TEST // CRYPTID

Posted by Philip Misuk on 23 July 2021.

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Over the years I have collected guides and studied all the materials. I collected every little hint of the existence of the mysterious creature and turned every stone. Soon the whole world will know the truth: you will show everyone that the legendary Cryptid really exists!
As a group of like-minded cryptozoologists, you’ve come together to track down the elusive creature, but the glory for discovering it can only go to one. Only one of you will be named in the history books as a cryptographer. That’s why you shouldn’t give away much of your knowledge if you don’t want to be forgotten. But without sharing information, you’ll never find the monster.
CRYPTID promises to be a unique opponent game with lots of interaction as players try to get information from each other while misleading others. But is the game itself a good catch, or is it an old shoe? You will find out in our test.

SKELLIG GAMES PROVIDES CRYPTID TO US FOR REVIEW.
This does not affect our rating!

Monster hunt is going on

At CRYPTID, you are a cryptozoologist trying to find definitive evidence for the existence of cryptozoans in the North American wilderness. In addition, each person receives a unique guide containing valuable information about the habitat of the mysterious creature. This information relates to the types of terrain and structures on the map. The clues must be combined with each other to narrow down one area on the map: the habitat of the hidden.

The objective of the game is to first connect all the clues correctly and find the habitat. In order to discover other players’ clues, a good observing force is required.

At the beginning of the game, after preparing the standard card, all players receive useful books. They will find in these unique clues that they must hide from their opponents. Then there is the exchange of information, because everyone has to identify two regions in order, where the Cryptid cannot be to the best of their knowledge. This means that the first types of terrain can be ruled out at the beginning of the game. An overview is used on the back of each information book for this purpose, showing all possible types of information at a glance.

In the game tour, cryptozoologists interrogate each other to learn more about the location of the hidden habitat. If the person’s turn comes, he can ask his teammate about the playing field. Then the interviewee marks the field indicating whether the object’s habitat can be located according to his advice. If no, the interviewee must specify a field that cannot contain the domicile he is searching for.

In this way, more conclusions can be drawn from round to round about the information provided by other zoologists. If it is a negative sign of a mountainous area, then the hint cannot be, for example, “Habitat in the mountains or X”. If there is still a positive sign on another mountainous field, then the above type of warning can be completely excluded. So it should be a different type of pointer, like “Habitat is located within two fields around Minhere (Type of Structure)”.

However, it is also possible to mislead others by distributing negative self-placed tags in such a way that they point to a different evidence than the actual one. The game depends on the honesty of the players when placing the pieces.

If someone thinks they have deciphered all clues from other players, they can search the field as an action. To do this, positive marks are placed on the field in order (if the habitat of the organism can be located according to your own advice) until the zoologist puts a negative mark. If all crypto-scientists put a positive mark, it means that the habitat of the occult has been discovered, and the person who started the search wins the game. If not, the rounds will continue.

Matter is a thing for the eye – but not for the nose

Opening the toy chest, the emerging animal world can expect outbursts of feelings. The first thing you notice is a pungent chemical smell that seems to be emitted from all the materials in the game. Especially strong with wooden signs. However, the eye is pleased, because all the game materials such as map pieces and game pieces (wooden signs) as well as reference books and cards make a very valuable impression – without appearing excessive.

The box itself is sturdy and has the perfect size to hold everything inside. There’s no sorting system included (just a few zip bags), but the manageable number of tags and cards means it’s easy to stash everything away.

Graphically, the game is beautiful, but very practical. On the other hand, this means that you don’t expect any breathtaking illustrations or elaborately produced signs. On the other hand, chasing monsters is also very straightforward. Everything is clearly identifiable. Reference books are likely to be small and eye-catching. Set on the table, the game is definitely a thing, even if someone who doesn’t know the game probably doesn’t understand what’s really going on.

Instructions are kept short and clear due to the attractive rules and simple train structure. It starts with a list of game components and then explains the structure. Somewhat tragically organized, it continues when it comes to the rest of the game’s preparations. Because the part where players share their acquaintances with each other and distribute negative signs is no longer explained during preparation, but during the course of the game. This caused some confusion when learning. Fortunately, everything is clearly described again in the correct order on the back of the manual.

There are also explanations of all possible types of information, which come with examples and graphics. Finally, there are tips for all the different setup scenarios in case players can’t come up with a solution and need some help. Otherwise, you will look almost in vain for examples and drawings in the instructions. All components are initially shown and explained, but there are hardly any examples or illustrations. The fully assembled playing field is also not shown in the game setup area.

Tags: 3-5 people, 30-50 minutes, discount, puzzle