Barkham Horror: The Card Game and the Awful Cats of Meowsk

Enter the terrifying world of Arkham, only with a hilarious dogs vs. cats twist in Barkham Horror: The Card Game.
The accolades of Arkham Horror: The Card Game continue to grow with its regular release of new content. I still have yet to do much of anything solo, but there was a reason to finally dig in this month… It was not the horror, nor the idea of defeating the usual kind of evil. No. It was the April Fools’ joke that came to life in Barkham Horror: The Card Game!
Spoiler Alert
Although the following doesn’t contain specific scenario details nor outcomes, it does reveal some of the cards. If you would prefer to keep everything a surprise for yourself, stop now and return when you’re ready! The dogs will be here.
Game Overview
Game Name: The Meddling of Meowlathotep Scenario
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: MJ Newman
Artists: Barger, Kendelic, Villeneuve, and Weber
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Yes. This was initially intended as a joke, yet it quickly turned into an idea that had to happen. Voila! It’s a classic tale of dogs vs. cats, only with an Arkham twist. Well, a Barkham twist, if you will. Ha ha! This set of investigators is simply everything. I laughed nonstop reading through their actions and backstories! Absolutely the best.
First Play
April 4, 2019
Complexity
4
Latest Play
October 19, 2023
Expansions
65
Setup Time
15 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
17
Play Time
1 Hour & 15 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
34" x 28"
Low Score
N/A
Man’s Best Friend
I about fell over from laughter when I learned more about “Skids” O’Drool, the pound escapee. This backstory is about the funniest thing I ever came across. Ha ha!
My character choices often boil down to comedy, artwork, or otherwise subjective criteria. Skids made the team!
Playing true solo seems to be more challenging, and my deck-building skills have never been great. So I searched for someone else to join this wreckless pup.
It wasn’t an easy decision! Every character had some sort of funny aspect. Could I play 5-handed?! I didn’t think so.
Meanwhile, in Barkham
This scenario is certainly all about the terror and horror of cats… But I still had an oddly accurate StoryWorld to go along with it. Oddly, cats seem to be a rarity there.
A werewolf?! As soon as I read about baying at the moon from the Barkham Asylum, I had my context. The rulebook helped perfect the scene with a proper full moon.
Never fear, though! This is simply another example of a human-dog mix. Exactly like Skids. Without the skidding.
Maybe this is why I haven’t dug into the game… I tend to shy away from horror, unless mixed with a little comedy!
Driving Miss Winthpup
My final decision rested with Kate Winthpup. Her analytical mind was certain to solve the strange events around Barkham! And that nose could sniff out anything.
What a duo! The scenario rules specifically forbid the use of these characters in regular campaign play. Come on! You know I’m not leaving these dogs behind…
Then, I spent way too long constructing decks for this pair. Here’s a secret: My decks are always terrible.
I chose cards based on artwork, flavor text, and then abilities. That’s not right! But it was a howling bit of fun.
Proper Investigators
If you didn’t think I was going to use Calico Critters to represent these canine investigators… Show yourself out.
Just kidding, of course! Ha! I didn’t quite have exact matches, yet that didn’t matter much to me.
Skids and Miss Winthpup found themselves in the middle of Barkham, hot on the trail of something strange. Was it cats?! Well, yes. When are the cats not to blame? Exactly.
The funny thing was how my location markers were completely useless. I ran out since the diagonal areas went both ways. At least these work nicely for most scenarios!
Mischief and Chaos
Skids was off to a good start when he convinced a human friend to accompany him. Dario wasn’t about to ask why an anthropomorphic dog needed his help. No questions!
But then it all started to slide away. Very slowly. Because this treachery card showed up. Hilarity ensued. Ha!
Perhaps I had to discard an asset card after all. But pushing a card off my table was unthinkable. The floor is no place for board game components! Unless dropped.
So I made Skids take 2 damage, due to my inability to follow the instructions. Yet another purrfect card!
Cats by the Dozen
They were everywhere! Even though this scenario is blatantly funny, it’s far from an easy romp in the park. This is still the Arkham universe, filled with dangers.
Unfortunately, I made questionable decisions along the way. I had a pretty good time with the token bag, though.
Skids picked up a few too many enemies, though. Miss Winthpup did her best to sniff out and discover every clue. Yet ultimately, it just wasn’t quite enough.
As darkness descended and a path to a successful ending was actually clear, things unraveled. Like yarn. Ha!
Missed Opportunities
Sure, the cats won in this particular instance, but why did Skids get so unlucky with his card draws?! I even had some extra card drawing abilities that did nothing.
See, the only card I wanted to see was Take the Wheel. There it is. An absolutely hilarious situation.
Coupled with Skids’ special action, this would have been amazing! Did I have a little car on the sidelines to reenact it? Yes. Did I get to use it? Not at all. Let the tantrum begin.
I just wanted to have a dog drive a car all over the place in the best show of force. Is this too much to ask?!
Me-Ow with these Cats
Ouch. The cats were out in full force. Skids and Miss Winthpup fought them off valiantly, often in interesting ways. Cats are tricky. Solutions must be trickier!
Not to give anything away, but a lot of these enemies can be taken out of play in unexpected ways. I had a lot of fun trying to figure it all out. But Skids! Too much damage.
I was somewhat frustrated, yet that can be blamed on my poor deck-building skills. Too many distractions for me!
Maybe it doesn’t help that we own practically the entire collection at this point… I really should try to get better.
Session Overview
Play Number: 2
Expansion: The Meddling of Meowlathotep Scenario
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Standard Difficulty Level with 2 Investigators
Required Play Space: 34″ x 28″
Setup Time: 15 Minutes
Play Time: 1 Hour & 15 Minutes
Outcome: Loss
The dog investigators may have been defeated, but no worries! They went to St. Mary’s Animal Hospital for a little patchup. All better! And ready for next time…
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
6
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- There are countless combinations in terms of investigators, decks, encounters, and scenario-specific details.
- Working through each turn takes a bit of luck and a lot of planning, often involving some kind of teamwork.
- Drawing tokens creates interesting randomness without having to rely on rolling dice for every sort of outcome.
- Each investigator can be customized in many ways and often feels unique with special abilities and backstories.
- For this scenario specifically, the combination of horror with silly humor makes an excellent experience.
- Location cards create an interactive map where mysteries abound, especially prior to investigators moving.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Building a deck is a central element of gameplay, yet this can be a challenge when starting from scratch.
- The play area can get extremely cluttered within a matter of rounds and keeping track of every card is difficult.
- Although the general rules are easy to follow, there are a lot of keywords and small rules to look up and know.
- To get the full experience, a significant investment is often necessary to acquire a wide selection of cards.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Campaign or Scenario
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete the Curse of the Rougarou scenario.
Complete the Dunwich Legacy campaign.
Complete the Night of the Zealot campaign.
Complete The Meddling of Meowlathotep scenario.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of The Meddling of Meowlathotep Scenario? Is this absolute blasphemy if you’re a cat person? Ha ha! I struggled a little bit, though some more organization may help when I next attempt this. Getting better at building decks is probably also a good idea. But more than anything, I just need Skids to drive a car. That’s all I ask! Ha ha!
I haven’t played the base game (no special reason, just that I have a lot of games I can play and enjoy that won’t cost me big money if I get into them) so for me most of the fun is in reading the cards…
In terms of fun with reading cards, this set definitely worked out! There were very challenging moments, yet I laughed a lot along the way. I’m not one who’s a big fan of Lovecraftian horror since it tends to be a little too scary for me. This worked out very well, though. Adding a little humor was all I needed!