Mythos Tales

A reading-and-deduction mystery set in Lovecraft's Arkham: follow clues, answer questions and keep your sanity.

Designers: Hal Eccles, Tim Uren, Will Kenyon, Jason Maxwell
Published by: 8th Summit
Editions by: Grey Fox Games, Pegasus Spiele, Hobby World, Broadway Toys LTD, MTS Games, MS Edizioni

Mythos Tales drops you into H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham in the 1920s with a newspaper, a list of allies, a directory of Arkham residents and a map, and no board at all. Your job is to follow clues from location to location and suspect to suspect, then answer the questions at the end of each scenario. Your score depends on how many clue points you needed to visit, how much sanity you gambled along the way, and whether your answers are right. Professor Armitage sets the benchmark and dares you to beat him. It is closer to Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective than to a typical board game: reading, deduction and a lot of talking, for one to ten, about two hours per case.

Newspaper, directory and map instead of a boardClue points, sanity risk and answers countBeat Armitage's score

Who it's for

You love investigative stories and Lovecraft, and you have a small group who enjoy reading, debating and solving a case together.

Not for you if…

You want dice, miniatures or action, or your group dislikes reading and deduction. Replay value is low once a case is solved.

Vibe's take

Quiet, bookish and absorbing. Everyone leans over a newspaper and a map arguing which address to visit next, and the dread comes from the story, not from components.