Review of Mythos (Standard Card Game Set)

I've never been a big fan of CCGs. I caught the Magic: The Gathering bug for a week or two before I decided I had better things to do with my money. I carry my two M:TG decks around at conventions, just in case a game finishes up early, but beyond that I have little to do with the CCG thing.

At a local convention in Houston, I Think Therefore I Con '99, one of my friends suggested Mythos as an in between game alternative. So, I got a copy of Mythos that had two pre-constructed decks and four character sheets (on two character cards).

The character cards were the first things that caught my eye. Characters in a CCG? "That means there's role-playing involved, and that's always a good thing," I thought to myself. Notch one point for Mythos. Upon further inquiry, I discovered that Mythos was based off Chaosium's hit RPG Call of Cthulhu. The cards themselves were also intriguing; the artwork all had an edge of dementia, very appropriate for a game associated with a horror game in which sanity really counts. So, in my palms I had a card game with role-playing elements and artwork that fit the mood. I was still a little wary, however, as I couldn't figure out how any role-playing was to be done in a Collectible Card Game, where the point was usually to annihilate the other players. I had the bright idea of reading the instructions.

It turns out there are actually two different ways to win the game. The first is the typical CCG method: take all the points away from the other character. In Mythos the points are defined as Sanity, keeping with the spirit of CoC. The second way to win is complete a number of adventures based on the cards played. I much preferred the latter style of play. So, I chose a character, my opponent chose another and we proceeded to play the game.

Each player starts with a certain number of cards in his hand, the number being different for each character. The player then draws as many cards as needed to have thirteen cards in his hand. When the round ends the player has to discard all the cards over his starting card amount. During each turn of the round a player can lay down a card from his hand. There are quite a few different types of cards, including locations, methods of transportation, allies, weapons, artifacts, spells, and monsters. There are also event cards that have various properties; some cards give a character a phobia, restricting their mobility, others affect all the players, altering their hand or mobility. Many cards also affect sanity, and if the character's sanity is brought to zero, the player is out of the game. Fortunately, there are locations, such as a sanitarium, which can help restore the characters sanity. Some locations allow characters to summon monsters, which can attack other characters, reducing opponent's sanity, or vanquishing defending allies. Through ought each turn the player weaves a narrative of his character, describing the events of the cards being laid down around that character. Once a player runs out of cards, or passes on three turns, that round is over. Cards are discarded and re-drawn up to thirteen.

Outside of events and combat between monsters and allies, there is little character interaction, each player spins their own story, either trying to vanquish the other character or lay down all the specific cards to complete an Adventure card. Adventure cards are where the game really shines, and also the most lacking part of the game. Like all the other cards, an Adventure card is drawn at random. It has a list of cards that need to be played and a point value. To win the game without driving the opposing characters over the brink, a pre-determined amount of adventure points must be reached, this is accomplished by completing enough Adventure cards to equal that pre-determined amount. The only problem I saw with the Adventure cards is they have their own stories on them, which often conflicted with my narrative. The Adventure card stories are easily ignored, but annoying, nonetheless.

I've played the preconstructed decks that came in the set with veterans and newbies alike, and everyone has found it amusing. There are only a few qualms I have about the game. One: it's a CCG, which means you can never have enough cards. Two: while I really enjoyed playing the adventure portion of the game, decks can be constructed with the primary purpose of monster summoning. If I wanted to just summon monsters, I'd play Magic. The two-player pre-generated deck is fun and well balanced. And while I might not buy booster packs, build new decks, or do anything else usually associated with CCGs, I now carry Mythos around to conventions for the in-between games game.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)