Correction: Cryptid isn’t about “monster hunting”. It’s cryptozoology and it’s a legitimate field of study. Editor’s Note: This article has been co-authored by the chupacabra.
Cryptid is a deduction strategy board game. Players take the roll of competing cryptozoologists (read: monster hunter). The goal of each player is to be the first to find the location of the cryptid (read: monster). They do this by taking the small bit of information they know, and compounding it with obscure bits of information gained from other players as they continue their search.
Cryptid Overview
When the game begins, the players decide on a map card to use for setup.
Based on the map card chosen, the back shows which clues each player will learn. The clues each player learns are very vague. Hardly enough to figure out the location of the monster on your own. The clues are something like “in water”, or “Within 2 spaces of a bear”, or “Not a desert or mountain”.
On each player’s turn they place the search pawn on a hex on the map. Then they ask a player of their choice if that could be a location of the cryptid, based on their clue. If it could be, the player being asked places a disk of their color on that hex. If it could not be a location of the cryptid, they place a cube.
As the disks and cubes start to pile up around the board, players will start to be able to narrow down the possible locations of the cryptid. Once a player thinks they know where the beast is, they announce they are doing an official search.
They place a disk where they think the cryptid is and each player places a disk if, according to their clue, the cryptid could be there. If all players place a disk, that means the cryptid has been found! And so, the searching player wins!
What makes Cryptid so good is it really allows for misdirection and deduction. Rather then just checking off boxes to eliminate possibilities, players really have to interpret the clues they gain. Discovering that a certain hex can’t be the location of the cryptid is all well and good, but finding out why it can’t be is far more important. If you want a real deduction challenge, Crypid is the game for you.
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Matt has loved games of all kinds his whole life: board, video, war, roleplaying, and card. He’s worked as a writer for BoLS since 2017.
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