All You Need to Know to Protect Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Odds are you’re here because you love playing Arkham Horror: The Card Game and with that comes the urge to protect it! In this guide you’ll learn everything you need to know about why it’s important to protect your cards with the best storage techniques. 

We combined our learning from customer support questions, interviews, and research to answer your most important questions! In this article you’ll learn about:

• Why you should sleeve your cards
• The Arkham Horror: The Card Game card count
• The range of card sizes
• The best sleeves for protection and play
• Best way to store your cards

Note: This guide pertains to Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Should I sleeve Arkham Horror?

There are 3 main reasons to protect your game with card sleeves. 

#1 Protect from dirt

Although the coating prevents the absorption of liquids, it only does so on the surface. The edges have exposed wood fibers that are highly susceptible to absorption and damage.

#2 Protection from shuffling

No matter how carefully you shuffle, there’s no guarantee that others will do the same. 

Ripple shuffling causes the cards to bend, while mash shuffling causes abrasion on edges and will quickly wear down your cards. Some customers have said that they witnessed people shuffling so aggressively that kinks appeared on the edges of the cards, yikes. 

#3 Easy shuffling 

Some players have a hard time shuffling decks of cards. 

This problem can be made worse when you sleeve your cards since the deck will become thicker and tackier (typically both sides are glossy), especially if you use penny sleeves.

That’s why many customers prefer sleeves with a textured matte back like these here. They feature a micro-beaded exterior that creates a pillow of air between sleeves so they shuffle easily. 

What is the card count and sizes for Arkham Horror?

You’ll need 282 Standard American (57 x 89 mm) and 187 Mini American (41 x 63 mm) sleeves for Arkham Horror: The Card Game.

We have everything you need to sleeve your game right here.

Which sleeves do we recommend?

Use the right card sleeves

• Standard American sleeves for 57 x 89 mm cards
• Mini American sleeves for 41 x 63 mm cards

Thin or thick

• We recommend thicker sleeves for durability
• Strong edges for long lasting protection against shuffling
• Textured matte back that allows for easier shuffling, especially since sleeved cards will make the deck larger

Brands

It really comes down to personal preference. Most companies sell sleeves in packs of 50 or 100. So you will need to buy 250 or 300 depending on your preferred brand.

At Ryker we’ve created custom board game kits, so you get the right quantity, the correct size, and spares! There’s no guess-work and no more over buying sleeves. What’s not to like?

See our Arkham Horror Card Sleeve Kit here.

What's the best way to store your card?

That depends! 

If you’re a casual player, you’ll be fine with just sleeving them and storing them in your original box. However, if you fancy yourself more of an expert, however, our research suggests you’ll want to do the following: 

1. Store your player cards in binders sorted by level (unsleeved or sleeved, your choice) 
2. Store your encounter cards, sleeved in boxes (available at your local hobby shop!) 
3. Store your scenario sheets in a binder in standard A4 sheet protectors 

We hope you found this helpful! 

We’d also like to thank all of our awesome customers for their feedback which made up the bulk of our research.

Tips and/or questions? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.