Call of Cthulhu, the popular tabletop roleplaying game, is officially branching out into the world of board games, with the impending Kickstarter for Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game. This upcoming adventure is set to adapt one of the most infamous Call of Cthulhu campaigns, which sees players board the Orient Express in search of a strange artefact.
While searching for this artefact, players are beset by cults and all manner of strange beasties, and must use their wits to survive. Unfortunately, not many people do survive the trip aboard the Orient Express, with the campaign having an incredibly high mortality rate, thanks to a high difficulty and plenty of chance encounters.
Like its TTRPG campaign counterpart, the upcoming Horror on the Orient Express board game will see players boarding the titular train, which has been transformed by strange and uncanny forces.
Per early preview details, the game will task players with identifying cultists on the train, defeating monsters, investigating clues, and maintaining their sanity, all while the train barrels towards a certain destination. Should players fail to reach their endgame goal by this port, all hope is lost.
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Chaosium expects it will take several rounds for players to succeed in Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game, and it’s that level of challenge that makes the adaptation so intriguing. While it may not be for less experienced board game players, Horror on the Orient Express will likely present a wonderful challenge for those looking to test their intuition and board game prowess.
As announced, the Kickstarter campaign for Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game will launch on 2 April 2024. At this stage, the game is planned for release in 2025, so there’s still some time before players will be able to flex their skills.
Notably, the game is designed by Adam Kwapiński (Nemesis, Lords of Hellas/Ragnarok, Frostpunk) and Michał Gołąb Gołębiowski (Destinies), both of whom have a long tenure in the board games industry, with many dense, strategy-based titles under their belt. We look forward to seeing how they adapt the world of Call of Cthulhu, and its menagerie of creeping horrors.
