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Das Ältere Zeichen / Elder Sign
Authors: Richard Launius & Kevin Wilson
Publisher: Heidelberger Spieleverlag
Year: 2012

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Under your bed! In the dark! Behind you! As a child all these fears had to be overcome, and gradually accepted that there is nothing scary, not here, and not in an imaginary world often indicated as the beyond. Many have grown over it reasonably. But still we mortals are repeatedly tried to change our mind: Dracula movies, zombies, aliens who sometimes want to call home but more often just want to roll over us, Scientology - in itself scary enough - and various more unexplained but scary symptoms; it does not stop and it makes you shiver again. And now there’s something going on in a museum, and we are requested to sign up in orde to tackle this threat and save mankind. Heroes as we are, we immediately set out for the crime scene to start work at midnight.
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There is nothing wrong just yet; we still have some time to counter the great danger called The Ancient One via smaller monsters and adventures. The story goes that the old artefacts in the museum have gone instable and open portals to other dimensions through which all kinds of viporous brood sneaks into our world. Ultimately this comes to the way of The Ancient One that, once in our dimension, will bring hell and damnation. Well, here you are, at the entrance of the museum, processing this dazzling information and, when you have understood right, it is your task to close the leaking portals in time! Is this real?
No silly, this is only a game where we pretend all this is scary. And to make it less scary, we set out together as a group. We’ll be in it together to the end. And this end may come sooner for one or the other, as unfortunately we might lose someone along the way.
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Each player receives or chooses a character card on which the staus of his gym results and his think brains can be read. He does not go quite unarmed into the battle: each character receives two items or spells in the form of cards, and each character has its own special feature.
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From a stack of eight, an Ancient One card is drawn, this is the culprit of the game and must be stopped, halted and suppressed. The investigators who we are can manage eight to twelve setbacks; then the Ancient One is activated after which there is a final but usually hopeless attempt to control the monster; it is necessary not to let it get that far and collect enough drain covers to close the whole lot. It always takes a bit of getting used to, such a fantasy theme, as these drain covers actually are called Elder Sign thingies, and if we collect enough of them, we have defeated The Ancient One and then all of us have won.
These Elder Sign tokens can be earned by undertaking an adventure and completing it succesfully.
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At the start of the game six adventure cards are turned face open; on these can be seen what kind of adventures must be dealt with, often there are more than one on a card that must be completed separately but still in one single turn. But let’s go back to reality for a moment: to complete an adventure the investigators just throw dice! Booh! But: these are special dice! Yay! Skulls, scrolls, magnifying glasses and fear animals must be thrown to endure an adventure, and when this has happened the card goes to the appropriate player who keeps it as a trophy. He also receives the reward that is on the card. Often this is something positive: receive a spell or item card - to be used in futere dice rolls one way or another - but sometimes the card shows someting negative as well: the appearance of a monster.
This monster is a small rectangular cardboard that is drwan blind and is place don one of the adventure cards; the destruction of this monster now is part of the adventure.
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This monster is a small rectangular cardboard that is drwan blind and is place don one of the adventure cards; the destruction of this monster now is part of the adventure. When the completion of the adventure fails, there is a penalty: usually turning in points of your fitness and brainpower , but occasionally because of this setback a Doom token must be placed onto The Ancient One, and we know by now that this wiill nit have a happy ending when the spaces on the parking lot of this card all are occupied!
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The completion of some adventure cards uncover another world, this too is an - additional - adventure card that is placed next to the other six adventures. These Other World cards earn more often Elder Sign tokens, sometimes two or three at a time, but the penalties when the dice do not show the required symbols and the adventure thus has failed are proportional.
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When a player has taken his turn, usually completing an adventure, the clock is put forward three hours. Each time when the clock shows twelve, midnight according to the rules (and they’d better not have said that - we’ll come back at it in a moment), a Mythos card is drawn. This card has two text halves: one takes effect immediately, such as the appearance of a monster, and a text that comes into effect at the end of the round, so, when it is twelve midnight again. This text could show an effect for all players, such as turning in two fitness points each.
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Players complained: ‘The clock only turns twelve hours and then it is midnight again! This is not possible! OMG guys! Please think! In a fantasy setting! All is possible then, isn’t it? You all are losers, you know that? And immediately disqualified, demoted and sentenced to playing Eternal Goose Board, or something!
Still, the publisher found it necessary to include in the second edition of the rules that although the clock has only twelve hours before midnight strikes again, the investigators work elsewhere during the day, or rest and sleep. This is considered a genuflection to the nerds! So: also disqualified!
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At multiple adventures footsteps can be earned that can be used for a completely or partly reroll; an investigator can lock a die roll on specific spell cards, or hold one die when the adventure has failed and a new attempt is made. Some adventure and Mythos cards block the use of a specific coloured die, and there are adventures that must be attempted in a strict sequence.
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If no adventure is entered, the investigator has three other options. When he is a little too much weakened, he may shop in the Souvenir Shop of the museum and exchange saved adventure points in additional items or spells or an ally, that also comes as a a card with various advantages. Ten points, often out of reach but not impossible, can be exchanged for an Elder Sign token.
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At First Aid without or with points from one to all power of the investigator can be patched. And at Found Objects a die must be thrown to see whether the investigator receives a footstep, or an item or spell. But there is also a chance he loses a stamina or sanity point.
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When disaster unfolds and The Ancient One makes his entry to our world due to the failure of the investigators, there is a final phase that as well could be called Against All Odds. In his turn, each investigator attacks The Ancient One. It too has a row of symbols like any other adventure that has to be rolled in order to succeed. If succesful, the investigator may take one Doom token from The Ancient One. But each time at midnight The Ancient One attacks, and this is different for each Ancient One card but usually means turning in this or that: footsteps, stamina, trophies (the collected adventure cards and monsters); the sanction being devoured. And then things go fast, no, each player wants all this to be settled in an earlier stage!
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Much effort has been made to give the game atmosphere, and it works. The cards have beautiful artwork, and all other components too are nicely done. Despite the fact that the game ultimately is about throwing dice, just as in ‘Defenders of the Realm’, another co-op game, it has enough tradeoffs and fringe to deliver an unique game. A game that has more atmosphere than ‘Pandemic’, when we’re making comparisons anyway.
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The adventures are difficult and different enough so players constantly are in doubt: What to do first? What can we earn through which we can eliminate an adverse effect? Who is best equipped to perform the task?
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The eight different Ancient One cards, together with the sixteen different investigator cards, provide an ever changing game that will not soon become repetitive.
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With ‘Elder Sign’ / ‘Das Ältere Zeichen’ players have a fun and exciting 120 minutes ahead, we can talk quick about that. Even players who are not quite into fantasy will enjoy this game. And I should know!
© 2011 Richard van Vugt

Das Ältere Zeichen, Richard Launius & Kevin Wilson, Heidelberger Spieleverlag, 2012 - 1 to 8 players, 14 years and up, 60-120 minutes
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