Lovecraftesque 2nd Edition Review: The Storytelling Card Game Returns Better Than Ever!

Lovecraftesque, the critically acclaimed storytelling game of brooding cosmic horror is back for its 2nd edition! For those of you unfamiliar with Lovecraftesque, it is a game where you and your friends work together to create an eldritch horror story by following the game’s guidance and assuming different storytelling roles. 

Unlike traditional TTRPGs, Lovecraftesque plays without a Games Master (GM) to run things or specific characters for the players. Instead, players take different storytelling roles which they switch between rounds.

The 1st edition was published by Josh Fox and Becky Annison of Black Armada Games in 2015. Since then, it has won Game of the Year at Gioco Dell’Anno, was nominated for Golden Geek Game of the Year in 2015 and was a finalist in the IGDN awards for Best Setting and Best Art in 2016.

For its 2nd Edition, Josh and Becky have been expanded and improved upon the original to create a more seamless storytelling experience. They also commissioned new artwork as well as new and improved scenarios for players to set their stories in.

I was given a review copy to get to grips with, and got to take part in a recorded show with Actual Play UK. Keep on reading to find out how I got on!

Lovecraftesque 2nd Edition is currently still in the fundraising stage. You can support and get yourself the core game and various extras by going to their Backer Kit page, which will be live until November 9th.

Story – So Many Great Setups Waiting for Your Unique Takes

Whilst a huge part of Lovecraftesque is collaboratively creating a story, there is a structure that the game will guide you on to create your own eldritch-like horror story.

Creeping horror in the the ICU of a hospital or the Mariana Trench? It’s up to you!

Let’s nip this next bit in the bud. Whilst the works of H. P. Lovecraft have been hugely influential in the cosmic horror genre, his views and original works are very problematic. He was an unrepentant racist and had troubling views about mental health and those who suffer from poor mental health. You can, unfortunately, see the legacy of all this in the original Lovecraftian literature. Lovecraftesque distinguishes itself from Lovecraft himself and makes a point of guiding players away from those negative tropes and towards creating a story that everyone on the table can be comfortable with.

Stories in Lovecraftesque center around a protagonist who discovers strange clues that get steadily more strange as the story goes on. Eventually the horror they are facing becomes undeniable and the protagonist will likely meet their end due to this horror. The game has various scenarios you can use to start and guide your story.

More Scenarios to Use in the 2nd Edition

For this 2nd edition, the creators of Lovecraftesque have commissioned writers to devise even more scenarios to set your story in. These scenarios are woven beautifully into the game through the game’s playing cards. Choosing a scenario will give you a particular introduction card, as well as characters, settings and clues that guide you whilst allowing lots of room for your own creativity.

The Echoes of the Past expansion contain so many more horrifying scenarios!

In our Actual Play UK game, we chose The Outer Gods, a scenario written by Nick Bate. In this scenario, we find ourselves around 300 years in the future in a time when Humanity has colonized the entire Solar System. Crews travel by piloting squid-like liveships that rend reality and protect crews from the horrors of space. The story then revolves around a crew of a salvage ship who are investigating the sudden reappearance of a lost deadship.

Already, you’ve probably imagined various ways this could play out and we were just the same getting started. As we played our various roles and bounced off each other, we took inspiration off the various cards provided for this scenario. We had short descriptions of the story’s main character, Rana, and the other members of the crew she was a part of. We had descriptions of different areas on this deadship, as well as the ship they had come from. There were also clue cards specific to the scenario that the narrator could use to add detail to their narrative.

These cards provided detailed enough to act as a launching board for our own ideas without prescribing where exactly the story should go. In fact, it was really interesting after playing to compare how each of us had interpreted the prompts and where we each thought the story was going.

If you would like to see how we got on, check out the full video below:

Gameplay – Getting Into The Storytelling Zone

Let’s talk about the Lovecraftesque‘s mechanics and how the game guides you in your collaborative storytelling. The core game is designed for 3 to 5 players, but there are alternative rules you can use to play 2 player or even as a solo experience.

Creating a Safe Space for Players

Before the game even starts, there are robust safety procedures in place. There is a Ban List and a Soft Ban List for things that players either don’t want in the game or don’t want an excessive amount of. Think of them as lines and veils, commonly used in other TTRPGs. For more on TTRPG safety tools, have a look at this article by Dicebreaker on the subject.

There are also 2 cards that players can play at any time if anything happens they are uncomfortable with. The Erase Card can be played if a player wants to undo what has happened. Meanwhile, the Stop Card can be used to call a break from the story at any time.

Game Features to Generate Narrative and Mystery

There are 3 roles that you can have in each round: the Narrator, the Witness and a Whisperer. The Narrator describes the scene, the action and play other characters in the story, similar to a GM. The Witness plays as the main character, describing their thoughts and feelings, their actions and their dialogue. There can be as many Whisperers as there are remaining players in the game. The Whisperers support the Narrator in storytelling, adding in extra details or even playing other characters. After each round, the roles rotate allowing everyone to play each role throughout the story.

This is how the game looks in the virtual playroom.

Each player has a set of Mystery Cards they can use when they are Narrator. These cards will give players prompts for strange things that can be discovered, hinting at the unknown horror awaiting. Sometimes we took these cards laterally and other times we used them to spark other ideas.

Rule Cards and Phases of Play 

To help guide the storytelling through its different phases, there is a story track on the board. There will be different rule cards in place depending on where you are in the story. In the first phase, there are rules that limit harm to characters and make sure clues remain somewhat subtle. In the second phase, clues can be a little more disconcerting and some harm can happen to the characters. There is also an Endgame Rule that can be played at this stage to trigger the Descent into Darkness Phase.

The pace then picks up with each player narrating a few sentences as the protagonist closes in on the unknown horror. In the Final Horror Stage, the protagonist is no longer protected by no harm or ambiguous horror rules. They are now facing the horror face on and are likely about to meet a grizzly end. Following that is a short epilogue. This allows the players to explore the legacy or consequences of this horror they have created.

Another noteworthy rule that is used throughout the game is the Leap to Conclusions Rule. This rule means that after a round, each player writes down their thoughts about what’s really going on. This rule really cuts to the core of what makes the cosmic horror genre so enticing. None of the players know what’s going to happen but that didn’t stop us for coming up with our own interpretations to explain the unexplainable. These differing interpretations in different ways that no one player can possibly interpret. It was a fascinating experience having this shared experience and then comparing our notes at the end of the game.

Artwork – Just Horrifically Beautiful!

The artwork used in Lovecraftesque is absolutely stunning. Just feast your eyes on the cards, story track board and supplementary artwork designed by Vincent Sammy and Paul Tommes in the gallery below! 

For our game, we played online with the virtual playroom. This proved to be a great way of using a shared game space online. It also allowed us to see and interact with the gorgeous cards and story track board.

However, I would highly recommend getting hold of the physical board if you can. From the box art, to the cards, the rulebook and the story tracking board, there are so many incredible illustrations to enjoy! These components are great for setting the scene for your game as well as intriguing inquisitive houseguests!

There are so many incredible atmospheric horror scenes to flick through and give you a taste of the different scenarios. These scenes really embody peak eldritch mystery, hinting at unknowable dangers just out of clear sight.

Not only that, but the game also features hidden UV art and a UV torch to find this artwork with! Shining a light on the box, board or rulebook, will reveal freakish details that were invisible to you before!

If you would like to find out more about Lovecraftesque 2nd Edition, head over to Black Armada Games’ website. If you want to purchase a copy to discover what kind of story you and your friends can come up with, head over to their Backer Kit campaign page. Their campaign will be running until November 9th, so there’s still time to get involved, support Black Armada games and get hold of the game plus specific add-ons depending on your pledge level.