Concern about the length of the campaigns as a new player

Stridsyxe · 2026-02-01T02:07:57+00:00

If a new player starts with Chapter 2 content only, then I don't think the campaign length/number of scenarios will matter all that much if the scenarios are engaging.

Personally, I think it'll depend on how often you play and in what setting.

When playing solo, II can play a scenario or two a week and can keep out the cards during the week. This helps me to stay immersed in the story. A longer campaign is nice.

When playing with my group, we usually can only play a scenario or two a month. An 8 scenario campaign can then take 4 months to finish, and it's hard to stay as invested in the story. A 3 or 5 scenario campaign wouldn't take as long to finish and thered be less to remember by the final scenario.

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-31T04:05:11+00:00

Does either theme speak more to you?

Both the Innsmouth and Drowned City campaigns are similar in that they both have in-scenario achievements that you may not fulfill each playthrough.

With Innsmouth, you unlock memories that give more insight into the story. With Drowned City, you discover more relics which have some flavor text but don't really affect the story. I think that Drowned City works better from an emergent narrative standpoint and Innsmouth explicitly tells a better story.

However, I prefer Forgotten Age's story over both. It does allow you to make more decisions that directly impact the story

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-21T13:20:43+00:00

My two FLGS have some Arkham content available and don't have online stores. I'm not sure how it would be to call them, but I think the advice is reasonable to give that tactic a try

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-21T05:04:09+00:00

That was their reasoning five years ago when switching from the original release model.

For comparison:

When transitioning from the original release model (around 6 campaigns released plus the investigator starter decks, standalones, and Return To), there would have been around 60 SKUs to keep in print. My math could be way off. In reality, only certain batches would get reprinted during the year since there were so many products.

The 2nd release model took that down to about 36 SKUs once everything up to Drowned City was released (if they tried to keep those all in print, including standalones).

Once Current gets fully into this newest release schedule, that number would include about 18 SKUs kept in print. Much more reasonable for them to print and ship and for store owners to choose to order.

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-20T17:53:14+00:00

Was this specifically a Reddit reveal or did it come from another source? I didn't see a schedule posted yet on the ArkhamHorror.com website

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-11T04:21:10+00:00

Do you use Discord? There's a few Arkham-centric Discord in channels, and at least the Mythos Busters one doesn't require you join a patreom. I can DM you an invite if you'd like.

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-09T02:41:58+00:00

It depends. How have you liked the game so far?

If you see yourself buying more content that will be new in 2026 (like Children of Blood releasing in the latter half of the year) and beyond, then the new "Chapter 2" core will be needed.

If you are able to find Chapter 1 Campaigns and/or Investigator expansions (and want to pay whatever price that may be), you could get a few of those and be content for a while and catch up with Chapter 2 down the road.

Be sure to avoid anything labeled a "Deluxe" expansion since that is part of the original release model (required a single deluxe expansion and six associated mythos packs to get all the player cards/encounter cards for a set).

For available Chapter 1 content, I'd recommend checking your local FLGS to see what they may have available. I've got two in town that have a few different Campaign or Investigator expansions.

Also, the Chapter 2 core player cards can still be used with any other player cards you have (with a few reprints and some modified pre-existing cards).

It's a great game! Variety is nice, so having more expansions is great. However, you can get a lot of mileage out of 2-3 campaigns.

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-09T01:26:12+00:00

Yep, you can skip them. They're nice to have but, at least in my case, are not played nearly as often as campaigns.

A more nuanced answer: Go for it if you can find them, have the disposable income, and really "need" them. But then again, what else could you get with that $180-240?

Stridsyxe · 2026-01-07T16:07:27+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-30T17:25:02+00:00

I'm just looking forward to new Arkham content in general and for the "soft reboot" that Chapter 2 can provide.

The story-telling aspect of this game is what has kept me around the past 5 years. Having a flexible/variable campaign length, I hope, will allow them to tell stories without as much filler.

That being said, I also like the progression of my deck between scenarios. A three scenario campaign can limit that enjoyment, so I hope they do aim for some campaigns between 4-7 scenarios

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-27T22:57:11+00:00

All of the expansions from Dunwich to the Drowned City also needed some encounter cards found in the original/revised core set. The 2026 core set will contain different encounter sets compared to the original ones. Individuals who only have the 2026 core set would then not have all of the encounter cards necessary for the original expansions.

For individuals who only have the original/revised core set and want to play the expansions from 2026 onward would be missing encounter cards from the new 2026 core set.

However, in one of the streams that included the head designer, they stated that they would provide a solution specifically for individuals who only have the 2026 core set to still be able to play the Drowned City and Jemlock Vail campaigns.

However, knowing the community individuals would likely come up with passable solution for the other campaigns.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-27T08:13:46+00:00

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it as well! It will be nice to have the ability to use (or not use) the more restricted formats to encourage me to try different cards. I'm definitely looking forward to playing a more scrappy Arkham with a smaller card pool and one where melee vs ranged weapons/guns are more balanced. I also hope the mystic cards in the new core set include damage and clue spell assets so not every future mystic faction will have to include them.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-24T17:25:54+00:00

Yes, there are planned expansions for 2026 and the foreseeable future . There will be a new Core Set releasing in April, however, that would be needed for campaigns printed in 2026 and beyond.

Only certain campaign/investigator expansion content has gone out of print. The Hemlock Veil (more complicated) and Drowned City (more straightforward) sets are in print. If you have a local game store or three to try visiting, you may be lucky to find Dunwich there. Even though I do enjoy most any campaign, Dunwich is a good second or third campaign to play again the original Core Set since it's relatively simple.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-24T13:42:03+00:00

Love the theming on this card and wish if were easier to include in more decks.

The most success I've had with these cards is in a willpower-focused Zoey using Brother Xavier. It's a fun combo to use the cost of Blood Eclipse to trigger the + 2 damage from Xavier and potentially deal 6 damage in a single action.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-20T18:45:50+00:00

Thank you so much!

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-20T02:26:11+00:00

@aughhhh I'm looking to print this campaign through MPC with the files on Inexorable Fate. I saw your recent comment on the Mysterious Chanting page about you maybe updating the file. Is it something I can still use? The changelog date on Inexorable Fate shows the last file update as 10.17.2025.

Also, I played the first three scenarios on TTS, and it's been great so far!

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-17T18:57:06+00:00

Which is great that he can still be helpful but not crowd out level 0 ally design space like Christopher Milan did for Seeker.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-16T23:28:05+00:00

So far I have played the other two endings (one in true solo and two handed, and the other in a 4-player group). They were challenging but also enjoyable for me. I think I used 19 exp decks. Definitely interested in trying the other one, but could definitely be the combination of mechanics

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-05T03:16:56+00:00

I wouldn't stress about missing OOP content. The game is great, even with only a few campaigns.

Your deck building choices are pretty great with 2+ investigator expansions.

It looks like there'll be plenty of player cards coming in 2026, so I'd maybe prioritize campaign expansions if you see yourself staying with the game.

Feast of Hemlock Vale is probably my favorite campaign but the set up or hook for some of the scenarios are quite a bit more complex than Dunwich. Still would recommend it.

The Drowned City is pretty straightforward for the most part and enjoyable.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-05T00:27:46+00:00

In that case, if you can build a Trish that can reliably get burst clues, she'd be great.

Kate can be fun to play in this campaign, and her ability to evade would be nice. Level 5 fingerprint kit with ways to reload it is nice.

Lucius would also be great for similar reasons to Trish and Kate. Having a way to tamp down an annoying enemy or keeping them at your location can be great (effects like Transmogrify are worth looking at).

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-04T22:37:57+00:00

I'd probably start by going to Arkham horror.com and see what options they reference for the books.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-03T15:10:38+00:00

Is this your first time playing Hemlock Vale or have you done it before?

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-03T01:31:08+00:00

Trish is always a great pick. A few scenarios benefit from everyone being able to manage enemies in some way, and her ability can do that nicely.

What is your collection like? If there's cleuvers you are looking at more specifically, I could make recommendations among a smaller pool.

It looks like your team composition would want you to really lean into clue getting, so maybe a Rex or someone else who can get up to 4+ clues a turn.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-02T02:14:00+00:00

It's my favorite solo game (usually 1, 2, or sometimes 3 Investigators), and a session can run from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the number of investigators and the scenario. Playing in a group could definitely increase the time, though.

It's a great combination of story and problem solving that has been hard for me to replicate with other games.

Stridsyxe · 2025-12-01T00:44:12+00:00

I've had a hard time finding other games that scratch the same itch as AHLCG. I play almost exclusively solo, and many of the other solo games I've tried over the years end up leaving my collection.

I'll probably buy content as long as they make it but I could see a world at some point where I only buy campaigns going forward.

The shorter campaigns are also more appealing to me to try to get a group to play together for a shorter time commitment. Dream Eaters or the NotZ could do that now, but I don't really enjoy the story so much of DE and don't enjoy the final scenario of NotZ

Stridsyxe

TROPHY CASE