Chaos of Cthulhu

The Brief

There’s no shortage of H.P. Lovecraft inspired games in the world, so we wanted to make one that was different than the rest using a dice mechanic developed by Darth Rimmer. Instead of making a game about cultists, detectives, and reporters hunting the unknown, we wanted to make a game about dumb kids playing with evil monsters and making each other go mad in the process. What came out was Chaos of Cthulhu. It’s kind of like a Rubik’s cube dice fighter. This game was successfully Kickstarted in Fall of 2015, and manufacturing was completed in April of 2016.

Project Details

Client: Imp House LLC
Date: Oct 2015
Skills: Art Direction, Graphic Design, Game Design, Project Management
View: imphouse.com

Of Old Ones and Elder Beings

The shapeshifting dice mechanic paired with an art style usually seen in comic books added something new to the Lovecraft game table. I worked with an amazing artist from Malaysia who created 24 different Elder Beings and Old Ones for the dice. The tough part was confining these odd monsters to a cross shape, so their bodies could be chopped up and placed onto 5 different dice.

Dice

The dice were a big design and management challenge. There are 24 different monsters in the game. The monster’s body parts are made up from 5 different dice. There are 4 different sets of 5 dice in the game. Since each set has 6 monsters, and each die face is made of a different body part, this meant that each set has 30 unique faces. When you multiply that by 4, that’s 120 different faces to keep sorted and on track.

Packaging

I conceived a box that would share the humorous, monstrous energy waiting inside with someone that just picked it up off the shelf. When the player opens up the box for the first time, they’re greeted with the Necronomicon rule book, tokens of offerings and madness, and then nestled underneath is a black tray that comfortably holds each of the Elder Dice sets.

Screens, Matts, and Chits

Strategy and secrecy is important part of this game. To aide in the monster battle ahead, I designed player mats and tokens that helps each player plan and execute their attacks and defense for each round. To keep your plans “hush hush” there is a secrecy screen to block the views of prying eyes.

Rulebook

The Necronomicon is infamous in the Lovecraft mythos and a integral part of the Chaos of Cthulhu story, so it was important to use the rule book in a similar way as it is portrayed in the comic. As players read through the storyboard comic at the beginning of the book, then move on to the set up, and then rules, it progresses in a similar arc to the comic at the beginning.

The Story

Chaos of Cthulhu has some unique mechanics that most Lovecraft gamers haven’t experienced before. I decided the best way to get players in the right mindset before learning how to play was to create a comic that set up the story. The comic is used at the beginning of the rulebook, and I also animated it for the Kickstarter video.