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 official website with an online tool to randomly generate more clues is http://playcryptid.com/
- Elegant deduction puzzle
- Nice tension without player collision
- Requires good deduction communication among players
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deduction / hidden information — Players deduce the cryptid's location from clues.
- Pattern discovery — Use clues to narrow search regions cooperatively or competitively.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- you are on pace to lead our leaderboards
- you've got 15 out of 20 points which is huge
- this will be the final episode so i win right
- the reigning champion of the going analog quiz show
- i love these descriptions these are so good
References (from this video)
- Easy to teach and quick to play
- Great social deduction-lite experience
- Somewhat abstract; not everyone's cup of tea
- Replayability depends on clue variety
- Detective work, hidden information, and clue-gathering
- Mystery investigation with deduction cards
- Light mystery with social interaction
- Top 10
- Scout
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hidden information / deduction — Players infer mysteries based on clues and board layout
- modular clue tiles — Tile sets provide different hints and paths to solve the puzzle
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the customization in this game is insane
- this is such a clever system and again not too difficult to get your head round
- it's a dry point salad game
- the problem is is that i was experimenting and i don't think the experiment worked
- this is a build-your-own tableau game with a point salad style
- Cascadia is such a good gateway game
- it's not dead but that is a zatu sponsored video
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deduction — Players ask questions and deduce the location of a cryptid on a grid.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "Adam experience at The Gamers Ranch"
- "we played 18 games this weekend"
- "it's heavy but we loved it"
- "I won Vienna; I love this game"
References (from this video)
- quick, puzzle-like experience
- easy to teach
- wrong information can break the game
- hidden-move deduction
- mysterious map
- faintly investigative
- Decrypto
- Mysterium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Clue Deduction — players use clues to infer location
- Hidden movement — monster location hidden from players
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Ticket to Ride on the other hand should be the number one on Board Game Geek.
- it's got great Lord of the Rings theming; I wish there was more actual Lord of the Rings music on the app
- I hate the fact that you have to get a full family otherwise you lose.
- it's quick simple; you can get this game done in 30 minutes.
- this is the number one board game on Board Game Geek
- Energy Empire though which is Luke Laurie's baby in this one is definitely the best of the trilogy
References (from this video)
- fast teaching
- tight logic puzzle
- some players struggle with rules
- logic deduction
- map with a hidden monster to locate
- competitive deduction with umpire-like clues
- Codenames Pictures
- Mysterium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deduction — Whittle down possible monster locations from clues
- logic rules — Use given clues to narrow the monster's location
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a really cool design and simple to play
- this is one of my go-to social deduction games
- it's simple you know doesn't take too long and still gives you like an interesting story with a lot of freedom
- it's Zen-like bag-builder
- it's a big engine builder with the mechs
- it's a very cool negotiation game
References (from this video)
- pure deduction without gimmicks
- clever hex-grid clue system
- complex to teach for new players
- pure deduction with spatial reasoning
- hunting a hidden monster on a hex-grid map
- classic whodunit meets logical puzzle
- Cluedo (as a comparative deduction framework)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- each player has a unique clue that constrains all others — a different piece of the puzzle for every player
- map-based deduction — players deduce the monster's location using clue cards and space constraints
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is the collection starter and here are the top 10 games like cludo but better
- it's brilliant
- the perfect next step
- production-wise it feels like a million bucks
- it's quiet tense and thinky
- a tense beautiful little puzzle gameplay stuffed with side eye pirate paranoia
- you've got this map in front of you which can be broken up and arranged in many different ways depending on the scenario you're playing
- it's an awesome film about language the nature of communication
References (from this video)
- strong deduction vibe
- great for two-player or small groups
- depends on player count for pacing
- 可 sometimes require careful rule-following
- mystery deduction
- mythic cryptid hunting across a map
- abstract deduction with hidden info
- Dixit
- Mysterium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hidden information / logic puzzle — one player’s findings are not fully known to others.
- semi-cooperative deduction — players deduce the cryptid’s location while some players chase their own goals.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- gun violence has to stop
- we love y'all
- bring your positive energy
- it's all about fun
- we'll have an update on the next show
References (from this video)
- streamlined deduction
- quick play sessions (around 20-30 minutes)
- clever use of clues to drive reasoning
- attractive artwork
- can be not as exciting for some players
- requires note-taking to track information
- hidden monster deduction
- map tiles representing habitats; a hidden monster location
- cooperative deduction with shared clues
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deduction — Players place pawns and ask yes/no questions to narrow down the cryptid's location; information is revealed through responses and markers.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a really streamlined clever deduction game that just works
- the idea of Alexa slows it down
- HIGHLY recommend this game
- not for me
References (from this video)
- Pure deduction with open access to information
- Fast-paced and accessible for new players
- Helps prevent one player from falling far behind due to shared information
- Heavy reliance on player interaction and discussion
- Limited variety beyond deduction once rules are learned
- hidden clues, deduction, exploration of a shared map.
- map-based deduction where players seek the location of a cryptid.
- open-information deduction with shared clues and player feedback.
- Clue
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deduction — Players deduce the cryptid's location based on their own clues and others' statements.
- Information sharing — On a turn, a player questions or searches, revealing new information to all players.
- spatial reasoning — Players consider spaces on a map and terrain types to constrain the cryptid's possible location.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is kind of a pure deduction game where you and the other players are trying to deduce the location of this elusive crypted creature
- the ghost is going to pick one to be the true solution and the ghost uh puts out three cards
- it's a very great presentation bursting with theme and really giving that feeling of being a detective
- the game is driven by an app which allows you to scan different things around the table
- it's up to the Chisel to determine which of the responses is given to that player
References (from this video)
- Makes players feel clever
- Engaging table-wide interaction
- Meaningful turns
- Cryptozoology
- Wilderness
- Collaborative deduction
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Yes/No questioning — Players answer questions about their clue without directly sharing it
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Deduction isn't just a mechanic, it's a mindset
- These eight games prove that a well-constructed puzzle can be just as thrilling as any war
References (from this video)
- strong deduction
- streamlined and approachable
- depends on player interaction; some may find it niche
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deduction with hidden rules — Players deduce the monster's location by discovering each player's private rule on terrain spaces.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- mind was a big hit for me in 2018
- this is the second Wolfgang Warsch game
- Gloomhaven really did blow me away
- absolutely genius mechanisms