With All Hollow’s Eve approaching Boulder fans of H.P. Lovecraft may be interested in some Lovecraftian media to consume. The cultish following of the author has inspired movies and video games all of which have fallen a bit flat. Yet a selection of tabletop games has hit the nail right through a rat in the wall. Many of these games will require some reading of their own but it’s worth learning the rules for a horrifically great time and you can pick up most of these games in town.
Munchkin Cthulhu does a great job of translating the Lovecraft themes into Steve Jackson’s popular D&D parodying game. With clever puns and illustrations this version of "Munchkin" is delightful for both those familiar and others not-so-much with Lovecraft’s works. It’s a pretty straight forward game that requires three or more players and fits nicely as an expansion to other "Munchkin" card sets for a rip-roaring time over Innsmouth and ‘From Beyond’.
Cthulhu Dice heeds the Great Old One’s call as an alternate version of "Zombie Dice". It’s a fast paced game for 2-6 players and is pretty simple to pick up. In this game everyone is a dice roll away from insanity fighting to be the last one standing with their wits about them. The game is a lot of fun and only $5 but you can shell out some extra cash to get custom dice in a ‘Colour out of Space’ of your choosing.
Cthulhu Gloom is a terrifying twist on the already unique card game. In this game of 3-4 players you work to make your family the most miserable of their neighbors. In this Lovecraftian version the characters and events are all inspired by H.P.’s works and hits on all the high points of the Necronomicon from Dunwich to Ulthar. The rules and gameplay are a bit involved but creating the tale of your family’s descent into misery and madness is a great reward for mastering this game.
Arkham Horror allows you and a group of friends to work together to uncover the mysteries afoot in this adventure board game. This is another convoluted game you’ll want the manual nearby for, yet is both creepy and fun. This game takes a unique approach by making the play cooperative focusing on investigating the strange-goings-on inspired by the Cthulhu mythos. It’s a fun unraveling decent into horror and madness even for those not familiar with the Great Old One’s antics. For some the pacing may seem as long and drawn out as that of Lovecraft’s novella ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ but it works it’s way up to some fun combat scenarios against the Ancient One.
Check out your local shops to get these great Cthulhu inspired tabletop games just in time for Halloween. If they don’t have what you need they may be willing to order it for you:
