My friend Alberto sent me this moving story about a friend who died during the creation of this game, Chants for the Old Ones (check it out here).

Alberto writes:

The game designer is a friend of me who passed away during the pandemic, so it’s been very emotional for me to be able to complete this project, with his family too.

A few years ago, my friend Bernat showed me a card game he was working on. He was getting into game design, and we used to meet at weekly designer gatherings. The game seemed fantastic, but it was hard to keep up with. Bernat’s brain was working at full speed, and the game was designed for planning moves several turns ahead, melting the brain of any normal player.

Bernat knew that I was also fascinated by the theme, the Cthulhu Mythos, and it didn’t take us more than two minutes to agree to publish it. Since then, every week, we worked on the game, and we went from that initial brain-melting card version to a big board comprised of the classic lovecraftian cities, turning it into a game of swift and straightforward turns, easy to play, without frying brains but retaining all the fun of its original concept.

That was how it went every week, for years, even including an unexpected pandemic that couldn’t put a halt to the game, as we transitioned from the physical table to the digital to keep progressing.

But then came the worst part. Bernat left us in a completely unexpected way. It was a terrible blow for friends and family. But together, we vowed to carry his work forward, and after a lot of effort and love, we are ready. This is our most personal project, in honor of Bernat, a game that will endure over time, much like Cthulhu, through his creation, providing hours and hours of fun and entertainment to both friends and strangers. Like Lovecraft, whom we both admired so much, a piece of Bernat will remain with us in Chants for the Old Ones.

Alberto is a good guy. I hope you’ll check out his game.

A thematic strategy game for 1 to 4 players and 60 minutes where your objective is to summon an Old One before any other player.

Your cultists will infiltrate the cities of Arkham, Innsmouth, and Kingsport, exerting their influence of power. They will recruit new characters for their cult, summon lesser creatures, and shake off pesky investigators while attempting to invoke their Old One.

Check out the Kickstarter here!