Osprey Games Cryptid

Product Information

If one of your discs is already on that space, you must place a disc on a different space which could be the habitat according to your clue, and which does not already contain one of your discs.

Because that’s the twist: like any self-respecting pirate captain and his precious treasure map, all the information in Cryptid has been torn into pieces and scattered to the winds, and each player has a piece of that picture. So the game becomes an exercise in interrogation and deduction as you piece together the other players’ non-answers to try and paint a picture of where your beloved Bigfoot might be hiding.Each player has their own set of cubes and discs, which they will place on the board when they are forced to give the other players information. A cube means that space cannot be the creature's habitat, according to that player's clue. It’s these little things–again, literally–that make it difficult. Solid or dotted lines on various hexes denote whether they’re natural habitats for cougars or bears (oh my!) only they’re somewhat difficult to see (even for non-color-blind players) against the colors of the terrain itself. Also, you will find yourself constantly referencing your player aid to see which is which and wondering why, in a game that sells itself so visually, they couldn’t have used paw prints or silhouettes. In a similar vein there are various structures placed around the map as landmarks (mountains and abandoned sheds in several different colors each) but these also are abstract, being represented by wooden triangles and cylinders. There are several possible clue types, but they all relate to distance from certain elements on the board. Some clues specify that the habitat must be on a type of terrain, while others specify that the habitat is within a certain number of spaces of a type of terrain, structure, or animal territory. Players may receive negative as well as positive clues, so some clues may include the phrase 'the habitat is not here'.

Cryptid can be played in normal or advanced mode. Normal mode is the best way to get new players familiar with the game and clues, while also being more suitable for younger players. The player you questioned must say whether the space could be the habitat according to their clue, and places either a disc or a cube of their color on the selected space, to indicate whether the creature could be there or not. More robust than you would expect from a “simple” deduction game, Cryptid offers the chance to brave the uncharted (okay, so they’re kind of charted) wilderness in search of new species most would say are fictitious. There are five different types of space: desert, forest, water, mountain, and swamp. One corner of each tile shows a number, which is used for setup.Example:'The habitat is within one space of either animal territory.' The spaces within one space of bear or cougar territories could be the habitat, so the player would place discs on them. Any spaces more than one space from an animal territory could not be the habitat, so would be marked with cubes. To question, place the pawn on a space on the map, and ask any other player 'Could the creature be here?' As you serve the customers they will give you tips based on their satisfaction level. However, with each passing round, the Cryptids get more and more frustrated waiting for their food and will leave smaller tips. Eventually, they’ll leave the restaurant if they are not served fast enough. If that happens, plan on giving the owner some of your tips at the end of the night, he doesn’t like to lose customers. Example:'The habitat is within one space of desert.' The desert spaces are all within one space of themselves, so they could be the habitat. A cube would be placed on any space which is more than one space away from a desert space.