Cthulhu: The Horror in Dunwich (HiD) is a stand alone deck building game for people who find fun and mirth in being repeatedly defeated.
Allow me to explain…
HiD is set in the Cthulhu mythos, based on the legendary cosmic horror from the fiendish mind of H.P. Lovecraft. The mythos is a popular area to explore for anyone wishing to be caught up in the dark cults and weird extraplanar horrors found in any of Lovecraft’s stories.
If you’re not familiar with the narrative of Lovecraft, the best way to explain the concept is that normal everyday people get caught up in supernatural tales utterly beyond their control. Humanity is so insignificant, it simply will not last should the dark and awesome power of beings far stronger than any human concept of Gods, awaken.
HiD is a game that brings this existential dread to the fore, and it does so with an abundance of gritty flare!
Synopsis
HiD is a stand alone expansion to Cthulhu: A Deck Building Game. This just means that it is a continuation of the story, as Investigators (you) are thrown into the unbearably harsh task of defeating the Elder Gods and their horrific minions.
The investigators are called upon again to defeat the terrors of the night in Dunwich, a place well known to readers of The Dunwich Horror (Lovecraft, 1928). Invited by Dr. Armitage of Miskatonic University, the investigators must research strange and terrible spells and tactics to defeat nameless and cosmic forces to save the world.
Characters
Each player assumes a character which posses a set number of sanity and health points (counted with some funky Cthulhu clips that attach to the character card). Each character also has a special ability and an ability which can be used each turn even if the investigator has died in the cosmic struggle, the After Death ability.
Setup
There are many variables here that the game could be played so many times before getting the same game twice!
Depending on the number of investigators, a number of Elder Gods are randomly deployed. These Elder Gods are the likes of Cthulhu himself or Dagon from under the sea. Elder Gods are picked at random.
Next, a Location is randomly picked. Locations offer up effects for the duration of the game. In our play through we fought in an ancient tomb, where minion creatures had double their health points!
Finally a deck of Mythos cards and Library cards are shuffled a stacked up. Mythos cards are bad stuff that happen each round, helping the Elder Gods in their diabolical schemes, and Library cards are the skills and tactics that you use during play.
Mechanics
HiD is pretty standard for deck building games. Players begin with a simple and very small deck of cards, and take it in turns to purchase more cards from the library, with Moxie as the currency.
Interestingly, not all the starting cards in the investigators library are good cards. Amongst the cards are three damaging cards (Stagger cards) aimed at wounding the investigator – sometimes an event during the game, such as a Mythos card, will force a player to use all of the cards in their hand – woe betide the investigator who gets an axe to the ribs!
The game is split into 3 phases: planning, combat and cleanup.
Briefly…
Planning is when cards are “bought” from the library, but only the cards on display. When all the cards are bought that’s it for the turn, no more until later! During planning the investigators use their Moxie as a currency. Be warned however, any moxie you spend now can’t be used in the later steps so spend wisely!
Combat is when the elder god and its minions act! This also includes drawing a mythos card which is usually a special twist to the combat round… to the detriment of the investigators, no less! After the elder god(s) have beaten you to a pulp or shredded your mind and their minions have taken their fill, it’s your turn to fight back, assuming you can!
Finally in the Cleanup phase damage is calculated, the corpses are cleared away and the investigators get to check out what other tactics or spells they can use next time (assuming they made it thus far!)
How does it feel?
From the outset it feels difficult. You need to create a deck of cards quickly. This is a frenetic feeling, so when you combine this with the systematic destructive powers of the elder gods the game gets dark fast.
The odds are stacked against you before the start, and randomly picking the elder gods and location create an amusing sense of tense dread. It’s nice to know that you’ll likely never play the same game twice.
This after death malarkey for each character is actually quite good because it allows unfortunate players who are out of the fight early on to stay in the game as more than just an adviser or spectator. Kudos to Wyvern Games!
The artwork really inspires the Lovecraftian theme, with the spells, action and equipment cards looking dark and detailed. The fact that you can play the Hobo wearing chain mail and carrying a rifle really helps too!
Ideally you’d play this game as a group of 3 – this optimises your chances of winning… well, not that your chances are good!
Cost
At the time of writing, the Kickstarter has already closed and late backing is no longer possible. We were told by Wyvern Games (via Twitter) that you can talk to your local gaming store who can place orders through Impressions – I suspect this is US based only, so I’ll poke for more information!
We estimate the game to cost around £40, using the Kickstarter pledges as a guide.
Find Wyvern Gaming here!
Conclude…
If you want to watch us bumble our way through the first game you can follow the YouTube link here, by Summoned Games. Mr Dodd is steaming through his reviews and we’ll be working closely with him to bring you more helpful content.Watch this space for yet to be released game reviews!
Watch this space for yet to be released game reviews!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our micro review, if you’ve got any questions or comments you can post them below!
Bye for now!
Ferris, CC
creatorconsortium.wordpress.com 