Elder Sign (card game)
Elder Sign is a cooperative card and dice game, based on the Cthulhu Mythos of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. It is published by Fantasy Flight Games, which also produces the Cthulhu Mythos games Arkham Horror, Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, Mansions of Madness, and Eldritch Horror.
Play
- Players randomly select a monster (known as an Ancient One) to oppose. The Ancient One requires a certain number of elder sign tokens to "seal" or imprison it. Conversely, the Ancient One can be "awakened" or released by a number of doom tokens. There are also many other less powerful monsters that can appear during the game.
- Each player chooses an investigator to play as (usually randomly), each investigator having unique abilities. [1]
- Players take turns exploring a randomly generated room (there are Adventure cards and Other World cards). If a player succeeds at completing all of the tasks in the room they are exploring, they obtain a reward. Conversely, if they fail, they receive a penalty. If the player's investigator is devoured (either by losing all of their stamina and/or sanity), they lose what they originally had, a doom token is added to the doom track, and the player returns to play as a different investigator.
- Rooms are explored until either the Ancient One is "sealed" or "awakened". If the Ancient One is sealed, the players immediately win. If the Ancient One awakens, the players must face it in battle. This battle is designed to be extremely difficult with a low chance of success, so players must try to prevent the Ancient One from awakening at all costs.
Reception
Giaco Furino of Fearnet wrote, "If you're a Cthulhu fan this game is a must."[2] Michael Harrison of Wired.com called it "a fun, thrilling dice game".[3]
Expansion
An expansion entitled Unseen Forces was released in 2013. This expansion introduced the Blessed/Cursed mechanic. Two new dice are included; a player uses the white die when they are Blessed and the black die when they are Cursed. It also added many new cards to the game, including optional Master Mythos cards that can be used to increase the difficulty of the game. [4]
References
- ↑ http://fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/Elder%20Sign/support/SL05_ES_Revised_Rulebook.pdf
- ↑ Furino, Giaco (2013-12-19). "Dangerous Games: 'Elder Sign' Board Game Review". Fearnet. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ Harrison, Michael (2011-10-31). "Return to Lovecraft’s Horrific Arkham in Elder Sign". Wired.com. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
- ↑ http://fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/Elder%20Sign/Unseen%20Forces/Rules%20art/Unseen%20Forces_Rulebook_web.pdf