Games - Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game

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	Games - Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game

The Call of Cthulhu 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 of the same name.

Overview

In 2004, Chaosium licensed Fantasy Flight Games 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 roughly set in the 1920s.

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" in order to win success tokens. Five success tokens wins a story; three stories wins the game. Also, the first player to run out of cards to draw loses the game, making "deck destruction" another potentially effective strategy.

The Cards

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

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.
Event cards have one-time effects, and do not remain in play.
Support cards have persistant effects, incurring lasting benefits or hinderances.

The Factions

There are seven factions in Call of Cthulhu, as well as "neutral" cards 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 is comprised of 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 orange.
The Syndicate: This "human" faction represents the underworld element of human society, including mobsters, killers, and journalists. Its symbol is a dollar sign in a triangle, and its color is black.
Cthulhu: This "cult" faction includes Cthulhu himself, as well as his associated cultists and monsters. 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. 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. 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. Its symbol is a goat's head, and its color is red.

Availability

The cards are available in Starter Packs and Boosters.

So far, only the Arkham Edition and Eldritch Edition provides Starter Packs. An Arkham Edition Premium Starter Set is also available, with an Eldritch Edition Premium Starter Set due for release in 2006.

5 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 - see below for more a set description)

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

Release Information

In October 2005, Fantasy Flight Games released the expansion to the Eldritch Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game, The Masks of Nyarlathotep. This is a is a brand new extension featuring over 140 new cards, and expanding the new gaming rules and mechanics introduced in the Eldritch Edition. The extension will also introduce the Ancient One, Nyarlathotep, himself.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Call of Cthulhu Collectible Card Game ]

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