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Cthulhu Dice: Review

Cthulhu Dice: Review

Information:

Mechanics: Player Elimination, Dice Rolling
Player Age: 10+
Player Count: 2 to 6 Players 
Time to Play: 5 Minutes
Game Designer: Steve Jackson
Game Artist: Alex Fernandez
Publisher:  Steve Jackson Games
Release Date: 2010

The Game:

Components:

Glass Stones: There are 18 glass stones that were definitely made with quality in mind and will last through many many replays. In the game these will represent your sanity.


12 Sided Die: Will be used as the main item on any players turn and can also be used in a variant for munchkin.
The Box: this game lacks a lasting box and instead will use a ziplock bag as the game container.

Objective:

The goal of cthulhu dice is to be the last sane player (the last with sanity tokens). This will either result in winning the game or if as a group you are playing a series of games, then this will score you a point towards victory.

Setup:

Deal each player three glass stones (sanity tokens) and place the rest in the centre between the players. This pile will be referred to as Cthulhu.

How to Play:

On your turn you pick an opposing player and roll the dice. Based on the result one of the below actions will happen (see image). Then the opposing player will roll the dice against you and resolve the action, retaliating to your attack. (Does the turn movement go clockwise after the first player? Is it random where the defending player now attacks someone after responding to initial attack?) This will continue with the players taking turns until all except one has been driven insane. The remaining player who managed to cling to their sanity, however scarcely, is the winner.

Going Mad:

So you have lost your mind and are now mad, what does that mean? This means you have no sanity tokens and from now on cannot be the target of other players attacks. However, you will still have take your turn each round and can regain sanity by rolling the elder sign or by choose that result using the eye.

Variant:

As a two player variant each player can play as two or three cultist.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
  • Easy to explain and teach.
  • Can use the dice in a "Munchkin" variant.

 Cons:
  • Hugely luck based.
  • Not really any decision on your turn.
Steve Jackson Games has created many largely enjoyable and strategic favourites such as ‘Munchkin’ and ‘The Stars Are Right’ but as fun as Cthulhu themed games are, Cthulhu Dice has not managed to capture me personally. Unfortunately, it lacks decision making for the players and as a result the game easily plays itself. However, it could be more successful in a family gathering setting with a large amount of players or when playing with children as the turns are simple and you can multitask while playing.

Click...feed the addiction:

Steve Jackson Games


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