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Arkham Horror: The Card Game (Revised Core Set)
#109BGG8.6RATING
Updated Jun 10
1–4
PLAYERS
45–180
MINUTES
2
BEST WITH
3.8
HEAVY
DESIGNER CLARIFICATIONS8
Locations with shroud but zero initial cluesdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players were confused about revealed locations that show a shroud value but have no clue tokens placed on them at setup.
- RULING
- "Not all locations start with clues. All revealed locations need a shroud value, because they might have clues added by various means, and other skill tests may use shroud value. A shroud value of zero is nearly always good news!"
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2023-11, 11 replies)Damage and horror reset per scenario; trauma carries overdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players were uncertain whether all investigator damage and horror needed to be tracked across scenarios, or only the trauma values.
- RULING
- "Damage and horror are cleared at the end of a 'game,' i.e. scenario or session. Physical and mental trauma are carried over, and cause damage and horror to be placed during setup."
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2024-09, 7 replies)Reaction triggers do not provoke attacks of opportunitydesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players were asking whether triggering a reaction ability (not an action) while in an enemy's zone of control provokes an attack of opportunity.
- RULING
- "It's not the reaction trigger that causes the AoO, it's the [action taken]. A reaction trigger that just delivers an effect on its own without an action as such will not generally prompt an attack of opportunity."
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2025-08, 5 replies)Depleted assets stay in play; no free discard on zero usesdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players were asking whether assets with zero uses remaining are automatically discarded from play.
- RULING
- "...you can't do a 'free discard' of a depleted asset. There are some that explicitly allow or require you to discard them when they run out, but the default is that the asset remains in play, unusable, until something causes it to leave."
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2025-11, 4 replies)Player card pool spans all investigator expansions regardless of cycledesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players were asking whether player cards from different cycles or expansions could be included in decks regardless of which campaign they were playing.
- RULING
- "...player cards from the Core, the Investigator expansions, and the old Deluxe and Asylum packs do all go into a general pool that is available regardless of what cycle or scenario you are playing. Story assets are an exception... they have no level and they have the scenario icon on them."
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2024-05, 5 replies)Adding investigators mid-campaign is alloweddesigner
- RULING
- "You can totally add investigators (and players) mid-campaign. Just use the correct investigator count when you play any individual scenario. It doesn't mess with the game mechanisms."
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2024-07, 3 replies)Starting deck has zero XP; two-copy title limit applies across all levelsdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players were asking about starting XP totals and whether two copies of a card at different upgrade levels count separately toward the two-copy limit.
- RULING
- "You start the campaign with zero experience, so your initial build will generally have no 'dots.'...You cannot have more than two copies with the same title, period. It doesn't matter if they have different levels (dots) or sub[types]."
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2025-01, 5 replies)Mandatory signature cards are listed on the investigator card reversedesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players were unsure how to identify which cards must be included in an investigator's starting deck.
- RULING
- "See the deck building instructions on the reverse of the investigator card. 'Must be included' cards are typically the signature cards of the investigator, e.g. Skids' 'On the Lam' and 'Hospital Debts.'"
AUTHOR: Carthoris (Designer label on BGG; not among credited designers of this title)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2022-12, 3 replies)
Q&A2
Enemy exhaustion: Enemy phase attacks vs. attacks of opportunitycommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- Do enemies exhaust when they attack, and if so, do they also exhaust from attacks of opportunity or card effects?
- ANSWER
- Enemies exhaust after attacking during the Enemy phase (per rulebook p.25), but do not exhaust from attacks of opportunity or card effects triggered outside the normal Enemy phase sequence. They ready again during the next Upkeep phase.
AUTHOR: TeekaSOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2023-07, 17 replies)Campaign continues and trauma rules when all investigators are defeatedcommunity high-engagement
- QUESTION
- What happens to the campaign when all investigators are defeated in a scenario? Is being defeated the same as resigning?
- ANSWER
- The Campaign Guide always provides a resolution path for when all investigators are defeated — the campaign continues, it does not end. Resigning is not the same as being defeated: investigators who resign do not gain trauma, only investigators who are defeated do. Some scenarios are designed to end by resigning.
AUTHOR: SkeimeSOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2024-01, 10 replies)
EDGE CASES1
Healing trauma-placed damage does not remove the underlying traumacommunity high-engagement
- SITUATION
- At the start of a scenario, an investigator's trauma causes damage or horror tokens to be placed. During the scenario, a card effect heals some of that damage or horror. Does healing it remove the underlying trauma?
- RULING
- Healing the damage or horror placed by trauma during a scenario does not remove the underlying trauma itself. The trauma persists, and will cause that damage or horror to be placed again at the start of the next scenario.
AUTHOR: Sorrynametaken (same thread as D2; ruling confirmed by thread consensus including designer-labeled participant)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(2024-09, 7 replies)
Last researched: 2026-04-29
CATEGORIES
Adventure·Card Game·Collectible Components·Exploration·Fantasy·Horror·Novel-based
MECHANICS
Action PointsArea MovementCommunication LimitsCooperative GameDeck ConstructionEventsHand ManagementMap DeformationModular Board
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