Components:

• Game board depicting locations around the world

• Investigator sheets with unique abilities and starting items

• Decks of encounter cards (location, mythos, research)

• Monster tokens representing various creatures

• Clue tokens to track progress towards solving mysteries

• Gate tokens representing rifts between dimensions

• Assets, spells, and other investigator aids

• Tokens for health, sanity, doom, and experience
  

Setup:

1. Choose an Ancient One: Select an Ancient One from the available options. Each Ancient One has a unique deck of Mythos cards detailing their awakening and special abilities.

2. Choose Investigators and Difficulty: Pick your investigators and their corresponding investigator sheets. Decide on the game difficulty by adjusting the starting doom level (threat level) and potentially removing some "hard" Mythos cards.

3. Prepare the Board: Place the game board in the center and arrange location tokens on designated spaces. Shuffle the encounter decks (location, mythos, research) and place them face down near the board.

4. Set Up Investigator Areas: Each player takes an investigator sheet, places their investigator token on the starting location (usually Arkham), and receives starting resources (health, sanity, experience) and items based on their investigator.
   

Gameplay:

The game is played in rounds, with each investigator taking turns to perform actions. Here's a typical turn structure:

1. Mythos Phase:

• Draw Mythos Card:  Reveal the top card from the Mythos deck. This card might spawn monsters, advance the doom track (worsening the situation), or trigger other negative events.  Resolve the card's effects based on its instructions.

• Encounter Check (Optional):  If you are on a location with a monster token, you must resolve an encounter with that monster (explained later).

2. Investigator Action Phase (Your Turn):

• You can perform two actions from a list including:

  • Move: Travel between connected locations on the board, spending movement points.

  • Gather Information: Draw location encounter cards to learn about the mysteries and potentially gain clues or resources.

  • Research: Draw research encounter cards to search for hidden knowledge and artifacts needed to solve mysteries.

  • Rest: Recover health and sanity points.

  • Trade: Exchange items with other investigators at your location.

  • Fight Monsters: Engage in combat with a monster at your location (explained later).

  • Play Asset/Spell: Use special items or spells from your inventory with unique effects.

3. Upkeep Phase:

• Discard any leftover cards from your hand.

• Refresh encounter decks if depleted.

• Check for game end conditions (victory or defeat).
  

Encounter Resolution:

• Location Encounters:  These cards present story elements, challenges, or opportunities based on your location. Resolve the encounter's text, potentially gaining clues, resources, or facing consequences.

• Research Encounters:  These cards offer knowledge about the Ancient One and its weaknesses. You might need to spend clues or resources to progress in your research.
  

Monster Encounters:

• If you are at a location with a monster token, you must fight it.

• Combat: Roll dice and compare your investigator's stats with the monster's strength.  Use weapons, spells, or special abilities to gain an advantage.

• Defeating a Monster: If you defeat the monster, you gain experience and possibly clues or items.

• Defeat by a Monster:  If the monster defeats you, you lose health and sanity. At very low health, you might be devoured and taken out of the game.
  

Winning and Losing:

• Victory:  You win the game by solving all the mysteries associated with the Ancient One before the doom track reaches its maximum level (usually signifying the Ancient One's awakening).

• Defeat: You lose the game if the doom track reaches its maximum level or if all investigators are devoured by monsters.
  

Additional Notes:

• Cooperative Play:  Work together with your fellow investigators, share information, and strategize your actions to overcome the challenges.

• Character Progression:  As you gain experience, you can upgrade your investigator's abilities and acquire new items to become more effective.

• Variability:  With different investigators, Ancient Ones, and encounter cards, Eldritch Horror offers high replayability for a unique experience each game.