Osprey Games Cryptid

Product Information

Finally beware of the scarecrow, do not get too close them or they'll suddenly give chase! They'll stalk you from just out of your vision range and take small movements whilst visible. If one of your discs is already on that space, you must place a disc on a different space which could be the habitat according to your clue, and which does not already contain one of your discs.

You can’t take your eyes off the game when playing. As any player can Question any other player on their turn you must always stay engaged with the game. Not that you will need any encouragement to pay attention, all cubes and discs are important to every player. Only by constantly evaluating the board state will you solve the puzzle and win the game. On your turn you have two options, Questioning or Searching. You will Question much more often but Searching is how you win the game. Questioning means indicating a space and asking; “Could the Cryptid live in this space?” to one player. If the answer is yes, they place a disc. If the answer is no, they place a cube and then you have to place a cube.Players may receive negative as well as positive clues, so some clues may include the phrase 'the habitat is not here'. There are also times when your opponent needs to replenish their hand. Is that a good time for you to do the same, or should you take a turn and hope for a longer-term pay-off? The evidence counters being a tiebreaker is also a nice twist. No special cards. No victory points. Just you and your brain racing to find the answer before your opponents.

To question, place the pawn on a space on the map, and ask any other player 'Could the creature be here?' After that, everyone gets a coloured booklet and a set of pieces. On the reverse of the map card, there's a series of colours and numbers in a cross-reference. You find the number in your colour, open your booklet and look it up. Mine says "The habitat is within three spaces of a blue structure". We're cryptozoologists, hunting for a mysterious monster and, at the start of the game, this is the only information I have about where it lives. Deduction games are some of my most favorite styles to play and Cryptid is a fantastic addition to the genre. I absolutely love that it is so simple. There are no cards, dice, or variable player objectives to worry about. You are simply trying to deduce where the creature is through pure logic.

Example:'The habitat is on forest or swamp.' This player knows the habitat is on a forest space or a swamp space, so would place discs on those spaces. The player knows the habitat cannot be on any other terrain type, so would place cubes on spaces with any other terrain type. You've studied the footage, connected the dots, and gathered what meagre evidence you could. You're close--soon the whole world will know the truth behind the Cryptid. A group of like-minded cryptozoologists have come together to finally uncover the elusive creature, but the glory of discovery is too rich to share. Without giving away some of what you know you will never succeed in locating the beast, but reveal too much and your name will be long forgotten!