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Atmosfear (series)

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File:Atmosfear DVD board game.JPG
Promotional Shot of Atmosfear The DVD Board Game.

Nightmare is a video board game released in 1991 by A Couple 'A Cowboys PTY LTD. It was written and directed by Brett Clements and produced by Phillip Tanner. Packaged with a sixty minute video cassette, the game required 3-6 players (often referred to as 'maggots' or 'harbingers') to attempt to collect keys while trying to beat the clock included on the video. At random intervals the game would stop and The Gatekeeper (portrayed by Wenanty Nosul in the English language version) would appear to either taunt, reward, or punish the players in a variety of ways.

Prior to beginning the game the players are required to write their "greatest fear" on individual slips of paper. The game is won by collecting six special keys before making it to the center of the game board where the player would draw a 'fear'. If that player draws someone else's fear, the tape was stopped and that player declared the winner (in later versions of the game, one must draw their own fear to win). If no one is able to accomplish this within a set amount of time (45-60 minutes), the Gatekeeper is declared the winner.

Due to issues with overseas production, the game's name was later changed to Atmosfear for its release outside of the United States, Canada and Australia; in the UK, this was also to avoid confusion with the board game version of Knightmare. After the release of the original game the title has spawned a number of sequels, add-ons, and spin offs under both the Nightmare and Atmosfear titles. This includes a card game, a CD-ROM version, and most recently a new series of DVD TV Games by Forest Interactive. In the later DVD games, the games adapt from the host persona. For example, Khufu's game is an Egyptian twist of the traditional Atmosfear/Nightmare series.

Characters

In the world of Nightmare/Atmosfear there are several characters, some of which host the video tapes (and DVDs), others of which players adopt the persona of. The central cast remain The Gatekeeper, and the six playable characters introduced in the original Nightmare (known as "Harbingers"), these six returning in each game with the exception of Atmosfear: The Soul Rangers. A new Harbinger was revealed in mid-July 2006 -- Medusa, the Gorgon, who first appeared in Atmosfear: Khufu the Mummy. She replaced Khufu as a playable character while he was hosting the game. It is assumed she will remain as the "spare" Harbinger from now on, and may earn her own boardgame if sales are high after all of the original Harbingers have hosted in the DVD series.
Main Characters
Name Home Colour Symbol
The Gatekeeper N/A N/A N/A
Gevaudan the Werewolf The Forest Le Gevauden Blue Werewolf head
Helin1 the Poltergeist The Fairground Purple Toyblock pile
Khufu the Mummy Hollywood On The Nile Yellow Pharaoh/skeleton
Baron Samedi the Zombie The Cathedral Of Jive Green Top Hat
Anne de Chantraine the Witch Punkin Orange Carved pumpkin
Elizabeth Bathory the Vampire Castle Cathice Red Vampire bat
Medusa the Gorgon Snake Pit Lime green Medusa's head
Notes:
  1. Helin was known as Hellin before the beginning of the DVD series.
Supporting Characters
Name Appears in Purpose Extra details
Soul Rangers The Harbingers Losing Players In the game, these players have failed the first challenge, and their role is limited throughout the game. They are also known as "Numbskulls", and are commonly associated with skulls.
Dr Mastiff The Soul Rangers Host Dr Mastiff, essentially a snappily dressed skeleton, is a demented dentist and is much more relaxed about his game than the four previous hosts. He banished The Gatekeeper and the original Harbingers to a Black Hole in The Other Side, however they later escaped.
'Chosen' Soul Rangers The Soul Rangers Main Players These skeletons replaced the original six Harbingers while the main characters were banished. The six chosen are named Ja, Woks, Nof, Rott, Sep and Zass, and have few distinguishing characteristics.

Game List

Media Name Host Release
Video Nightmare/Atmosfear The Gatekeeper 1991
Video Nightmare II/Atmosfear II Baron Samedi 1992
Video Nightmare III/Atmosfear III Anne de Chantraine 1993
Video Nightmare IV/Atmosfear IV Elizabeth Bathory 1994
Video Atmosfear - The Harbingers The Gatekeeper 1995
Video Atmosfear - The Soul Rangers Dr. Mastiff 1996
Video Atmosfear Booster Tape 11 The Gatekeeper 1995
Video Atmosfear Booster Tape 22 The Gatekeeper 1995
PC Atmosfear - The Third Dimension The Gatekeeper 1995
Card game Atmosfear The Card Game3 No host 1995
DVD Atmosfear - The Gatekeeper The Gatekeeper 2004
DVD Atmosfear - Khufu The Mummy Khufu 2006
DVD Atmosfear - ???4 TBA TBA
Notes:
  1. Known simply as "Atmosfear Booster Tape" in regions outside Australia and New Zealand.
  2. Released only in Australia and New Zealand.
  3. Rather than following the usual Atmosfear formula, this is just a card game.
  4. A third game in the DVD series has been announced ([1]) but it is unknown at this point who will host it, or if it will even be released.

External links

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