Elder Sign Board Game - Supernatural Intrigue, Cooperative Dice Adventure! Horror Mystery Game, Ages 14+, 1-8 Players, 1-2 Hour Playtime, Made by Fantasy Flight Games

If you’re a fan of the cosmic horror genre looking for a fun, quick-to-set-up, moderate-length game with excellent replayability & extra options in the form of two decent, mechanics enriching expansions then this should hit the spot, center target. The game play is what I like to describe as “complex farkle” - for those familiar with that classic dice rolling game - in the sense that your main action to complete quests or challenges, defeat enemies, etc. involves rolling specialized dice in an attempt to acquire the right symbols (etched on the dice faces) in the right combinations & amounts, with game mechanics that allow you to store or “bank” certain rolls & re-roll misses. This all happens against the back drop of earthly locations with attached quests goals - represented by cards arrayed in a grid- and where monsters may spawn to increase the challenge at that locale. Additionally, cosmic locations - so called “other worlds” - are also flory introduced & present their own challenges & rewards. All of this is, of course, leading up to either the summoning of an elder god or the heroes prevention of the summoning ritual … or their deaths. The base game has a satisfying roster of ancient ones to choose among, and additional options for increasing the difficulty of challenging them in replay. The two expansions (which I also purchased) add to this roster, as well as introducing new mechanics, new locations, monsters, etc. This is a game that’s perfect for one of those game nights where you want a decent challenge, but also want to maybe have some “hang time” & maybe casually play things out while eating, laughing, & talking. In other words, it’s not going to be the kind of all nighter or beat-over-three-days type of session, but a good tone will be had & you’ll be able to enjoy another game if you’d like or plan other activities without feeling like you missed out on any one kind of thing that evening, if you get my drift. Highly recommended :-)

My wife and I love this game! There are a lot of piece that we keep in small zip locks, but that does not hinder the fun. It did take us a while to read through the instructions in order to get started, and we had to reference them a few times as we played, but it is a relatively simple game to learn. My wife and I are very much into playing co-operative games with each other when we can. The game seems a bit intimidating to set up at first, but the game play itself is very easy: 1. Move your character (or stay put) to any adventure card or the starting card. 2. Attempt to complete an adventure card by rolling the necessary dice combinations. and 3. turn the clock forward. Try to collect as many Elder Signs needed to keep the monster from emerging. If you do, you win, if not, then you have to battle the monster. This would make a great starter RPG-type of game that probably wont scare off newcomers. The first round we played, we won almost too easily. This was partly because we did not follow some of the rules we should have, such as the rule for focusing a roll. We were focusing a die even if we completed an item, which you are not supposed to do. When we played the second time, the monster appeared... very quickly thanks to my lame rolls. The game was much more intense and difficult this time around. There are 16 different characters to play as, and eight ancient monsters to try and keep locked away, which makes for great replay-ability. The art work is beautiful, and the cardboard pieces included with the game a very high quality, and pretty thick. The adventure cards a very large and easy to read. The item cards are small like in Ticket to Ride, or Timeline which are not my favorite size, but there usually is not a lot of information to read, so it works fine. I have not played any other games in the Arkham Horror series, but I look forward to purchasing expansion packs as we go.

This is my favorite cooperative game. I like the theme of this game: that it takes place in the HP Lovecraft universe. Yes, at its core, this game is really a very interesting and horror version of the dice game Yahtzee. But, if you like dice games where you’re trying to roll to complete different combinations for weapons and the coveted Elder Sign then grab a bunch of family and friends to play together to try to win the game or lose the game as a team.

Elder Sign is a fun board game that captures the eerie and suspenseful atmosphere of H.P. Lovecraft’s universe. A solid four star game and a good value. 1. Immersive Theme: The game excels at bringing the Lovecraftian horror theme to life. From the artwork to the flavor text, every element is designed to immerse players in the eerie world of ancient evils and cosmic horrors. 2. Cooperative Gameplay: Elder Sign is a cooperative game where players must work together to prevent the awakening of an ancient evil. The teamwork required to strategize and overcome challenges adds a strong sense of camaraderie and engagement, making it a great game for groups who enjoy cooperative experiences. 3. Engaging Mechanics: The game combines dice rolling with strategic decision-making, creating a balance of luck and skill. The variety of characters, each with unique abilities, and the different scenarios ensure that each game feels fresh and challenging. The mechanics are straightforward enough for new players to grasp, yet offer enough depth to keep experienced players engaged. 4. Replayability: With numerous Ancient Ones to battle, a wide range of investigators to play as, and a variety of adventures and encounters, Elder Sign offers high replayability. Each game presents new combinations and challenges, ensuring that no two games are exactly alike. 5. Component Quality: The components are well-made and visually appealing. The detailed artwork on the cards, the sturdy tokens, and the custom dice all contribute to a high-quality gaming experience. The game is also well-organized, making setup and storage relatively easy. Minor Drawbacks: 1. Luck Factor: While the dice rolling adds excitement and unpredictability, it also means that luck plays a significant role in the game. This can sometimes lead to frustrating moments where strategic planning is undermined by a few unlucky rolls. However, this randomness also adds to the tension and excitement. 2. Complexity for New Players: Although the basic mechanics are straightforward, the numerous cards and various effects can be overwhelming for new players. It may take a few playthroughs to become fully comfortable with all the rules and interactions. Overall, Elder Sign is a thrilling and atmospheric board game that offers a rich cooperative experience. Its engaging mechanics, high replayability, and immersive theme make it a standout choice for fans of horror and adventure games. Despite a few minor drawbacks, it provides a memorable and enjoyable gaming experience. Highly recommended for those who love a good challenge and a bit of cosmic horror

I initially saw this played on Wil Wheaton's "TableTop" web series on YouTube and thought "Huh, that looks kinda fun." A friend bought it and three of us have played it 10 times now and LOVE IT. The rules are a tiny bit arcane at first, but once you play through the game once, it becomes second-nature. There's a LOT of strategy concerning which adventures to attempt when, whether to use your items to get the extra red or yellow dice, whether to hold symbols on spells for your friends to use, etc. Warning: the game, much like Arkham Horror, is designed to beat you. Our current split is 4/6 win/loss and in all but one of those wins we were really close to losing. My favorite part of the game is not only the challenge you have beating it, but that it's a cooperative game like Pandemic or Castle Panic; that is, the players vs. the game. Some of my friends aren't very competitive-minded, so playing an adversarial game isn't always fun for them. With Elder Sign, there's no competition between players, which they like. The game plays fairly quickly when you're familiar with the rules; around 40 minutes per game. The materials are very high quality, with cards printed on heavy stock and laminated like playing cards. The tokens are all thick paperboard and also laminated. This game should last a long time with normal care. And since there's no game board to worry about, you could consolidate everything into a box 1/4 of the size of the game box and play it pretty much anywhere. Overall, a great game that has a ton of replay value. This is one that I'll be sure to keep in our regular game-night rotation!

I started a monthly board game day at my house after my local comic book store started a used board game auction. While researching the games up for bid, I watched the TableTop Games youtube episode for Elder Sign. Our game group had always played competitive games in the stand vein (clue and scrabble and trivial pursuit), but this looked like a ton of fun and I had to have it. After losing my bid, I ordered this on Amazon. I am amazingly greatful that I did. This game has come out at every single board game day since and we never get tired of it. We recently even picked up the expansion. The game has the right level of difficulty. We don't often lose, but it is often close enough that we've thought there was a good chance we would lose. The physical elements of the game are fantastic. High quality cardboard throughout, though I do wish the player tokens were a little different, as we often have a hard time differentiating the characters. The box also does not provide a good way to keep all the elements organized. We used our 3d printer to make a nice tray, but if you don't have one, keeping everything straight is a bit rough and you'll want plastic bags to store your bits and pieces. The gameplay is mostly dependent on making good strategic decisions on which challenges to take on and is based soley on dice rolling to determine if you are successful. The goal is to get combos of dice, similar to yahtzee. It takes very little time to learn how to play, and about 3-5 rounds to teach new players the basic mechanics. Very enjoyable and lots of replay value. You don't need to get too into the theme of the game either, if role-playing holds not interest for you (we barely pay attention to the theme). This is a must have game for just about any collection.

This game is intimidating to look at. It has a lot of little pieces, eight different types of cards, and so many tokens that it's genuinely hard to keep track. There's also a pretty daunting 16 page rulebook, but honestly it's faster to learn while playing than it is to figure it all out at the beginning. Game one was all learning. Games two through nine have all been mad Lovecraftian monster-bashing races against the clock- literally- to best an Old God. Games can go pretty quickly by boss rushing, or you can stretch it out by hoarding items and strategizing (to an extent- once the Doom Counter is full, it's time to wrestle Cthulhu). I got this game as a gift for my boyfriend, and we both love it. We've played with groups as large as six and I've played it by myself. It's been a blast either way. It's a challenge, but not impossible. The rules are different every time you play, but you notice patterns. It keeps you on your toes for sure. I highly recommend this game if you are into Lovecraftian horror, tabletop gaming, man-vs-game formatted games, or have a get together coming up and want to do something more involved than taking turns on Mario Party.

I bought this game after seeing an episode of Tabletop on the Geek & Sundry youtube channel featuring it. I knew from the beginning that I had to have this game. This is a great, fun game. I have a roommate who loves Cthulu and my boyfriend and I love board games. Pros: - You can play by yourself or with up to 8 players. So far I've played it with 2 players and 4 players and the results were wonderfully varied. I haven't played by myself, but I think it's safe to assume that it's a lot more fun with others. - The artwork is beautiful and really sets the feel for this game. - It is a cooperative game, so you can even play it with friends who are a little too competitive. - It's pretty quick for a game of this genre. - Lots of characters, items/abilities and monsters give the game high replay value. - Price is pretty reasonable for this type of game. - It's essentially a game of chance, so it can be pretty suspenseful. Always fun. Cons: - There are a lot of pieces and cards to keep track of. - The rules (including set-up) can be a bit complex the first time you play. - As with any game of chance, sometimes you just don't get the rolls you need. There are items and abilities that can help you reroll, add dice or boost your rolls, but in the end sometimes you just don't get what you want which can be frustrating. In conclusion, I'm definitely happy with my purchase and foresee myself playing a lot more in the future. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys cooperative games, likes H.P. Lovecraft or collects board games. I'm happy to have this one as part of my collection.

This has quickly become a favourite in the house thanks to its easy to learn rules and quick set up. The basic premise is that you are a group of adventurers and experts in the occult rushing around Miskatonic University trying to gather enough Elder Signs to seal the dark lord Cthulhu or one of the other Old Ones before they wake from their ancient slumber and cause a nuisance. For Lovecraft fans everything will be instantly familiar. For those new to the world, each card and token comes with a brief but atmospheric bit of text that I like to read out in an old and creaky sounding voice. During initial setup you will lay down six adventure cards. These are rooms and events around the University that you must complete to earn rewards. The rewards will most commonly be magical or mundane items to help you clear further adventures but your main goal is to pick up Elder Signs from these cards which you will need a certain amount of to seal the current Old One you are facing off against. Fail these adventures and you will suffer the penalties which will most often reduce the players health or sanity, the two factors that keep each investigator alive. However they may also add Doom to a counter. Accumulate too much Doom and the Old One will wake up and you will be pushed into one last ditch effort to defeat the Old One as they wrack your body and mind with their ancient evil. To resolve these adventures you will have to roll six dice. Each adventure card has a number of results you must roll. Meet the requirements with a roll and solve that portion of the card. Fail and you must discard a dice and try again. When you run out of dice you fail the adventure and suffer the penalties. There are items and mechanics within the game that can help you make this easier or harder. Like items that let you use extra dice or monsters that will lock a die until you defeat them. It adds a nice layer of strategy to what could have been a frustrating reliance on the luck of the roll. The game is not perfect of course. It can be a bit too easy sometimes as the game really stacks the odds in your favour. Especially if you are choosing your own investigator at the start of the game, since certain combinations make you almost unstoppable. After a couple of games though it should be easy enough to tweak the experience slightly to add an extra challenge if you think it needs it.

If you are a Lovecraft freak and love to get all Eldritch with your chosen clan of fellow freaks, then you already know that this has a place on your game shelf!! Arkham Horror-Eldritch Horror- Mansions of Madness-and Elder Sign, there’s really not much more I need to say, love Lovecraft and board games,!?, get yourself a copy and start following the Elder Signs, you won’t stay sane so you will not regret it…

Had a great time playing this with a like-minded sister of mine. The faces of the dice are well thought out and the general rules don't over-push the Lovecraftian theme, but has the artwork and mood down pat! We frequently found ourselves discussing what our next room of attack would be, weighing the odds as to whether our characters may just have the ability to clear the room. Now that my sister is back home with here family, I'll be playing it single player for awhile...

Being an avid fan of Arkham Horror, I got this game to see how it compared. I love the setting and this game didn't disappoint. For anyone who has played Arkham Horror, Elder Sign is a much "lighter" version of that game. For those that haven't, Elder Sign is a great introduction to the setting! TLDR Version: Coopertive Game No Board Cards and Dice, dice pools with match and discard mechanics to achieve success. Items and abilities allow you to modify this pool by granting more, re-rolling, or gaining "special" dice with higher probabilities. Great Art, High Quality pieces, tokens, and cards. Fun, Quick, supports up to 8 players. Simple rules, small learning curve. For fans of Arkham Horror: It's Arkham Horror "light" confined to a museum. Details: The game is board-less, making it good for gaming areas that are smaller, compared to Arkham Horror which takes the entirety of a moderately sized dining table. The game pieces are high quality, as expected from Fantasy Flight Games, and the cards are durable. I especially like the Adventure cards that are Tarot card sized instead of playing card sized, much better. The art is fantastic and the feel is very similar to Arkham Horror. The game plays like a story unfolding as a group of investigators work together to stop an ancient evil from awakening within the confines of a museum. A variety of Ancient Ones and Investigators with different abilities lends a lot of replay value. The central mechanic is the dice pool where you roll dice to achieve certain outcomes to succeed at "adventures" and gain rewards. Most coveted is the Elder Sign which will help the players win the game. Each Ancient One can be sealed away by obtaining a certain number, if the Doom Track reaches full before that time then he awakens and the group is offered one last attempt to fight him back in a "nearly hopeless" battle. (Manual's words) The writing and content is great, looking forward to the Expansion rumoured to come out in May 2013!

Good board game and well packed