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Solo Review — Elder Sign

6/14/2018

10 Comments

 
Picture
What is this game about? 

The most flippant way to describe Elder Sign is "Cthulhu Yahtzee." You and your fellow players (if you aren't playing solo) are investigators exploring a creepy museum in the 1920s—a museum that holds the key to preventing an Elder God from entering the world and destroying all that we hold dear. To win the game, investigators must collect enough elder signs before they run out of time and the Ancient One awakens. To do that, they need to hold onto their health and sanity while successfully examining locations within the museum (and sometimes within the mysterious other world that is connected to it). To learn a location's secrets and to stay unharmed while doing so, players need to visit those locations and roll specific combinations of dice. 

Although there are spells and items that help to mitigate die rolls, Elder Sign is still very much a game of luck. Each time a player fails to roll the correct combination of dice demanded at a given location, he or she must subtract one die from the pool and try again. If the player succeeds, he or she gains the items—sometimes including elder signs—shown on the location card. In the case of failure, the player faces the negative consequences detailed on the card. 

How does it play solo? 

Because Elder Sign is a cooperative game with no hidden information, it is very easy to solo. I recommend controlling at least two investigators in order to take advantage of special abilities. 

Overall Thoughts

​As I have noted before on this blog, Elder Sign is a game beloved by many, but it falls flat for me. I don't find the dice rolling mechanics satisfying. Even with items and spells, if the dice aren't with you, you are stuck. I prefer to feel like I have more "power" over my dice, so I can do something even with bad rolls.

While the art is really good, I don't feel the Lovecraftian theme very strongly, either. The flavor text on the cards doesn't make up for the fact that I'm not really doing anything that feels like making progress through a creepy old museum. If I'm going to play a game set in the world of H.P. Lovecraft, I'd rather play a more story-driven game set in the same universe, like Eldritch Horror. If I'm going to play a dice game, I'd rather play one with a more satisfying sense of progression, like One Deck Dungeon. 

Do I recommend it? 

No, I don't. A lot of solo gamers would disagree with me, but I think the dice rolling mechanics are so luck-driven that they are unsatisfying, and that the theme isn't applied richly enough to make up for it. I have heard many times that some of the expansions vastly improve the Elder Sign experience, but I don't want to throw good money after bad.

If you find yourself deeply attracted to this game, however, there is an app—try that before you sink more money into a physical copy.

Overall Rating: 2 stars

Rating Scale: 
5 stars — I love it!
4 stars — I really like it. 
3 stars — I like it. 
2 stars — It's okay. 
1 star — Meh. 

10 Comments
Glenn Flaherty link
6/14/2018 05:54:11 am

Not good, huh? Whatev. Doesnt bother me. BTW, you arent invited to my underground lair anyway.


Bye Felicia,

Cthulhu

PS- You arent invited to my 78,000 birthday party either!

Reply
Liz Davidson link
6/14/2018 08:11:24 am

Whatever, it just means I'll be the last to be eaten when you return!

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DrMf
6/27/2018 12:27:08 pm

Hullo!
Long time reader of your awesome site :)

I completely shared your opinions on Elder Sign, despite really wanting to like it, because I found the narrative immersion completely lacking. Tried to remedy it with all sorts of little fixes and hacks, to no avail - 99% of my plays were solo by the way.

BUT, in a wary move, I bought Gates of Arkham (which replaces the museum cards with numerous city locations) and suddenly the whole game turned into a much more atmospheric experience! It's much more tense, challenging, and adds an actual sense of movement and exploration the base game sorely lacks.

It's still fundamentally the same mechanic, but if you're any way curious it's well worth a look!

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Liz Davidson link
6/27/2018 05:03:01 pm

Thanks for reading, and for writing in! If I ever get a chance to try Gates of Arkham, I'll play it with an open mind. :)

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Paul D
9/25/2019 12:17:29 am

I honestly don't understand where her negative review of this game really came from. It's one of the best solo dice games out there on the market, and you can play cooperatively as well. Lots of fun, the level of randomness is actually what makes it great, and there are deep strategic decisions you need to make (where do you allocate this die/dice, what card should you go for, etc.). Unfortunately, due to her poor experience with the base game (as she claims), I wouldn't hold your breath for her to look into the expansions, which greatly add to the base game for the better.

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Liz Davidson link
9/25/2019 01:12:37 am

It's okay to like a game that I don't! Sometimes games just don't work for people.

You're also free to talk to me in the second person. ;)

José María Cabezas Morillo
7/27/2018 01:23:00 am

Hi there!

Just found your blog and loving every bit of it. However, I just played a solo game of Elder Sign (again) and I have to say I disagree with your negative review. I still love this game, even without the expansions. I don't know if it's the theme, which works for me, or just because it is a more distilled version of Eldritch/Arkham H., games I adore but take forever to set up. I must say that playing the app version of ES made me appreciate it even more.

Having said that, I really agree with many of the comments you made on other games. I found really useful tips on your blog.
Keep up the good work and thanks for the service to all us solo gamers, Liz!

Reply
Liz Davidson link
7/27/2018 04:10:10 am

Hello José! Thank you so much for stopping in to read my reviews! Even though Elder Sign isn't for me, I am very glad that you're enjoying it. As long as you're having a great time playing board games, everything is as it should be. And if my site happens to help you find another game you love, even better!

Reply
José María Cabezas Morillo
7/27/2018 04:21:17 am

Yes! Among other things, I learned about the Viceroy expansion, a game that I own and I really enjoy. Thanks for the update!

Daniel
5/24/2020 11:01:02 pm

I just bought this game after buying the app. I love this game but will play some more without expansions.

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    My name is Liz Davidson, and I play solo board games. A lot of solo board games...
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