Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game (LCG) is the 2008 Living Card Game relaunch of Fantasy Flight's earlier Call of Cthulhu CCG, one of the first two games (alongside A Game of Thrones) to launch the LCG model.
The game
Designed by Eric M. Lang, Call of Cthulhu LCG is a two-player card duel where each side controls a faction in the Lovecraft Mythos: Miskatonic University, the Agency, the Syndicate, Cthulhu, Hastur, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth or the Silver Twilight Lodge. Players fight over Story cards that sit between them, committing characters to Terror, Combat, Arcane and Investigation struggles. First to control three Stories wins.
The context
Call of Cthulhu CCG started in 2004 with FFG using the Chaosium license, and it converted to LCG fixed distribution in 2008 as the format's debut title alongside A Game of Thrones LCG. It ran six full LCG cycles plus deluxe expansions before FFG discontinued the product in 2015. The line was widely regarded as the most elegant two-player LCG design and still has a dedicated play community.
The collector angle
Core Set plus the Asylum Pack cycles (The Yuggoth Contract, The Rituals of the Order, Revelations, Ancient Horrors, Secrets of Arkham) and the three deluxe expansions (Seekers of Knowledge, Secrets of Arkham, Forbidden Relics) make up the completed run. The original CCG-era Arkham Edition cards, printed before the LCG switch, command premium prices for the distinctive older frame. Signed Sandy Petersen promo cards from the Chaosium-era conventions are the prestige pulls.