Fantasy Flight Games

Prelude to Terror

Published 31 January 2017 | Arkham Horror: The Card Game

Prelude to Terror

How The Investigators of Arkham Horror Can Shape Your Games

"Jim waited for the mourners to file out—all three of them. They were people whom Cassie barely knew […] but they had worked with her at the club on Rue Bourbon for the grand total of three weeks she’d been there. The bartender saw him on the way out and tipped his hat."
–Jim Culver: The Musician

As you may know by now, The Investigators of Arkham Horror is a beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardbound book of 264 pages. It offers you a deeper understanding of the Arkham Horror Files setting over the course of fifty-two short stories, each of which follows a different investigator and their adventures within the twisted dangers of an ancient mythos. And because many of these investigators visit the same haunts or find themselves drawn to the same mysteries, you'll find their stories fleshing each other out—even though they aren't directly connected.

We looked at some of the ways the stories intersect in an earlier preview, "Who Is Carl Sanford?" And we saw how a number of different investigators found themselves concerned by the political influence and strange activities of the Order of the Silver Twilight. In another preview, "Pulp Action and Lovecraftian Horror," we explored how the book's stories offer a clearer picture of what sets the Arkham Horror Files setting apart from other worlds and works inspired by the Lovecraftian Mythos.

But the truth is—despite all the entertainment they provide and work they do—none of these stories depict their investigators in the midst of their most desperate struggles. You know the stakes aren't as high as they could be because the investigators must all survive their adventures. They might be scarred, sure, but they won't be devoured or driven hopelessly insane.

Why? Because those horror stories are reserved for your games.

Setting the Stage

If it's noteworthy that the stories in The Investigators of Arkham Horror are full of pulp action and Lovecraftian horror, it's because they set the stage for the adventures you can enjoy in your games of Arkham Horror, Eldritch Horror, Elder Sign, Mansions of Madness, Arkham Horror: The Card Game, and our other Arkham Horror Files games.

It's only in these games that you'll guide these investigators through the adventures that could very well prove to be their last. The stories in The Investigators of Arkham Horror just set the stage.

Still, this is a world full of profound mysteries and unfathomable terrors; there's a lot of work to be done. Why would Jim Culver leave the jazz-filled streets of New Orleans for the sleepy, New England neighborhoods of Arkham? What draws Lily Chen all the way from China? Their stories address these questions, allowing you to better understand how they might respond to the cultish activities of Arkham Horror: The Card Game or the global mysteries of Eldritch Horror.

Similarly, understanding how Monterey Jack is already connected to the Mythos may allow you to experience his adventures more deeply when you play as Jack in Arkham Horror or Mansions of Madness. And you might gain more enjoyment from playing your games as Agnes Baker or Zoey Samaras after sharing their visions, as well as their feelings of dread, revulsion, and resolve. Perhaps, the next time you need to close a portal as either of those two investigators, you'll be inspired to greater heights of heroism and self-sacrifice.

This is what The Investigators of Arkham Horror provides—a deeper, and more deeply felt, understanding of the investigators you play in your games. After all, when you play any of our Arkham Horror Files games, you're embarking upon an adventure. That adventure is shaped by its events, of course, but it's also shaped by your perspective.

Investigate the mysteries of Arkham Horror: The Card Game as Federal Agent Roland Banks, and you'll enjoy a wildly different experience than you would as the librarian Daisy Walker. This tends to happen when you rely upon your .38 to get you through your struggles, rather than relying upon the spells and other forbidden knowledge you may have gleaned from The Necronomicon…

Thrust into Action

The men and women thrust into action in our Arkham Horror Files games have seen things they can never unsee. They learned secrets that changed them. And now their lives are full of maddening perils—and unwavering purpose.

If you've played Arkham Horror or Eldritch Horror or any of our other Arkham Horror Files games, you've already seen the maddening perils. You've chased cultists through the rain-slicked streets. You've uncovered foul rituals in the foggy gloom of a wooded hillside. You've uncovered world-spanning conspiracies. And you've dared step through portals to alternate dimensions full of wonder and terror.

But you've not yet traveled back in time to the moments before your investigations began. You haven't walked with Sister Mary during her first encounter with Arkham's supernatural evils. You haven't entered a hotel room alongside Carolyn Fern and startled at the discovery of a blue-black blossom atop her pillow—a flower that you know signifies mystery, darkness, and murder.

You haven't traversed Europe in the company of magician Dexter Drake, looking for the secrets of the spell he saw a street magician begin to cast in the Rhineland. And you haven't yet read the journal of Luke Robinson which recounts many of his adventures within the Dreamlands.

Soon, though, you may. Next Thursday, The Investigators of Arkham Horror becomes available at retailers everywhere, and you will have your chance. Delve into the stories of these fifty-two investigators. Learn what drives them to action. And you will gain a new level of appreciation for your next Arkham Horror Files gaming experience.

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The Digital Side of Board Gaming

Published 26 August 2016 | Mansions of Madness

The Digital Side of Board Gaming

Keith Hurley on Apps and Board Games

Tabletop games and video games have long held special places in the hearts of gamers, but for most of their lifespans, these two formats were inherently separate. In recent years, however, Fantasy Flight Games has led the tabletop industry in bridging the divide between tabletop and video, creating app versions of tabletop games and app-enhanced board games.

To get a closer look at this new style of gaming, we sat down with Keith Hurley, Fantasy Flight Games’s VP of Media and Interactive, to talk about the electronic side of board gaming.

FFG: How did Fantasy Flight Games first start making apps?

Keith Hurley: Christian Petersen, our CEO, first approached me about apps when Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition was in development. This was in 2009, so FFG didn’t have an in-house software development team yet. Chris had put together a design document for a dice rolling utility, specifically for use with the WFRP 3rd Edition system. It called for a 3D mobile dice roller that could provide quick results with large pools of dice.

We knew a little bit about the Unity game engine, which is the platform we now use to develop all of our apps, but no one had any real working experience with Unity at the time. All we knew for sure was that it was an increasingly popular development engine that had a lot of cross-platform flexibility.

Eventually Chris got in contact with a software developer, Francesco Moggia, who was living and working in Italy. Francesco had an extensive programming background and was familiar with Unity, so he began development remotely while I worked internally with our designers to put the project together. We ultimately launched the app in 2010 and followed that with the Arkham Horror Toolkit, Hey, That’s My Fish!, Elder Sign: Omens, Star Wars™: Dice, XCOM: The Board Game, BattleLore: Command, and now our Road to Legend and Mansions of Madness companion apps.

FFG: What’s the best part about creating an app?

KH: My favorite part of app development is probably Sprint Review, where we show the work that we’ve accomplished over a given period of time. This usually involves showing our working app up on a big screen in front of the whole team of developers and designers. It’s often a great high-five moment for everyone, where we get to see how a concept has gone from inception to a fully interactive product.

Anything that needs additional work is critiqued and planned for the next review, so it’s a continuing cycle of feedback and improvement until we get it to a point where everyone is satisfied. It’s really rewarding to see how all of the different elements of app development evolve into a finished product.

FFG: On a similar note, what’s the hardest part about creating an app?

KH: Testing! Testing multi-platform apps gets harder every year as more devices and more operating systems come and go. We have a pretty small team of developers and external testers and it’s incredibly difficult for us to test every possible combination of device and operating system. The fragmentation in the Android market alone is a significant challenge—last I checked there were over 24,000 unique Android devices!—so we focus our efforts on the ones that have the largest market share.

Also, as our apps grow more complex, as with Road to Legend and Mansions of Madness, the volume of narrative content that needs to be tested becomes an increasingly large ocean of variables that need review. This testing is not only for game balance and fun, but technical testing as well to ensure that events and activations are firing correctly. Road to Legend, as an example, has about forty-five products in its Collection Manager, all with unique digital content, and they each need to be tested alone and in conjunction with each other.

FFG: What are some of the advantages of using an app to enhance a board game?

KH: One great advantage is that a companion app gives us the opportunity to use all kinds of audio and visual content to support our narratives. In both Mansions of Madness and Road to Legend, for example, all the music, sound effects, narrations, and cutscenes work to develop an atmosphere for the players. When you launch a scenario in either app, we try hard to set the stage, whether you’re investigating a rash of disappearances in a sleepy coastal town or tracking down a mage in the depths of some long-forgotten dungeon.

Additionally, apps allow our content developers to rapidly produce more content using the tools that we’ve developed. When we have a vision for a new scenario, a physical component is no longer a requirement for expansion material. In Road to Legend, for example, we can easily push out new side quests with a simple app update.

FFG: How is designing an app version of an existing game, like BattleLore, different from designing an app that works with a board game, such as Mansions of Madness?

KH: BattleLore: Command was a unique challenge in that we had to take an already established game and re-envision it for mobile devices. This meant having to take a dice system and reinterpret ways it could work during combat, in addition to coming up with alternatives for lore powers or unit abilities that didn’t easily fit in a digital format. The tabletop version of BattleLore has a lot of opportunities for players to interrupt each other during gameplay, and we really wanted to streamline the combat for our mobile version. This meant changing a lot of the abilities and some core mechanics in the digital version of the game.

A game like Mansions of Madness, on the other hand, had no interpretation work because everything was designed with an app in mind from day one.

FFG: How do you decide what to draw from the original game when creating an app version, such as Elder Sign: Omens or BattleLore: Command?

KH: A lot of it really just has to do with ease of implementation. Elder Sign had two major challenges for us when we were designing the digital version: 1) how to use the Ally Deck, and 2) how to resolve the Ancient One battle. Ultimately we made the decision to cut those elements from the digital game as our prototype was already very fun and challenging without those elements.

BattleLore: Command had many challenges with the combat system, in that the original game is a two-player, head-to-head combat game where each player can interrupt the other player’s turn at many points during gameplay. That element alone was something we knew we wanted to streamline for the digital version, and that decision ultimately had a domino effect on many other elements. Things like lore powers, unit abilities, and even the combat system needed to change in order to streamline the experience.

FFG: Can we expect to see more app versions of games and games that harness apps in the future?

KH: Yes! We have several exciting plans for future apps that we’re eager to develop. That said, companion app gaming is really just one tool in FFG’s toolbox. We’ll never completely replace traditional tabletop gaming, nor do we want to. It is however, a really exciting time for software developers, and our ability to create powerful, thematic content through apps is something where we’ve only begun to scratch the surface.

Thanks, Keith!

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Battles and Azathoth and Penguins, Oh My!

Published 25 November 2015 | BattleLore: Command

Battles and Azathoth and Penguins, Oh My!

Holiday Discounts for Three Digital Games

The holiday season is here, the days are almost at their shortest and, of course, winter is coming. To celebrate the holidays (and make sure you have enough entertainment while cooped up inside), we’re putting our three digital games on sale. From now until December 1st, you can get iOS, Android, and Steam builds of BattleLore: Command, Elder Sign: Omens and Hey, That’s My Fish! at a discount.

Muster Your Troops

In BattleLore: Command, you lead squadrons of charging cavalry, fearless warriors, and vicious demons into fierce, tactical combat. Set in the same universe as Runebound, the game features both a single-player campaign mode and an online multiplayer mode in which you can choose your army, choose your scenario, and wage war against a friend. The game is currently available on iOS, Android, and Steam for $3.99. With an in-app purchase you can also unlock the Locust expansion, which features new units, new multiplayer scenarios, and a challenging single-player mini-campaign.

Solve Arcane Mysteries

Elder Sign: Omens immerses you in Lovecraftian horror. Put together your team of investigators and enter the haunted Arkham Museum in the dark of night. In the museum’s walls you’ll find uncanny artifacts, arcane tomes, and ravenous monsters — along with the mystical Elder Signs needed to stop Ancient Ones including Yig and Azathoth from awakening and destroying the world. Pass-and-play enables you to collaborate on solving the mysteries with your friends. You can get the core game of Elder Sign: Omens for iOS and Android for $0.99, with additional content available for in-app purchase. On Steam, you can now purchase the game with all the content unlocked for $9.99.

Go Fish

Hey, That’s My Fish! is a family-friendly strategy game in which penguins fight over their favorite food. Your goal is to grab the most fish first, but you’ll have to manoeuvre the other penguins who are just as hungry and determined as you are. The digital version offers solo gaming and pass-and-play for up to four players. It is available now for iOS and Android at a price of only $0.99.

Happy Holidays!

Don’t let cabin fever, airport delays, or long car rides get you down this holiday season. Download BattleLore: Command, Elder Sign: Omens, and Hey, That’s My Fish! today!

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The copyrightable portions of BattleLore: Command are © 2014 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. BattleLore is a trademark of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google, Inc. Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.

Horrors for Halloween

Published 29 October 2015 | Elder Sign: Omens

Horrors for Halloween

Announcing a Sale for Elder Sign: Omens

Explore a haunted museum in the dead of night. Fight uncanny, ravenous monsters. Combat the powerful, terrible Ancient Ones who seek to destroy our world! Just in time for Halloween, the digital game Elder Sign: Omens is on sale!

Starting today, you can download the iOS and Android versions of this popular game for only $0.99. You can find the Mac, PC and Linux versions on Steam. A bundle including all the expansions is only $9.99 as part of the Steam Halloween Sale!

A Game of Otherworldly Horrors

In Elder Sign: Omens, you are charged with investigating the horrors that have taken over the Arkham museum. However terrible they may be, these horrors are merely portents and minions of a far worse evil: an Ancient One whose awakening spells doom for us all. The only way to defeat an Ancient One is by gathering Elder Signs: arcane symbols that possess incredible magical power.

To accomplish this all-important task, you’ll choose a team of four hardy investigators to enter the museum. Working together, they will scour its darkened exhibits and dusty offices for clues, battle the monsters that lurk among the artifacts, and above all, search for the Elder Signs necessary to triumph over evil. You can play Elder Sign: Omens on your own or collaborate with others via pass-and-play. In-app purchases not only introduce more investigators, assets, and Ancient Ones to the game, but take you on epic campaigns to the Egyptian deserts or the frozen Alaskan wilderness. You can learn more by watching the trailer below.

No Time to Waste

At this time of year Ghouls and Nightgaunts freely roam, Cultists work their evil magic, and the Ancient Ones restlessly stir in their mysterious lairs. The longer you wait, the closer the Ancient Ones come to awakening and unleashing unspeakable doom upon the world. The fate of the Arkham museum and much, much more depends upon you. There is no time to waste. Act while you still have the chance!

Download Elder Sign: Omens from iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, or Steam today!

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© 2012 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Elder Sign, Elder Sign: Omens, Fantasy Flight Games, Fantasy Flight Supply, and the FFG logo are trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

A New Exhibit Opens in the Museum

Published 27 November 2013 | Elder Sign: Omens

A New Exhibit Opens in the Museum

Elder Sign: Omens is Now Available on Steam

Elder Sign: Omens is now available as one inclusive edition on Steam! Thanks to your support, Elder Sign: Omens was approved through Steam Greenlight, and is now available for download.

Based on Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson’s popular dice game, Elder Sign: Omens places players in control of up to four intrepid investigators as they fight to keep all-powerful Ancient Ones from invading our world through a museum’s arcane exhibits.

The Horrors Within

Face untold horrors in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft’s classic weird fiction. Try to keep your sanity intact as you collect Elder Signs in an attempt to seal away unspeakable creatures before time runs out! If the Ancient One is able to fill its Doom Track, it awakens, and the investigators and museum alike are obliterated by the unstoppable monstrosity!

Play unfolds by revealing randomized glyphs, then using combinations of those glyphs to slay monsters and complete adventures. As rewards for successfully overcoming these challenges, investigators pick up weapons and spells to increase their chances of survival, as well as Elder Signs, ancient artifacts used to imprison the Ancient Ones. But hurry! Time passes with every turn, bringing the Ancient One’s awakening ever closer. New monsters and negative effects also come into play each time the clock strikes midnight.

An All-Inclusive Edition

Based on fan feedback, the Steam edition of Elder Sign: Omens includes all of the expansion content in one all-inclusive edition. Start your investigations by preventing the emergence of Azathoth, the demon god of the unnamable void. For an even greater challenge, travel to the South Pacific to stop the dreaded Cthulhu or join an expedition to Alaska in The Trail of Ithaqua. Finally, discover the archeological finding of a lifetime and stop the return of Nyarlathotep in The Dark Pharaoh.

Download Elder Sign: Omens for PC, Mac, and Linux today!

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Battle Evil in the Museum on your Digital Device

Published 31 October 2013 | Elder Sign: Omens

Battle Evil in the Museum on your Digital Device

An Introduction to Elder Sign: Omens

Something terrible has begun to awaken within our museum... something unsatisfied with mere exhibition or human study, writhing with ancient evil and terrible purpose. This entity must, at all costs, be prevented access to our world. From my studies, I am convinced that such dangers are not new to the human experience. The very fact that humanity survives to this day, I attribute to our forebears’ success in resisting the tormented realities beyond our own. I have been fortunate enough to uncover one particular emblem that seems significant. A symbol of considerable power... they called it the Elder Sign.

A few weeks ago, we explored Elder Sign, a board game of luck and deduction in which a few brave investigators battle against the emergence of an Ancient One at Miskatonic University Museum. Today, on Halloween itself, we’ll continue our highlights of some of Fantasy Flight’s games set in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos with the digital version of Elder Sign – Elder Sign: Omens.

In earlier overviews, we explored the perils of the museum in Elder Sign and the dangers that can lurk within the Mansions of Madness, as well as the mind-bending horror of Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game. You’ll enter the world of paranormal horror again in Elder Sign: Omens, but this time, you’ll do it digitally. Elder Sign: Omens is an application for your iOS, Mac OS X, or Android digital device, that delivers the tense excitement of Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson’s popular dice game in an all-new digital medium. Whether you play by yourself, or pass and play with up to four players, every game will bring you face-to-face with some of the most terrifying tasks and monsters imaginable.

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.

In order to claim Elder Signs at exhibits around the museum, you must go to these locations and successfully complete a number of tasks. In Elder Sign, players completed tasks by rolling dice, but in Elder Sign: Omens, you’ll conjure glyphs in your attempt to confront the horrifying tasks before you. The results on the glyphs you conjure must match the results you need to complete a task. If you cannot complete a task, you must discard a glyph and conjure again, attempting to obtain the results you need. If you can complete every task at a location, you receive rewards, including items, spells, and possibly, mighty Elder Signs. If you fail, on the other hand, you must suffer the penalties, whether through losing stamina or sanity, or even adding doom tokens to the doom track.

Although the rules of Elder Sign: Omens are similar to those of Elder Sign, some changes were made to make battling evil digitally even more difficult than in the real world. Monsters are both more horrifying and harder to defeat than before, requiring more effort from the investigators. Furthermore, the Mythos cards drawn at midnight have become even more punishing, ensuring that your time in this world is limited unless you can stop the Ancient One. If you want to seal the approaching Ancient One in its own dimension and ensure the survival of Earth, your investigations will need to be top-notch.

Want to see the results in action? Click the link below to view the first installment of Elder Sign: Omens’ in-game instructional guide. As the first of four videos accessible within the application, this short overview presents the basics of Elder Sign: Omens.

Expand on the Terror

In addition to new Ancient Ones, investigators, and locations that have been introduced with updates, Elder Sign: Omens also features a variety of expansions available via in-app purchase. Now you and your friends can leave the museum behind and travel the world to face supernatural evil in strange lands. Embark on a voyage of terror and dread on-board the Ultima Thule, as you seek to uncover the location of R’lyeh and stop Cthulhu himself from awakening and devouring the world.

Other adventures wait for you in the icy wastes of Alaska, where you will seek to both rescue a colleague and defeat the machinations of Ithaqua. The most recent expansion for Elder Sign: Omens takes you to Egypt for a three-part campaign. When you first arrive, you must find allies in Cairo to aid you once you leave the city. After two days have passed, you depart for the Necropolis of Dahshur, in search of the pharaoh Nephren-Ka. If you manage to find the tomb you search for, you will enter a maze of tunnels through the darkness, culminating in a final showdown with the Dark Pharaoh himself! Although each of these campaigns are unlocked via in-app purchase, each update to the game has also introduced new free content, including new investigators, Ancient Ones, and gameplay enhancements.

Play an Arkham Game this October

You can celebrate Halloween with games set in H.P. Lovecraft’s eerie universe. Whether you hope to stay safe in the Miskatonic University Museum or travel to exotic regions of the world in Elder Sign: Omens, you’ll never know what challenges you might face along the way. Keep checking back for highlights of other games set in the Cthulhu mythos, and remember to pre-register for Arkham Nights 2013!

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The Dark Pharaoh Rises in Elder Sign: Omens

Published 31 May 2013 | Elder Sign: Omens

The Dark Pharaoh Rises in Elder Sign: Omens

An All-New Campaign is Now Available As Part of the Version 1.3 Update

“My friend, the renowned Egyptologist Dr. Charles Pratley, had contacted me at the museum in Arkham where the Shining Trapezohedron had been recently placed. Pratley claims that this artifact is the key to unlocking an undiscovered tomb of great historical significance and that I should bring the trapezohedron to Cairo with all deliberate haste and secrecy. Skeptical as I am, Dr. Pratley’s reputation as a scholar is unimpeachable and the chance to uncover secrets from history is an opportunity that cannot be ignored.”

Fantasy Flight Games is thrilled to announce the release of our biggest update yet for Elder Sign: Omens. Version 1.3 is now available for iPad, iPhone, OS X, and Google Play, and coming soon to the Amazon App Store! Featuring a number of new enhancements, including the option to purchase an all-new three-part campaign, the free version 1.3 update offers even more exciting otherworldly encounters than ever before.

Travel to Egypt to Discover The Dark Pharaoh

Pack your bags and head to Egypt in The Dark Pharaoh, a new three-part campaign available via in-app purchase. The museum in Arkham has recently acquired the Shining Trapezohedron, an artifact of otherworldly origin. Egyptologist Dr. Charles Pratley has reached out to you from the deserts of Egypt, requesting you bring the trapezohedron to him, as he believes it to be the key to unlocking an undiscovered tomb. Intrigued, you agree, and the journey to Egypt begins . . . with the trapezohedron and a team of investigators in tow!

The first stage takes place in Cairo, while you await the arrival of Dr. Pratley. You and your investigators have two days to gather equipment and recruit allies to aid you on your expedition.

Completing adventures in the streets of Cairo helps you gain valuable items and spells, while friendly and helpful new faces may be persuaded to join your team. Allies, new in the Dark Pharaoh campaign, can be recruited by successfully completing adventures with the Ally icon. Once recruited, they will travel with you and provide your team with much needed assistance in exchange for trophies. For example, for the cost of two trophies, Bancroft allows an investigator to ignore locked glyphs and terror effects, while Mirela, the fortune teller, locks a glyph in order to help an investigator complete a task. Eight allies are available for hire, but unfortunately your party only has room for two, so you must recruit selectively.

Once you have geared up and added new allies to your party, Dr. Pratley arrives in Cairo to meet you, and the caravan sets off to the Necropolis of Dahshur, in search of of the pharaoh Nephren-Ka!

Make Your Way Through the Desert

The desert is a harsh, unforgiving landscape for investigators. The beating sun and windswept sands make progress through the dunes difficult, while nasty Nile crocodiles, living mummies and other malignant entities threaten your team in over sixty-five new adventures. The only way to reach Dahshur is to survive the difficult desert conditions and collect six Elder Signs.

The addition of lingering effects ensures that this will be no easy task. It’s unclear whether it is the strangeness of the desert land as you grow nearer to the Necropolis, or something unsettling emanating from the artifact your team carries with it, but when the clock strikes Midnight, the Mythos effects leave lasting consequences that may render your equipment useless for the remainder of the day.

Should you and your team successfully complete your journey to the Necropolis, your next task is to navigate the darkness and twisting tunnels of the underground maze to locate the tomb of Nephren-Ka. In this third stage of the campaign, you’ll need to locate a total of ten Elder Signs in order to find the Dark Pharaoh. Once your team has obtained these, it is time for the final showdown with the Dark Pharaoh himself! Will you be up to the task? Or will your long and dusty trek end in death and disaster beneath the pyramids of Egypt?

Four new investigators join the hunt for the hidden tomb of the Dark Pharaoh, each with a unique ability to assist with the journey. Daisy Walker, the librarian, fully restores her sanity each time she uses a spell, while Charlie Kane, the politician, takes the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” approach, and gains two trophies each time he successfully helps another investigator complete an adventure.

Trouble in Arkham

Even if a trip to Egypt isn’t your style, the version 1.3 update offers plenty of free content and enhancements, including a new Ancient One to threaten the safety of the world. Hastur, the King in Yellow, is attempting to take over Arkham — and only you and your team of investigators stand between him and the destruction of the world.

The King in Yellow is hiding somewhere in Arkham’s mysterious museum. Venture through shadowy corridors and strange exhibits as you work to collect the thirteen Elder Signs necessary to seal him away for eternity. Watch out for portals to Other Worlds, because Hastur adds an additional doom token penalty should you fail an adventure. With new adventures and new Hastur Mythos effects, you and your investigators are in for a challenge! Update to version 1.3 and take on Hastur today!

Our Biggest Update Yet!

Version 1.3 includes the option for the in-app purchase of a new campaign, as well as many other updates.

The Dark Pharaoh, an in-app purchase:

The Dark Pharaoh campaign, with three stages and multiple endings.
All new Ancient One
Over 65 new adventures
Lingering Effects and Allies
8 New Monsters
4 New Investigators
Unlockable Bonus Investigator when you successfully complete the campaign

Even more free updates:

Hastur, a new Ancient One
The Dark Pharaoh in-app purchase campaign
Reorganized menus
Texture memory optimizations
Bug fixes and gameplay optimizations

Are you ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime to save humanity? Visit iTunes, the Mac App Store, and Google Play now, and check the Amazon App Store in the coming days, to download Elder Sign: Omens v1.3!

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The Trail of Ithaqua Comes to Android

Published 12 October 2012 | Elder Sign: Omens

The Trail of Ithaqua Comes to Android

Download the Elder Sign: Omens Expansion From Google Play

The Trail of Ithaqua is now available on Google Play! The iOS and OS X releases of the expansion to Elder Sign: Omens have been released over the past few days, and we’re excited to add Android to the list of available platforms for this thrilling new two-stage campaign.

The Trail of Ithaqua begins its story with a mysterious statue and a cry for help from Dr. Ashley Lott, an archeologist. Dr. Lott is fleeing from some terrible malevolence that has plagued her arctic expedition ever since they uncovered the ivory figurine. She desperately needs help, and has managed to send the idol to the museum with her note. Now that horrible force has focused its attention on the idol’s newest owner: You!

Players must defend the museum from these invaders while stocking up on supplies to be used on a mission to discover the fate of Dr. Lott. This first phase of the game has no Elder Signs, having replaced these powerful sigils with the supplies needed for survival in the frigid wilderness. Make sure you’ve stocked up on enough supplies, and then strike out for the hoary plains of Alaska.

Survive the Wilds of Alaska

Each turn, the supplies that the investigators brought to Alaska are reduced by one, so work fast to gather Elder Signs in order to advance the plot. Twenty-five new adventures and ten new monsters await players as the investigators strive to uncover the mystery surrounding Dr. Lott’s expedition. If you think you have what it takes to brave the fierce and frozen north, then download The Trail of Ithaqua for your Android device today!

In addition to access to the in-app purchase for The Trail of Ithaqua, the version 1.2 update features a range of free content. The version 1.2 update includes a new Ancient One, Tsathoggua, as well as tweaks and Android-specific performance enhancements to the base game. Visit Google Play to download Elder Sign: Omens, face Tsathoggua, and attempt The Trail of Ithaqua!

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Vote for Elder Sign: Omens

Published 11 October 2012 | Elder Sign: Omens

Vote for Elder Sign: Omens

Do Your Part to Help on Steam Greenlight

Elder Sign: Omens has received a great response in the Steam Greenlight program, but we still need your votes! Steam is a leader in the digital distribution of games for both PC and Mac, and its “Greenlight” program is the online, public voting system that helps shape its catalog. Fantasy Flight Games wants to make the terror and excitement of Elder Sign: Omens available for your Steam library. If you haven’t voted yet, head over to Steam Greenlight and cast your vote for this thrilling experience to be brought to Steam!

Elder Sign: Omens is based on the popular dice game by Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson. Players assemble a team of investigators and use randomly generated glyphs to complete adventures and slay horrific monsters in order to collect Elder Signs. Collect enough Elder Signs, and you can seal away the dreaded Ancient One, whose awakening draws closer with each passing turn.

Elder Sign: Omens is currently available on iOS, OS X, and Google Play, bringing the thrill of eldritch investigation to most mobile and Mac devices. We’re very excited about the response we’ve seen so far, and we want to keep the momentum going. Go vote for Elder Sign: Omens to be brought to Steam!

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The Trail of Ithaqua Is Now on OS X

Published 10 October 2012 | Elder Sign: Omens

The Trail of Ithaqua Is Now on OS X

Play the New Expansion for Elder Sign: Omens on Your Mac

Yesterday, we announced that The Trail of Ithaqua, an expansion for Elder Sign: Omens, is available on iOS. Today, we’re pleased to announce that it’s also available on OS X! Head to the Mac App Store to download Elder: Sign Omens and the version 1.2 update, and if you’re an Android user, check back soon!

The Trail of Ithaqua is a new, two-stage campaign that sends your investigators on a rescue mission to the frozen north. A group of archeologists has found themselves cornered after being relentlessly pursued by a malevolent force. The leader of the expedition, Dr. Ashley Lott, has managed send a small idol along with a desperate plea for help. Gather supplies in the museum as you fight off invaders trying to secure the idol. Make sure your supplies are adequate, as your stores will dwindle with each turn. Set out for Alaska in the second half of the campaign to discover the fate of your lost colleague. With twenty-five new adventures, ten new monsters, and all new mechanics adding to the tension and terror, The Trail of Ithaqua will test your mettle in the frozen wilderness.

Even if you choose not to set out on The Trail of Ithaqua, new, free content awaits you in the version 1.2 update. A new Ancient One, Tsathoggua, is slowly draining the life out of the city of Arkham, bringing new monsters, plus new Mythos and entrance effects. Version 1.2 also introduces a Monster Log feature, layout enhancements, and minor bug fixes that improve the overall game experience.

The deadly Tsathoggua and the thrilling expedition of The Trail of Ithaqua are now available on both the Mac App Store and the App Store for Mac and iOS devices. The Android version is coming to Google Play soon! For more detailed information on this expansion, check out yesterday’s announcement article.

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Announcing The Trail of Ithaqua for Elder Sign: Omens

Published 9 October 2012 | Elder Sign: Omens

Announcing The Trail of Ithaqua for Elder Sign: Omens

An All-New Campaign Is Now Available as Part of the Version 1.2 Update

My friend, I write to you under the most dire circumstances. Recently we unearthed a strange statuette that our guides identified as the local god-figure Ithaqua. It terrified them. Since then, we’ve been assaulted by strange storms that follow us as we move. [...] I include the statue, and this letter, in what I fear will be our final shipment. If it should reach you, please, be careful, and send assistance. –Dr. Ashley Lott, The Trail of Ithaqua

Fantasy Flight Games is excited to announce the release of a new campaign and other enhancements for Elder Sign: Omens, now available for iOS (OS X and Android updates will be released shortly)!

Set out on The Trail of Ithaqua

Take your investigators on a harrowing expedition to the frozen north in The Trail of Ithaqua, a new campaign available via in-app purchase! A sinister force has laid siege to a team of archaeologists in the heart of Alaska. Among these beleaguered souls is your friend and colleague, Dr. Ashley Lott, who has sent a message begging for your help.

During the first part of this two-part campaign, investigators must gather ample supplies to keep them alive in part two.

Malevolent forces have hounded Ashley and her team ever since they unearthed an ivory effigy, which she managed to have shipped back to you at the museum. Upon receiving the statuette and letter, the museum is attacked by the very forces which had been harassing Dr. Lott in the Alaskan wilderness.

Since the museum is invaded by intruders, there are no Elder Signs to be gathered in the first phase of the game. The focus of this stage of the campaign is instead on procuring supplies in the museum. Supplies are won by completing adventures, or they can be purchased with trophies, so make sure you’ve gathered a sufficient stockpile before setting out on a rescue mission to Alaska!

Once in the frozen north, one unit of supplies is used every time an investigator takes his turn. When the supplies run out, your brave investigators are steadily drained of Stamina at the beginning of each turn as they languish from starvation and exposure in the unforgiving wilderness! Despite these brutal conditions, your team must gather Elder Signs, which represent the journey toward Dr. Lott’s last known location.

Grizzly Bears and grisly murders await, in just two of the twenty-five new adventures in The Trail of Ithaqua.

Twenty-five new adventures await the investigators in The Trail of Ithaqua, but the hazards of exploring the wilderness are compounded by the supernatural creatures and forces that hunt your party as you progress. The things lurking the woods are closing in, and players must fend them off while supplies dwindle.

The yetis of the frozen plains show no mercy, while starving wolves and terrifying byakhees shadow the investigators’ every move. Ten fearsome new monsters await.

Hulking Yetis stride through the forest, exacting a terrible price of two stamina in defeat and yielding no trophies for the bedraggled party of investigators. The wildlife that inhabits these woods has also been slowly corrupted by the presence of otherworldly forces. Normally harmless packs of wolves prey upon man, and multiply at midnight if any are left undefeated!

Story effects, an entirely new game element, crop up as you get closer to finding the answer to the mystery. Beware Ithaqua’s Icy Winds!

As your investigators search for Elder Signs, they will contend with the horrible hazards of Ithaqua’s Icy Winds. These strange and malicious storms can come upon hapless investigators undertaking any adventure marked with a snowstorm, and will often result in a terrible penalty. Story Effects occur as Dr. Lott’s guide leads your desperate team ever deeper into the frozen wasteland; will they locate a hidden cache of supplies in the hunting cabin, or will they fall prey to a monstrous grizzly bear at the abandoned mine? And once they find Ithaqua, will they have what it takes to best him in a thrilling, final battle?

New Investigators Lend Their Strength in The Trail of Ithaqua

Luckily, The Trail of Ithaqua brings with it the talents of four new investigators (plus one unlockable investigator)! Today, we’ll see just two of them: a mysterious musician and a woman whose dreams become waking nightmares. Meet Jim Culver and Jaqueline Fine, two of the four characters that are available with the in-app purchase of The Trail of Ithaqua.

For Jim Culver, jazz has been his trade and his trouble for as long as he can remember. Playing his father’s trumpet seemed to twist his tones into something more than music. Jim knew he played well, but his trumpet gave him more talent than he’d been graced with naturally. The smooth music of that trumpet made the dead get up and dance, literally. Since then, Jim has dug deeper into the more macabre mysteries of the universe, and he’s decided to lend his aid to the investigations going on within the museum. The jazz musician’s “Strange Luck” ability allows him to focus a glyph or assist even when he completes a task!

Jaqueline Fine has never been a sound sleeper. Her dreams have a tendency to show her things before they come to pass with a startling amount of accuracy. Lately, Jacqueline has been plagued with maddeningly real visions of gruesome horrors.

Jacqueline is determined to avert the tragedies and terrors that she’s witnessed in her dreams. Jaqueline has traveled to Arkham in hopes of stopping the awakening of dark forces, and will lend her power to aiding in the rescue of Dr. Lott. Jaqueline can leverage her psychic abilities with her “Precognition” ability, allowing her to spend a clue to change the mythos effect once per day.

Jaqueline Fine, Jim Culver, and two more new investigators (plus one unlockable character) will aid in your attempt discover the fate of the unfortunate Dr. Lott at the hands of the abominable Ithaqua. But will it be enough? Discover the fate of your lost colleague and face the frozen horrors of Alaska while on the The Trail of Ithaqua!

A Free Update Brings Even More

Whether or not you pursue The Trail of Ithaqua, the version 1.2 update offers a host of free enhancements...including a new Ancient One! Tsathoggua has sent forth its formless spawn into the museum, and now the whole town of Arkham is succumbing to the mind-numbing drain of the malevolent deity’s presence. Do you have what it takes to resist the haze that permeates the museum and lead your investigators to victory? Face Tsathoggua and save the town from the lethargic pall that has gripped its inhabitants before it’s too late!

Tsathoggua includes the new Formless Spawn and Hunting Horror monsters, as well as his own horrific Mythos effects and unique entrance costs. The new Monster Log feature lets players quickly review the details of all monsters currently in play, allowing you to better confront these horrific beasts. Version 1.2’s layout enhancements and minor bug fixes improve the overall game experience, and FFG is happy to announce compatibility with iPhone 5’s larger screen size!

Start Your Expedition!

In summary, version 1.2 includes a new campaign along with a number of other updates.

The Trail of Ithaqua, an in-app purchase:

The Trail of Ithaqua campaign with two stages and multiple endings
4 new investigators
10 new monsters
25 new adventures
1 new unlockable investigator

A number of free updates:

Tsathoggua, a new Ancient One
2 new monsters
New Mythos effects
The Monster Log feature
iPhone 5 compatibility and bug fixes

Can you maintain your sanity long enough to protect mankind from these unspeakable horrors? Visit the App Store now, and check the Mac App Store and Google Play in the coming days, to download Elder Sign: Omens. Then, update your app through your digital device!

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Help Bring the Madness to the Masses

Published 1 October 2012 | Elder Sign: Omens

Help Bring the Madness to the Masses

Vote for Elder Sign: Omens on Steam Greenlight

Want to add the terror and excitement of Elder Sign: Omens to your Steam library? Head over to Steam Greenlight and cast your vote for Elder Sign: Omens to be brought to Steam! Steam is a leader in the digital distribution of games for both PC and Mac, and its “Greenlight” program is the online, public voting system that helps shape its catalog. FFG is working hard to bring the thrills of Elder Sign: Omens to as many players as possible, but we need your vote.

The Ancient Ones Rise

Based on Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson’s popular dice game, Elder Sign: Omens places players in control of up to four intrepid investigators as they fight to keep all-powerful Ancient Ones from invading our world through a museum’s arcane exhibits.

Players work to slay horrific monsters and complete perilous adventures by conjuring combinations of random glyphs. As rewards for successfully overcoming these challenges, investigators pick up weapons and spells to increase their chances of survival, as well as Elder Signs, ancient artifacts used to imprison the Ancient Ones. But hurry! Time passes with every turn, bringing the Ancient One’s awakening ever closer. New monsters and negative effects also come into play each time the clock strikes midnight.

Elder Sign: Omens is currently available on iOS, OS X, and Google Play, bringing the thrill of eldritch investigation to most mobile and Mac devices. FFG wants to provide the thrill of facing the Ancient Ones to an even wider audience, so go vote if you think you have the will to foil the rise of the Ancient Ones!

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Fantastic Reports from Distant Realms

Published 18 November 2011 | Elder Sign: Omens

Fantastic Reports from Distant Realms

Check out the rave reviews for the digital application, Elder Sign: Omens

He asked questions about the gods, and whether they danced often upon Lerion; but the farmer and his wife would only make the Elder Sign and tell him the way to Nir and Ulthar. –H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

Gates have opened within the Arkham museum, connecting our world to realms beyond, and thousands of people have already begun their journeys through these portals in search of powerful Elder Signs. Now, some have returned, forever altered by their experiences…

Early investigators offer their reports

Fans everywhere are heaping their praise on Elder Sign: Omens, the digital application that recreates the chilling experience of the popular Elder Sign dice game for your Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or Mac OS X device. We are pleased to share the following reviews:

Touch Arcade (4.5 of 5 stars). “Fantasy Flight has done a fantastic job.”
Gamezebo (4.5 of 5 stars). “The presentation here, like most of Fantasy Flight’s productions, is beyond top notch.”
Editor’s Choice at 148apps.com (4.5 of 5 stars). “You’d have to be insane to pass this up.”
iPadboardgames rates Elder Sign: Omens a “very solid” 9 out of 10 stars. “High production values, wonderful atmospheric music, gorgeous visuals, and a comprehensive tutorial.”
Game of the Week at G4TV.com. “This is an absolutely brilliant translation of a tabletop game.”
iBirdy.com (4.5 of 5 stars). “Gorgeous artworks, soundtrack that adds to the unsettling atmosphere, outstanding tutorial videos and great but hard gameplay make this game amazing.”
Pocket Gamer (Silver Award). “We strongly recommend you give it a chance.”
Elder Sign: Omens also earned 3 of 4 stars on Board Game Geek where Elder Sign has floated on the site’s The Hotness list since June. “A great example of a non-linear transition of a board game to iOS.”

Click the above image to launch the video trailer (QuickTime, 9.4 MB). You can also view it on YouTube.

Begin your investigations today

You can download Elder Sign: Omens today to thwart the emergence of Azathoth, the boundless daemon sultan and blind idiot god, whose entrance to our world would spell its total destruction. Players select a team of four daring investigators to confront the museum’s hidden terrors and scour its exhibits for the Elder Signs needed to preserve humanity.

Get started today!

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A Traveling Exhibit

Published 19 October 2011 | Elder Sign: Omens

A Traveling Exhibit

Announcing Elder Sign: Omens, an application for your digital device

Then suddenly he began trying to keep the hideous images he had formerly been trying to banish. He tried to keep them because they were giving place to still more hideous ones. In spite of himself his memory began reconstructing the utterly non-human blasphemies that lurked in the obscurer corners, and these lumpish hybrid growths oozed and wriggled toward him as though hunting him down in a circle. Black Tsathoggua moulded itself from a toad-like gargoyle to a long, sinuous line with hundreds of rudimentary feet, and a lean, rubbery night-gaunt spread its wings as if to advance and smother the watcher. – H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald, The Horror in the Museum

Unfathomable horrors are entering our world, using a museum’s long-forgotten relics as focal points for their dark plots. Can you gather the ancient weapons necessary to send them back to the abyss from whence they came?

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Elder Sign: Omens, a digital game for your iOS, Mac OS X, and Android device! Approximating the popular dice game’s addictive experience in a portable new medium, Elder Sign: Omens ensures that there’s no escaping the horrors of the Ancient Ones.

The beta version of this exciting new application was unveiled at last weekend’s Arkham Nights convention, where attendees commented on its sharp, detailed graphics. FFG staff was on hand to help with the basics of the application, but after just a couple of turns, Omens’ intuitive interface had players solving tasks and vanquishing monsters on their own!

Even special guest Richard Launius stopped by for a quick demo... but ended up playing Elder Sign: Omens for nearly two hours, reluctantly setting our iPad aside only when his seminar schedule finally demanded it.

A familiar challenge, and all-new experience

Elder Sign: Omens allows players to build the perfect team of up to four intrepid investigators as they work to prevent the emergence of Azathoth, the demon god of the unnamable void. His arrival will surely spell the end of human existence, but if you can use your investigators’ skills wisely, you’ll stave off destruction. All sixteen of Elder Sign’s unique investigators stand ready to face these otherworldly horrors; control any number of them in your own solo game, or “pass and play” with your friends!

But while Elder Sign: Omens brilliantly conveys the spirit of the Elder Sign dice game, a few noteworthy differences were adopted to optimize the mobile play experience:

Arguably the most powerful Ancient One in Lovecraft’s Mythos, Azathoth’s awesome power is indisputable. This infinitely destructive deity is therefore the focal point of Elder Sign: Omens, and the only available Ancient One.
A number of subtle changes increase the peril of defending humanity. For example, the random negative effects drawn every midnight are more challenging, and the frequency of “no effect” results has been decreased. Monsters have likewise been altered to make them more difficult.
Finally, there are no Ally cards in Elder Sign: Omens, which further streamlines play while increasing the overall challenge.

Want to see the results in action? Click the link below to view the first installment of Elder Sign: Omens’ in-game instructional guide. The first of four videos accessible within the application, this short overview presents the basics of Elder Sign: Omens.

A Gate is Opening

Can you stand against the impending arrival of Azathoth? Keep checking back for more, and look for Elder Sign: Omens on the App Store, Mac App Store, and Android Marketplace in the coming weeks.

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