Decrypt is a cooperative deduction board game for 2-4 players where you fight monsters, complete quests, and loot the crypt. Using a Clue-inspired deduction system, players must figure out which items exploit each monster’s weaknesses while managing their resources and health.
The deduction system in Decrypt requires players to determine which three items are needed to defeat each monster. Each player knows the weaknesses of their assigned monster but cannot directly share this information. Players receive feedback on how many correct items they used during combat, allowing them to narrow down the possibilities through trial and error. Players are encouraged to share their trials, deductions, and theories with one another.
The game is played on a modular board, where you construct the dungeon tile by tile, creating a unique crypt layout in every game. The game’s second phase begins when players find the staircase, flipping the board to reveal the Catacombs. This new level increases the difficulty, with stronger monsters, higher rewards, and specific objectives such as rescuing a damsel or defeating bosses.
The "Stands" system ties health, inventory, and armor into one mechanic, requiring players to make strategic choices about what to carry and what to leave behind. Each character token has three slots which can hold armor, coins, chests, and more. These not only affect your armor value, but are used as your character's health. Each time a character takes damage they remove one of their stands. When no stands remain, they are sent back to the start of the Crypt.
—description from the designer