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Game Info
Year
2007
Players
3-6
Age
14+
Playtime
90 min
Collection
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
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Description
"Without teamwork, you will never survive. Without betrayal, you’ll never win."
Cutthroat Caverns is played over 9 rounds, each with a random encounter. Essentially a game of 'kill stealing'. Each round, any monster encountered will have a prestige value of 1 through 6. The player that successfully jockeys for position and lands the killing blow gets the prestige value for the encounter. Some encounters will not have a specific monster, such as a trap room for the heroes to pass through (and in this case, earning no prestige). The surviving player with the most prestige after the 9 encounters is the winner. If the players do not survive all 9 encounters, no one wins the game.
A unique combination of cooperative game play and opportunistic backstabbing.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 2 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video eyZu4HWeF6Q
Watch It Played Playthrough
video_pk 68706 · mention_pk 164986
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
No quotes stored for this video.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video XC2Vg_1L9ZE
Analysis at 2:50 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 66536 · mention_pk 162159
Click to watch at 2:50 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Survival is required but it is not enough.
Cons
- Players cannot attack each other directly.
- Constant micro sabotage.
- Argument about sequencing lasted longer than the entire game.
Thematic elements
- Cooperative survival turning darker with a focus on individual prestige
- Dungeon crawl
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — Players need to work together to survive increasingly dangerous encounters.
- hand management — Players must manage their cards carefully.
- Prestige system — Only the player who delivers the killing blow earns prestige for that defeat.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- There is a specific kind of silence that falls over a game table when somebody realizes they have just been completely, deliberately, and systematically destroyed by somebody they trusted.
- Mean games are a genre unto themselves.
- The person sitting across from them smiled, played their cards just right, and had been planning it for three rounds.
- The sea serpent player maintained eye contact and smiled the whole time.
- You were never trying to save us.
- I was always trying to save myself.
- That is a different thing. It is, in fact, exactly what Nemesis is designed to produce.
- Everything is negotiable.
- The elected pope controlled by a player can excommunicate opponents.
- The traitor system is the knife at the game's heart.
- I held that card for two hours.
- That is why you committed everything.
- It is the meanest game ever designed because it is the only major board game where the primary mechanic is human trust and the primary strategy is its violation.
- Attack the east on this move and I will allow you three supply centers.
- That is diplomacy.
- This is showing me things about markets I did not want to understand.
- Since round one.
- The worst part was understanding that it had never been a competition. It had been a lesson on a schedule the teacher set before the first card was played.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video eqc-uqJNmNs
Watch It Played Discussion at 3:50 sentiment: positive
video_pk 65574 · mention_pk 159295
Click to watch at 3:50 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Expansions add more cards and content
- Expansions add new mechanics
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- heroes going into a dungeon
- dungeon
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Betrayal — at some point you have to backstab your friends
- card-driven — it's using cards
- player elimination — in the end there can only be one winner
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we don't do a lot of self-promotion on our series
- one thing that would be a big help if watching our Series has helped you uh decide that maybe a game would be good for you and you had the time and the interest uh and would like to help support us then sending an email to the publisher and letting them know about us and letting them know that that watching our series helped you make a more informed decision about their game that would be really really helpful
- we aren't reviewing games we're not just saying hey send us free games and we'll talk about them on the show and we'll give you a thumbs up or thumbs down
- looking for Publishers to partner with us financially to help support and sustain the series
- it was actually one of our viewers uh John glant wrote me on board game geek and asked you know would be all right if I came to your gaming group
- it was a lot of fun to meet one of you guys our viewers
- this is a situation where where we contacted a publisher and we're interested in them sending us a game and they agreed to do it
- at some point you have to backstab your friends
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video VCSUR485V64
watch it played Rules Teach at 0:22 sentiment: positive
video_pk 65414 · mention_pk 159081
Click to watch at 0:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Each game features new and different combinations of encounters.
- Strategic depth in deciding when to attack and when to hold back.
- Item cards offer unique abilities and ways to interact.
Cons
- Player elimination is possible.
- Can be cutthroat due to the nature of claiming the final treasure.
- Potential for alliances to form and break.
Thematic elements
- Heroes trying to claim a treasure of untold power while facing obstacles and potential betrayal.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — Players must work together to defeat encounters.
- hand management — Players draw cards and must decide which ones to play as attacks, actions, or items, with a maximum hand size of seven.
- Initiative tracking — Players draw initiative cards to determine turn order each round.
- Modular board — Nine random encounters are selected each game, leading to different combinations.
- player elimination — Heroes can be eliminated from the game if they take too much damage.
- set collection — Players collect encounter cards and potentially tokens as prestige points.
- take that — Action cards can be played out of turn to interfere with other players' attacks.
- Variable player powers — Special attack cards are tied to specific characters, which can be played at enhanced values if the player controls that character.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Without teamwork you'll never survive without betrayal you'll never win
- Learning when to strike and when to hold back is certainly part of the gameplay
- You can think of special attacks as being protected in this way
- We'll call this cutthroat caverns for nothing
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video w2w-KHp4UtA
watch it played Discussion at 3:58
video_pk 65410 · mention_pk 159074
Click to watch at 3:58 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- So, this way we get a variety of different voices and opinions. everyone can participate and hopefully we all learn a little something.
- I will play each game in my collection at least once.
- Not sell for my own personal gain, but give away.
- So, right now, my entire collection is in jeopardy of leaving my home at the end of this year.
- Really, the the spirit and intention behind it is that I like the games I have, and I don't want them to just be a moratorum on the things I've bought over time. I want to enjoy the games I have, and and sometimes all the new and flashy stuff can keep you from enjoying the stuff that you really do like.
- Half games don't count.
- Digital plays don't count.
- So, my feeling is that this really just applies to to board games and and card games. You can sit down and and play in an evening.
- Speculation. Within a few years, many infranchised gamers will no longer value endless replayability as a top selling point.
- Do we really value game replayability or do we buy a game, play it a couple times, and then set it aside for the next thing, but then claim if the game didn't have the potential for replayability, it somehow failed us.
- I've made a point of saying on our channel that we don't review games. And to me, picking favorites kind of felt like it went against the spirit of how I've set up the channel here.
- So, here's what I was thinking you could do. You could send an email to watchitplayed atlive.com. And in the subject heading, put game of the year 2013.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video R9QVoHzSCNU
Shelfside Review at 0:29 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 60786 · mention_pk 153239
Click to watch at 0:29 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- High replayability due to the randomized encounter deck and varied monster styles
- Tension between competing goals: accumulating points vs staying alive
- Keeps a broad group engaged; late-game point bonuses keep players in contention
- Items and action cards enable creative bluffing and sabotage
- Multiple viable victory paths (points or last-man-standing)
Cons
- Component quality and health trackers are suboptimal and slippery, leading to tracking errors
- Art direction is inconsistent and can be jarring
- Rulebook is unclear, with accessibility problems and confusing elements like Plan B
- Encounter pacing can feel off and some late-game outcomes can be anti-climactic
- Downtime can be lengthy with 4-7 players, reducing interaction between participants
Thematic elements
- Array
- Fantasy dungeon crawl in a cavern network
- Backstabbing, humorous, competitive dungeon crawl with betrayal elements
Comparison games
- City of Horror
- Munchkin
- Bloodborne
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Combat: Damage Based — Monsters have health values and are attacked by players using attack cards; monsters retaliate in initiative order.
- Encounter Deck / Randomized Encounters — A deck of encounter cards provides varied monsters and challenges for each dungeon, driving replayability.
- Event/Trap Rooms and Rider Mechanics — Encounteres include trap rooms and rider effects that modify combat or provide temporary buffs/debuffs.
- hand management — Players manage attack cards, action cards, and items to influence encounters and outcomes.
- Monster Health & Combat — Monsters have health values and are attacked by players using attack cards; monsters retaliate in initiative order.
- player elimination — If a player dies, they are out, but there is an alternate path to victory by being the last survivor.
- Player Elimination with Alternative Win Conditions — If a player dies, they are out, but there is an alternate path to victory by being the last survivor.
- Scoring / Prestige Points — Players earn prestige points for defeating monsters, with special bonuses in later rounds.
- Simultaneous action selection — Players set attack cards simultaneously and then reveal them in initiative order to resolve combat.
- Simultaneous Actions — Players set attack cards simultaneously and then reveal them in initiative order to resolve combat.
- Unique player powers — Multiple character options with different stats are dealt to players at the start.
- Variable Player Powers / Character Selection — Multiple character options with different stats are dealt to players at the start.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Cutthroat Caverns is a car driven semi cooperative dungeon crawling game for 3 to 6 players plays in about an hour
- it's wonderfully complemented by the diversity attacked and action cards
- you definitely want to screw over other people throughout the game to get points but rational players will realized that there are limits
- if you've ever been curious on how dungeon crawling will look like with adventures backside of each other for personal gain this is the game for you
- this game truly shines with four or five players
- the final three rounds provide the winner of each to those rounds with extra points
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video XWrw6s-sCow
The Broken Meeple Review at 15:02 sentiment: negative
video_pk 10002 · mention_pk 29460
Click to watch at 15:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- funny take-that concept
- requires teamwork for survival
Cons
- excessive take-that mechanics
- can make people angry
- clunky rules
- many FAQ moments
- group dependent
Thematic elements
- dungeon crawling
- D&D-like adventure
- monster slaying
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's only a game
- you're listening to the broken meeple show a podcast that speaks passionately about board games
- I am very much a cold blooded I'm a cold blooded lizard I need cold
- the top 50 has finally finished finally it's done
- there is nothing apart from it being bright and sunny there is nothing about the summer that really gets me like you know excited or interested because it's just too hot
- I look at these top 50s uh they certainly increase a bit
- there's a lot of good feedback in terms of what's up next hard to say really
- I would give it at least a seven out of 10 right now and say it's good
- the Arkham Horror games are still pretty solid and you know they're fun to play but they are definitely getting to a point where I don't think I can uh like really say that they're practical
- my tastes were new at that point you know I respected terroriser for its thiness
- I have definitely developed to want more theme in my games
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7