Review Summary: Non-immersive Mythos stomping. You'd better grab your gun and start shooting left and right!

Blurb from the publisher: 'The ritual is nearly complete. The Unspeakable Old Ones will enter our world. You can't stop it. You have to destroy them.

An ancient apocalyptic cult has nearly summoned a Great Old One into our world. Its devastating arrival is imminent! Now what?

Cthulhu: Death May Die is an action-packed cooperative board game for 1 to 5 players. To defeat the Eldritch horrors from out of space and time, you must embrace madness and work together.

You'll need to uncover and solve the mysteries of up to six different episodic stories, using your unique combination of skills and insanities, fighting a wide array of terrible monsters from across the Mythos.

Then you must disrupt the ritual just long enough to make the Elder One vulnerable... and kill it. Dead.

It's probably a one-way trip, but you are up for it. Right?'

What you get: Your USD 99,99 or equivalent will buy you Cthulhu: Death May Die, the asymmetrical, pulp action, Mythos-infused, cooperative basic game that inaugurates the game line of the same name. The game can accommodate from one to five players in around two hours.

The game is the outcome of a wildly successful kickstarter back in mid-2018, having amassed almost over USD 2 400 000. Wow.

In addition to the rulebook that can be also downloaded from the publisher's website free of charge, the game contains the following: 17 double-sided tiles, one Story Board, 12 Insanity cards, 5 Standard dice, 5 Bonus dice, 5 coloured bases, 30 Tentacle markers, 49 tokens (one Starting Space, 26 Wounds, 3 Gates, one Progression, 2 Staircases, 2 Tunnels, 6 Level One Skills, 8 Fire), 10 Investigators, 10 Investigator Boards, 10 Cultists, 18 Monsters, 2 Elder One boxes (with additional assorted tokens, cards and miniatures), and 6 Episode boxes (with additional assorted tokens, cards, and miniatures).

Gameplay: Cthulhu: Death May Die is a modular game. Each time you play you will combine one of the two Elder One boxes with one of the six Episode Boxes in order to form the game's basic tenets. The episode provides the map layout, the abilities of the monsters, the ritual itself and the means to disrupt it. Some episodes feature new rules. The Elder One box provides the big boss to fight along with its minions. Episodes include themes like blowing up labs, wandering in catacombs and roaming in dangerous islands, while the Elder Ones in the box are Cthulhu and Hastur. Maps are revealed at the beginning of the game already. The game does not feature exploration.

Each investigator has a wound track (6 spaces), a stress track (5 spaces), a sanity track (20 spaces), and three different skills with four levels each. investigators in Death May Die start the game insane. There are 12 insanities to randomly draw from, with examples like co-dependency (stress when you are away from your soulmate), recurring trauma (replaying Mythos cards), and fear of crowds (taking stress when others share your space).

The more stress one has the more he can push his actions towards a favourable outcome. Once an investigator is totally stressed, he can't take any more stress and that's just it. If you lose all your life however, you die. If the big baddie is still on the summoning track, the game ends and the investigators lose. If he was already summoned however, the other investigators can keep playing until they either succeed or they ultimately fail. Insanity works differently in that it has thresholds at different points, namely at 4, 8, 12, 15, 18, and 19. Each time the investigator reaches a new threshold he gets to improve one of his three skills. Some thresholds also provide a bonus die to roll for the rest of the game. Insanity is not a positive thing however. Each time a threshold is reached, the effects of the insanity card the player holds take place.

The game offers over 20 skills, with some characters sharing the same. As an example, and in addition to his Arcane Mastery and Brawling, Rasputin is unkillable. He gets a free death every game, coming back with full life the moment he dies! If that skill improves he may get a second, and even a third free death, not to mention that he returns to life free of stress. Adam on the other hand (with a life motto of 'Shoot First. Never ask.') is fuelled by madness. The more insanity he loses, the more bonus dice he will gain not only on the actual thresholds, but also on the spaces before them.

The game is played in turns with four phases each. In the first phase an investigator can take three actions out of the six available. Four actions are general (run, attack, rest, trade), while the other two actions are dictated by the episode being played (e.g. in Blasphemous Alchemy, or Episode I if you prefer, an investigator can extinguish fires and destroy equipment). Actions are almost self-explanatory. Resting allows a character to gain health and reduce stress (but not sanity), while with trading he can exchange items and companions (but not conditions) with his comrades.

The investigator then draws a Mythos card. These are obviously negative, and may include up to three types of negative effects: hastening the summoning of the Elder One, special effects like moving an enemy or suffering damage, and summoning additional enemies.

Depending on whether the investigator is alone in his space at this stage, he may either investigate or fight. The former is simple: draw the top card of the Discovery deck and read it aloud. Most cards offer choices on things to do (e.g. do you want the assistant janitor to follow you, or do you want the bleach?). Once a choice is made, the card is put under the investigator's board so that the final item or companion is visible. Companions may take wounds instead of you, in contrast to you however they cannot be healed. If the investigator has enemies on the board, he doesn't get to draw a Discovery card. They will fight him and only him. Attacks can cause a loss of sanity, wounds, or both. The investigator may respond by using either stress or his skills in order to modify or even eliminate the attack.

The turn's fourth phase is a book-keeping phase. End-of-turn effects take place, other effects are checked, the Elder One may progress on the summoning truck and may even get summoned, and he may even activate some additional effects himself, if appropriate.

Each Episode dictates the terms under which the investigators can disrupt the ceremony (e.g. destroy four out of the five labs on the map). Until that happens the Elder One cannot be attacked, even he has been already summoned on the board; he can however attack the investigators during that time. Once the ceremony is disrupted, the Elder One can be fought like any other baddie: through dice rolling as an investigator action. Each Elder One has multiple stages, each of which has a different life threshold. All of them must be defeated for him to be eliminated. The higher the stage the more potent the Elder one is, with more of his minions appearing on the board, the investigators potentially taking damage every time he changes stage, etc.

Eliminating the Elder One ends the game instantly in favour of the players, even if any of the losing conditions are simultaneously activated. The players lose if the Elder One's Progression token reaches the eighth slot on its board, if all Investigators are killed, or if even one investigator is killed or consumed by madness before the Elder One is summoned to the board.

The strong points: Does the exploration of Mansions of Madness second edition tire you? Are you bored of the investigations in Arkham Horror 3rd edition? Are smaller games like Arkham Horror: Final Hour too short? Do you want to shoot a gun or throw bleach against Cthulhu himself in what is rather obviously a dungeon crawler?

Rejoice! Cthulhu: Death May Die is another cooperative game taking place in the saturated universe of the Mythos, pitting the investigators against alien monstrosities from dimensions far weirder than our own. There is however a twist. If the other games try to even nominally emulate Call of Cthulhu, this one is unashamedly Pulp Cthulhu. You can't defeat the monster until you fulfil the episode's prerequisites, and following that you literally try to kill it. There is no immersion. There is no campaign mode. There are mechanics, tons of dice to roll, cards to draw, and a game to defeat. Go!

The game looks daunting once you open it, it is however extremely simple to learn and play. Having good things happen (an augmentation in skills and dice to roll) because of bad things (your sanity seeping away from you) has been partially done before, this game however takes it to its logical conclusion. In this way it obviates the need for a different sub-mechanic relating to character advancement. The crazier you get, the more hardened you become, and for a game that is pulp themed the premise works wonders.

In its core the game is one of optimal placement and ultimate dice-rolling. Make that, a lot of dice-rolling, taking into account the hordes of monsters you will have to fight before engaging in the boss fights. It requires good communication and collaboration for the characters to get the best initial value out of their actions while raking in any potential added value due to asymmetry. You don't want people around you if you are afraid of crowds, and there are numerous cards which might benefit you depending on whether you have them and what you are doing at the time. Easy example: if you are carrying enough weapons to arm a platoon, you should go for the hostiles turn after turn, not roam around in empty rooms drawing Discovery cards. The game starts easy, but as the effects of the Mythos cards accumulate, you will soon find yourselves in spaces that will make you bleed no matter your move. The game is about striking a good balance between arming yourself, passing its first stages with minimal casualties in wounds and insanity, and disrupting the ritual the soonest possible. Boss fights are very hard, with crazy amounts of hit points to eliminate in each stage. Each investigator has six, while Hastur alone in a single stage has 12. Ultimately the game is also about rolling dice and enjoying the whims of Lady Luck.

I enjoyed the asymmetry both when it comes to the investigators as well as the way the scenarios are constructed. Provided you are in a mood for a relatively light two hours, the game will always deliver. Each combination is different enough and merits to be played at least once, meaning that for the time being there are 12 different games to try without buying any expansions. Setup is a spell. The game follows the principle of little boxes containing everything you need to run the particulars of each scenario. This is no coincidence, seeing how it is a Rob Daviau game. I might not enjoy the premise behind the destruction of components in his Legacy series, this here however is not one of them. The man can design an easy, entertaining game that is easy to set up and understand. Whoever worked on editing this game deserves praise for each little box meticulously stating its contents. There is no way to mix things up. Once you put the game away, it is ready to play in your next session without needless searches.

Even though episodes have names and numbers, the game is partially themeless. There is no campaign to follow, and all episodes are autonomous. This is good for those who wish a Cthulhu veneer and a fast experience, especially if you have other Mythos-related co-ops. If on the other hand this is your first foray into the Mythos, make sure that this is exactly what you wish to buy. It's atypical, let's put it like this.

I enjoyed how a player can control any number of investigators, as long as these add up to a maximum of five. You can solo the game with anything from one to five investigators, or do exactly the same with two players. The additional bookkeeping it requires is minimal, yet the game's overall puzzle aspect is perceived differently. Nice!

The quality of the miniatures is phenomenal. CMON has been often accused of overproducing its titles and especially when it comes to the minis. They are gorgeous and with an incredible amount of detail, I can tell you that. I take it for granted that people will paint them and use them in other games, even Call of Cthulhu itself.

The game is well-supported. Two additional Elder One expansions have been already published, while the mention of Season 1 - Episode X on each episode is a tease for more seasons to come. We will visit everything that comes out for the line shortly.

The weak points: No matter how good your planning is, if luck works against you it is impossible to win the game. The card draw is one thing, and the dice rolling is another. The first can slowly bleed you out, especially if certain cards come in succession and the Elder One materializes earlier than you expect. As for the latter, they are as unpredictable as ever. Make sure at least one character has Arcane Mystery, making the dice more friendly to you overall...

...something that brings me to the second weak point. Some characters feel more powerful than others. The ability to affect the dice rolling chances is a huge one in a game where dice-rolling is its major mechanic. My number of playtests up to now is not statistically significant, yet when playing with less investigators my impression is that without Arcane Mastery you are not really going anywhere.

Episodes are not born equal, and you will notice similarities between them no matter the different theme. Oh well, this is supposed to be a light experience after all.

No matter how I see it, the gameplay does not justify the game's high price tag. To a large extent you will be paying for the finely sculpted miniatures, since the experience is not something that has not been encountered before. Shop around for a more affordable offer if the game still interests you.

This is not the first time that CMON produces miniatures whose size does not go hand in hand with its maps. That was also the case in both Blood Rage and Rising Sun. Depending on the tile and the amount of goons that come after you, they might simply not fit on the tile itself. For a game that tries so hard for production values this is an unforgivable mistake.

The Discovery cards are published at the awkward 70 x 120 mm size. That actually serves them right, seeing how they are divided in three parts and depending on how you place them you can use them in one way or another. On the other hand, do sleeves for that size even exist, and even if they do, how much do they cost? This is ridiculous. I am trying to keep my games crisp, and the publishers actively sabotage me.

What is this nonsense about the 'Elder Ones'? I know of the Great Old Ones and the Elder Gods, and that's a concept that was never fully embraced by Mythos lovers. Even one of the investigators calls them Old Ones at some point, not to mention the publisher's blurb. When it comes to theming the game I am not at all convinced that the game received the TLC it deserved, and no, I am not talking about its humoristic, trash-talking approach to the Mythos. That's actually a plus.

The game fits all its current components, and that's about it. If you purchase any expansion you will have to store it separately in your library. For space-starved reviewers like me this really does not help, no matter how tidy the basic box in its present configuration is.

Conclusion: Cthulhu: Death May Die is an entertaining, in-your-face experience of pulp action where you finally get to literally kick Mythos ass. Gorgeous miniatures, light rules, and an even more light-hearted atmosphere for a game that doesn't take itself too seriously. As Borden, one of the game's investigators says, 'two things are certain in life: Death and Axes'. If only it were cheaper.

For more info on Cthulhu: Death May Die visit visit CMON at https://cmon.com.

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