CHENNAI: A cryptid is an animal whose existence is either disputed or questionable — think the yeti, or the Loch Ness monster — and, in Cryptid, each of you play cryptozoologists (another new term!) in search of one of these fabled critters.
Deduction is a common element of many board games, most commonly to deal with your opponents — figuring out what their secret objective is or what they’re going for allows you to respond accordingly. There are relatively few ‘pure’ deduction games out there, but now Cryptid joins that number. Setup involves drawing a map card, setting up the map (putting the boards together and placing terrain pieces such as standing stones or abandoned shacks), giving each player their journal, and you’re ready to go.
Here’s how it works — each of you opens your journal to the designated entry, which contains a clue about the location of the cryptid that only you know. For example, I might know that the cryptid is either in the forest or the mountain spaces, while you might know that the cryptid’s location is less than two spaces away from one of the standing stones. For each map, there is only one possible location for the cryptid (that is, one space for which every player’s clue is true) and so your goal is to figure out where that space might be before your opponents do.
On your turn, you can either question or search. Questioning the other players involves selecting a space on the board and asking one of the other players if the cryptid could be there. Based on their clue, they must then respond by placing one of their pieces on that space — a cube means that the cryptid can’t be there, but a disc means that it’s possible.
Either way, you’ve now got more information; but unfortunately, so does everybody else around the table. Searching typically happens later on in the game, once information has built up a bit — just like questioning, you select a space but now you place a disc of your own there and declare that you think you’ve found the cryptid. Each other player must, in turn order, check if that space satisfies the constraints of their clue and place a cube or a disc accordingly. If all players place their discs on that spot, congratulations! You’ve found the cryptid and won the game.
Cryptid is an absolute delight. No game in recent memory allows for (nay, encourages) such constant double-guessing and bluffing as this one, and yet it’s underpinned by a rock-solid foundation of logical and deductive reasoning.
Throw in the advanced mode (which adds a fourth colour of structure and the possibility of negative clues, such as not on a terrain or not within X spaces of something else) and the replayability goes through the roof. It’s a brain-burning puzzle every single time, as you try to figure out exactly what your opponents know while simultaneously trying to avoid giving away too much information yourself. It’s a tantalizing tightrope to walk, and it’s some of the most fun I’ve had with a board game this year.