Cthulhu Wars: Duel Board Game Review

A giant aquatic monster with tentacles and wings has squelched its way into the hearts of many fantasy and horror fans. American author H. P. Lovecraft created a mythology in his short stories and novels that far transcends literature and has become a pop-culture phenomenon. For years, a surprisingly large pile of board games has complemented a series of comics, video games, films, and radio and stage plays.

There is simply something about Cthulhu beyond its hard-to-pronounce name. Something that both lures and terrifies. Perhaps it is the fear of the unknown, the fear that there might be something much bigger and older in the world than people think.

Board games full of tentacles

There are plenty of board games covering this theme. It surprised even me. Among them are pieces that have been written into the history of gaming in golden letters and rank among the best you can lay out on your table. If you haven't tried Arkham Horror (whether the classic or the card game version) or Mansions of Madness, fix that quickly!

Now, a pleasantly small and practical box of Cthulhu Wars: Duel has landed under my tentacles. It is a rules-light and significantly downsized version of the 2015 Cthulhu Wars game, which was a successful asymmetric area-control affair with plastic figures that offered a ton of expansions and a pleasantly large number of paths to victory.

The duel version offers practically the same experience, just for two players. A few things in the rules are different, paper figures have replaced the plastic ones, and everything is packed into a box that you can easily toss into your bag and take to the pub. We just have to wait for the expansions, even though the creators already mention them in the rules. And who knows if we'll see localized versions…

How to play Cthulhu Wars: Duel

In the base version of the game, two factions face off - Great Cthulhu and Black Goat. On a small map, you prepare at your starting position, set up your faction card, units, tokens, and grimoire cards, which allow you to gradually unlock new abilities and actions. The goal of the game is to either gain 30 or more Doom points or get the Annihilation token to the space that automatically ends the game.

The game itself is divided into 4 phases. You perform most game mechanics in the action phase. Using Power points (the basic currency in the game), you summon new units, occupy territory on the map, open gates, or use abilities. As long as players have enough Power, they take turns. An interesting element is that when one player is out of resources and the opponent still has things to do, their actions automatically become more expensive. It is an interesting and functional balancing element.

Battles also take place during the action phase. As soon as units meet in the same territory, they naturally go for each other's throats. In this case, pre-battle effects are evaluated first, then both players add up the strength of their units and roll a corresponding number of dice. A six kills the opponent's unit outright, a four or five forces it to flee, and the rest counts as a failure. Really nothing complicated.

Next is the Power collection phase. This is simply divided based on how many basic units and gates you control on the map. Whoever has the most Power starts the next round. But before that, the Doom phase begins. A really interesting mechanic! The Annihilation tracker is used for this. If a player decides to gain Doom points (whoever gets at least 30 wins), they perform a so-called Ritual of Annihilation. They pay the cost of the ritual in Power points, gain victory points for every gate controlled, and also gain one Elder Sign. These are also Power points, but the tokens have different values and you can keep them hidden, so the opponent never knows how you are really doing. At the end, the Doom tracker moves to the next space. The next Ritual will be more expensive. At the end of the tracker is the aforementioned Instant Death, which triggers the final evaluation of the game.

The trick is that starting a Ritual is not mandatory. You have to decide whether to pay its cost and gain victory points, but then not have enough for further actions.

Pros and cons

Cthulhu Wars: Duel is a game full of crucial decisions. It offers many options for what to do, and no action is wasted; resources and space on the map are limited, and even a small hesitation can quickly turn things around. It is as tactical as an ancient beast. The game itself is fast-paced and can be compared to a game of chess. Evenly matched players will definitely break a sweat. And therefore, have a lot of fun. I had a blast!

On the other hand, I still feel that if one player manages to break away and gain a quick lead, the opponent will have a hard time catching up. It would be interesting to evaluate the game after the arrival of more factions. At the moment, two expansions (Extinction and Reunion) are available in the original, which are independently playable and bring two new maps and four factions to the game. They can be combined together. The question is whether we will see a local edition. It would be a shame if not. Cthulhu Wars: Duel has great potential!

If, like me, you like games for two that you can take anywhere and beat your friend at, I recommend Cthulhu Wars: Duel. It is a successful tactical game offering many options, simple rules, and a pleasant, undemanding playtime. You're done in half an hour and can start a rematch. At the moment, however, it gets old relatively quickly, and if you don't get your hands on the expansions, it will probably gather dust on the shelf.

author Karel Krajča