Cthulhu Wars

2015

Immerse yourself in Cthulhu Wars, a strategy board game based on H.P. Lovecraft's mythos. Command alien races, cast spells, and awaken Great Old Ones in your quest for power.

120
minutes

2 - 4
player(s)

14+

Medium Heavy

About the game

The board game Cthulhu Wars is a strategy game that immerses players into the dark and mysterious world of H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror. It is a game of strategy and battle, where you and your fellow players take on the roles of alien races and gods taken from the Lovecraft mythos. The game’s setting is none other than Earth, but not as we know it – the game is set in the late 22nd century, after the Old Ones have returned and reshaped the planet to their liking.

The game’s core mechanics revolve around asymmetric gameplay. Each player controls a different faction, each of which has its own unique units, spellbooks, and strategies. Each faction also has its own set of unique abilities and tactics, which means every game can play out differently depending on the choices players make.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Cthulhu Wars is a strategy board game with various components, each with a unique role and interaction with the gameplay. These components include:

1. Game Board: The game board is a map of the Earth, divided into areas. It serves as the main battleground where players place their units and perform actions. The board is divided into several regions, each with distinct geographical features that can affect gameplay.

2. Faction Boards: Each player receives a faction board. This board represents the unique abilities, strategies, and units of a specific Lovecraftian horror faction. Each faction board has slots for spellbooks, which are unlocked during gameplay.

3. Faction Units: Each faction has its own set of units, represented by detailed miniatures. These include Cultists, Monsters, and a Great Old One. Cultists are used primarily to control gates and generate power, Monsters provide military power, and the Great Old One offers unique abilities.

4. Spellbook Cards: These cards represent the powerful spells that players can learn during the game. Each faction has different spellbook requirements, which are outlined on the faction board.

5. Gate Tokens: These tokens represent interdimensional gates. Players use these to summon their units, especially their Great Old One. Controlling more gates often leads to more power during the ‘Determine Power’ phase.

6. Desecration Tokens: These tokens are used by the Black Goat faction to represent areas they have desecrated.

7. Doom Track: This track is used to keep score. Players move up on the Doom Track by controlling gates, performing rituals of annihilation, and fulfilling other game objectives.

8. Ritual of Annihilation Track: This track shows how much power it costs to perform a Ritual of Annihilation. Each time a ritual is performed, the marker moves up.

9. Elder Signs: These tokens represent the unknowable signs of the Elder Gods. They can be earned through various actions and are worth varying amounts of Doom points.

10. Six-Sided Dice: These are used to resolve combat. Each die hits on a roll of 4-6, and each 6 rolled counts as two hits.

11. Power Track: This track is used to keep track of how much power each player has to spend on actions during a turn.

12. Battle Dice: These dice are used to resolve battles. The number of dice used depends on the strength of the units involved in the battle.

13. Cosmic Tokens: These tokens have various effects in the game. They can be used to track temporary changes in gameplay or the state of certain game effects.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

‘Cthulhu Wars’ is a strategy board game that involves role-playing aspects, tactical maneuvers, and resource management. The game is set in a universe inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, where players take on the roles of alien deities and compete for global domination. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game:

Step 1: Assign Player Roles

Each player chooses one of the four factions: Great Cthulhu, Black Goat, Crawling Chaos or Yellow Sign. Each faction has its unique abilities and monsters, which are illustrated on their faction sheets. The faction sheets serve as reference guidelines throughout the game.

Step 2: Set Up the Map

Place the game map in the center of the table. The map features different regions, each with its specific characteristics and strategic relevance. Note that the map will vary depending on the number of players.

Step 3: Place Faction Pieces

Each player takes the units (monsters, cultists, and Great Old Ones) of their chosen faction. Place your faction’s Great Old One and monsters near your faction card. Place your cultists in areas of the map indicated by your faction card.

Step 4: Prepare Spellbooks

Each faction has six spellbooks. Players place these face-down near their faction sheets. They can be earned through fulfilling certain conditions during the game.

Step 5: Determine Starting Player

Randomly decide the starting player. This player takes the First Player token and will initiate the first round.

Step 6: Distribute Power

Each player starts with a certain amount of Power as indicated on their Faction sheet. Players use Power to perform actions during their turns.

Step 7: Prepare the Doom Track and Ritual of Annihilation

Set up the Doom track and place each faction’s marker on the starting space. The Doom track shows the progress of each faction towards victory. The Ritual of Annihilation marker is placed on the track and will move forward as players perform rituals.

Step 8: Set Up the Elder Sign tokens

Randomly distribute Elder Sign tokens face-down. These tokens represent hidden knowledge and power that can be gained during the game. They will be used to score points at the end of the game.

Now the game is ready to begin, and players can start their quest for domination in the Lovecraftian universe of Cthulhu Wars.

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Cthulhu Wars’ is a strategy board game that’s inspired by the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. The game is played in a series of rounds, each of which is divided into phases. During these phases, players perform a variety of actions to gain power, summon minions, and control gates. The game continues until one player meets the victory conditions.

The structure of a ‘Cthulhu Wars’ game is as follows:

Gather Power Phase: In this phase, players calculate and gather power points. Power points are primarily gained by controlling gates, having units on the board, and through certain spellbooks. The player with the ‘Doom’ token (indicating they were the first to pass in the previous round) starts this phase.
Determine First Player Phase: The player with the most power points becomes the first player. In case of a tie, the player with the ‘Doom’ token decides who goes first.
Doom Phase: This phase involves two steps:
- Ritual of Annihilation: Starting with the first player, each player can perform this ritual to earn Doom points.
- Advance Doom Track: The Doom track is advanced according to the number of controlled gates.
Action Phase: Players take turns performing actions until all players have passed. Actions can include:
- Recruiting Cultists: Players can spend power points to recruit Cultists to the board.
- Summoning Monsters: Players can summon monsters to the board, provided they meet the relevant requirements.
- Building and Controlling Gates: Players can build or take control of gates to gain power points and Doom points.
- Combat: Players can initiate combat with other players in order to control areas and gates.
- Activating Special Abilities and Spellbooks: Players can activate the special abilities of their faction or use Spellbooks to gain advantages.
End Phase: When all players have passed, the round ends. The ‘Doom’ token is given to the player who passed first, and a new round begins with the Gather Power Phase.

The game continues in this way until a player has earned 30 Doom points, at which point they are declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the board game Cthulhu Wars, each player’s turn consists of multiple actions and strategic choices. It is worth noting that these choices can significantly affect the gameplay. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

1. Gather Power Phase

During this phase, players receive power points based on a number of factors:

Controlled Gates: Players receive 2 power for each gate they control.
Unspent Power: Players receive 1 power for each power point they did not spend in the previous round.
Opportunities: Players receive power based on the number of enemies’ units in their controlled areas.

2. Determine First Player Phase

The player with the most power becomes the first player. If there’s a tie, the current first player decides among those tied.

3. Doom Phase

This phase involves two steps:

Doom Points: Players receive 1 doom point for each controlled gate.
Ritual of Annihilation: The first player can spend power points to perform this ritual, which earns them doom points and can summon the Elder Gods.

4. Action Phase

During the Action Phase, players spend their power points to perform actions such as:

Summoning Creatures: Players can spend power to summon monsters onto the board.
Building Gates: Players can build gates in areas they control, which increases their power gain in future rounds.
Moving Units: Players can move their units across the board.
Initiating Combat: Players can use their units to attack other players’ units.
Awakening Great Old Ones: Players can awaken their Great Old Ones, who have powerful abilities and can greatly influence the game’s outcome.
Performing Special Actions: Each faction has unique abilities that can be utilized during this phase.

5. Cleanup Phase

Once all players have spent all their power, the Cleanup Phase begins. During this phase, any ongoing effects are resolved and the round marker advances. If any player has reached 30 doom points or all the spell books have been claimed, the game ends and the winner is determined.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Cthulhu Wars is a strategy board game that ends when a player reaches 30 doom points or when all spell books of one player are in play. The game also finishes if the ritual of annihilation marker reaches the instant death symbol on the doom track.

Victory Conditions:

Doom Points: The primary way to win Cthulhu Wars is by reaching 30 doom points. Players earn doom points by controlling gates, performing successful rituals of annihilation, and through some faction-specific abilities.
Spell Books: If at the end of any player’s action phase all six of their spell books are in play, the game ends immediately and the doom track is scored as if a ritual of annihilation were performed. The player with the most doom points wins the game. In the event of a tie, the player with the most gates wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most faction spell books in play wins.
Ritual of Annihilation: If the ritual of annihilation marker reaches the instant death symbol on the doom track, the game ends immediately. The player with the most doom points wins. If there is a tie, the tie-breakers are the same as above.

Actions Before Final Scoring:

Before final scoring, certain actions must be taken:

Each player confirms the number of doom points they have earned. This includes points earned from controlling gates, performing rituals of annihilation, and from faction-specific abilities.
Players confirm whether all six of their spell books are in play. To achieve this, players must fulfill certain requirements, which vary between factions.
If a player has performed a ritual of annihilation, they must confirm the current position of the ritual of annihilation marker on the doom track.
All players then compare their doom points. The player with the most points wins the game. If there is a tie, the player with the most gates wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most faction spell books in play wins.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Cthulhu Wars is a competitive strategy board game with a dynamic scoring system focused on capturing and controlling territories, summoning and awakening Great Old Ones, and performing ritual of annihilations. The primary way players score points is through Doom points.

Doom Points

Players can earn Doom points in the following ways:

Awakening a Great Old One: When a player successfully awakens their Great Old One, they earn a number of Doom points equal to the power cost of that Great Old One.
Controlling Gates: During the Doom phase, players earn 1 Doom point for each gate they control.
Ritual of Annihilation: Players may perform a Ritual of Annihilation during their action phase to earn Doom points equal to the number of gates they control. The cost of performing a Ritual of Annihilation increases each time any player performs one.
Elder Signs: Certain game effects allow players to earn Elder Signs, which are tokens with a random value between 1 and 3. These may be cashed in during the Doom phase to earn Doom points.

Tie-Breaking Rules

If two or more players have the same number of Doom points at the end of the game, the tie-breaker is determined in the following order:

The player with the most unused Elder Signs wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most controlled Gates wins.
If there is still a tie after that, the player with the most Faction Spellbooks wins.
If the game is still tied after all these conditions, the victory is shared.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

The ‘Cthulhu Wars’ board game has unique mechanics and rules that can be a bit complex, especially for beginners. There are a few special rules and exceptions that are worth noting:

1. Doom Points and Rituals of Annihilation:

Players can perform a “Ritual of Annihilation” to earn Doom points. However, it’s important to note that the cost of performing this ritual increases each time it’s done, regardless of who performed it. The first ritual costs 5 power, the second costs 6, and so on. This makes timing crucial when deciding to perform a ritual.

2. The ‘Awakening’ of Great Old Ones:

Each faction has a Great Old One that can be ‘awakened’ by following specific instructions on the faction card. The essential exception here is that the Great Old Ones possess abilities that are unique to them and can significantly alter the game’s dynamics.

3. Battle and Elimination:

Battles are decided by dice rolls, with each 6 being a “kill” and each 4 or 5 being a “pain”. However, in case of a tie, the attacker wins. Also, a unit can’t be eliminated from the game entirely. If a unit is killed, it goes back to the player’s pool and can be summoned again.

4. Spell Books:

Each faction has six spell books that can be earned by fulfilling certain conditions. These spell books grant special abilities, but unlike other games, the conditions for gaining a spell book are not hidden from other players. This transparency can affect player strategies.

5. Gate Control:

A player controls a gate if they have a unit in the same area. However, a player may have multiple units in an area but not control the gate if another player’s unit is there. This is a unique rule that can be easily misunderstood.

6. Faction Differences:

Each faction in Cthulhu Wars plays differently, with unique strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. This can make the game feel entirely different depending on which faction you’re playing, adding depth and replayability.

7. Power Reset:

At the start of each turn, power resets to a base level plus any earned bonuses. This is important as power is not cumulative from round to round, which can surprise new players.

Understanding these special rules and exceptions can greatly enhance your experience with ‘Cthulhu Wars’, making the game more strategic and fun.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies:

Control Key Areas: Players should aim to control key areas on the map as they provide essential resources. The power, doom, and spell books are vital for player progression.
Upgrade Wisely: It’s crucial to know which units and spells to upgrade first. Your first few turns should be dedicated to gaining as many spell books as possible, which will give you a significant advantage.
Plan for End Game: Keep an eye on the doom track. When it starts getting close to the end, start planning your end game. This could involve hoarding power for a big final push, or positioning your units to score victory points.

Beginner Tips:

Understand the Rules: Plenty of new players make mistakes simply because they don’t understand the game’s mechanics. Spend some time to read and study the rulebook before you start the game.
Balance Your Resources: Don’t focus too much on one type of resource. A well-rounded strategy usually involves a good balance between power, doom and spell books.
Engage in Combat: Don’t be afraid to engage in combat. It’s a significant part of the game and can yield substantial rewards.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring Spell Books: Ignoring spell books is a common mistake. These can provide significant bonuses and should not be neglected.
Neglecting Defense: While offense is important, neglecting defense can leave your cultists vulnerable. Make sure you have a solid defense to protect your resources.
Overcommitting: Overcommitting to a single strategy can leave you vulnerable if your opponents adapt to counter it. Stay flexible and be ready to change your strategy if needed.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Use Abilities Wisely: Each faction has unique abilities. Understanding and utilizing these abilities can give you an edge over your opponents.
Manage Your Power: Power is an essential resource. Spend it wisely and try not to waste it on unnecessary actions.
Cooperate and Backstab: Cthulhu Wars encourages player interaction. Sometimes, forming temporary alliances can be beneficial. But remember, only one can win in the end, so be ready to backstab when the time is right.