Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game

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Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game / Living Card Game
Call of Cthulhu CCG card back
Call of Cthulhu CCG's card back design
Designer Eric M. Lang
Publisher Fantasy Flight Games
Players 2 or more
Age range 12+
Setup time < 2 minutes
Playing time ~ 20 minutes1
Random chance Some
Skills required Card playing

Arithmetic
1 Games may take much longer or shorter depending on a deck's play style and the number of players.

BoardGameGeek entry

The Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game or Call of Cthulhu Living Card Game is a collectible card game marketed by Fantasy Flight Games. It is based on the fiction of the Cthulhu Mythos, primarily the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game.

It shares art and characters with FFG other Cthulhu Mythos product Arkham Horror.

Contents

[edit] Overview

In 2004, Chaosium licensed Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) to produce the official Call Of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game. It was designed by Eric M. Lang as a more accessible introduction to gaming in the Mythos environment and to provide a fast and lively interplay with the usual elements of the mythos (e.g. arcane tomes and secrets, paranormal investigations, the elder gods and their terrible servants, dark sinister plots, inhuman conspiracies, and dangers from beyond the stars). The game is nominally set in 1928.

FFG staffer Darrell Hardy developed the storyline background for the game. Most of the storyline text (including card names and flavor text) is written by creative developer Pat Harrigan. In the Living Card Game format, the story line is penned by Nate French, with the help of Dan Clark.

The games current developer is Nate French.

[edit] The game

Players attach resources (taken from the cards in their hand) onto domains (similar to the lands of Magic: The Gathering), later draining them to play various cards. Both players compete to complete "stories" by winning success tokens. Five success tokens wins a story; three stories wins the game. Players typically assign character cards to stories, to win struggles and gain these success tokens. Additionally, the first player to run out of cards to draw from loses the game, making "deck destruction" another potentially effective strategy.

[edit] The cards

Five types of card exist in Call of Cthulhu: Story Cards, Character cards, Event cards, Support cards and Conspiracy cards. All cards (except story cards) have a cost and belong to a faction (described below). Various cards have subtypes (such as investigator, tome, or location).

  • Story cards come from a shared deck, and are the object of the game. Players compete by placing "success tokens" on these story cards. Once a player has placed 5 success tokens they win the story, get the option to execute (or ignore) the effect written on it. Once a player has 3 story cards they win the game. Standard players use the 10 latest story cards, of which 3 randomly chosen are in play at any time. The Nameless City is a special promotional Story card that requires 10 success tokens but allows a player to win the game instantly. Another promotional Story card is named "The Challenge From Beyond" (after a story written in collaboration by H.P. Lovecraft and four of his correspondents), and has the opposite effect: it cannot be won like a normal story, but players may draw extra cards by scoring "successes" at it.
  • Character cards are a player's agents, used to attempt to complete stories. They possess a "skill" rating (used to succeed at stories) and may also have icons, which indicate the card's abilities during the "icon struggle" phase of play.
    • Yog-Sothoth - In Whom the Spheres Meet as shown in the "Unspeakable Tales" set. The card show the purple border design of the Yog-Sothoth faction, as well as the Gate And The Key symbol.
    • Yog-Sothoth - In Whom the Spheres Meet as shown in the "Unspeakable Tales" set. The card show the purple border design of the Yog-Sothoth faction, as well as the Gate And The Key symbol.
  • Event cards have one-time effects, and do not remain in play.
  • Support cards have persistent effects, incurring lasting benefits or hindrances.
  • Conspiracies are introduced in "Conspiracies of Chaos." These function similar as Story cards but are played from the players' decks.

An example of the new Conspiracy card type. An example how Conspiracies offer new twists on the story cards.

[edit] The factions

There are seven factions in Call of Cthulhu, as well as "neutral" cards (light grey in color) that are not part of any faction. A card may only be played if a domain with that faction attached is drained (neutral cards can be paid for using any faction).

  • The Agency: This "human" faction comprises the Blackwood Detective Agency, law enforcement agencies, and others involved in criminal justice. Its symbol is a badge, and its color is blue.
  • Miskatonic University: This "human" faction represents the academic prowess of Lovecraft's fictional Miskatonic University, as well as other academic groups. Its symbol is a scroll, and its color is gold.
  • The Syndicate: This "human" faction represents the underworld element of human society, including mobsters, killers, and journalists. It mainly focuses on Danny O'Bannion's gang and its contacts. Its symbol is a dollar sign in a triangle, and its color is dark brown.
  • Cthulhu: This "cult" faction includes Cthulhu himself, as well as his associated cultists and monsters (such as deep ones and shoggoths. Its symbol is a squid, and its color is green.
  • Hastur: This "cult" faction centers on Hastur, especially his King in Yellow aspect, as well as his worshippers and minions, largely human psychopaths and monstrous Byakhees, as well as werewolves. Its symbol is the Yellow Sign, and its color is yellow.
  • Yog-Sothoth: This "cult" faction centers on Yog-Sothoth, and the scholars who worship it, as well as various trans-dimensional beings including Nightgaunts and Star Vampires; it also hosts several undead monsters. Its symbol is a key, and its color is purple.
  • Shub-Niggurath: This "cult" faction centers on Shub-Niggurath and the many, many monsters she is responsible for creating (notably Dark Young, ghouls, and Dholes). Its symbol is a goat's head, and its color is red.

[edit] Availability

A "Forbidden Relics" booster pack
A "Forbidden Relics" booster pack

Call of Cthulhu cards are available in starter packs and boosters. To date, only the Arkham Edition and Eldritch Edition sets provide starter packs. There are also non-random (fixed) "premium" starter sets available, with decks designed so that two players can immediately begin playing; these are the 110-card Arkham Edition Premium Starter Set and 116-card Eldritch Edition Premium Starter Set.

The following booster series are available:

  • Arkham Edition (1st base set)
  • Unspeakable Tales (1st expansion)
  • Forbidden Relics (2nd expansion)
  • Eldritch Edition (2nd base set)
  • Masks of Nyarlathotep (3rd expansion)
  • Forgotten Cities (4th expansion)

Each booster pack contains 11 cards (including 3 'uncommon' and 1 'rare').

In May of 2006, Fantasy Flight announced that the game would no longer be produced in a collectible format. Instead, new products will be released in the form of Asylum Decks, which will be the equivalent of a Premium Starter Set with all-new content.

  • The first Asylum Deck titled "Spawn of Madness" contains 20 new cards; 10 'rare' cards that will appear once in the deck and 10 'common' cards that will appear 3 times in a deck. Thus the total decksize will be 40 cards. It is not intended as to be playable from the box. At Gencon Eric Lang revealed that the format may evolve through the first couple of releases before FFG nails down what they feel is best for the market and the game.
Asylum Pack III - Conspiracies of Chaos cover.
Asylum Pack III - Conspiracies of Chaos cover.
  • The second Asylum Deck - titled "Kingsport Dreams" - has a comparable format and was released January 2007. It was previously called "The One on the Threshold" but has been renamed to "Kingsport Dreams" during development. It focuses on characters and locations within Kingsport.
  • The third Asylum Deck - titled "Conspiracies of Chaos" - was released at Gencon Indy in August 2007. It introduces a fourth card type in addition to Character, Event and Support Card; the Conspiracy.
  • The fourth Asylum Deck - "Dunwich Denizens" - Features characters and locations from the story The Dunwich Horror. Here Nate French takes over the role as designer from Eric Lang. It was released December 2007. The commercial tagline reads: "Chaos is coming, and Cthulhu awaits! This 40-card Asylum Deck introduces new cards to the Call of Cthulhu CCG metagame, including Wilbur and Lavinia Whateley, the terrifying Dunwich Horror, and more brave Arkham investigators risking it all in an effort to stop the spreading terror."

On February 5, 2008 Fantasy Flight announced the Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game will become a 'Living Card Game' in October 2008. To bridge the gap until then also 2 more Asylum Decks are announced.

  • The fifth and sixth Asylum Decks. One of these Asylum Packs will showcase the monster and hunters of the Cthulhu mythos,

featuring a host of new Ancient One characters. The other will be based on the classic H.P. Lovecraft novella, At the Mountains of Madness.

  • A new 'Core Game' is also announced (called "Call of Cthulhu Card Game" on the box) having reprints of older cards, with text the reflect the current wording according to various errata. This 'Core Game' will also include a new Story Deck. This game is designed to function as a standalone game, as well as being fully compatible with the other Call of Cthulhu LCG products. To enhance the appeal to board game players, a game board is included as well as resin components.
  • A new Asylum Deck will be released every month from October on.

[edit] Gaming Milestones

[edit] Yithians

Around May, 2006 as a special promotion, copies of the Yithian deck where handed out to tournament organisers. The Yithian deck was a purposely unbalanced deck, ignoring normal deck-building rules and featuring overpowered cards representing Yithians. Since these cards are so overpowered, they are illegal in normal tournament play. This Yithian Tournament had the following special rules:

   • The first-place finisher challenges the Yithian deck, as played by the tournament organizer.
   • If the first-place finisher is defeated, the second-place finisher takes his spot, and so on.
   • All challengers must use the same deck they played in the tourney.
   • The first player to defeat the Yithian deck takes a copy of the deck home.

The Yithian Deck consists out of the following promo cards:

  • Y1 Pnakotic Elder x6
  • Y2 Great Race Scientist x6
  • Y3 Yithian Soldier x6
  • Y4 Master of Time and Space x8
  • Y5 Displaced x4
  • Y6 Library at Pnakotus x8
  • Y7 Traveller of Aeons x2

[edit] Player Designed Cards

The winners of the Call of Cthulhu World Championship are invited to design a card that is released within the other products. These cards usually have a high power level, and the art features the likeness of the person that designed it.

World Championship Winner Designed Cards
2005 World Champion Greg Gan designed the card "Assistant to Dr. West" which bears his likeness. It appears in the Forgotten Cities expansion.
2005 World Champion Greg Gan designed the card "Assistant to Dr. West" which bears his likeness. It appears in the Forgotten Cities expansion.
2006 World Champion Chris Long designed the card "Mentor to Vaughn" which bears his likeness. It appears in Kingsport Dreams: Asylum Pack II.
2006 World Champion Chris Long designed the card "Mentor to Vaughn" which bears his likeness. It appears in Kingsport Dreams: Asylum Pack II.
  • At GenCon Indianapolis 2005, Gregory Gan of Pittsburgh, PA became the first Call of Cthulhu CCG World Champion. His card, Assistant to Dr. West (bearing his likeness), was printed in the Forgotten Cities set in the Eldritch Edition block. The card art bears his likeness as drawn by Patrick McEvoy.
  • At GenCon Indianapolis 2006, Christopher Long of State College, PA became the second Call of Cthulhu CCG World Champion. Mr. Long has designed his card, and it is featured in the second Asylum deck that has been released January 2007. The card art bears his likeness as drawn by Patrick McEvoy. It also features Long's name in the text box.
  • At GenCon Indianapolis 2007 James 'Jim' Black of Pittsburgh, PA became the third Call of Cthulhu CCG World Champion. In the winning match he had both Assistant to Dr West and Mentor to Vaughn in play.

[edit] Programs

[edit] Servitor Program

Fantasy Flight Games have set up the Servitor program to help tournament organizers by giving tournament support, like promo cards, Sanity Sertificates and access to special promotional items like the Yithian Deck, to give away as prizes.

[edit] Sanity Redemption

Most products come with Sanity Points on the packaging, which range from 1 Sanity Point on boosters, to 5 on Asylum packs. Servitors are given Sanity Sertificates to hand out to tournament winners. These Sanity Points can be redeemed for items like promo cards or t-shirts.

[edit] Awards

  • In 2005 Flagship magazine awarded the Call of Cthulhu CCG the title "Best Card Game of 2005."
  • In 2008 InQuest Gamer magazine voted the Call of Cthulhu CCG the number 57 ranking Game of All Time saying "We ♥ Cthulhu. Cthulhu games are seldom crap, and this baby broke new ground with domain-based resource mechanics and great integration of the requisite horror and madness themes."

[edit] See also

[edit] External links