Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Collecting a Non-collectible Card Game – About Things

It’s time to Enter the Mythos

I am obsessed with Arkham Horror: The Card Game and going mad trying to collect everything related to the game. This is my story. Fantasy Flight Games announced Arkham Horror: The Card Game on August 2, 2016, on their website. Arkham Horror: The Card Game is a Living Card Game® based on H.P. Lovecraft’s stories, monsters, and madness.

Collecting a non-collectible card game

A “living card game” means that all of the cards that you need are in the box and the game can evolve over time with add-on packs that add new characters, enemies, and plot points. The game is compelling to me. It feels like the right balance of story and strategy… and luck. I am also a collector. I like to collect things related to things that I like. In this case, it should have been easy to collect all of the Arkham Horror: The Card Game cards since they release all of the cards and they aren’t collectible. In a few cases, Fantasy Flight Games released “promo” cards and early versions of the add-on packs. They released these packs at Gen Con, Arkham Nights, or bundled them with books. This interested me even more, to make sure I attend the events or pre-order things directly from Fantasy Flight Games. I keep up-to-date by following the Arkham Horror: The Card Game blog at Fantasy Flights Games, the FFG Organized Play Facebook group, new eBay auctions, and the Arkham Horror LCG subreddit.

Following Arkham Horror News

It’s hard to follow what’s going on with Arkham Horror: The Card Game without consistently checking out the Fantasy Flight Games blog. Fantasy Flight publishes many posts a month and they cover many of their active game properties. The news articles about Arkham Horror LCG are important. Fantasy Flight often announced special events where they give out promos for participation or when they announce new products where you get promos by pre-ordering directly from them. It is possible to generate an RSS feed of just Arkham Horror: The Card Game news. I use IFTTT to monitor the RSS feed and send me an email when new posts are published about Arkham Horror LCG.

Sign up for a new account at IFTTT
Select the “rss to email” applet
Click Connect
Enter the Feed URL: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/rss/?tags=arkham-horror-the-card-game
Click Save

Arkham Nights 2016

The first Arkham Horror: The Card Game promo debuted at Arkham Nights 2016 held at The Fantasy Flight Games Center in Roseville, MN on October 14, 2016. Attendees who preregistered for the event got several promos including an advanced copy of the Curse of the Rougarou scenario pack.

I didn’t attend this event, but this is when I started to notice the extra promos. I asked someone from Fantasy Flights Games about promos. They said that the promos should be considered prizes for participation in the events. Right after Arkham Nights 2016, I noticed that people were selling their Arkham Horror promos on eBay. This is where avid collectors started their collecting journeys. Very few complete sets of promos exist in the wild making Arkham Horror LCG a fun thing to collect.

The Investigators of Arkham Horror Book Release

Shortly after Arkham Nights 2016, Fantasy Flight Games announced the release of The Investigators of Arkham Horror, a full-sized, premium book about the investigators. If you were able to pre-order this book, you also received promo Arkham Horror: The Card Game cards, a playmat, and four 12″x18″ posters. The promo cards featured Marie Lambeau and included her investigator card, mini-card, and two signature cards. The playmat is extremely rare and features the boundless and chaotic Ancient One known as Azathoth, with art by Brian Valenzuela.

2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Marie Lambeau investigator card
2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Marie Lambeau mini-card
2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Mystifying Song
2016-11 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Baron Samedi
2017-08 – Gen Con – Leo de Luca – Level 0
2017-08 – Gen Con – Leo de Luca – Level 1
2017-10 – Arkham Nights – Unexpected Courage
2017-10 – Arkham Nights – The Council’s Coffer BETA
2017-10 – Arkham Nights – The 13th Vision BETA
2017-12 – Invocation – Daisy Walker investigator card
2017-12 – Invocation – Daisy Walker plastic mini-card
2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Jenny Barnes investigator card
2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Jenny Barnes mini-card
2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Green Man Medallion
2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Sacrificial Beast
2017-10 – Hour of the Huntress book bundle – Rules Reference card
2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Norman Withers investigator card
2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Norman Withers mini-card
2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Split the Angle
2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Vengeful Hound
2017-12 – Ire of the Void book bundle – Rules Reference card
2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Roland Banks investigator card
2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Roland Banks mini-card
2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Mysteries Remain
2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – The Dirge of Reason
2018-02 – The Dirge of Reason book bundle – Rules Reference card
2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Carolyn Fern investigator card
2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Carolyn Fern mini-card
2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Foolishness
2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – To Fight the Black Wind
2018-04 – To Fight the Black Wind book bundle – Rules Reference card
2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Silas Marsh investigator card
2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Silas Marsh mini-card
2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Nautical Prowess
2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Dreams of the Deep
2018-06 – The Deep Gate book bundle – Rules Reference card
2018-08 – Gen Con – Lucky! – Level 0
2018-08 – Gen Con – Lucky! – Level 2
2018-10 – Arkham Nights – Drawn to the Flame
2018-10 – Arkham Nights – Dendromorphosis BETA
2018-10 – Arkham Nights – Ikiaq BETA
2019-08 – Gen Con – Alice Luxley
2019-08 – Gen Con – Subject 8L-08 (5″x7″ card)
2019-10 – Arkham Nights – Shortcut (alternative art by Derk Venneman)
2019-10 – Arkham Nights – Purifying Corruption BETA
2019-10 – Arkham Nights – Shrine of the Moirai BETA
2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Dexter Drake investigator card
2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Dexter Drake mini-card
2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Molly Maxwell ally card
2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Yaztaroth weakness card
2020-06 – Blood of Baalshandor book bundle – Rules Reference card
2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Copycat – Level 3
2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Nathaniel Cho (alternative art)
2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Harvey Walters (alternative art)
2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Winifred Habbamock (alternative art)
2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Jacqueline Fine (alternative art)
2020-07 – Invocation 2020 – Stella Clark (alternative art)
2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Gloria Goldberg investigator card
2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Gloria Goldberg mini-card
2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Ruth Westmacott ally card
2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Liber Omnium Finium weakness card
2020-11 – Dark Revelations book bundle – Rules Reference card
2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Wendy Adams (alternative art)
2021-10 – Arkham Nights – “Skids” O’Toole (alternative art)
2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Agnes Baker (alternative art)
2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Daisy Walker (alternative art)
2021-10 – Arkham Nights – Roland Banks (alternative art)

2016 – Arkham Nights – Curse of the Rougarou
2017 – Gen Con – The Labyrinths of Lunacy (over-sized packaging, branded with GEN CON 2017 on the front, and tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
2017 – Arkham Nights – The Labyrinths of Lunacy (over-sized packaging, branded with Arkham Nights 2017 on the front, and tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
2018 – Gen Con – The Eternal Slumber (tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
2018 – Arkham Nights – The Night’s Usurper (tagged “NOT FOR SALE” on the back)
2019 – Gen Con – The Blob That Ate Everything (tagged 05/2019 on back)
2021 – Arkham Nights – Machinations Through Time (over-sized packaging, tagged Arkham Nights 2021 on front)

2016 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Azathoth playmat with art by Brian Valenzuela
2017 – Invocation – Invoke Thy Name – Eixodolon’s Pet playmat
2017 – Holiday Sale – The Jolly Ancient One playmat
2017 – Holiday Sale – Beyond the North Portal playmat
2018 – Arkham Nights / Invocation – No Rest for the Wicked – Invocation 2018 playmat with artwork from The Night’s Usurper scenario
2019 – Gen Con – The Blob That Ate Everything “The Viscous Blob” playmat with art by Guillaume Ducos
2020 – Invocation – Copycat
2021 – Arkham Nights – Final Hour (goodie bag)
2021 – Arkham Nights – Altar (raffle)
2021 – Arkham Nights – The Worm (raffle)
2021 – Arkham Nights – Patrice Hathaway (raffle)

2022 – Arkham Nights – Orphic Theory
2022 – Arkham Nights – Gargoyle
2022 – Arkham Nights – The Raven Quill

2016 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book pre-order – Four (4) 12″x18″ art prints with art by Adam S. Doyle, Tomasz Jedruszek, and Magali Villeneuve
2018 – Arkham Nights – The King in Yellow 13.5″x19.5″ poster
2019 – Gen Con – The Blob That Ate Everything 17″x11″ poster
2019 – The Dream-Eaters pre-order – Eight (8) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – Murder at the Excelsior Hotel pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – The Search for Kadath pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – A Thousand Shapes of Horror pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – Dark Side of the Moon – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – Point of No Return – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – Where the Gods Dwell – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – Weaver of the Cosmos – pre-order – Four (4) 5″x7″ art prints
2019 – Arkham Nights – “Skids” O’Toole poster
2022 – Arkham Nights – Horrific Journeys – 8″x12″ poster

Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Book Checklist

2016 – The Investigators of Arkham Horror book
2017 – Hour of the Huntress novella
2017 – Ire of the Void novella
2018 – The Dirge of Reason novella
2018 – To Fight the Black Wind novella
2018 – The Deep Gate novella
2020 – Blood of Baalshandor novella (pre-order includes bookmark featuring cover art by Shane Pierce)
2020 – Dark Revelations novella

Tips

Buying Legit Promos

Some promos have shown up on eBay. Be careful when bidding, buying or making offers. Some promos get released version by Fantasy Flight Games in later releases. Make sure to check icons at the bottom of the card. For example, Arkham Nights and Invocation promos are marked with a “fire” symbol and the year. The version that got released later has the normal scenario markings. Scenario decks that get released in advance often have a “not for sale” tag near the UPC on the back but not all.

Protecting Arkham Horror Tokens

Arkham Horror LCG chaos tokens are 1″ (25.4mm) in diameter. I like to put the tokens inside of a coin capsule. This makes for a nice chunky feel in the chaos bag. I recommend 26mm coin capsules to house the Arkham Horror chaos tokens. They are sold in lots of 100 on Amazon. There are many brands of coin capsules and they all vary in quality. Expect 5% of the coin capsules to have issues like scratches or cracks, or they won’t stay closed.

Want to Buy

I don’t have everything related to Arkham Horror: The Card Game, but I am looking for a few things. If you have one of these items, contact me. I have money or we can make a trade.

2016 – Arkham Nights – Elder sign symbol emblazoned chaos bag
2017 – Arkham Nights – Auto-fail symbol emblazoned chaos bag
2017 – Holiday Sale – The Jolly Ancient One playmat
2017 – Holiday Sale – Beyond the North Portal playmat
2021 – Arkham Nights – Playmats (Violin, Worm, and Altar)

References

ArkhamDB
The Atlas Agency
BoardGameGeek Arkham Horror: The Card Game wiki
Fantasy Flight News

It’s time to Enter the Mythos

Collecting a non-collectible card game

Following Arkham Horror News

Arkham Nights 2016

The Investigators of Arkham Horror Book Release

Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Card Checklist

Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Scenario Deck Checklist

Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Playmat Checklist

Arkham Horror: The Card Game – Promo Poster Checklist