How to Play Elder Sign: Omens of Ice

Game Objective

In Elder Sign: Omens of Ice, players take on the role of investigators in a Miskatonic archaeological expedition that has unearthed an ancient evil in the heart of Alaska. The primary objective is to rescue the expedition in time, facing unnatural blizzards and strange creatures that threaten to bury the world in snow and ice. Investigators must gather supplies and bravely venture into the frozen frontier to seal away the Ancient Evil plaguing Alaska.

The victory condition is not explicitly detailed, but the game is lost if the investigators fail to survive the winter, as indicated by the Day Track.

Preparation (Setup)

When playing the Alaskan Expedition game mode, follow the setup of a normal game, with the following modifications:

1. New Common Components: Combine the new Investigator, Common Item, Unique Item, Spell, and Ally cards, and the Monster tokens from the Omens of Ice expansion with the corresponding components from the base game.
2. New Adventure Cards: Replace the Adventure deck with a new deck composed only of the new Alaskan Adventure cards from this expansion. Separate the four Special Adventure cards. Then, separate the Alaskan Adventure cards by stage and shuffle both stages separately to form a Stage I deck and a Stage II deck.
3. New Mythos Cards: Replace the Mythos deck with the new Alaskan Mythos deck.
4. Blizzard Tokens: Place the Blizzard Tokens randomly in a face-down pile.
5. Entrance Token: Replace the entrance token with the "Expedition Camp" entrance card.
6. Track Card: Choose which season the expedition will take place in, "Summer" (more forgiving) or "Winter" (more challenging), and place that side of the Track Card face up near the play area. Place the "+10" supply token on space "5" of the Supply Track (the top track of the card). Place the Day Token on "Day 1" of the Day Track (the bottom track of the card).
7. Choose the Ancient One: Choose one of the three Ancient Ones found in Omens of Ice to challenge: Rhan-Tegoth, Rlim-Shaikorth, or Ithaqua.
8. Modify Setup: Replace Step 4 of the base game setup with the following:
   • Prepare Adventures: Set aside the Stage II deck and shuffle the Stage I deck. Then, deal three cards face up below the entrance card in a single line and three cards face down below the face-up cards, so you have two lines of three cards. Place the "Arrival" Special Adventure card face up below the bottom line of face-down cards. Finally, shuffle the Other World deck and place it and the Stage I deck near the two lines of adventures. If an Adventure card shows a locked die icon, place the appropriate die on that card.

Game Flow

The game progresses through investigator turns and "Midnight" phases.

Midnight Phase

When midnight strikes, several effects are resolved in a specific order:

1. Advance the Day Token: Advance the Day Token one day along the Day Track. Add a number of Blizzard Tokens to adventures as indicated by the space the Day Token moved to.
2. Add Doom Tokens: For each adventure with 4 Blizzard Tokens, add 1 Doom Token to the Doom Track.
3. Resolve "At Midnight" Effects: Resolve all "At Midnight" effects on cards currently in play in the following order:
   1. "At Midnight" effects on the Ancient One.
   2. "At Midnight" effects on monsters, in the order of investigators' choice.
   3. "At Midnight" effects on Adventure and Other World cards, in the order of investigators' choice.
   4. "At Midnight" effects on other cards, in the order of investigators' choice.
4. Resolve Mythos Effects: Resolve any "Next time the clock strikes midnight..." effects on the current Mythos card.
5. Draw New Mythos Card: Draw and resolve a new Mythos card.
6. Refresh Abilities: Refresh any "Once per day" abilities.

If investigators have 0 Supplies at midnight, each investigator loses 1 Stamina.

When the Day Token reaches the last space of the Day Track in "Winter" mode, investigators lose the game.

Actions and How to Play

Refer to the rulebook for details on this section.

Movement and Expedition Camp

• During an investigator's Movement Phase, they may remain on their current card, move to another adventure or Other World in the play area, or move to the "Expedition Camp" card.
• When an Adventure or Other World card is successfully resolved, or discarded, all investigators on that card return to the "Expedition Camp" card.
• If an investigator is on the "Expedition Camp" card at the end of their Movement Phase, they skip their Resolution Phase and go directly to their Clock Phase.
• At the start of an investigator's Clock Phase, if they are at the Expedition Camp, they may spend Trophies to choose any investigator to perform one of the following actions:
  • 6 Trophies: Remove up to 5 Blizzard Tokens from adventures.
  • 5 Trophies: Gain 1 Ally.
  • 4 Trophies: Gain 1 Unique Item or 1 Clue.
  • 3 Trophies: Gain 1 Common Item or 1 Spell.
  • 2 Trophies: Recover 2 Stamina or 2 Sanity.
  • 1 Trophy: Discard the top card of the adventure deck.

Alaskan Adventure Cards

• When an investigator moves to a face-down Alaskan Adventure card, they immediately resolve the effect printed on the back of the card. Then, they flip the card face up, resolve any "Entrance" effects on the card, and end their Movement Phase.
• "At Midnight" effects on the back of Alaskan Adventures are not triggered at this time, but are triggered if the card is face down when Midnight strikes.
• When a monster appears, it can be placed on any face-up or face-down Adventure card, following normal rules.
• When a face-down Adventure card with a monster is flipped face up, that monster is placed on any monster task on that adventure. If that adventure has no monster tasks or there are more monsters than available monster tasks, monsters that cannot be placed on a monster task are placed below the bottom task of the card normally.

Special Adventure Cards

• Special Adventure Cards are not shuffled into the Adventure deck, but are set aside until players are instructed to place them into play.
• A Special Adventure Card cannot be discarded or removed from play, except by being successfully completed. Markers or tokens, such as monsters and blizzards, cannot be placed on a Special Adventure Card.
• In Omens of Ice, Special Adventure Cards are used by investigators to progress the expedition further north and advance to a new stage.
• Investigators progress to Stage II by successfully completing the "Into the Wilderness" Special Adventure.
• When investigators progress to Stage II, the Stage I Adventure deck is discarded and replaced by the Stage II Adventure deck. Stage I Adventure cards still in play or held as trophies by investigators are not discarded. Finally, the "Perilous Ascent" Special Adventure card is added face up to the play area. Investigators now draw from the Stage II Adventure deck when replacing completed or discarded adventures.

Alaskan Mythos Cards

• When players draw and resolve a new Alaskan Mythos card, they are presented with a dilemma and must choose as a group between one of the two options listed on the card. Players cannot choose the bottom option if they cannot fully resolve the effect. If players cannot decide as a group, the investigator who took the last turn decides.

Entrance Effects

• Some Adventure cards in Omens of Ice feature Entrance effects. Immediately after an investigator moves to a card with an "Entrance" effect, they must resolve the "Entrance" effect.
• Additionally, if an investigator flips an Adventure or Other World card while on that adventure, they immediately resolve its "Entrance" effect.
• If an investigator fails an adventure with an "Entrance" effect and remains there on their next turn, they do not resolve the "Entrance" effect again. However, if a different investigator moves to the adventure, resolve the "Entrance" effect for that investigator.

Split Rewards and Penalties

• Some rewards and penalties in Omens of Ice are divided into two groups by a diagonal line. When receiving rewards or suffering penalties that are split, an investigator must choose which group of rewards or penalties to receive or suffer.
• An investigator cannot choose to suffer a penalty they cannot fulfill. For example, an investigator cannot choose a penalty that causes them to lose a Common Item if they have zero Common Items.

Blizzard Tokens

• When an effect instructs players to place Blizzard Tokens on adventures, they first draw the required number of Blizzard Tokens from the face-down pile without revealing the token's effect. Then, players place the Blizzard Tokens, one at a time, face down on adventures of their choice. An adventure cannot have more than four Blizzard Tokens at any time.
• Blizzard Tokens cannot be placed on Other World or Special Adventure cards.
• If a player is instructed to place Blizzard Tokens during their Resolution Phase, they cannot place Blizzard Tokens on the adventure where their investigator is located, unless all other adventures have 4 Blizzard Tokens.
• At the start of an investigator's Resolution Phase, if there are any Blizzard Tokens on their adventure, they must flip them all face up and then resolve all revealed penalties, in any order of their choice. Blank Blizzard Tokens do not inflict penalties. After a Blizzard Token is resolved, it is randomly returned to the face-down pile of Blizzard Tokens.

New Reward and Penalty Icons

• Heal: Any investigator recovers 1 Stamina.
• Rest: Any investigator recovers 1 Sanity.
• Expedite: Do not advance the Clock during the Clock Phase this turn.
• Reprieve: Remove 1 Doom Token from the Ancient One's Doom Track.
• Clock: Advance the Clock once.
• Blizzard: Add 3 Blizzard Tokens to adventures.
• Remove Monster: Return 1 monster on an adventure to the monster cup.
• Lost Common Item: Discard 1 Common Item.
• Lost Unique Item: Discard 1 Unique Item.
• Lost Spell: Discard 1 Spell.
• Lost Ally: Discard 1 Ally.
• Lost Skill: Discard 1 Skill.
• Lost Elder Sign: Remove 1 Elder Sign from the Ancient One's card. If there are no Elder Signs on the Ancient One's card, add 1 Doom Token to the Doom Track.
• Supply: Gain 1 Supply.
• Lost Supply: Lose 1 Supply. If unable, lose 1 Stamina.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends and investigators lose if the Day Token reaches the last space of the Day Track when the "Winter" Track Card is in use. The victory condition is not explicitly detailed in the provided context.

Refer to the rulebook for details on this section.

Tips for Winning

• Supply Management: The Supply Track is crucial for survival. If investigators have 0 Supplies at midnight, each loses 1 Stamina. Keep a close eye on your supplies and use the Expedition Camp options to gain them when possible.
• Blizzard Control: Blizzard Tokens can be devastating. Each adventure with 4 Blizzard Tokens adds 1 Doom Token to the Doom Track at midnight. Additionally, resolving Blizzard Tokens in the Resolution Phase can impose penalties. Use the 6 Trophy action at the Expedition Camp to remove up to 5 Blizzard Tokens.