For one reason or another, Internet culture has latched onto the stories of author H.P. Lovecraft as a source of cultural humor, specifically his end-all monster, Cthulu. This modern upswing in interest in Lovecraft's iconic horror stories has resulted in a number of fun bits of entertainment ephemera. One of the most extensive is a board game called Arkham Horror, a cooperative adventure in which a series of strange characters have to race against time and battle an army of horrible monsters to stop an ancient nightmare from rising in the modern world.

Those who are interested in running a game of Arkham Horror should be prepared to spend at least 2-3 hours of solid play time. The game isn't particularly difficult to pick up as a neophyte, but there's still a lot to handle. Each player takes control of a colorful character with an interesting background and special abilities and items that will help him or her navigate Lovecraft's freaky city. Players may take control of a jazz musician who can raise the dead or an Indiana Jones-like archeologist who meets every creature of the horrible deep with a carbine rifle and a defiant sneer.

The goal of Arkham Horror is to prevent a randomly selected Old One from rising in the city. The Old Ones are the nigh-unkillable monsters dredged from the imagination of H.P. Lovecraft. If the game goes on too long, a beast with effectively unbeatable stats will make its way onto the board and literally devour each of the characters one by one. Along the way, portals to other worlds open up around the city of Arkham, releasing various minor monsters into the population. Players can attack and kill these monsters, taking the cards representing them as trophies that can be exchanged for various benefits later in the game.

There are only two ways to win Arkham Horror. The more likely of the two is to collectively seal six portals to other worlds. This requires players to enter these portals, spend time in the frightening alternate universes and then spend special Clue Tokens to permanently cleanse a particular area on the board of any evil disruptions. Clue Tokens can only be acquired by visiting locations on the board where they pop up randomly or sometimes by engaging in special Encounters at the locations.

Because it is a cooperative game instead of a competitive one, Arkham Horror is based heavily on strategy. Players have to communicate with one another before every round to make a plan of attack. It is especially apparent late in the game that every move makes a difference. A good player learns how to use his or her character's strengths to contribute to the overall mission of closing the portals and stopping the Old One from making the city of Arkham into its own personal buffet.

Arkham Horror has a number of expansions based on other stories from the Lovecraft canon. Players can add a section to the board to visit the town of Dunwich, the surreal outskirts of Kingsport, or other bizarre locations. The expansion towns offer new challenges to an already challenging game, as well as new spell, item and ally cards to aid players in combating the forces of evil.

Arkham Horror is rather unforgiving and nuanced game, but it is one of the most well-developed systems on the market today. Not free of flaws but remarkably fluid for such a complex system, it is a fine example of what a cooperative board game ought to be. If you've got a night to devote to it and at least three friends to join you, Arkham Horror makes for an unforgettable evening.