming the
streets of Arkham. Each monster has two sides: a movement
side and a combat side. Leave the monster's movement
side face up while it wanders around the board.
When an investigator battles a monster, flip the monster
marker to its combat side. Players may look at either
side of any monster marker at any time. See “Monster
Marker Breakdown” on page 21 for a full description. Gate Markers These markers are placed on the board to indicate locations
where gates to the Other Worlds have opened. Each gate marker identifies the Other World it leads to and includes a modifier to the dice rolls of investigators attempting to close the gate. Activity and Explored Markers Activity markers indicate areas on the board where unusual events are taking place. An explored marker is placed underneath an investigator's marker after he has braved the Other World beyond a gate and returned. Terror Marker This marker is placed on the terror track to indicate the mental state and morale of the townsfolk of Arkham. As the terror level increases, stores close and people leave town, eventually
allowing the monsters to overrun the town completely! Closed Markers These markers are placed on locations that have closed, whether because of the terror level or specific events that
have occurred in the game. Neither investigators nor monsters can enter closed locations.