Every year, Fantasy Flight Games puts on a dazzling show at GenCon Indy . From our booth loaded with new and exciting games to our premier events, there is more than you can fit in one day. This year, we have more events than ever before! Over the weeks leading up to GenCon, we will be covering most of these excellent additions to your GenCon experience.

The first up on our tour of events are the brand new Hybrid events! These creations take a pair of games and combine them in interesting new ways. All in all there are seven Hybrid events to choose from.

First on the list is Middle-earth Quest and Lord of the Rings Confrontation . Middle-earth Quest puts you in the 17 years leading up to Frodo’s mission and the creation of the Fellowship. A team of heroes thwart Sauron’s plots and prepare themselves for the war to come. All the while, Sauron is laying out plans and putting schemes into motion that will lead to him finding the One Ring and conquering all of Middle-earth. Lord of the Rings Confrontation follows the struggles of the Fellowship as they attempt to destroy the One Ring and foil Sauron in his quest for dominance. Sauron unleashes his most powerful agents and vile tricks to try and collect the the ring. As Middle-earth Quest covers never before seen events leading up to the start of Lord of the Rings Confrontation, this event will be played sequentially with the groups doing their best in the game of Middle-earth Quest to gain the advantage in Lord of the Rings Confrontation. Each team will receive special benefits based on their performance during the first game, beginning board position, in game powers, larger hand size all dependent on how well they performed.

Next up is Citadels and BattleLore . Citadels is a card based game in which you will build up your city and do your best to create the most diverse and glorious capital. Each turn you will be able to influence different roles such as the Warlord, Assassin, and even the King! BattleLore sees the armies of the English and French take the fields of battle during the Hundred Years War. Each side has a council of advisors and must direct their troops effectively to gain advantage. Backed by the power of Lore, mighty spells and devastating effects change the course of battle in an instant. With these games in mind, you will first compete to create a mighty city. Based on the types of buildings within your citadel, each flavor of councillor will receive levels and there will be different in game effects. For example, for every level of red, or military, building you have in your completed citadel, your warriors will be able to hit harder and deal more damage. For each level of green, or merchant, building you will be able to hire more mercenaries to aid your side. Each player will have to decide how they wish their forces to do on the battlefield, and will have to weigh each mighty option when constructing their capital.

The third entry this week is our combination of Arkham Horror and Call of Cthulhu Card Game . The town of Arkham is shrouded in mystery and rumor. Ancient Evil is attempting to break into our reality, and a handful of brave men and women are determined to prevent this. Each must weigh their desire to protect against the chance that they will go mad in the process. Call of Cthulhu pits faction against faction, in a no holds barred battle. Each side vies to see certain events take place, or be entirely prevented from reaching fruition. Decks draw from the various groups found within the Mythos lore such as Cthulhu, Miskatonic University, and Hastur. As these groups may often find each other with overlapping interests, there are no clear cut lines of right and wrong. As each game of Call of Cthulhu revolves around a set of events, called Story cards, these seemed a natural way to influence the world of the Arkham Horror board game. Every Story card has had new text added that may help their Arkham compatriots, or doom the opposition to utter madness. Each team will have 2 representatives taking on the task of Call of Cthulhu, while the rest must battle with the Ancient Ones in Arkham Horror. Every story won in the Call of Cthulhu game will have an effect in the Arkham game, an effect that could mean the difference between victory and crushing terror. For example, a more positive effect might be that each investigator may choose 1 item from the common item deck, beginning with the first player and rotating clockwise. Something a bit more sinister, raise the terror level by 1 for each monster in a street location. As these stories are revealed during the card game, players must coordinate their efforts to prevent the worst effects from happening. This may drive more than a few insane.

Next week, we uncover a bit more of the Hybrid games and see other exciting events held under the spotlight. Until then, registration is still open and we hope to see all of you at GenCon.