Assets:

1. Name
2. Effect
3. Location

4. Flavor
5. Set Icon
6. Cost

Madness:

Your character will be subject to unspeakable ideas and experiences which cause them to question reality. Madness represents your inability to deal with reality. The higher the value, the closer your character comes to acting on their fear and paranoia.

When a character receives madness, increase the indicator on your character card to the correct value. If your character is mad (i.e. has one or more madness), you are unable to use your character’s advantage. Players may Heal, as an action, to lower their madness.

If you have 5 or more maddness at the end of your turn, the game is over and you have lost. You cannot have more than 10 madness.

Corruption:

Darkness will flow to the various locations of Arkham looking to gain a foothold. From insidious secret brotherhoods to eldritch creatures going bump in the night, corruption tokens represent theses influences.

When a location receives corruption, place a corruption token on the location on the Arkham board. If a location is corrupt (i.e. has one or more corruption tokens), the dark forces at work may prevent you from succeeding. Before performing any location-based actions or Acquiring assets at a corrupt location, draw a Randonomicon card. On a “SUCCESS”, the action may be performed. On a “FAILURE”, the attempt is foiled and the action is wasted. On a failure, no resources are spent. Corruption can be Cleared as an action.

If there are 10 corruption tokens on the Arkham board at the end of a player’s turn, the game is over and you have lost. You cannot have more than 10 corruption tokens on the Arkham board.

Threats:

Threat cards represent the forces that work to undermine the players’ actions. Each threat card has two sides, an Arkham face and a shadow face.

Arkham Threats

The Arkham face of a threat card represents a threat to the city which is easily seen. The top card of the threat deck represents the current threat to Arkham that players must contend with.

Each time the player with the threat start marker begins their turn, they place a threat token on top of the threat deck and resolve the effects listed on the card. This will involve applying corruption to locations or madness to players and will occasionally require drawing from the Randonomicon.

1. Name
2. Effect
3. Threat Limit

4. Flavor
5. Set Icon
6. Threat Level

Each Arkham threat has one or more dark ovals representing the maximum number of threat tokens that threat card may have on it, its threat limit. If the time comes to place a new threat token on the card and the maximum number of threat tokens is already on that card, the threat has grown too powerful, and the game is over.

Shadow Threats

The shadow face of a threat card represents a the nefarious forces working behind reality that cause the threats which plague Arkham. The bottom card of the threat deck represents the current evil that players must deal with before the Arkham threat reaches its limit.

Ridding Arkham of the current shadow threat requires the player to overcome the threat by paying the cost listed on the shadow face of the card (written in italics). Players may only pay this cost while they View the Shadows.

1. Name
2. Effect
3. Banish Cost

4. Flavor
5. Set Icon
6. Threat Level

If the player pays the banish cost...

1. Flip the deck back to the Arkham face.
2. Remove any threat tokens.
3. Cycle to the next threat card by placing the card on the bottom of the deck on top.

If a player is unable to pay the cost...

• Flip the deck back to the Arkham face.
• Return any threat tokens.

You will need to View the Shadows again in order to banish the threat. Banishing a threat card is not an action, it is part of Viewing the Shadows.

Shadow Abilities and Tokens:

The Ring of Shadows can also provide the bearer with great power. This power is represented by your shadow ability card. While you have the Ring of Shadows, you may choose to play your shadow ability card.

Using the ring causes players to gain shadow tokens. If a player does not possess the Ring of Shadows at the start of their turn, they remove a shadow token from their character card. A player may never have more than 3 shadow tokens on their character card.

Your First Game:

While the rules will explain all aspects of the game, here are some suggestions to help you with your first playthrough:

• Place the character tokens in their stands.
• You’ll want to pick the Ghatanothoa Elder cards rather than choosing randomly. The elder cards vary in how they play, and Ghatanothoa provides the most straight-forward play experience.
• Before proceeding with setup, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the elder cards and the threat cards. Each threat requires knowledge (a resource in the game) to defeat. To defeat Ghatanothoa, you’ll need to have 6 knowledge when you challenge it at the end of the game. You cannot look through the threat deck freely, so it would do you well to keep track of your progress! Each threat that comes before the final elder will also require knowledge to overcome, as noted on the shadow side of the threat cards. Keep this in mind as you construct your threat deck as each threat of the same level requires the same knowledge to banish.
• During the game you will be collecting resources to aid you in your struggle: bills, knowledge, muscle and assets. Bills are the currency in the game. They’re the most flexible resource, but they can only be used to purchase other resources. Knowledge is the most powerful resource in the game. It can be used to defeat threats, lower your madness, and it can be sold for bills. Muscle is only used for fighting corruption but will cost you bills to acquire. Assets also will be available at different locations during the course of play (as noted at the bottom off the asset cards), and they’ll provide you with various useful benefits to help you survive your ordeal.
• Each character is better at specific elements of the game. Pay attention to your character's advantage. Make choices that utilize it. Also make note of which resources you can hold the most of. If you do, you should have a good idea about what to do next!
• Be sure to acquire assets! You'll have a much easier time if you start acquiring assets as early as possible. They will save you actions and likely your skin!
• Remember that each kind of resource can be obtained in multiple ways!
• The player who has the Ring of Shadows will always need more knowledge so:

Example Gameplay Video:

Solo Play:

This game provides a challenging solo play experience as well! While playing solo, it is recommended that you play using the 4 player setup for the game (although you may play with the setup for 2 or 3 players if you prefer). During the game you will decide the actions for all of the characters. Otherwise, the game plays as normal!

FAQ:

I think I only received 4 Elder Cards?
The original images which showed the components only showed the tall cards. There are only 4 tall Elder cards, with 2 standard sized shorter elder cards for each of the different Elders.

Do I pass the Threat Start Marker with the Ring of Shadows card?
As stated on the Ring of Shadows and shadow ability cards, the marker only moves when you use a card that says to pass the marker. Passing the Ring of Shadows does not move the threat start marker.

Wait, I'm confused, how does turn order work?
Once the game begins, play continues clockwise until the game ends. Passing the Ring or moving the threat start marker does not affect this.

Can anyone use the Automobile card once aquired?
Only the player with the Automobile may use it. It does not negate the action for movement for all players.

It looks like I'm missing my Nyarlathotep elder cards?
You probably aren't. They have a Randonomicon back instead of Nyarlathotep's portrait like the other elder cards. Be sure you don't play with them in your Randonomicon deck, or the game will be super-duper hard!

Will there be any expansions?
We hope so! No timetable as of this revision, but we have some ideas!

I'd like to know more about how this game was made!
We actually wrote a PDF on the subject. We don't have it on our store at the moment, but if you'd like to purchase a copy ($5), please email us. It covers everything from balancing to character choices. It's pretty swell if we do say so ourselves!

Hail Dion.
...

Credits:

Game Design, Business & Development:
Clayton Grey

Additional Design, Graphic Design:
Sam Strick

Special Thanks:
Marla and Wesley Strick, Karen Richardson, Rena Northrop, Lance Moore, Nick Haas, Kimberly Sanders, Chris Dempewolf, Richard Hensman, Jeremy Petravicz, Rich Mulholland, Jake Staines, and all of our other Labrats, Luis Francisco Baroni Coutinho, Sam LaScuola, Frank Bromley, Marc J. Kolb, Gianluca Casu, Tylor Lilley, Joseph White, Aldo Ghiozzi, Dan Yarrington, and Luke Crane.

And an extra special thanks to the 840 Kickstarter backers who made this game a reality!

These are the 19 Kickstarter backers who made it into the game by backing at the "It's In The Cards" tier: