When comparing Letters from Whitechapel vs Arkham Horror: The Card Game, the Slant community recommends Letters from Whitechapel for most people. In the question“What are the best scary board games to play around Halloween?” Letters from Whitechapel is ranked 7th while Arkham Horror: The Card Game is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Letters from Whitechapel is:
A lot of co-op games have a problem with one player getting an advantage, this is called an alpha player. Letters from Whitechapel avoids this issue by rotating the Head of Investigation (a player who leads the rest of his co-op partners) each round, this way avoiding one player who has too much control of the game for too long.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Avoids advantage to any player
A lot of co-op games have a problem with one player getting an advantage, this is called an alpha player. Letters from Whitechapel avoids this issue by rotating the Head of Investigation (a player who leads the rest of his co-op partners) each round, this way avoiding one player who has too much control of the game for too long.
Pro Satisfying asynchronous play
Many games try to do asynchronous gameplay but often do not get it right. Luckily Letters for Whitechapel nailed the gameplay with a well balanced role of Jack the Ripper, who often only narrowly escapes the police, which gives a feeling of tension to the one player who could have an advantage if not balanced correctly.
Pro Multiple expansions and add-ons will continue to help the game grow and evolve over time
Fantasy Flight has already announced and released several add-on packs that include new storylines, characters, monsters, and equipment, further broadening the depth and replayability of this game.
Pro High replayability due to multiple decision points and possible endings to both individual missions and the overall scenario
At different points along each mission players will be forced to make decisions that will affect not only that mission, but the storyline overall. This means that even playing the same scenario will have different results based on the decisions made by each player.
Pro The storylines provided by the game are interesting and draw players into the game
Each scenario features an overarching storyline that encourages players to keep playing as they slowly uncover more and more details about the mystery that is unfolding. Each mission in a scenario is designed to reveal more and more information about the dangers players are facing while giving clues as to the nature of the mystery they are trying to solve.
Pro The limited time to complete each mission gives players a sense of urgency
During each Scenario players will need to complete a number of individual missions, each taking up 1 game, in order to finish the scenario. During setup for each mission they are instructed in creating an Act deck of goals to complete as well as an Agenda deck that is used as a countdown timer for the forces of evil. In order to complete the mission players will need to race to finish the tasks given by the Act deck before Agenda deck finishes counting down. This mechanic really helps make the game feel like a struggle to thwart the forces of evil before humanity is overrun.
Cons
Con Slow beginning
The beginning of the game is the poorest part as it is slow to setup and can be confusing, especially to new players.
Con The core set is limited to 1-2 players
Unfortunately a base set of the game will only allow a maximum of two players at a time. However, if you are willing to buy a second core set then the game can play 4 players cooperatively.