The best board games Lovecraftian and Cthulhu
The best board games Lovecraftian and Cthulhu
HP Lovecraft has undoubtedly changed our view of fantasy and helped bring it out of obscurity.
The worlds he built inspired numerous authors and spawned countless spinoffs based on the myths . It's an absolutely fascinating place to get lost in and lose your sanity.
Today we watch the best board games inspired by Lovecraftian.
Our best selections for the best Lovecraftian board games
Are you in a hurry? Check out our favorites below.
The best solo
- Solitaire with adjustable difficulty
- Arkham’s stories were re-imagined as Detective Noir
- Smart play
Best restart
- STRATEGY GAME: Players are investigators who must cooperate ...
- GAME COOPERATIVE: Only with group work will you have ...
- THREAT FROM THIS WORLD: Old, ancient creatures ...
Best overall
- SUSTAINABLE GAME OF TERROR AND ADVENTURE: Ancient evil upsets ...
- SCARY STRATEGY GAME: Defeat terrible monsters, travel to other worlds ...
- COOPERATIVE MYSTERY GAME: Brave investigators come together to ...
1. Arkham Horror: A card game
Arkham Horror card game delves into the myths of Cthulhu.
The Arkham Horror card game is / was a live card game. This means that after the release of the initial basic set of the game, a brand new expansion kit will appear regularly, which will increase the impressive amount of cards available until your shelf is covered with small boxes. Conceptually similar to the Game of Thrones card game.
Arkham Horror: The card game focuses more on storytelling elements than some others I’ve seen. It’s a co-op that gets you stuck right on the side of Lovecraft’s novel and you need to figure out how to survive. How you do this is up to you, and watching the reactions and progress of your characters is just as much fun.
After all, opening the door and meeting Shoggoth face to face is likely to make someone a little crazy.
- ELDRITCH MYSTERY LIFE CARD PLAY: Something serious is interfering in ...
- HORROR GAME: When the ancients are looking to enter our world, ...
- COOPERATIVE GAME: You and your friends become investigators ...
2. Castles of Madness (second edition)
If the thought of reading one of the volumes (rules) needed to play some of these Lovecraft-inspired games drives you into spasms of madness, then you might step into Mansions of Madness.
This cooperative research game has players wandering around an eldritch-infested mansion that constantly moves every game. This is because the game is run through an app that sets up meetings and basically runs the right part of the game for you. It allows you to focus on what’s really important, like trying not to die and enjoying the game.
The first games they tried to add technology to board games were mostly scams like Operation or Atmosphere, but over time progress comes and Mansions of Madness is one of the best technologically enhanced games I have ever seen. Everything runs smoothly, making it one of the easiest Lovecraft transition games on this list.
- HORROR GAME: This fully collaborative horror board game and ...
- Mystery Game: Players take part in investigators and enter ...
- COOPERATIVE GAME With high variability: The game contains four ...
3. Military Cthulhu
Are you tired of trying to stop the eldritch of horror before destroying the world?
Do you think you would just give up and accept the madness?
Why not try the Cthulhu War, where you will become one of the horrors that cause madness from the depths?
Cthulhu Wars is an area control strategy game where each player controls one of the ancient horrors and tries to take over the world.
This game is GREAT!
On Kickstarter, it was funded from the crowd to start production and has some really crazy minis that promote the definition of “mini”.
There are 4 factions in the game, each with variable power.
- Cthulhu
- Shub-niggurath
- Nyarlathotep
- Hastur
Choose your favorite, gather your culturists and immerse the world in darkness.
- Cthulhu Wars is a combination of strategy games and ...
4. Eldritch Thunderstorm
Eldritch Horror is a development of Arkham Horror (# 5 on the list). It’s a global epidemic threatening the world, starting with the big “C”. No no Covid . I'm talking about CULTISTS!
Eldritch Horror is a world -wide cooperative adventure in which our fearless investigators search for traces left behind by cultists and horrors before the Ancient One awakens. Investigators must fight to keep their sanity through events around the world and prevent the ancients from waking up.
If you’re looking for a Lovecraft themed game that offers an insane amount of repeatability, Eldritch Horror is a rabbit hole in games where you can get lost, especially considering the insane number of extensions available.
- SUSTAINABLE GAME OF TERROR AND ADVENTURE: Ancient evil upsets ...
- SCARY STRATEGY GAME: Defeat terrible monsters, travel to other worlds ...
- COOPERATIVE MYSTERY GAME: Brave investigators come together to ...
5. Arkham Horror (Third Edition)
Arkham Horror was my first real entry into the world of Lovecraft. I didn’t read or really understand any myth and Arkham was my first introduction. It was also one of the first harder games (both hard and playful) I’ve ever played, so I’ll always love it.
Arkham horror puts players in the shoes of investigators as they try to suppress the sleeping ancients and prevent the world from triggering them. It was a precursor to the Eldritch Horror and most of the complaints you find have been fixed with the 3rd edition. The rules are clearer, gameplay simplified and still just as much fun as ever when faced with Yoggots and Shuggots in dark alleys.
- SUSTAINABLE GAME OF SPACE HORROR: Dark shadow grows in the city ...
- SCARY STRATEGY GAME: Players take on the role of Arkham ...
- COOPERATIVE MYSTERIOUS GAME: Players work as a team to collect clues, ...
6. Arcana Machine
Machina Arcana is a solid dark and fragile dungeon crawling .
Players progress through a series of interconnected missions that lead to a complete showdown with the older creature.
Artwork, minis and games lead to a very technical dungeon crawl that will allow you to strategy and choose the perfect equipment to kill creatures from the depths.
There are many tasteful texts that bring the theme to life, but behind all the amazing works of art is the hard crawling of dungeons in which all passionate fans will be itching.
7. Mythos Tales
Mythos Tales is really cool for old school.
Players will get a script and will have to explore the city of Arkham in twenty years. You will be armed with your mind and newspaper.
Each game will give players a script to investigate and a handful of hints. It is up to investigators to look in the local newspaper for clues about the arrival and departure of cultists and where they need to go to find potential clients.
It's a fun little mystery game that's just nice to see. Newspapers are full of random hints that will make you guess, and in the end you will
- Explore Arkham as HP Lovecraft envisioned it
- Uncover the secret with your friends before ...
- This game is perfect for a game night with friends and family ...
8. Pandemic: The Reign of Cthulhu
Usually, when you have a themed variant of an established game, the ending is a disguise of a classic that is almost exactly a replica of the original.
Reign of Cthulhu manages to avoid this trap by creating a truly unique game by using the basic mechanics of a pandemic with a heavy dose of Lovecraftian madness.
The usual mechanics of an outbreak will be known, but instead of disease, culturists will flood the board and need to be addressed. On top of that, investigators will have to seal the portals before the ancient one wakes up. Reign of Cthulhu offers a surprising variety of ancient combatants, and offers a wide range of strategies not normally seen in a themed version of the game.
If you’re a Pandemic fan at all , the Reign of Cthulhu will be easy to enter, but generally offers a much different experience. I am very impressed with how they took the basic mechanics and seamlessly combined them with all the new dangers.
- STRATEGY GAME: Players are investigators who must cooperate ...
- GAME COOPERATIVE: Only with group work will you have ...
- THREAT FROM THIS WORLD: Old, ancient creatures ...
9. Shadows over Normandy: Achtung Cthulhu
There has always been a strange association with world wars, Cthuhlu and the Nazis. Probably because it was a strange period of time when fiction was becoming reality and things that seemed impossible were explicitly proven to be true.
Shadows over Normandie is built on the Heroes system from the Devil Pig game . This is a real system run by war games 2-player clash. It is an epic system that has been characterized by a miniature war game without miniatures. Instead of carefully recreating each individual unit in mini form, everything is ready in a box full of punches, ready to fight opponents.
- For 2-3 players
- 45 minutes playing time
- 10 long-running campaign scenarios based on Achtung! Cthulhu ...
10. Older sign
If you’re looking for a little more madness and randomness in your games, Elder Sign delivers an amazing themed Lovecraftian experience. Elder Sign is the same designer and publisher as Arkham Horror, so you’ll overlap a lot in characters and art design, but things are starting to get different.
Our investigation team will have to search the museum, where the ancients will try to awaken and take over the world. Elder Sign primarily uses dice mechanics to determine success and has often been compared to Eldritch Yahtzee. Yahtzee is used - as a mechanic, but it’s a little more than that. Players will be able to use character skills, equipment and magic to push these dice in the right direction.
To say it’s just a themed game is like saying Carolina Reaper is just another pepper.
- GAME OF SUSPENSION AND SUPERNATURAL INVESTIGATIONS: Inspired by ...
- COOPERATIVE Mystery Game: Players take on the roles of investigators ...
- FAST STRATEGY SETTLEMENT GAME: To locate Elder Signs, ...
11. Tide of madness
Tides of Madness is a more themed cousin of Tides of Time. The entire game consists of just 18 cards and a handful of chips, making it a great travel game.
Players will alternately assemble and score cards to be at the top with the most victory points. Unlike its predecessor, Tides of Madness, it introduces a new mechanic to the mix. In addition to trying to achieve the highest results, you will also need to avoid the crazy ones. Of course, higher value tickets are not free. They come with a penalty and bring you a little madness. If you gain too much, you are completely out of the game.
It’s pretty refreshing to see a wonderful game that doesn’t require a perfect dining room.
- A solo sequel to the award-winning Tides of Time
- Placed in Cthulhu space
- A popular drafting mechanism designed specifically for two players
12. Gore madness
Not to be confused with the eponymous Eldritch Horror extension, Mountains of Madness is a stand-alone IELLO game designed by Rob Daviau himself. Players will need to “communicate” and work together to reach the top and discover artifacts along the way without getting lost to insanity.
Unlike Lovecraft games with big Fantasy Flight boxes like Arkham and Eldritch Horror, Mountain of Madness can be played in about an hour. So you won’t have to spend an entire evening closing portals to be able to look for Lovecraft gaming fixes.
The big twist is in the form of madness. Instead of just tossing chips and saying you’re crazy now, madness shows up in special ways. The game will bring you obstacles that will make it harder. In a game where communication and conversation with teammates is crucial, madness cards force you to omit words or “forget” how to say something.
- For 3-5 players
- 60 minute playing time
- Original mechanics, beautiful illustrations, completely insane
13. Arkham Noir
Arkham Noir brings pictures of smoky offices and dark detectives living on the edge, but the game doesn’t disappoint.
It’s also a unique addition to this list, as it’s a completely standalone game . I’ve always been passionate about game design and stand-alone games have always been interesting. In Arkham Noir, players will race against the clock to discover clues to solve 5 of 6 different secrets.
It’s just a card game, so the timer is built-in using a card deck . Players will need to match hints in 6 rows of cards and eventually close them when they drop at least 5 cards in a row. When you place them, you’ll also need to match the card symbols, so it’s not as easy as dropping a handful of cards to finish.
It’s surprisingly tense for a simple card game , and even more surprising is that it works as well as a standalone game.
- Solitaire with adjustable difficulty
- Arkham’s stories were re-imagined as Detective Noir
- Smart play
14. Areas of Cthulhu
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s based on the same system as Star Realms .
Apparently our fleet of ships is being replaced by cultists and shugs who will crawl out of the wood to make the enemy a bad day.
Another big change from the Realms series is that the Cthulhu Realms deviates from the two-player setting and is fully equipped to handle up to 4 players .
If you have read some of our other articles, you will know that I am a big fan of Star Kingdoms. So how does Cthulhu Realms fold?
The artwork and overall feel is much less serious than Star Realms, but it actually works well here. It’s a nice change of step from the dark traditions of Lovecraft’s work in other games and works well as a good starting game before sinking your teeth into something harder like Arkham or Eldritch Horror.
- Humorous art of Cthulhu and interesting deck construction! select maps ...
- A game for 2 to 4 players
- 30-45 minutes of play
15. Smash Up: Mandatory Cthulhu Kit
Smash Up is one of those games you see on the shelves of almost all players, and they usually crash just trying to convince a “non-player” to pursue a hobby. (By the way, there is no non-player. Only players who are not yet properly acquainted with the hobby.) But I resign.
Smash Up is a fantastic card game that allows players to make stupid combinations.
- Smash Up: The mandatory Cthulhu kit also contains 8 new Base ...
- For ages 14 and up with 45-minute playback
- Contains: 80 Minion and Action cards, 8 basic cards, 12 pages ...
16. Cthulhu Gloom
Gloom has always been a weird game. Instead of trying to guide your characters to justice and keep them happy, you are trying to make them the poorest people in the world. And then you kill them.
In Cthulhu Gloom, up to 4 players will play horrible cards to their unfortunate characters and when they have the worst possible day, you will try to kill them. Opponents will also try to do the same, but will play cards to make your characters a little brighter.
Gloom is one of those weird games that plays with your emotions. So we are often used to trying to improve everything, but this is the exact opposite of what is happening here.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Cthulhu Gloom is the shared storytelling. As players lay out the cards, you’ll need to put together your own story of how they got there, which can lead to some interesting combinations.
- For 2-4 players
- Playing takes about an hour
- The first player to meet the conditions of the Story card - e.g. ...
17. Cthulhu Fluxx
Fluxx is a literal definition of randomness in the game. Literally everything and everything is random. The rules, the conditions for winning and the game itself are always in the… Fluxx state. See what I was doing there?
Cthulhu Fluxx introduces the whole realm of bad games to an already spicy game where players will collect and set characters and monsters from the world of Lovecraftian, while trying to avoid the ancient ones in the form of Creeper cards.
Everything here is completely random and nothing makes sense until it is. Fluxx is a unique game where there is a rule for everyone and always a way to break the rules.
- For two to six players
- Play time 30 minutes
- Explore the dark and terrifying secrets of the unknown when ...
18. Pocket Madness
Another little game you can add to your collection, Pocket Madness is a great little card game that you can play in about half an hour.
He has wonderful works of art and is reminiscent of Hearts or Uno, but with lovely artwork, madness and monsters from eldrich.
Players will try to open and close portals by dropping sets of cards and be the first player to get rid of all their cards. If you run out of cards at the end of the round, you'll start collecting insanity chips and lose the game altogether if you get 10.
Pocket Madness, as the name suggests, is a great little game that is a completely perfect travel game .
19. Munchkin Cthulhu
Face existential fear and stab your friends in the back.
Munchkin has always had a special place on my gaming shelf. This is a quick little card game that will eventually reward you for being a jerk with your friends.
Munchkin Cthulhu is no exception, instead of being filled with words, D&D -inspired cards get Cthulhu performances that will make you lose your closest card friends. You will compete with cultists, fellow actors and of course the great Cthulhu.
- Now available. . . another standalone Munchkin game! Munchkins ...
- Munchkin Cthuhlu is a standalone game in the Munchkin line, this ...
- 1 hour of play. 3 to 8 players.
20. Cthulhu cubes
Another Steve Jackson game .
Cthulhu Dice is in the same direction as Zombie Cubes or Martian Cubes.
It’s a fast-paced gambling game that is surprisingly similar to Left Right Middle .
In Cthulhu dice, each place starts with three chips, and the players will alternately become Caster, who will try to curse the player of his choice. Depending on the genre, someone will lose their mind.
It’s not a complicated game, but it’s a pretty fun waste of time. Our game shelves can't be filled for hours of Epic games, right? We would never do anything.
- Play with 2 or more players
- 5-10 minutes to play
- Cthulhu's madness
21. Call of Cthulhu Desktop RPG (7th Edition)
In a group of friends, you will always have that person who you can sacrifice to the older gods and banish to another dimension. Of course I’m talking about being a master of the RPG table game .
Like other desktop RPGs, you’ll have to sacrifice the player to play, but the fun part is that the game is limited only by what you can imagine.
- Call of Cthulhu is Chaosium's classic role-playing game ...
- Sandy Petersen (author)
- English (language of publication)
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