Fantasy Flight Surprises with Elder Sign

Jun 9, 2011

In a move determined to confound me, Fantasy Flight Games has announced that they will be releasing Elder Sign, an Arkham Horror-ish Cooperative Dice Game. Did you know it was coming? I had no idea. This new game is designed by both Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson, designers of both the Original recipe and the Extra-Crispy versions of Arkham Horror respectively.

So now I will need to get the new release of Curse of the Dark Pharaoh, the new Miskatonic Horror expansion, and now Elder Sign. I love it and am afraid at the same time, not of the terror that they will inspire, but of what my wife will say when I tell her I need to get copies of these games. Sigh.

Oh, here is what FFG has to say about the new Elder Sign game:

For decades the museum assembled an extensive collection of rare, occult curios and arcane artifacts. In 1926, portals open to realms of madness. As mysterious and unnatural events plague the surrounding area, a handful of investigators suspect that so many powerful treasures, kept in proximity, have begun to awaken unspeakable horrors that must never rouse from their slumber. They turn their explorations to the museum and its surroundings. Now, increasingly desperate, they race to locate Elder Signs, the eldritch symbols they need to forever seal the portals and thwart the Ancient One’s return.

Fantasy Flight Games proudly announces the upcoming release of Elder Sign! This fast-paced, cooperative dice game by Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson, the designers of Arkham Horror, is loaded with supernatural intrigue for one to eight players.

Elder Sign lets players control investigators who must successfully endure Adventures within the museum in order to gather clues, items, and the eldritch knowledge they need to seal the rifts between dimensions. A clever and thematic dice mechanic pits their exploration against monsters and the sheer difficulty of staying sane and healthy while investigating the most dangerous exhibits and most terrifying instances of insanity.

Investigators race against time as an insidious game mechanic constantly pushes an Ancient One’s Doom track forward. When the Doom track is completed, the Ancient One awakens and launches on its rampage of mayhem and madness. Each of the eight different Ancient Ones possesses awesome power, and failing to prevent an Ancient One’s entry to our world almost always results in the devouring of all investigators.

The Best Strategy and a Little Luck

Exhibits and outbreaks of supernatural activity are represented by Adventure cards, which your investigators need to explore in order to find Elder Signs. Each Adventure consists of a number of tasks investigators need to complete and that correspond to results on the set of custom dice.

Adventures’ tasks range from mildly difficult to extremely challenging, and players will need more than mere luck to get the die results to match. You’ll have to make judicious use of your investigator’s unique talents, cash in items at the exact right moment, acquire the aid of allies, and even use a little magic to alter dice rolls.

Failure to complete an Adventure can result in any of a number of consequences. Monsters may appear, your investigator may lose sanity or stamina, or your failure may spur the Doom track forward. Successfully complete an Adventure, and you gain its rewards. Your investigators may find new clues, learn powerful spells, unearth unique items, or even locate one of the all-important Elder Signs. But be warned! Not all of an Adventure’s rewards are necessarily beneficial.

Brave the Museum Alone or Gather Friends

With eight Ancient Ones, 16 investigators, and 48 Adventure cards, Elder Sign features an abundance of options to ensure your museum experiences will always enter new realms of terror. Players will find replay value in the strategic options available to them, and the options and supernatural horror increase with the addition of other players.

Elder Sign neatly paces multiplayer games to finish almost as quickly as single player games. However, multiplayer games afford players more opportunities for teamwork as investigators may assist each other on Adventures–and risk shared consequences!

Help prevent the Ancient One from waking! The search for Elder Sign is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2011. In the meantime, you can visit the Elder Sign website for sneak previews.