Nightmare (game)

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Promotional Shot of Atmosfear The DVD Board Game.

Nightmare is a video board game released in 1991 by A Couple 'A Cowboys PTY LTD. It was written and directed by Brett Clements and produced by Phillip Tanner. Packaged with a sixty minute video cassette, the game required 3-6 players (often referred to as 'maggots' or 'harbingers') to attempt to collect keys while trying to beat the clock included on the video. At random intervals the game would stop and The Gatekeeper (portrayed by Wenanty Nosul in the English language version) would appear to either taunt, reward, or punish the players in a variety of ways.

Prior to beginning the game the players are required to write their "greatest fear" on individual slips of paper. The game is won by collecting one of each six colored keys that are strewn about the board and making it to the center of the game board where the player would draw a 'fear'. If that player draw's someone elses fear, the tape was stopped and that player declared the winner (in later versions of the game, one must draw their own fear to win). If no one is able to accomplish this within a set amount of time (45-60 minutes), the Gatekeeper is declared the winner.

Due to issues with overseas production, the game's name was later changed to Atmosfear for its release outside of the United States, Canada and Australia; in the UK, this was also to avoid confusion with the board game version of Knightmare. After the release of the original game the title has spawned a number of sequels, add-ons, and spin offs under both the Nightmare and Atmosfear titles. This includes a card game, a CD-ROM version, and most recently a new series of DVD TV Games by Forest Interactive. In the later DVD games, the games adapt from the host personna. For example, Khufu's game is an Egyptian twist of the traditional Atmosfear/Nightmare series.

[edit] Characters

In the world of Nightmare/Atmosfear there are several characters, some of which host the video tapes (and DVDs), others of which players will adopt the persona of. The central cast remain the gatekeeper, and the six playable characters of the original game (later named Harbingers), these six returning in each game with the exception of 'The Soul Rangers'. The new Harbinger was revealed in mid-July 2006 -- Medusa, the Gorgon, first appearing in the Khufu version. It is assumed she will remain as the "spare" Harbinger from now on, and will earn her own boardgame if sales are high after all of the original Harbingers have hosted.

Main Characters

Name	Home	Colour	Symbol
The Gatekeeper	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gevaudan the Werewolf	The Forest Le Gevauden	Blue	Werewolf head
Hel(l)in the Poltergeist	The Fairground	Purple	Toyblock pile
Khufu the Mummy	Hollywood On The Nile	Yellow	Pharaoh/skeleton
Baron Samedi the Zombie	The Cathedral Of Jive	Green	Top Hat
Anne de Chantraine the Witch	Punkin	Orange	Carved pumpkin
Elizabeth Bathory the Vampire	Castle Cathice	Red	Vampire bat
Medusa the Gorgon	Snake Pit	Lime green	Medusa's head

Supporting Characters

Name	Appears in	Purpose	Extra details
Vampires	Nightmare/Atmosfear IV	Losing Players	In the game, these players have been changed by the host into Vampires from their original characters
Soul Rangers	The Harbingers	Losing Players	In the game, these players have failed the first challenge, and their role is limited throughout the game. They are symblised by the Numskull, and reside in the sewers
Dr Mastiff	The Soul Rangers	Host	Dr Mastiff, essentially a snappily dressed skeleton, is a demented dentist, and is much more relaxed about his game than the four previous hosts, there appearing to be no horrifying result should you lose
'Chosen' Soul Rangers	The Soul Rangers	Main Players	This is the only game which does not use the six 'Harbingers'. The Six chosen are named Ja, Woks, Nof, Rott, Sep and Zass, and have few distinguishing characteristics

[edit] Game List

Media	Name	Host	Release
Video	Nightmare/Atmosfear	The Gatekeeper	1991
Video	Nightmare 2/Atmosfear 2	Baron Samedi	1992
Video	Nightmare 3/Atmosfear 3	Anne de Chantraine	1993
Video	Nightmare 4/Atmosfear 4	Elizabeth Bathory	1994
Video	Atmosfear - The Harbingers	The Gatekeeper	1995
Video	Atmosfear - The Soul Rangers	Dr. Mastiff	1996
Video	Atmosfear Booster Tape	The Gatekeeper	1995
PC	Atmosfear - The Third Dimension	The Gatekeeper	1995
Card game	Atmosfear The Card Game	n/a	1995
DVD	Atmosfear - The Gatekeeper	The Gatekeeper	2004
DVD	Atmosfear - Khufu The Mummy	Khufu	2006
DVD	Atmosfear - ???	TBA	TBA