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So long story short, I've always been interested in this game. However, the 4-5 hour play times and overly complex rules are making me hesitant. Anyone who's played it care to weigh in? How's it compare to games like Elder Sign?

If your hesitant about the complex rule. You're probably better off getting Eldritch Horror instead.
Personally I prefer Eldritch horror over Arkham horror. For me if feels quicker to play and the rules is not has clunky.
Personally I also like to Global trotting aspect of Eldritch horror too.

You might want to check out boardgames geeks too. They have a few reviews comparing both Eldritch and Arkham.

I love Arkham Horror and it's expansions, I would highly recommend it!

You are right though, it has a crazy-steep learning curve (I found watching a YouTube rules video helped a lot) and you really need to clear a whole afternoon to complete a game of even the base game. It is very rewarding though.

It's more complex than Elder Sign and Eldritch Horror, but it shares the world and thematic themes so if you're daunted by it's (totally deserved) non user friendly reputation, then Eldritch Horror would be much better

It's a great game and introducing a friend of mine to it got him into board games in general.

But if long play times and complex rules are a turn off, you're better off with Eldritch Horror. Eldritch Horror is much less fiddly and more streamlined than Arkham. It still retains the themes and feel as well.

I feel like Arkham is also getting phased out with the coming launch of the Arkham Horror Card Game.

I strongly recommend the core game. It has rpg-lite elements, the cooperative play, and you can set the difficulty level of the game by choosing an "easy" or "hard" elder god.

Yes, it takes more time than Elder Sign, but it also has more complexity. The setup time is not insignificant. I suggest getting that done before people arrive.

I have two suggestions for your first game that will help streamline things:
(1) Download and print the free rules summary from Esoteric Order of Gamers. It is better organized than the rule book and you won't waste time flipping for the answer to "what do I do next?" The rules summary is extensive because it includes every expansion, but you only need to print a couple of pages for the base game. link

(2) For the first play only, let players set their sliders at the beginning of their turn. Once you read some reviews at BGG you'll learn what these are. Basically, you have groups of stats and you can move your slider to one extreme or another. Say you want to max out "fight," you can do that, but if you do, you also min "will." You may need more "will" next turn, so you gotta move the slider in that direction (at the same time decreasing "fight"). It's a good mechanic, and I'm probably not explaining it well enough to show why. However, there's so much other stuff to figure out in that first game, that it's easier and less "analysis paralysis" to let players set their sliders wherever they want each turn. It skews the game difficulty in favor of the players but it's only one game.

(3) Did I say two? I meant three. BGG has some discussions on the best characters for new players. Use google-fu. This is another way to control the difficulty setting of the game. For the first few plays, you should use the stronger characters. Others can be more frustrating to new players, and that's no fun.

Lastly, start with the base game only. Some people say "oh I won't even break out the game unless I'm also playing Dunwich and Innsmouth expansions." It is true that the expansions add some cool stuff to the game, but since you are concerned about playing time, start with the base. It's fun and if you like it and play it often, the playing time will vastly decrease as you become familiar with the rules. I heard horror stories about playing time and complexity before I got the game, and I was happily surprised to find it wasn't that bad. Non-gamers even enjoyed it because they liked working as a team to beat the bad guys. Just don't forget to warn people that losing to the elder gods is common.

Right on guys, thanks for the feedback. I think I'll look into Eldritch Horror, as the world hopping and the lighter rules/time appeals to me.

Hope you enjoy Eldritch! Just make sure you don't pay over the odds for any of the expansion packs, when stock runs low the prices rocket but they are reprinted pretty frequently.

If you get on well with Eldritch then I would also recommend the new second edition of Mansions of Madness. Don't let the thought of an App scare you off, it's a very immersive and atmospheric game.

 jreilly89 wrote:
Right on guys, thanks for the feedback. I think I'll look into Eldritch Horror, as the world hopping and the lighter rules/time appeals to me.

Good call man hope you enjoy!

 jreilly89 wrote:
Right on guys, thanks for the feedback. I think I'll look into Eldritch Horror, as the world hopping and the lighter rules/time appeals to me.

Nice. Once you have a few games in. I highly recommend in getting the Forsaken lore expansion.