Hello,

My group of friend have just recently jumped on the Call of Cthulhu LCG bandwagon en masse and we've been enjoying it very much. When we first started with our meagre decks, we could have games that would roll into the 6th or 7th turn. But after getting a handle on things and some cards later, some games typically even around the 4th turn, 5th turn if there's a snag. It's doubtful that our decks are any competitive but to have a game end that quickly seems...well fast. Is that usually how the game ends but is there some staple stall cards we're not seeing yet?

Interesting question. I can say personally, that most competitive games take about 4-5 turns, which usually takes about 30-45 minutes, and consumes almost half the cards in the deck. In friendly games we have some run into 6 or 7 turns. Multiplayer games, on the other hand, do run quite a while.

I don't think it is so much about "stall" cards, so much as strong defense. A strong defense will keep the game running longer.

First of all, Welcome!

There are cards which could be considered stall cards if you aren't prepared for them.

Conspiracy Theorist is a good example of how a game could be made to run longer since the use of conspiracy cards isnt exactly overly abundant in my experience and if it gets out quick enough it spells doom for a very quick game.

But over all, games usually take between 15-45 minutes to play depending on numerous factors such as you getting a good draw and your opponent getting bad ones, or both players being overly caustious, etc. Played a game against Katja the other day that lasted 90 minutes because of her stall deck.

Highlander decks can potentially also be a lot slower due to the fact that there is only one copy of each card in the deck so getting up steam can take a while sometimes.

In my experience, there is sort of a bell curve to the game regarding the experience of the players. Starting short then getting longer then shorter again as the comfort level with a particular deck or the game in general allows you to speed things up. This may not neccesarily be true for everyone, just my own experience.

Thanks for the welcome!

Would that be 15-45 minutes for one game, or game best 2 out of 3? Games seem to be contantly finished at 15 minutes per game, which is somewhat normal for a CCG I guess. It would be nice to be able to play 4 cost characters and a 5 cost awesome unique guy or two. There's a big slant in the game for speed though, it's a little disheartening that stories are consistently 3 capped once one player has board position (**** those Magah Birds!) but I suppose it's about a strong defense and growing with the game.

Hordeoverseer said:

That would be per game for us. Its a pretty subjective time length though depending on skill with the game and types of deck used.

If you want a higher story cap, I would recommend using cards like:

• Samantha Grace, Incompetent Secretary
1 cost 2 skill
[Neutral Character]
Faculty.

Each player needs an additional story card in order to win the game.

....and keep her in play sane for her effect to stay.

I would like to see her Bound and Gagged...

The speed of the game is what really sold this system to me, the faster the better. I get to play once a fortnight at the local game club so any game we can play 3-4 times is a huge plus.

I find this discussion interesting because in my experience the game takes a while because games eventually end up in stalemates for a while because both players end up with so many characters in play. Rarely do I encounter a game which runs for 4-5 turns before winning, and if I do its because one player didn't get a good start.