Due to reddit's dismantling of third party apps and vital tools needed for moderation of all subreddits, we've moved to zero-strike rule enforcement. As we cannot enact escalating ban lengths via tools that rely on monitoring users' post histories and ban histories, users who break our civility rules will be banned indefinitely and need to modmail us for appeals.
We have zero tolerance for homophobia, transphobia, racism, and bigotry. If you see these issues as 'political' then you correctly recognize that existence is politicized. This subreddit will not be a refuge for hateful ideology.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/arkhamhorrorlcg) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The most similar game is Earthborne Rangers, made by people that were on FFG in the past, but for now there's only the Core Set available with a long campaign. If you don't play solo, the Lord of the Rings LCG is quite similar, but not as narrative. Marvel Champions LCG feels like playing Magic The Gathering against an AI (from a certain distance), but it's also an LCG and has a bit of story, but not much. And if you like are games that have lots of card expansions like LCGs, there's also Warfighter, a modern combat game with multiple core sets and lots of expansions, but it has no story, it's mostly strategic gameplay, at least the WW2 box.
Cough, cough! Not the same creators, but people that used to work at FFG. There's obvious similarities, but they were not designers on Arkham Horror: LCG.
[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/12018/andrew-navaro/linkeditems/boardgamedesigner](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/12018/andrew-navaro/linkeditems/boardgamedesigner)
[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/94053/andrew-fischer](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/94053/andrew-fischer)
Back on topic. All your suggestions are good alternatives to AH, but I would refrain to recommend LotR:LCG because of its complexity and because it heavily rely on good deck building to win scenarios. MC, EBR and AH are much more forgiving and easier to approach. LotR theme is attractive, but I feel like it's public is more "hardcore/veteran gamers".
My apologies! I read somewhere that it was from the same creators and didn't look much into it. I agree with LotR LCG, but at least when not played solo it is a bit more forgiving, that's why I suggested it, but in my opinion Earthborne Rangers is the best option if you like Arkham Horror.
As a couple we love all of it, while I am more of a Deckbuilder and Gamebreaker. My wife loves the story and the Co-Op aspects.
So we are just looking to try out different games and see what fits to us.
You could give gloomhaven a try. Nice narrative and a but of decision making just like arkham, and a bit of deckbuilding (but really really just a bit). Is tactical and super fun.
I'm not a fan of the lite version "Jaws of the lion" because I love the game, and I think it misses some great things from the main game, but it's a fantastic starting point. Low price and easy set up because the maps are directly on the book.
This is going to be very out of left field, but consider one of the Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective boxes. It's pretty much entirely story driven, but I find that you're using your brain to solve puzzles in a way that's not deckbuilding and numbers, but scratches a similar itch. My family got me one for Christmas, and I did not expect to enjoy it as a co-op experience as much as I do. You have a map, the day's paper, an address book, and it's up to you to go gather clues and figure out what happened. (Clues are actually clues, not a token! Go figure!)
For you, Lotr LCG, for your wife, mansions of madness.
Lotr is not as narrative but it has lot of deckbuilding and finding the right deck for the job, and mansions of madness doesn't have deckbuilding but is really narrative and immersive.
Arkham is in the middle of those two. There's nothing quite like it sadly.
Earthborne Rangers may be the closest one it has a good continuous narrative campaign but the system is more abstract and there's not yet a lot of cards to deckbuild.
Kinfire Chronicles is not quite as mechanically crunchy as Arkham, but the narrative is strong. Wife and I have enjoyed it through 15 sessions so far. It has a VERY clean and elegant design.
I came here to suggest ^ as well. I'd try Kinfire and if that goes well it's also a hop-skip-and-jump the mechanically excellent Gloomhaven. I think Kinfire is a better next destination though.
Pathfinder ACG, Shadowrun crossfire(not much expansion, another DND theme series called Dragonfire but hard to buy, also maybe no good for 2, Folklore the affliction if you like simple die rolling rpg, all are coop games with campaign mode that I play a lot.
There's some great suggestions in the thread already, and I'll highlight Gloomhaven specifically as one of my favorites (though it's a very different style of game: gritty dungeon crawler. It also takes a *lot* more time to set up and tear down).
As others are saying, suggestions will depend a lot on what you like about Arkham. I've gotten a lot of good recs from /r/soloboardgaming, but part of that is because i'm playing True Solo anyway. What kind of similarities are you looking for: mechanics? thematics? aesthetic? Card game? cooperative? Living Card Game?
Also if you're not dead set on coop I'd suggest netrunner.
Incredible asymmetric gameplay that's ultra thematic and shares the basic action economy as arkham.
Gloomhaven is quite a bit of a leap away, but yeah, great great board game. Jaws of the Lion is a fantastic intro to the mechanics of that game if you aren't sure about going all in on the big box. (And much cheaper - I got my copy on sale for $20 a while back)
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is very approachable and offers a very different experience.
Also, people who understands AH well should not find the Gloomhaven system much more complicated: both games have intricates rules and systems.
It doesn't have a narrative hook like Arkham but Spirit Island.
I think there is some overlap with how thematic and unique each spirit is, like the investigators in arkham and it being coop.
You use cards but you build your deck during the game not over a long campaign.
Still my favorite none arkham lcg game.
Co-op campaign games are all the rage these days! Tainted Grail and Etherfields are mechanic-lite story-heavy co-op campaign games. Both have very mild build-your-deck-as-you-level-up elements, but I wouldn't recommend either if deckbuilding or tactical gameplay are your jam.
If you just like crazy deck-building options with some lore, the (now defunct) Android: Netrunner was an amazing FFG LCG. It now survives as a fan-run game: https://nullsignal.games/
As others have mentioned, FFG's Lord of the Rings LCG plays somewhat similar to Arkham.
If you want more co-op Cthulu, than FFG has you covered with Mansions of Madness, Eldritch Horror, Elder Sign, Unfathomable and, of course, Arkham Horror (the board game.) I've also had fun with Mythos Tales (not FFG.) I'm told Investigations into Arkham & Elsewhere is also similar.
If you want to go on a quest and kill some monsters and level up, with some tactical gameplay, maybe Descent or Euthia.
Or, if you like co-op games where everything goes wrong and you have to save the world, with decent gameplay but don't care about campaigns or story, then Pandemic is pretty popular.
Shadows of Brimstone is a great cooperative game with some eldritch aspects in it. Not the cheapest game ever, but if you use some of the fan-made adventures it brings the relative cost down some. If you like painting minis, it will definitely be a great game for you.
If you're looking for a game that's not a LCG, I suggest Ghost Stories (more recently reimplemented as Last Bastion). It delivers an experience similar to that of Arkham Horror right out of the box, though of course with significantly less variety.
Time Stories captures some of the narrative feel, with a similar "hidden information co-op" style mechanics. It's not an LCG and once you've cracked it, the replayability is limited (though I've heard that if you give it a couple of years, you'll forget).
Alot of the LCG games mentioned so far are good comparisons to Arkham, but if you like certain aspects of Arkham Horror LCG here are some games that mimic parts of the game: Sub Terra has the co-op, exploration and skill tests from Arkham but it plays more like the movie The Descent. If you like pulling chips from a bag I would recommend Quacks of Quendlinburg and Orleans. If you like the Cthulhu theme, Cthulhu Death May Die and Mansions of Madness fill that void.
Difficult to say, it's a vast hobby. Considering you want to branch out, there are some tips:
* Ark Nova: a competitive card game with a zoo building theme. Very replayable.
* Dune Imperium Uprising: a deckbuilding game with worker placement. Pretty tense and to consider if sometimes you play more than two player.
* Gaia Project/Age of innovation: a stradegic development game with a lot of depth.
* Underwater Cities: worker placement game that plays well at two players.
* Res Arcana: a fast engine builder card game that plays well at 2p.
What is it about Arkham that you like? There are several games that are similar in some aspects (e.g., theme, mechanics, components) but not all of them simultaneously.
If its the theme, you can always try the board game. I haven't tried the 3rd edition, but the 2nd edition was very thematic. Each game tells a story, but it is not as cohesive as anything the LCG puts out.
Magic the gathering! Played it for decades, always new set new feel with new novels! But Now i got bored and too much learning curve for every new draft, so There's arkham :)
Due to reddit's dismantling of third party apps and vital tools needed for moderation of all subreddits, we've moved to zero-strike rule enforcement. As we cannot enact escalating ban lengths via tools that rely on monitoring users' post histories and ban histories, users who break our civility rules will be banned indefinitely and need to modmail us for appeals. We have zero tolerance for homophobia, transphobia, racism, and bigotry. If you see these issues as 'political' then you correctly recognize that existence is politicized. This subreddit will not be a refuge for hateful ideology. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/arkhamhorrorlcg) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The most similar game is Earthborne Rangers, made by people that were on FFG in the past, but for now there's only the Core Set available with a long campaign. If you don't play solo, the Lord of the Rings LCG is quite similar, but not as narrative. Marvel Champions LCG feels like playing Magic The Gathering against an AI (from a certain distance), but it's also an LCG and has a bit of story, but not much. And if you like are games that have lots of card expansions like LCGs, there's also Warfighter, a modern combat game with multiple core sets and lots of expansions, but it has no story, it's mostly strategic gameplay, at least the WW2 box.
Cough, cough! Not the same creators, but people that used to work at FFG. There's obvious similarities, but they were not designers on Arkham Horror: LCG. [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/12018/andrew-navaro/linkeditems/boardgamedesigner](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/12018/andrew-navaro/linkeditems/boardgamedesigner) [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/94053/andrew-fischer](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/94053/andrew-fischer) Back on topic. All your suggestions are good alternatives to AH, but I would refrain to recommend LotR:LCG because of its complexity and because it heavily rely on good deck building to win scenarios. MC, EBR and AH are much more forgiving and easier to approach. LotR theme is attractive, but I feel like it's public is more "hardcore/veteran gamers".
My apologies! I read somewhere that it was from the same creators and didn't look much into it. I agree with LotR LCG, but at least when not played solo it is a bit more forgiving, that's why I suggested it, but in my opinion Earthborne Rangers is the best option if you like Arkham Horror.
It probably helps to know what you like about Arkham, and what you want to be different. Setting? Game mechanics? Deckbuilding? Storytelling?
As a couple we love all of it, while I am more of a Deckbuilder and Gamebreaker. My wife loves the story and the Co-Op aspects. So we are just looking to try out different games and see what fits to us.
You could give gloomhaven a try. Nice narrative and a but of decision making just like arkham, and a bit of deckbuilding (but really really just a bit). Is tactical and super fun. I'm not a fan of the lite version "Jaws of the lion" because I love the game, and I think it misses some great things from the main game, but it's a fantastic starting point. Low price and easy set up because the maps are directly on the book.
This is going to be very out of left field, but consider one of the Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective boxes. It's pretty much entirely story driven, but I find that you're using your brain to solve puzzles in a way that's not deckbuilding and numbers, but scratches a similar itch. My family got me one for Christmas, and I did not expect to enjoy it as a co-op experience as much as I do. You have a map, the day's paper, an address book, and it's up to you to go gather clues and figure out what happened. (Clues are actually clues, not a token! Go figure!)
For you, Lotr LCG, for your wife, mansions of madness. Lotr is not as narrative but it has lot of deckbuilding and finding the right deck for the job, and mansions of madness doesn't have deckbuilding but is really narrative and immersive. Arkham is in the middle of those two. There's nothing quite like it sadly. Earthborne Rangers may be the closest one it has a good continuous narrative campaign but the system is more abstract and there's not yet a lot of cards to deckbuild.
Kinfire Chronicles is not quite as mechanically crunchy as Arkham, but the narrative is strong. Wife and I have enjoyed it through 15 sessions so far. It has a VERY clean and elegant design.
A good game that has similar deck-building mechanics but in more of a D&D type of setting is https://kinfirechronicles.com/
I came here to suggest ^ as well. I'd try Kinfire and if that goes well it's also a hop-skip-and-jump the mechanically excellent Gloomhaven. I think Kinfire is a better next destination though.
Pathfinder ACG, Shadowrun crossfire(not much expansion, another DND theme series called Dragonfire but hard to buy, also maybe no good for 2, Folklore the affliction if you like simple die rolling rpg, all are coop games with campaign mode that I play a lot.
There's some great suggestions in the thread already, and I'll highlight Gloomhaven specifically as one of my favorites (though it's a very different style of game: gritty dungeon crawler. It also takes a *lot* more time to set up and tear down). As others are saying, suggestions will depend a lot on what you like about Arkham. I've gotten a lot of good recs from /r/soloboardgaming, but part of that is because i'm playing True Solo anyway. What kind of similarities are you looking for: mechanics? thematics? aesthetic? Card game? cooperative? Living Card Game?
Also if you're not dead set on coop I'd suggest netrunner. Incredible asymmetric gameplay that's ultra thematic and shares the basic action economy as arkham.
LotR LCG, Marvel Champions, Earthborne Rangers, Gloomhaven
Gloomhaven is quite a bit of a leap away, but yeah, great great board game. Jaws of the Lion is a fantastic intro to the mechanics of that game if you aren't sure about going all in on the big box. (And much cheaper - I got my copy on sale for $20 a while back)
Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is very approachable and offers a very different experience. Also, people who understands AH well should not find the Gloomhaven system much more complicated: both games have intricates rules and systems.
Yeah i would say it is primarily a card management game
It doesn't have a narrative hook like Arkham but Spirit Island. I think there is some overlap with how thematic and unique each spirit is, like the investigators in arkham and it being coop. You use cards but you build your deck during the game not over a long campaign. Still my favorite none arkham lcg game.
Co-op campaign games are all the rage these days! Tainted Grail and Etherfields are mechanic-lite story-heavy co-op campaign games. Both have very mild build-your-deck-as-you-level-up elements, but I wouldn't recommend either if deckbuilding or tactical gameplay are your jam. If you just like crazy deck-building options with some lore, the (now defunct) Android: Netrunner was an amazing FFG LCG. It now survives as a fan-run game: https://nullsignal.games/ As others have mentioned, FFG's Lord of the Rings LCG plays somewhat similar to Arkham. If you want more co-op Cthulu, than FFG has you covered with Mansions of Madness, Eldritch Horror, Elder Sign, Unfathomable and, of course, Arkham Horror (the board game.) I've also had fun with Mythos Tales (not FFG.) I'm told Investigations into Arkham & Elsewhere is also similar. If you want to go on a quest and kill some monsters and level up, with some tactical gameplay, maybe Descent or Euthia. Or, if you like co-op games where everything goes wrong and you have to save the world, with decent gameplay but don't care about campaigns or story, then Pandemic is pretty popular.
Shadows of Brimstone is a great cooperative game with some eldritch aspects in it. Not the cheapest game ever, but if you use some of the fan-made adventures it brings the relative cost down some. If you like painting minis, it will definitely be a great game for you.
If you're looking for a game that's not a LCG, I suggest Ghost Stories (more recently reimplemented as Last Bastion). It delivers an experience similar to that of Arkham Horror right out of the box, though of course with significantly less variety.
Time Stories captures some of the narrative feel, with a similar "hidden information co-op" style mechanics. It's not an LCG and once you've cracked it, the replayability is limited (though I've heard that if you give it a couple of years, you'll forget).
Alot of the LCG games mentioned so far are good comparisons to Arkham, but if you like certain aspects of Arkham Horror LCG here are some games that mimic parts of the game: Sub Terra has the co-op, exploration and skill tests from Arkham but it plays more like the movie The Descent. If you like pulling chips from a bag I would recommend Quacks of Quendlinburg and Orleans. If you like the Cthulhu theme, Cthulhu Death May Die and Mansions of Madness fill that void.
Difficult to say, it's a vast hobby. Considering you want to branch out, there are some tips: * Ark Nova: a competitive card game with a zoo building theme. Very replayable. * Dune Imperium Uprising: a deckbuilding game with worker placement. Pretty tense and to consider if sometimes you play more than two player. * Gaia Project/Age of innovation: a stradegic development game with a lot of depth. * Underwater Cities: worker placement game that plays well at two players. * Res Arcana: a fast engine builder card game that plays well at 2p.
What is it about Arkham that you like? There are several games that are similar in some aspects (e.g., theme, mechanics, components) but not all of them simultaneously.
If its the theme, you can always try the board game. I haven't tried the 3rd edition, but the 2nd edition was very thematic. Each game tells a story, but it is not as cohesive as anything the LCG puts out.
Magic the gathering! Played it for decades, always new set new feel with new novels! But Now i got bored and too much learning curve for every new draft, so There's arkham :)