State of the hobby: cursed to live in interesting times that also involve probably spending money
Well, it's been an interesting few months since my last post. Fantasy Flight announced that 8 out of the 10 campaigns they had vaguely in print (but hadn't really been printing much of lately, especially with the tariffs) were, well, out of print. Not merely out of stock at the manufacturer, but gone/done/seeya. That changed a lot of the calculus about when to buy things... and the needle shifted to Right Now!
The fanbase went absolutely berserk and the entire market exploded. The Scarlet Keys campaign that had gotten middling reviews was now hailed as a triumph and shot up past $200. Stuff that had been staples and sleepy on the shelves had their prices hiked up or vanished. There had been a few sets that were already hard to get, and those climbed $50-150 in the secondary markets.
Here's a link of currently available sets, from the reddit. As you can see, it's pretty small and most of it is from the Drowned City storyline, which is going to be in print another 2 years.
There are still stragglers from the news asking when the reprints for the Scarlet Keys will happen, and the answer is: never, adjust your expectations.
Dawn of a new day: A new chapter opens. Literally.
Fantasy Flight announced that everything released so far is Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 will start April 30, 2026, with the release of a new updated core set (not to be confused with the 2022 "revised core set," not to be confused with the 2016 "core set"). They also announced a commitment to release 4 new AHtCG:LCG products a year, with the 4 releases for 2026 being the core set, 5 brand new investigator decks, a standalone scenario, and an investigator expansion. Not a full-length campaign, which some folks are very salty about.
Fantasy Flight has been releasing 1-2 cards worth of spoilers from the new core every few days, with varying degrees of acceptance from the fans. It'll have 5 mechanically new investigators, new encounter cards for campaigns going forward, and a brand new mini-campaign that everyone is very excited as the existing 2016/2022 cores' Night of the Zealot has some issues. Even folks steeped in chapter 1 releases thus have a lot of incentive to pick up the new core.
The original 5 investigator decks are great - several of them are fantastic upgrades to the card pool for each class, respectively. Jacqueline Fine's new spells, and the included higher level upgrades, are just stellar, especially for early on in a collection (I could say more about the other classes). All of them will be compatible with chapter 2, so I expect copies to start getting vacuumed up any minute. In a word, the new investigator decks are enticing, and are high on my list to acquire.
The new encounter cards are exciting - the old ones have been used in a lot of campaigns so switching up the calculus will make for fresher new adventures. New buyers coming in on chapter 2 won't care. Since new campaigns will use the new encounter cards and old campaigns use the old, if you want to play both, you'll need to have both a chapter 1 and chapter 2 core (which Fantasy Flight loves, of course) or use a workaround that Fantasy Flight has announced but not released. That's fine, because an actual full-length campaign isn't being released until 2027!
Recommendations, by motivation: Know yourself.
1. You want to play Arkham Horror the Card Game immediately and can put up with a little shopping: Buy a revised core set (or two old cores) and as much chapter 1 content as you can find. The five chapter 1 standalone investigators will be compatible with chapter 2, so they're excellent purchases. Don't spend a whole lot of money. There are different lots available on the secondary market, and buying one of those would kickstart your collection. Have a great time!
2. You want to play Arkham Horror right now, and you're cheap and crafty. Buy 2 old cores or a revised core, and print and play fan-made campaigns. Have a great time!
3. You want to play Arkham Horror now and at any point in the future, and you already have a crapton of chapter 1 content, and you're sick of Fantasy Flight's bullshit. Just play what you have, and wait for reviews on the new campaigns, maybe pick up new investigator stuff if it looks good. Also, if you need a medal for not buying the new content, please let me know, I'll post one for you. Have a great time!
4. You feel like chapter 1 is too complicated and/or you're not going to have any money till April 30, 2026. Don't worry about it. Buy a core set in May 2026, pick up more stuff if you like it. Chapter 1 investigator packs are compatible with chapter 2. Whatever happens, happens. Have a great time!
5.You want to really play a new full-length campaign, you own all of chapter 1 you want and have played it, and either can't find a PnP to build or hate the idea of assembling PDFs. Buy everything from chapter 2 in 2027, when the first full-length campaign is released OR buy the new investigator stuff in 2026 and replay a campaign you already have. Have a great time!
6. You own chapter 1 stuff, and the burden is too much. You've seen too much, and are haunted by the eldritch knowledge. Look up some prices and sell it off as a lot, or piece by piece. I guarantee someone will buy it. Collect the cash, do other cool stuff with it. Have a great time!
As you can see, there is no scenario where you do not have a great time. Until next time... have a great time!
