Arkham Horror: The King in Yellow Expansion

by Fantasy Flight Games

Product Features

• Over 160 new cards to enhance your Arkham Horror game
• Introduces the new Herald mechanic
• Age: 12+
• Number of Players: 1 - 8
• Playing Time: 2-4 hrs

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.6 x 5 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: 1589943368
• Item model number: VA45
• Manufacturer recommended age: 12 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,960 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Have You Seen The Yellow Sign? A new play is coming to Miskatonic University, and anyone who's anyone will be there for the opening performance. However, there's something sinister about this play, and the people who see it come back a little...different. As if the investigators didn't have enough to worry about before, now they must deal with the mind-warping effects of the King in Yellow, a play that tells a tale of madness and horror, opening a door for the Tattered King to enter through. This expansion introduces a major new mechanic to Arkham Horror - Heralds, who prepare the way for the Ancient One to arrive. In addition, old familiar faces will be turned against the investigators in ways they never expected. Featuring over 160 new cards, the King in Yellow heralds a darker age for Arkham Horror fans. •13 Blight cards, old friends gone irretrievably mad. •7 Magical Effect cards representing powerful new abilities. •The new Herald mechanic and the King in Yellow Herald. •3 new Monster tokens, more horrible than any before!•Over 160 new cards, detailing new items, new spells, and new horrible happenings in Arkham and beyond!

Product Description

A new play is coming to Miskatonic University, and anyone who's anyone will be there for the opening performance. However, there's something sinister about this play, and the people who see it come back a little...different. As if the investigators didn't have enough to worry about before, now they must deal with the mind-warping effects of the King in Yellow, a play that tells a tale of madness and horror, opening a door for the Tattered King to enter through. This expansion introduces a major new mechanic to Arkham Horror - Heralds, who prepare the way for the Ancient One to arrive. In addition, old familiar faces will be turned against the investigators in ways they never expected. Featuring over 160 new cards, the King in Yellow heralds a darker age for Arkham Horror fans. Product Description The infamous theatrical play "The King in Yellow," has come to Arkham to steal the sanity of those who watch it. With it come artists who paint things that cannot be, writers who dream of black stars, and madmen who wish to drag the rest of humanity into the dark abyss. Lording over all of them is the King in Yellow himself. With the townsfolk being corrupted by the baleful yellow signs, can a few courageous investigators stop the King in Yellow before madness takes its toll? THE KING IN YELLOW is an expansion for the ARKHAM HORROR board game by Fantasy Flight Games. This expansion features 1 Herald Sheet, 1 sheet of tokens, 90 new Ancient One cards, and 76 new Investigator cards, including new Items, new Spells, and the terrible blighted Allies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unashamedly biased devotion, August 7, 2009

By 

J. Shurin "carnivore" (London) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Arkham Horror: The King in Yellow Expansion (Toy)

The King in Yellow is my favorite horror story, so when I got into playing Arkham Horror, it didn't take long for a well-meaning friend to give me this expansion.

Objectively, The King in Yellow keeps to the high standards of the Arkham Horror game. The good & the bad are well-balanced. There are lots of new horrible things that can happen (events, etc) and lots of wonderful new spells and items to use in battling them. Two major new mechanics are introduced: the Herald (kind of a mini-Great Old One that makes the game a LOT harder) and the 'Acts' of the King in Yellow play. Essentially, at points in the game, you draw 'Act' cards. Either you react immediately (by taking a stiff penalty of some sort) or you move one step closer to losing the game.

Like with the other expansions, there are various ways to use the expansion. My preference is to mix the cards right in, but if you're finding the game too easy (which means you're a strategic genius the likes of Sun Tzu), you can highlight the expansion elements in a way that's guaranteed to make the game a LOT harder.

Subjectively, I'm madly fond of the content of this expansion. The King in Yellow is a mystical play (like the Necronomicon on stage!), and the expansion does a great job capturing the tone & fluff of the story created by Robert Chambers.

A lot of fun - highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best expansions!, April 6, 2011

By 

Natalie De Castro (Trinidad) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Arkham Horror: The King in Yellow Expansion (Toy)

Me and some friends picked up this expansion for Arkham Horror for a long weekend. Spent nearly 3/4 of it playing this and we had absolute LOADS of fun. The new Herald system plus the many modes of play you can add KiY to your game makes for constant fun and a challenge for even beginners. The nice part is that this expansion is easy to add to the game even for brand new players. Hell, we had 2 new players and they were hooked instantly and understood right off the bat.

Now I know the game encourages 'house rules' but sometimes it is still fun just playing it by the book and sometimes throwing in your own mix of rules makes it insane fun with a race against time.

I WILL say this though-don't do like we did and end up mixing up your expansion cards AND the original decks together. It will make your internal decks absolutely huge and a burden to play with. We got KiY and Lurker's cars mixed together by accident and it took us a few hours to pull it all apart and get everything in proper place. Granted it IS fun to have the expansions together but more times it just adds an absolute mess to play with and cards that have no place in the current gameplay, especially when you end up with Mythos and spells from other games that exploit/break the other/current game. You can put rules around it but personally...I'd keep everything separate. It makes for confusion when stuff is all jumbled.

Oh, and these cards are not foolproof durable. If you gotta play with friends, make sure the grounding rule is no drinks near the board. Dampness ruins these cards fast. Ziplock bags if you don't have a card storage are a freakin' lifesaver!

Pros:
-Definitely an awesome addition to the game.
-More cards, more spells, more items, more skills...:D
-3 new modes of play added to the original game.

Cons:
-KiY + Cthulu as the Old God picked...GG. Lube up because it'll get rough real fast! :D
-KiY + KiY as Old God = Walk on eggshells. Absolutely wild.
-The pieces aren't as durable seemingly as the original game's pieces. Our original AH monster and card pieces stood up to many a beer spill after some drunken games or accidentally being left in damp spots. That and the kids wanting to get in on the fun. These got slightly damp after some manhandling in luggage and we had to replace some cards from another bought KiY set because they peeled apart and shredded in seconds. Make sure you don't get them wet!

Overall, me and the friends are VERY satisfied with this purchase. Money well spent for a board game that does not get boring easily.

5.0 out of 5 stars Arkham Horror! The best Cooperative Board Game that ever played, March 25, 2011

By 

FUENTES CARLOS EDUAR - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Arkham Horror: The King in Yellow Expansion (Toy)

With my friends we spend several hours trying to deal with the King in Yellow. Amazing game, its better if you had read some of the Lovecraft's Stories. The best way to play it is with at least 4 friends and have enough space to set up the board. My favorite story and Expansion.