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Cryptid
Osprey Games · 2018
3–530–50 min10+ yrs2.3/5 complexity7.4 BGG#338 BGG23,6 K
⚡ short answer
How do you play Cryptid?
The Crumpet player's objective is to spread their influence across the city. They win immediately if they manage to place their presence tokens on both ends of a continuous line of at least seven city blocks. The Scientist player's objective is to capture the Crumpet. They win immediately if they reduce the Crumpet's presence to a single token or zero tokens across the entire city.
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FromRON 194· 3 shops
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You've studied the footage, connected the dots, and gathered what meager 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!
Cryptid is a unique deduction game of honest misdirection in which players must try to uncover information about their opponents' clues while throwing them off the scent of their own. Each player holds one piece of evidence to help them find the creature, and on their turn they can try to gain more information from their opponents. Be warned; give too much away and your opponents might beat you to the mysterious animal and claim the glory for themselves!
The game includes a modular board, five clue books, and a deck of set-up cards with hundreds of possible set-ups across two difficulty levels. It is also supported by an entirely optional digital companion, allowing for faster game set-up and a near-infinite range of puzzles.
—description from the publisher
Note: some copies have a delta clue booklet with misprints in eight clues:
2,#9,#13,#64 states cougar, should be bear
3,#63,#72,#95 states bear, should be cougar
The rules, step by step
Setup
To set up Cryptid: Urban Legends, arrange the initial city blocks in a 3x3 grid on the playing surface. The Crumpet player places their single presence token on the central city block. Sensor cubes (pink, white, and black) are placed on specific spaces on the city blocks as indicated by the scenario setup. Each player receives an identical deck of action cards (Split, Align, Shuffle) and draws three cards into their hand. Additionally, each player has a face-down wild card that can be activated during the game.
Objective
The Crumpet player's objective is to spread their influence across the city. They win immediately if they manage to place their presence tokens on both ends of a continuous line of at least seven city blocks. The Scientist player's objective is to capture the Crumpet. They win immediately if they reduce the Crumpet's presence to a single token or zero tokens across the entire city.
On your turn
A game of Cryptid: Urban Legends is played over several rounds, each divided into five phases. During the 'Sensor Phase,' players take turns playing action cards from their hand to manipulate the sensor cubes on the city blocks. A 'Split' card allows a player to choose one space with sensor cubes and split them diagonally into at least two adjacent spaces. An 'Align' card lets a player choose one color and move all cubes of that color diagonally in the same direction. A 'Shuffle' card enables a player to move one cube from one space forward and diagonally in the same direction. Alternatively, a player can choose to draw two cards from their deck instead of playing an action card, but they cannot exceed a hand limit of four cards. The wild card can be used to perform any of the three actions. All sensor cubes must move to the next row (towards the opponent's side) and cannot move backward. The Sensor Phase ends when all sensor cubes have been moved to the inactive row (the row closest to the opponent).
Scoring
After the Sensor Phase, the 'Hiding Phase' begins. The Crumpet player declares a 'feature,' which can be either a specific number of sensor cubes (e.g., 'three sensors') or a combination of sensor colors (e.g., 'pink and black'). For every city block that is diagonally adjacent to a block already containing a Crumpet presence token, and where the declared feature is exactly true, the Crumpet places a new presence token on that block. Any Crumpet presence tokens in the active row (the row closest to the current Crumpet player) are then removed. Next is the 'Victory Phase,' where players check if their win conditions are met. If not, the 'Restrict Phase' occurs (only if there are at least seven city blocks on the board). The Scientist player removes two city blocks from either the leftmost or rightmost side of the city, provided these blocks do not contain Crumpet presence tokens. If a removed block has an evidence token, the Scientist collects it. Finally, the 'Expanding Phase' adds two new city blocks to the city, one at each end. Some city blocks may have evidence tokens, which are placed when the block is added to the city.
Game end
The game concludes immediately when either the Crumpet or the Scientist fulfills their specific victory condition. If the city block deck runs out before either player achieves their primary objective, the game ends, and players count their collected evidence tokens. The player with the most evidence tokens wins the game.
Tips
Effective strategy involves careful deduction of your opponent's goals based on their sensor movements and declared features. As the Crumpet, try to create pathways for your presence tokens to reach the city's edges while avoiding areas that the Scientist can easily restrict. As the Scientist, focus on removing city blocks that hinder the Crumpet's expansion or contain evidence tokens. Utilizing your wild card at the opportune moment can provide a crucial advantage, allowing you to execute a powerful move or recover from a difficult situation. Pay close attention to the number of city blocks on the board, as this dictates when the 'Restrict Phase' becomes active and when the game might end by running out of city blocks.
game anatomy
Complexity2.3 / 5
BGG rating7.4 / 10
Language dependence
Moderate text — a crib sheet helps
Play time
30–50 min
Players
3–5
Recommended age
10+ yrs
BGG rank
#338
from Trișache · verified
Frequently asked questions
Q1What is the goal of the game?
The Crumpet player's objective is to spread their influence across the city. They win immediately if they manage to place their presence tokens on both ends of a continuous line of at least seven city blocks. The Scientist player's objective is to capture the Crumpet. They win immediately if they reduce the Crumpet's presence to a single token or zero tokens across the entire city.
Q2How do you set up the game?
To set up Cryptid: Urban Legends, arrange the initial city blocks in a 3x3 grid on the playing surface. The Crumpet player places their single presence token on the central city block. Sensor cubes (pink, white, and black) are placed on specific spaces on the city blocks as indicated by the scenario setup. Each player receives an identical deck of action cards (Split, Align, Shuffle) and draws three cards into their hand. Additionally, each player has a face-down wild card that can be activated during the game.
Q3How does a turn work?
A game of Cryptid: Urban Legends is played over several rounds, each divided into five phases. During the 'Sensor Phase,' players take turns playing action cards from their hand to manipulate the sensor cubes on the city blocks. A 'Split' card allows a player to choose one space with sensor cubes and split them diagonally into at least two adjacent spaces. An 'Align' card lets a player choose one color and move all cubes of that color diagonally in the same direction. A 'Shuffle' card enables a player to move one cube from one space forward and diagonally in the same direction. Alternatively, a player can choose to draw two cards from their deck instead of playing an action card, but they cannot exceed a hand limit of four cards. The wild card can be used to perform any of the three actions. All sensor cubes must move to the next row (towards the opponent's side) and cannot move backward. The Sensor Phase ends when all sensor cubes have been moved to the inactive row (the row closest to the opponent).
Q4How is scoring calculated?
After the Sensor Phase, the 'Hiding Phase' begins. The Crumpet player declares a 'feature,' which can be either a specific number of sensor cubes (e.g., 'three sensors') or a combination of sensor colors (e.g., 'pink and black'). For every city block that is diagonally adjacent to a block already containing a Crumpet presence token, and where the declared feature is exactly true, the Crumpet places a new presence token on that block. Any Crumpet presence tokens in the active row (the row closest to the current Crumpet player) are then removed. Next is the 'Victory Phase,' where players check if their win conditions are met. If not, the 'Restrict Phase' occurs (only if there are at least seven city blocks on the board). The Scientist player removes two city blocks from either the leftmost or rightmost side of the city, provided these blocks do not contain Crumpet presence tokens. If a removed block has an evidence token, the Scientist collects it. Finally, the 'Expanding Phase' adds two new city blocks to the city, one at each end. Some city blocks may have evidence tokens, which are placed when the block is added to the city.
Q5When and how does the game end?
The game concludes immediately when either the Crumpet or the Scientist fulfills their specific victory condition. If the city block deck runs out before either player achieves their primary objective, the game ends, and players count their collected evidence tokens. The player with the most evidence tokens wins the game.
Q6What tips are there for beginners?
Effective strategy involves careful deduction of your opponent's goals based on their sensor movements and declared features. As the Crumpet, try to create pathways for your presence tokens to reach the city's edges while avoiding areas that the Scientist can easily restrict. As the Scientist, focus on removing city blocks that hinder the Crumpet's expansion or contain evidence tokens. Utilizing your wild card at the opportune moment can provide a crucial advantage, allowing you to execute a powerful move or recover from a difficult situation. Pay close attention to the number of city blocks on the board, as this dictates when the 'Restrict Phase' becomes active and when the game might end by running out of city blocks.
Q7How much does Cryptid cost?
Cryptid costs between 194 and 199 RON across Romanian stores.
Q8Where can I buy Cryptid cheapest?
The lowest price for Cryptid right now is 194 RON at Dragon Games. The Prices tab lists every store currently tracking it.
Q9How do you play Cryptid?
Cryptid is a deduction game, for 3–5 players, taking ~30–50 minutes, featuring deduction. Check the Rules tab for setup, gameplay, and scoring, or ask Trișache anything about Cryptid — our AI assistant built by howtoplay.ro and trained specifically on board game rulebooks.
Q10How many players does Cryptid support?
Cryptid is played by 3–5 players.
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Price trend over the last 90 days: minimum 19 lei, maximum 199 lei, now 199 lei.
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