The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I've never been a fan of collectible card games (CCGs), mainly due to the fact that players and people to trade with are hard to find here in Costa Rica. After trying out the Mythos CCG, I've decided to take things into my own hand and corrupt as many people into playing as I can. I just love it.

Mythos follows the Call of Cthulhu motif, and instead of having clans, mana sources and what not you have a Sanity score to watch and eight types of cards: adventures, allies, artifacts, events, locations, monster, spells and tomes. Some of these cards (like going to Red Hook) may cost you some of your sanity, while others (like a .38 Revolver) will comfort you and raise it. There is also an Investigator card, detailing your starting sanity and the maximum and minimum amount of cards that you can have in your hand.

The Adventure cards details the adventures that your investigator may try to complete, as well as the cards required to accomplish that. For example, "Whispers in Darkness" required Henry W. Akeley, a tome, the Speech Machine, travel by car, the Lonely Akeley Farmhouse, N'gah-Kthun and a Governmental Cover-up. When just a type of card is mentioned (like a tome) any tome will do, while others are quite specific. Adventures detail the points you will win by finishing it as well as how much sanity you will get for it.

Allies are interesting people that you can meet along your travels. They will usually be keyed to a Location, which means that you can only play an ally when you're in that location. For example, Henry W. Akeley includes Vermont, since that's where he lived in the story. They can be either Steadfast or Corrupt, and some of the Corrupt ones are also labeled Cultists. Corrupt Cultists have the advantage that in some circumstances you can play them as monsters. It is also possible that Steadfast allies can have special effects, like raising your sanity or being able to escape damage.

Artifacts are things that your investigators or allies can use, and they run the gamut from a .38 Revolver to a Mi-Go Braincase, with effects sometimes beneficial to you or adverse to your opponents. Several can be used only on specific circumstances with the cost being paid on use, while others have a permanent effect and the cost is paid only when deploying.

Events are one of the most fun parts of Mythos. Some come in the form of mostly harmless Day, Night, Storm or some such events. Others are merely annoying, like Governmental Cover Up that forces your opponent to discard an event (since it never happened). Some are the insidious phobias that lower your target's sanity when some circumstances are met (for example, Portaphobia and being on a Gate location) until the player gets rid of them at a sanatorium. And yet some others are quite destructive, like the terrible Cthulhu Rising to destroy one of your enemies cities near water or having one of your steadfast allies Succumb to Temptation.

Locations are places where you can meet allies and play tomes and artifacts, depending on the location. You can play an ally only when he is from the region, for example, playing Howard Lovecraft in New York. Some locations have the Gate attribute, which means that you can summon one monster at that location (special circumstances may allow for more). They can also be City or Country. You can move faster within cities, while if even one has the Country attribute you must walk to it. There are also Sanitariums, which are places where you can recover some of your sanity and bury your phobias. However, this comes at a price and playing a Sanitarium may have an effect in your deck.

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes: Mi-Go, the Martin's Beach Monster, Servants of Glaaki, you name it. There are even several Great Old Ones and Outer Gods thrown in the mix: Nyarlathotep, Glaaki and of course Cthulhu are just a few.

Spells can be case by your investigator from a tome, in which case you pay the sanity cost and may cast them again, or by one of your allies that knows spells. They come from several "schools": folk, water, eye, death, Cthulhu and Yellow Sign, and not all of your allies or tomes will serve for all spell types.

Finally, Tomes are books of occult knowledge that can contain spells and may also have other effects.

The purpose of the game is to complete 20 points of adventures. To complete these you must have the cards mentioned on it either in play or buried in your Story Deck (not discarded). The game is played on several turns where you travel around Locations, meet allies and use monsters and artifacts. Once all players have passed once, the combat round begins with the monsters first fighting each other and then passing the remaining sanity damage to the investigator's defending allies or maybe even the investigator himself. Weren't it for the possibility of casting spells and using artifact's special effects during combat this would be the most boring part of the game, but the addition of spells that can alter the state of things by controlling your enemies' monsters or paralyzing their allies makes combat an incredibly entertaining section where anything can happen.

Deck building is rather delicate, at least for a newcomer to card games such as myself, but the fun gameplay more than pays for it. For those that don't wish to learn both the game and the art of deck building, Chaosium provides the Mythos Unlimited Starter Set that comes with two pre-built decks. However, gameplay with it becomes somewhat repetitive and you will surely strike out for more cards as soon as you dominate the game.

If there is one downside to Mythos is that the rules are as static as running water and not all that clear. The rules booklet that comes with Mythos Unlimited isn't clear on some points, and while those have been cleared on following editions of the game some other rules have been changed and messed up. However, there are several people willing to help online and once you get the hang of the game it's an incredibly fun an addictive pastime.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Mythos: the collectible card game
Author: Several authors Category: Company/Publisher: Chaosium Page count: NA Playtest Review by Ricardo J. Méndez on 01/04/99. Genre tags: none	I've never been a fan of collectible card games (CCGs), mainly due to the fact that players and people to trade with are hard to find here in Costa Rica. After trying out the Mythos CCG, I've decided to take things into my own hand and corrupt as many people into playing as I can. I just love it. Mythos follows the Call of Cthulhu motif, and instead of having clans, mana sources and what not you have a Sanity score to watch and eight types of cards: adventures, allies, artifacts, events, locations, monster, spells and tomes. Some of these cards (like going to Red Hook) may cost you some of your sanity, while others (like a .38 Revolver) will comfort you and raise it. There is also an Investigator card, detailing your starting sanity and the maximum and minimum amount of cards that you can have in your hand. The Adventure cards details the adventures that your investigator may try to complete, as well as the cards required to accomplish that. For example, "Whispers in Darkness" required Henry W. Akeley, a tome, the Speech Machine, travel by car, the Lonely Akeley Farmhouse, N'gah-Kthun and a Governmental Cover-up. When just a type of card is mentioned (like a tome) any tome will do, while others are quite specific. Adventures detail the points you will win by finishing it as well as how much sanity you will get for it. Allies are interesting people that you can meet along your travels. They will usually be keyed to a Location, which means that you can only play an ally when you're in that location. For example, Henry W. Akeley includes Vermont, since that's where he lived in the story. They can be either Steadfast or Corrupt, and some of the Corrupt ones are also labeled Cultists. Corrupt Cultists have the advantage that in some circumstances you can play them as monsters. It is also possible that Steadfast allies can have special effects, like raising your sanity or being able to escape damage. Artifacts are things that your investigators or allies can use, and they run the gamut from a .38 Revolver to a Mi-Go Braincase, with effects sometimes beneficial to you or adverse to your opponents. Several can be used only on specific circumstances with the cost being paid on use, while others have a permanent effect and the cost is paid only when deploying. Events are one of the most fun parts of Mythos. Some come in the form of mostly harmless Day, Night, Storm or some such events. Others are merely annoying, like Governmental Cover Up that forces your opponent to discard an event (since it never happened). Some are the insidious phobias that lower your target's sanity when some circumstances are met (for example, Portaphobia and being on a Gate location) until the player gets rid of them at a sanatorium. And yet some others are quite destructive, like the terrible Cthulhu Rising to destroy one of your enemies cities near water or having one of your steadfast allies Succumb to Temptation. Locations are places where you can meet allies and play tomes and artifacts, depending on the location. You can play an ally only when he is from the region, for example, playing Howard Lovecraft in New York. Some locations have the Gate attribute, which means that you can summon one monster at that location (special circumstances may allow for more). They can also be City or Country. You can move faster within cities, while if even one has the Country attribute you must walk to it. There are also Sanitariums, which are places where you can recover some of your sanity and bury your phobias. However, this comes at a price and playing a Sanitarium may have an effect in your deck. Monsters come in all shapes and sizes: Mi-Go, the Martin's Beach Monster, Servants of Glaaki, you name it. There are even several Great Old Ones and Outer Gods thrown in the mix: Nyarlathotep, Glaaki and of course Cthulhu are just a few. Spells can be case by your investigator from a tome, in which case you pay the sanity cost and may cast them again, or by one of your allies that knows spells. They come from several "schools": folk, water, eye, death, Cthulhu and Yellow Sign, and not all of your allies or tomes will serve for all spell types. Finally, Tomes are books of occult knowledge that can contain spells and may also have other effects. The purpose of the game is to complete 20 points of adventures. To complete these you must have the cards mentioned on it either in play or buried in your Story Deck (not discarded). The game is played on several turns where you travel around Locations, meet allies and use monsters and artifacts. Once all players have passed once, the combat round begins with the monsters first fighting each other and then passing the remaining sanity damage to the investigator's defending allies or maybe even the investigator himself. Weren't it for the possibility of casting spells and using artifact's special effects during combat this would be the most boring part of the game, but the addition of spells that can alter the state of things by controlling your enemies' monsters or paralyzing their allies makes combat an incredibly entertaining section where anything can happen. Deck building is rather delicate, at least for a newcomer to card games such as myself, but the fun gameplay more than pays for it. For those that don't wish to learn both the game and the art of deck building, Chaosium provides the Mythos Unlimited Starter Set that comes with two pre-built decks. However, gameplay with it becomes somewhat repetitive and you will surely strike out for more cards as soon as you dominate the game. If there is one downside to Mythos is that the rules are as static as running water and not all that clear. The rules booklet that comes with Mythos Unlimited isn't clear on some points, and while those have been cleared on following editions of the game some other rules have been changed and messed up. However, there are several people willing to help online and once you get the hang of the game it's an incredibly fun an addictive pastime. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Mythos: the collectible card game