
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game – Ancient Horrors Asylum Pack
- 2 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2008

2008
Rules assistance for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game is a board game released in 2008 for 2 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Eric M. Lang and Nate French and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Open Drafting, and Deck Construction.
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.¨ - H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature Welcome to the world of the Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, a world based on the weird fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and his literary circle. In this world, conflicts rage between cosmic powers who want the world for their own unfathomable purposes and the human agencies dedicated to stopping them. The weird world of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos has drawn in fans for more than eighty years, with its richly painted themes of suspense, adventure, and the eerie unknown. Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game is fully immersed in this world and what is more, places you, as a player, in control of some of the facets of that world. A typical game of Call of Cthulhu plays very quickly between two players and it has a high-level of player interaction, analysis of open information, planning and strategy. There is a wide variety of possible combinations of factions (Syndicate with Agency, Cthulhu with Hastur, etc.) and each combination will necessitate a different, challenging approach, providing high levels of re-playability. One of the major appeals of the Living Card Game® format is that it gives you not only a solid game experience, full of strategy and excitement, but it also allows you to customize your gaming experience to your liking. As you customize your deck from the Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game card pool, you get to build a strategy around your personal play style. This game was originally a CCG, having been transitioned to Fantasy Flight Games' new Living Card Game (LCG) format. Monthly Asylum Pack expansions to the card pool were eventually supplanted by larger quarterly(-ish) expansion boxes. FFG ended development and organized play support for the game in 2015. "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons, even death may die."
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game has a complexity rating of 2.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Horror. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Open Drafting, and Deck Construction. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game are: Eric M. Lang and Nate French. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.