Pyramid Review
Cthulhu Mash
Published by Evil Polish Brothers
Design and Graphics by David M. Niecikowski
Rules by John P. Niecikowski
Art by Donald Mickler
Boxed set: 16 geomorphic board tiles; four character cards, character stand-ups, and character plastic stands; 64 monster and generator tiles; 88 objects and traps; 80 health and sanity counters; four dice (2d6, 1d8, 1d10); rulebook (all but the rules in full color) $30.00
Once upon a time, Chaosium's Arkham Horror was the only good way to get your Lovecraft fix in board game form. With Cthulhu Mash from Evil Polish Brothers, the mythos come to life once again.
A quartet of adventurers has come loose in time and space. The four antiheroes -- the 1920s gumshoe, the Arctic explorer, the mariner merchant, and the psychotherapist -- have all found themselves in a crazy pastiche of a world. Here, the Plateau of Leng sits next to the Mi-Go moon base, which in turn empties into the Miskatonic University Library. These areas are infested with gateways that are allowing the usual slate of Things Man Was Not Meant to Know out of their cages and into our world . . . and the next . . . and the next . . .
The object of the game is to visit each world (represented by individual tiles), close the gates, and kill any monsters that have been released.
The different characters you can play each have different powers or abilities that help them try to regain control of things. The mariner can parry attacks, and her albatross companion will scout the area. . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: January 30, 2004
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