"I have seen the dark universe yawning Where the black planets roll without aim, Where they roll in their horror unheeded, Without knowledge, or lustre, or name."

     - H.P. Lovecraft

Tonight is Halloween, and there is no better way to celebrate than by getting your friends together for an evening of battling horrifying monsters, unraveling strange stories, and discovering mysterious and arcane occurrences. All this and more can be found on your gaming table when you play one of our games of Lovecraftian terror.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve presented overviews of our Cthulhu-themed games so you can discover the format that best fits your play style. Which Lovecraftian game is right for your group? Read on to decide!

Seal Gates to Other Worlds

The bestselling Arkham Horror is a cooperative adventure game of survival, horror, and investigation. One to eight players take on the roles of investigators, each with his own unique backstory, abilities, and equipment. On their own, it’s likely they won’t make it through the night. But together, these unlikely heroes might stand in the very presence of an Ancient One and live to tell the tale...if they can retain their sanity!

There is no shortage of the macabre in Arkham. Investigators are pitted against the followers of the Ancient Ones, be they human or otherwise. Their enemies will not only challenge them physically, but mentally as well. Every investigator has a stamina threshold as well as a sanity threshold, representing the punishment their bodies and minds can take.    In order to fight back, investigators have to arm themselves with whatever weapons they can find, ranging from guns to spells to enchanted relics. These items can be found  throughout Arkham, in shoppes, chance meetings, and even in alternate dimensions! In order to put an end to the encroaching darkness, investigators will have to close the multiplying portals that link our world to the beyond. As the Ancient One stirs, gates spawn all over Arkham, spilling monsters out into the streets. When enough of these gates open the Ancient One will be able to overrun Arkham and the investigators will have no hope of saving the town.    To close these gates investigators will have to gather clues, investigate alternate dimensions, and then return to Arkham to close the gates. If they gather enough clues, they will be able to permanently seal the location so no more gates can be spawned. Enough of these seals will ensure that the Ancient One remains dormant and Arkham is saved...for the time being.   However, if the investigators are unable to close all the gates, monsters will swarm the streets and the Ancient One will grow stronger. If enough dark power gathers in Arkham, the Ancient One’s long slumber will come to a frightening end.

Arkham Horror is complemented by both large and small box expansions. Each expansion adds new variants and rules to enhance your adventures in Arkham. Small box expansions focus on introducing new cards and moderate changes to gameplay, giving players new weapons to fight with and new evils to fight against. Big box expansions provide players with a new cast of investigators and a new game board to expand the reach of the Ancient Ones. 

Explore the Horrors Within the Museum

Miskatonic University has long been the source of strange events and happenings, but at the beginning of each game of Elder Sign, you have discovered that an Ancient One is close to entering our world. Only one thing can keep the Ancient One at bay – the mystical symbol known as the Elder Sign. In order to save the world, you and your friends must take on the roles of intrepid investigators and collect enough Elder Signs to forestall the destruction of the world in this cooperative game for one to eight players.

Six Adventure cards make up the suspicious or dangerous exhibits that you must explore while within the museum. Each Adventure card is composed of a number of tasks that must be successfully completed for you to receive the rewards listed on the card. Each turn, you must roll custom dice, attempting to obtain the necessary results to complete all tasks on the Adventure card and gain the rewards, such as items, spells, and the all-important Elder Signs.

To learn more about Elder Sign visit our recent overview article.

Battle Insanity on Your Digital Device

In Elder Sign: Omens, you take on the role of a bold investigator, bent on penetrating the depths of the mysteries in the museum and forestalling the destruction of the world. In order to keep the Ancient One from bursting into our dimension, you must collect a number of Elder Signs before the Ancient One’s doom track can be filled with doom tokens. If you can claim enough Elder Signs before time runs out, the world is saved. If not, you and your friends are devoured and suffer a most awful death.

Learn more about Elder Sign: Omens by reading our recent overview article.

Embrace the Madness

Mansions of Madness is a board game of terror, clues, and mystery for two to five players. In every game, all but one of the players take on the roles of the noble investigators, sent to uncover the mystery behind some weird and otherworldly occurrences. The final player will become the keeper of the building, controlling all monsters and seeking to foil the investigators at every turn.

During the setup of each game, the keeper makes several decisions about the story, which influence which clues the investigators may find, as well as the objective that both sides strive to achieve. Although the keeper has full knowledge of what his objective is, the investigators do not. They must search the building relentlessly, uncovering clues and facing down whatever horrors may stand in their way, to uncover the truth and defeat the dastardly plans of the keeper.

With big box expansions, as well as those available through Print on Demand, you’ll never quite know what awaits on your ventures into the Mansions of Madness. To learn more about Mansions of Madness, read our recent overview article.

Unearth Dark Secrets

In Call of Cthulhu, players compete to win stories, which represent strange tales and horrors, as well as important discoveries unearthed by dedicated research. The truth that doesn’t drive you insane will set you free, and the first player to win three stories wins the game.

However, as the game’s cultists, cops, criminals, and monsters compete for control of various stories, players must engage in story struggles. After you and your opponent have resolved all of a story’s struggles, the active player “succeeds” at the story if he has committed characters with higher total skill than the defending player. If the active player succeeds at the story, he places a success token at it. If the defending player has no characters committed to a story where the active player succeeds (or if his characters’ total skill is zero), the active player places a bonus success token at the story for going “unopposed.” Generally, you win a story when you place your fifth success token at it.

When you win a story, you have the option to trigger its game effect. Story effects are often powerful, but two-sided. They spur dramatic changes within a game; however, they typically benefit or penalize both players at the same time. Once unearthed, the truths of Call of Cthulhu are rarely confined to a single player.

Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game stands alone for three reasons:


• It is the only Living Card Game® set within the eerie world of Lovecraft’s mythos
• It is the only truly head-to-head game among our Lovecraft-themed catalog
• It is the only one of our Lovecraftian games that allows players to assume the roles of the Ancient Ones and their minions

With Asylum packs and Deluxe expansions available, Call of Cthulhu’s card-pool is ever expanding, offering new options for madness, mysteries, and more.

To learn more about Call of Cthulhu, visit our recent overview article. Then, delve deeper into the game with our overview of deckbuilding, and building your local player community.

The Horror Continues

The horror doesn’t stop on Halloween. Arkham Nights 2013 takes place in Roseville, Minnesota on November 16 and 17 at our brand new Fantasy Flight Games Center! Play the upcoming Eldritch Horror ahead of its release, and commune with other cultists and investigators as you play your favorite games. Don’t forget to pre-register today!

Have a happy Halloween, and don’t forget to celebrate tonight by playing your favorite game of Lovecraftian terror! Tell us what you’re playing tonight on our Facebook page!