Call of Cthulhu LCG

I've had my eyes on this for some time, but I'm not quite sure I need another unplayed game. So I was hoping one of you guys could answer some quick questions about it:

1. The plan is to play this with my wife if we don't have the time for a full session of ARKHAM. But the question is, will it scratch the same itch?

2. Since my wife don't want to get involved in deckbuilding and stuff - and also to keep cost down - we'll most likely only play with the core set. But is that enough for repeated play? And are the preconstructed decks interesting?

That's all - help is very much appreciated.

Call of Cthulhu is like any CCG. A lot of cards and a lot of interesting synergies between different cards. So it is nothing like AH. But themewise you get a lot of the same. The art from the Call of Cthulhu CCG/LCG is the same art as found in AH.

You can manage with only the core set. There is a lot of possibilities to mix 2 different factions and then play with only the core set. I have found though that by buying one more core set you can play also with a pure one faction deck which is more thematic. And then you will have 2 copies of every card in your deck. This means you have a lot fewer unique cards al containing a lot of text, hence easier. And also that you can sacrifice cards, when you know that there is another copy of the same card still in the deck.

What I'm really after is if it has a sense of story like AH. But thanks for clearing things out i bit - still sounds like something I'd love to play.

But how about the preconstructed decks - are they fun to play?

The decks that come with the core set are fun to play. Not a problem there. But since you have only one copy of each card, there will be a lot of text to read and remember. We found that by buying a second core set the playing time decreased since you had half the number of unique cards when playing with one faction. But if both of you are used to CCG playing from earlier then it's probably not a problem.

Call of Cthulhu otherwise really doesn't have anything resembling a story. You pick your fights and commit to some story which is a basicly a Victory Point. Win 3 stories and you win the game. There really isn't any story element like in AH. But all the characters and spells are a lot of fun. And the different factions are actually different. By combining 2 factions together that gives a lot of possibilities.

1. The plan is to play this with my wife if we don't have the time for a full session of ARKHAM. But the question is, will it scratch the same itch?

No. Just like Protoss said, it's got some of the same atmosphere does, but this is a pure strategy/math/tactical thing. There are "story" cards, but they simply represent different bonuses and victory points.

It might satisfy your dramaturgical requirements though. It does sort of play out in different acts. First you literally introduce your characters by brining cards into play, then you put them into conflict, and there's usually a swing of fate or two to be found during the fights.

2. Since my wife don't want to get involved in deckbuilding and stuff - and also to keep cost down - we'll most likely only play with the core set. But is that enough for repeated play? And are the preconstructed decks interesting?

There is no deck building if you play the way it's suggested in the rules. Just take two different factions, a few neutral cards, shuffle, and you're done. I never played the CCG, but I've found this works just fine. You'll rarely have enough resources to bring a bunch of your tough cards into play at once, so you could play several games with the same deck before you've used much of what's in there.

Thank you for your replies - they've been very helpful. Probably won't be able to keep my hands of this one.

Just gonna bump this for yet another question.

The guy at my FLGS told me that he found the game quite dumb (apparantly he didn't want to sell it to me) because Cthulhu or some other deity could use a Ford T., a Star Vampire could be hospitalized at the asylum and stuff like that. While I totally get that this is the way of CCGs/LCGs it sound very stupid and unthematic to me. And something that could ruin the bit of story feel the game allegedly has.

But was he misunderstanding things?

I'll probably spend my money on Warhammer: invasion instead, but I do like the Cthulhu theme, so help is still appreciated.

mads

Nope, he's not off the mark. That stuff's in there, and there really isn't any story aspect to the game at all beyond fighting over "story" cards.

That said, it's a well-designed game. It's fun to play, and the Cthulhu theme is there, even if it is very CCG abstract. I haven't played the Warhammer one, so if theme is a real big sticking point for you, you might want to try that instead. Still CoC is one that I would recommend purely on the basis of its gameplay, but keep in mind that gameplay trumps everything for me.

The game is combat focussed CCG using the Cthulhu mythos. The thing about Cthulhu using a car is pretty funny and could happen but that would depend on how you built your deck. The fighting over story cards rather than creatures fighting other creatures does make it easy to explain things as being like this side brought enough firepower to hold the other side back long enough to complete there investigation.

Both Arkham Horror and Call of Cthulhu LCG are Call of Cthulhu RPG themed rather than strict Lovecraftian themed. Investigators are strong and seeing of threats that in the stories would have left them dead or in the asylum. I enjoyed playing the game and didn't find the way cards could combo stupid. It is the same in any CCG. In Magic I find my self wondering what a 100ft tall demon would be doing with a piddling little knife or how it would wear a cloak.