Cthulhu Wars: Duel Review and Impressions
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Cthulhu Wars has often been called a Cadillac game. This is an exemplary Kickstarter project: a niche game that would not have been born without Kickstarter. Features available: miniatures (giant size), extras larger than the Black Goat spawn, and matching horse price tag. Much to the chagrin of those who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a single piece of fun, Cthulhu Wars is also a great game; A great choice for anyone who likes to cook on the table. That's why Sandy Peterson has been asked for years to release a version of the game with cardboard instead of miniatures, which will allow you to familiarize yourself with the gameplay without emptying your wallet, and also move the box without the help of a crane. And those requests were granted...or not? Now "Cthulhu Wars: Duel" was born - a purely dueling game without miniatures in a small box, with slightly changed rules. Duel area controls are a rather rare and niche thing for a number of reasons. This game does a good job of bringing the feel of Cthulhu Wars into a duel format. However... let's put it this way: not all the components of "Cthulhu War" are in place.
As expected, in terms of components, the game is not as eye-catching as the original. The box and box are much smaller, and instead of plastic - cardboard. The illustrations are a little dark, but the silhouettes of the monsters are very different, so it's easy to tell them apart - especially if you're already familiar with the original. Including only 10 dice in the set, although during large batches each participant of the battle often has to roll more than 10, is a strange decision. Personally, we added more cubes so that we don't have to remember how many people got what results. Otherwise, there are no complaints about the components. A reduced copy of "Cthulhu Wars" with the same sense of scale of what is happening and increased transportability succeeded in glory.
Of course, the rules had to be reworked in order to turn the multiplayer area control into a dueling game, but not as seriously as one might expect. Many of the changes are minor in appearance: different numbers in the description of the faction's special ability, a slightly different order of phases... Of all the innovations, I liked the decomposition mechanic the most, which plays the role of a constant threat. As soon as one player uses up all his power reserves, the other player's actions gradually become more and more expensive until he has to pass the turn. This solves the problem of the popularity of the "don't go first" tactic in the original. A fast aggressive style of play rules here, as you spend resources more efficiently this way. As a result, players often compete to be the first to impose the battle on their terms, and in this regard, the duel is more interesting than the original.
However, "Cthulhu Wars" was not easily designed for two participants, just like most games of the "figures on the map" genre, which recommend sitting down to at least three. In this genre, a very big role is played by alliances, battles of several participants and "she wins, let's knock her down!". I didn't even realize how important the social aspect of Cthulhu Wars was until I played Duel. It still feels like a turn-based version of a PC RTS (which makes sense given Peterson's background in PC game development), but the most important part of Cthulhu Wars has always been what happened at the table. Negotiations, alliances, betrayals were all common and could easily happen within a single round of the game. And then repeat again and again. It made you emotionally attached to the game, encouraging you to play it again and again - just to try new strategies. Unfortunately, these feelings are absent in the duel.
Since there is only one enemy, there is no reason to hold back and not attack actions at every opportunity. Especially considering another rule innovation - scoring points for each kill - makes the aggressive style more appealing... but other scoring methods suffer. Hurting your opponent and getting points at the same time is the most effective way. Yes, it is meant to be, but it means that every action you take in Duel must simultaneously embolden your opponent with a good interpreter. No tricky manipulations, no spreading the map thinly for strategic reasons... it only matters how many units you kill/lose, because every unit lost makes victory that much further away.
This problem is complicated by the factions chosen for the dueling version of "Cthulhu Wars" . The Great Cthulhu vs Black Goat matchup doesn't look great - largely because Cthulhu has always been an extremely straightforward faction, but the Goat has not. Is the matchup balanced? In my experience, balanced. But only after the Goat player plays a few games and understands how to put pressure on Cthulhu without risking Shab too much, because if Shab dies, the game is almost guaranteed to be lost. Cthulhu is great for beginners who will be able to play with the enemy on equal terms without any problems, but the different entry threshold of the factions will become a plus only after more boxes from the dueling series are released and it will be possible to arrange various matchups. And now on the Internet, a bunch of people, in the old gamer tradition, talk about an imbalance, which in reality, most likely, does not exist. However, the different entry threshold makes the balance feel more precarious than it actually is. I believe that after the release of new boxes, the balance will settle. I wonder what Creeping Chaos or my favorite Cho-Cho will look like in the dueling version.
I had mixed impressions of "Cthulhu Wars: Duel" . On the one hand, the game impressed players who were not familiar with the original, and the updated and optimized dueling rules give hope that the dueling line has a decent future (when new factions and maps are released). On the other hand, I cannot praise and recommend the basic "Duel" by itself. This is one of those games that you should try before you buy. Fortunately, the author has released an official digital version of the game on Tabletop Simuator just for introductory purposes. Time and the availability of new content will tell how successful this line will be. And so far, the dueling "Cthulhu Wars" turned out not bad, but we have to wait for a decent expansion of the line.
USEFUL LINKS
Cthulhu Wars: Duel on the BGG portal
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/326485/cthulhu-wars-duel
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