The Warhammer Fantasy world is plagued with strife as ancient enemies wage war for reasons perhaps none of them can even remember. Yet even amidst the ravages of battle, the Old World is partially united under one looming threat: that of impending Chaos.

Now the unimaginable is about to transpire. From beyond the depths of reason, behind the Gates of Chaos, four Ruinous Powers – the ancient gods of Chaos – have come forth to reclaim the world for themselves. It is their will that the world of mortals be corrupted and remade in their image.

In Chaos in the Old World , you play as one of the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos itself.

From the northern wastes of Troll Country to the shores of Estalia to the ruins of the Badlands, it is up to you to corrupt the denizens of the Old World or dominate it outright with the strength of your daemonic followers. The challenge facing you is not only the resistance of the world itself, but the machinations of the other Ruinous Powers, each equally malevolent but completely different in ethos.

Game play is a chronology of the Old World during its imminent doom. Over a series of rounds, each Ruinous power must carefully choose how to use his godly power, either by summoning cultists to corrupt a region or daemons to dominate by force, or playing chaos cards into regions to influence them. Once everyone’s devious plans are set in motion, battle erupts wherever more than one Ruinous power has deployed followers.

When the fires of battle have waned, surviving cultists seek to corrupt the regions in the name of their Ruinous Power. Any region that falls under too much corruption, however, is ruined and considered a great conquest for the particular Chaos gods that aided in its fall. Victory is handed to the single Ruinous Power that has achieved the most conquest points through a careful balance of ruination, corruption, domination and battle.

Each Ruinous Power has a unique play style as well as a secondary victory condition. Khorne, the Blood God, wins if he has killed enough of his enemies. Nurgle, the Lord of Pestilence, wins if he has diseased enough of the more populated regions in the Old World. Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, wins if he has corrupted enough areas with a high concentration of magic. Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure and Pain, wins if he has enslaved enough nobles and heroes of the Old World to his debaucheries.

On top of it all, the Old World is resisting corruption from the forces of Chaos. Each round, different events will take place, from Witch Hunters rooting out heretical cultists to Orc invasions throwing a wrench in your own apocalyptic plans. If one of the four Ruinous Powers cannot claim victory within a certain number of rounds, the Old World has successfully overcome corruption and all lose the game!

Hopefully this has whet your appetite for a game I’m extremely proud of. More will be revealed over the next few weeks, including another designer diary about some of the specific design challenges. Until then, may you enjoy playing the bad guys!

Eric Lang, designer of Call of Cthulhu Card Game and A Game of Thrones Card Game, is known for his innovative designs and devious strategies. Currently he has escaped to the South Pacific, where he is cooking up yet another excellent game. As he will be making an appearance at GenCon, Eric Lang would like to issue a challenge to all would-be Ruinous Powers, as he is as of yet undefeated.

Chaos in the Old World is a game of conquest, pitting the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos against each other for control of the Old World. Players must out summon, out play, and outwit theirs rivals to ensure their domination of the lands for ages to come.