Looking for a board game that won’t overwhelm your new gaming friends, but won’t bore your old ones to death? Check out Cryptid!
Cryptid is a 3-5 player deduction game designed by Hal Duncan and Ruth Veevers. Published by Osprey Games, it plays in roughly 30-50 minutes.
Cryptid: $35.00
Get yours for less at Miniature Market
Cryptid (n): a creature whose existence is disputed or unsubstantiated.
You’ve studied the footage, connected the dots, and gathered what meager evidence you could. You’re close – soon the whole world will know the truth behind the cryptid, and you will be the envy of cryptozoologists everywhere.
In this unique deduction game of honest misdirection, players must try to uncover information about their opponent’s clues while throwing them off the scent of their own. Each player holds one piece of evidence to help them find the creature, and will constantly try to eke out more information from their opponents. Guard your clues carefully and you might make the discovery of your life!
Optional digital companion available for faster setup.
Contents:
5 Clue Booklets
6 Board Tiles
54 Cards
100+ Wooden Counters.
Ages: 10+
Players: 3-5
Game Length: 30-50 minutes
You and your friends are playing as a group of cryptozoologists trying to locate the habitat of a cryptid. Only one of you is gonna be able to take credit for this discovery. So getting information without giving up too much is vital. What that particular cryptid happens to be is up to you as the game is very much an abstract. Aside from the beautiful game cover art by Kwanchai Moriya, the game consists of wooden disks and cubes and nicely rendered biome map hexes.
First, the map is set up and the structures are placed. Each player is then given a cluebook which will determine what their particular clue will be. No two players will have the same clue. The way the game works is by combining every player’s clue it will lead to a single hex that is the habitat of the cryptid. It’s quite clever how it all works and I really enjoy figuring out where it could be.
There are essentially two actions you can take one your turns. The first is a question, you pick any hex and ask a different player if the cryptid could be there. If they place a disk, then it’s a yes. If they place a cube well then it’s a no, and you also have to place a cube on the map in a location that is also not a possible location for the cryptid. The second action is the riskiest, doing a search, you pick a hex place a disc, and then in turn order, the players will either place a disc or cube based on their clue.
If all the players place a disc then you’ve discovered the habitat of the cryptid! Otherwise once a player places a cube the search is a failure and you have to place a cube on the map as well. The risk of searching involves giving up some of your clues to the opponents in order to win. You have to decide when the best time to search over just asking as it can reveal your clue to the others.
I had heard many great things about Cryptid. Upon checking it out the cover just grabbed me and I was immediately intrigued. Then I discovered the art betrayed the look of the actual game and was a little unsure. I gave this one a chance however and was blown away. This has proven to be one of my top deduction based games ever. The way the clues intertwine to leave only one distinct correct space is beyond clever. They even made a web-based app in order to dispense clues and the solution as well as map setup.
I prefer to use the app myself as it cuts down setup drastically.
I definitely recommend this if you want a challenging deduction game that’s not too overwhelming. Hope you are able to check this gem of a game out.
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About the Author: Christopher Guyton
