Call of Cthulhu

"The light flickered and died, in the darkness things unknown and unseen linger. Breath putrid with decay..."

So fellow traveller our journey into madness begins. Well OK our game of Call of Cthulhu the Living Card Game (LCG) starts.

I am not going into what a LCG is here that information is out there on the web already this is purely for a quick review of games I have played and this one is a doozie.

The game is for 2 players, where you have to construct a hand capable of winning 3 stories. the maximum number of rounds would be 5 and even if you go that far the game will only take about 45 - 60 mins, so its quick and thats a good thing. This isnt a game where you have to construct a deck like Magic the Gathering, though some players do. However when we play we only use the basic set and we choose our factions at random. This can lead to you picking 2 factions that dont play well together, but it adds to the game play for us. The are expansions that introduce new factions to the deck and also Asylum packs that come out each month if you want to go down the deck building route.

The story phase of the game is where the fun begins, you need to commit characters to a story to win it and the defending player does likewise to stop you. Pretty simple so far however you do need to carefully choose who you will attack with and who you will defend with. I have lost many a game because i didn't concentrate on what my opponent was doing, too much forward planning on my behalf led to me losing a story, and what is not forgivable my opponent winning not only the story but the whole game. When I first played this game it was ok but I thought nothing special, however as I played it a few more times and after going back to it after a break of a few months I realised that there was more to it than my first impressions.

Games are fast paced and capture the mythos of Cthulhu well. It is an easy to learn game but has hidden depths within it, and I suspect that the expansions will add to the depth of the game. The art on the cards is first rate, as are the production values of the game itself.

Within the box you get 155 cards split between the 7 factions + 6 little Cthulhu figures that act as game markers, these are nice and not at all cheap unlike markers you get in other games, also in the box is 24 story cards and a game board. All you need to get started with and at a good price. Fantasy flight Games should be proud of what they have done and the way in which they maintain high standards in thier products.

As it's a horror game I would'nt recommend it for the young, however Fantasy Flight do say 13+ for the age range and I won't disagree any younger than that and I dont think they would grasp the mechanics of the game or the mythos behind it.

A very healthy 8/10.