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In Fate of the Elder Gods, players take on the ever-maddening role of cults trying to summon ancient evil and herald the fall of mankind! Each cult is in competition to be first to summon their god, but they all must also repel intrepid investigators working to seal off the gate to beyond with Elder signs. Gather arcane artifacts, cast powerful spells, embrace the Dark Gift of your Elder God, and be first to hasten doom...before it's too late!
During the game, players use a variable hand of spell cards to do one of two things to aid their cult in their mission: Use the spell's Astral Symbol to navigate the areas around Arkham on the unique Fate Clock board, or use the symbols in a location's Astral Column to ready a spell. Readied spells can be cast at any time, but while in a cult's Spell Reserve their primary Astral Symbol can aid in readying future spells, creating an engine for pumping out more potential power.
As cults travel to the six locations on the Fate Clock, they activate specific powerful abilities, such as gaining useful artifacts at The Museum or enabling their Elder God's Dark Gift at The Ceremony. As cults send more and more cultists to a location, they may gain control there, adding even more powerful abilities. However, cults must be careful how they navigate Arkham as a location with lots of activity will attract pesky investigators. Tempt fate too many times and the investigators may raid your cult's lodge, placing Elder Signs, and generally getting in the way of summoning your Elder God. Gain too many Elder Signs and it's game over!
If any cult can manage to raise their Summon Track to 9 before the investigators save humanity, their Elder God awakens and they win! Of course, "win" is a relative term as it will certainly herald the end of the world — but that's a small price to pay for eternal servitude to the Ancient Ones.
- Unique board
- Liked the spell card mechanic
- Liked the area control element
- Unique abilities for each player
- Incredibly cutthroat and worked well
- Liked the art
- Gen Con hype game?
- Cultists summoning ancient evil
- Lovecraft
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players gain control of regions which give them different icons and actions.
- Card Play — Players use a variable hand of spell cards.
- Deduction — Players had to remove elder signs/sigils.
- Unique Player Powers — Each player had a unique ability based on the god they were trying to summon.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- And then you have to balance the Defcon track and then balance your military while also uh balancing the victory points
- The fact that every player has a very busted player power, but because they're all bro because they're all broken, none of them are.
- This was the first game that I played that had that element. And I've always liked that ever since.
- It it's the battle of Helms's Deep H just with a different theme.
- So it wasn't the most highly narrative game, but it was something that I feel like this game needed right off rip.
- Just buddy cop buddy cop the game.
- The problem with modular expansions for games like this. And the reason why it's on this list is because I don't play this all the time.
- I would go out of my way to probably say this is the best pirate game.
- this one's gameplay just really does it for me.
- It hit number one because I'm I'd be more inclined to play BattleCon than I would any of these other games, but it also has been games that I haven't touched in a long time.
References (from this video)
- Unique theme and role reversal from typical Lovecraftian games
- High production value with great art and miniatures
- Interesting 'take that' mechanics and curse elements
- Multiple win conditions
- Can feel like it drags initially due to text-heavy nature and learning curve
- Requires memorization of location abilities
- Initial play might not be as enjoyable as subsequent plays once rules are known
- Playing as cultists trying to summon an Elder God to devour the earth, or trying to prevent investigators from stopping them.
- A world threatened by Elder Gods.
- Players manage resources and actions to achieve their cult's goals, with potential for player-vs-player 'take that' mechanics.
- Arkham Horror
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players compete for control of locations on the board by having the most presence (cultists).
- Dice Rolling — Dice are used for various checks, including investigator infiltration and potential curse triggers.
- Hand Management — Players play spell cards to move their fate figure and perform actions.
- Hidden Information — Curses are held secretly by players until triggered, adding an element of surprise.
- Resource Management — Managing magic cards, artifacts, and cultist deployment is key.
- Variable player powers — Each player worships their own Elder God, and the goal is to be the first to summon it or prevent investigators from winning.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- It's like putting together just a perfectly fit puzzle.
- If you enjoy doing Excel spreadsheets, this game is for you.
- This game feels a lot like an RPG for miniatures.
- The math spreadsheet thinking part of the game, Oh My Heavens, our heads were hurting.
- It is it is is a social game it is a bidding game it is very much a economic game it's a bunch of different things crammed together that I think actually works pretty darn well.
References (from this video)
- eldritch gods / cults
- Lovecraftian mythos
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area control / spell-casting via set collection — play color-aligned spell cards; move a central figure and summon cultists; discard cards to cast spells
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- your videos are great I love your YouTube channel especially your playthroughs
- Lisboa is a beautiful game
- this was the funnest moment that I had at the convention
References (from this video)
- Cthulhu
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The reason I highlighted Planet Unknown is that this is a game that is purely about building a planet.
- But I love the idea that instead of having a universe of planets that you can go and discover, instead you have one specific planet with a unique hook, a unique layout, beautiful art.
- So, in Hot Streak, it is a racing game for mascots.
- Delightful game. I think the the theatic and the uh mechanical twist make this game really stand out.
- Trading in the Mediterranean. Concordia is the game that I think has really broken through in this genre.
- They typically don't enjoy trading in the Mediterranean, but they really really enjoy Concordia.
- But if you're not into the Viking theme of I I guess exploring and pillaging, if you're not really into that, I think a game that stands out that's mentioned here is the game A Feast for Odin.
- But I think this game is just a really really good Eurothemed game that give players a lot of choices.
- So, Creature Caravan doesn't even really present itself as a zombie themed game, but it is.
- But I love that Ryan Locket put his own spin on zombie themed games by just having them be these lumbering creatures that that just follow you around.
- I say that because our game origin story, we have a different take on the the superhero theme in our collection now.