Designed by Eric Lang & Rob Daviau. Published by CMON Games. For 2-5 players.
Wow, wow, wow. This game has completely taken over my life since I received Season 1. I have played it pretty much none stop for the last 2 weeks and taken it to school for Xmas games day and to my regular weekly game group. Everyone else has really enjoyed it too. So, why has it been such a success for me???
The game comes with really great modularity. At the beginning you choose which Elder God you wish to face, which characters you want to be and which episode you would like to face off against. This modularity brings with it a lot of possible combinations for one. In the original game there are 2 elder ones and 6 episodes meaning 12 possible combinations, then when you add in the fact that there are 10 playable characters each with different powers and abilities, that leads to a massive amount of gameplay. I have only played the first 3 episodes so far in various combinations and cannot wait to dive into the last 3. I have also ordered season 2 which I have heard is due for a re-print very soon so this is going to add an even bigger level of re-playability.
The gameplay is very easy to learn and pick up for new players, but also fun for experienced players too. It is hard to beat Cthulhu, as you might have expected. There is no easy mode here! Saying that, I have won about 75-80% of the games I have played and many of those have hit points we thought were impossible to win from and some were won when only one character was left alive so these could be seen as losses for the characters that died. Some characters to me seem a little weaker than others so playing as them can make the game harder (e.g. Rasputin is a great character to give to newer players as he can come back to life if he dies from wounds in combat). The main aim of each play-through is to disrupt the Elder Gods rituals as soon as possible so that you can then get the Elder God onto the map and then defeat them before you die (either of wounds or insanity). If you do not disrupt the Elder God before they reach the red section of their track then they come onto the board immediately anyway but, this is usually too late as it means you will have had a lot of negative effects on your team and if the Elder God track reaches the end before you can kill the Elder God then you will lose
Players turns are quite easy to follow; players may take 3 actions which are run (move 3 spaces), rest which heals 3 health or stress (if in a space with no monsters), attack (1 enemy) by rolling your attack dice (the number of dice rolled can vary greatly depending on your character’s powers and how far along the insanity track you are but you always roll the 3 black dice and then extra green bonus dice if you have any), trade with another character in your space or take any of the episode specific actions (normally there are 2 of these). Next the player draws a Mythos card which normally does something bad such as spawning enemies and moving other enemies towards you and then you either draw a discovery card if in a space with no enemies or roll dice for the enemies in your space that attack you. Finally, you resolve any end of turn effects which are usually roll a black dice for each fire token you have picked up of move the Elder God along one space on their track plus, do the negative effect associated with that Elder God when it moves.
The coolest thing about this game for me is your characters. Each character is unique and has cool powers; the top character power is one that is unique to that character only and the other 2 are taken from a shared pool of interesting and fun powers. The insanity track for me is pure genius. When rolling the dice for either your attacks or enemies attacks if you roll insanity then you add this to your characters insanity track. The more insane you go the more powerful your character becomes and the more upgrades you can have increasing your power/the number of dice you can roll. Each time you reach one of the red spots on the track you must initiate your unique madness card (some are hilarious and some are annoying but, they add some nice spice and variation to each game) and then you may upgrade one of your 3 characters skills. These usually help you greatly but, you do not want to pick up too much insanity as this will lead to you going insane and dying if you reach the final spot on the track, so it’s quite a fine balancing act and sometimes the cards will give you options to take insanity for some small benefits but, you have to be really careful as to when this is best leveraged and when it is best to steer clear.
Each character also has 4 stress that they may use to re-roll any dice whether they be your attack dice or the enemies. These can be essential for that last hit to kill or to re-roll damage that would kill your character. Again the stress needs to be managed well. Stress is also used to spend on discovery cards and these can give you really useful items or companions which sometimes even gain your character a 4th skill or a free upgrade in a skill they already have.
This is most definitely not a game for the younger crowd but, if you enjoy a darker theme and cool mechanics then I can’t recommend this game highly enough. For me this game is almost perfect and I can’t believe how much stuff they have managed to fit in just the base box. I can’t wait to get the rest of the seasons which I am already on the hunt for.
Final Score - 10/10
Overview – “A wonderfully insane game of taking down Elder Gods with crazy but powerful characters who may just being imagining all the craziness around them. A great time and a whole load of fun in this excellently modular experience. This game for me is almost perfect. I just wish I was good at painting because the minis here are some of the best I have seen and then game itself it smoother than the most expensive butter known to man. I love pushing my characters to the limits of their sanity and battling with the dice. I LOVE THIS GAME!!! If you like hard games and games with a darker theme to them then I recommend this 100%. It is an absolute masterpiece that H.P. Lovecraft himself would have loved to have played and has instantly become one of my favourite games of all time. Go get it if you can!!”
Catch you next time you crazy cats, if Cthulhu doesn’t get you first. Your insane friend, DB.