Case 01 · Your investigation begins

Return
to Arkham

The game teaches you how to play
as you play.

No need to read the rules before you begin. Open the box, step into the story, and discover the game one lead at a time.

20+* surprises in the box—including envelopes and hidden elements.

See how it begins

Arkham, Massachusetts · December 1928

Return to Arkham casebook, with a snow-covered street beneath a strange sky — The first of twelve mysteries · Click to explore

An old friend. An urgent invitation.

Winter has come to Arkham.
So have you.

Snow settles over Arkham, and Christmas lights brighten its streets. Years after leaving Miskatonic University, you return at the urgent request of your former mentor, Professor Henry Armitage.

An apparently simple theft will test your powers of observation—and draw you into the city’s stranger affairs. Your investigation begins the moment you arrive.

Learn through the story

Open the box.
Begin the story.

First, read the opening journal entry. Then read Armitage’s letter aloud and begin Return to Arkham.

You don’t need to study a rulebook first. Instructions appear within the case, introducing what you need as you reach it. Reading, exploring, and learning are all part of the same investigation.

Only remove components when instructed! As you play, the game tells you which components to take from the box and explains how to use them.

The first page of Return to Arkham: arrival by trolley and an instruction panel introducing the Investigators’ Journal — A look inside the opening case · Click to read

Inside the casebook

A closer look at Return to Arkham.

Illustrated encounters, instructions woven into the story, and the places you’ll discover. Explore three more pages from the first case.

Return to Arkham interior page 5, showing the casebook’s text and graphic layout — Page 5 · Click to enlarge

Return to Arkham interior page 7, showing the casebook’s text and graphic layout — Page 7 · Click to enlarge

Return to Arkham interior page 25, showing the casebook’s text and graphic layout — Page 25 · Click to enlarge

The Investigators’ Journal

Every discovery
deserves a note.

Keep track of the people you meet, the places you visit, and the details that might matter. Record coordinates and discoveries in the Investigators’ Journal as your investigation takes shape.

At the end of a case, your notes help you connect the evidence and answer the questions.

The Arkham map, showing numbered locations across the city’s districts

A map. A directory. A lead.

Find your way
through Arkham.

The Map and Directory connect people, businesses, and places to coordinates around the city. Find a location, then turn to its entry in the casebook to discover what awaits.

Return to Arkham introduces these tools as you use them. You learn how an investigation works by conducting one.

Click the Map or Directory for a closer look ↗

The Time Track

Every lead takes time.

Your investigation has a limit. The Time Track records the time you spend as you follow leads across Arkham. The first case teaches you when to move the hourglass marker and how to keep your investigation moving.