Cryptic Explorers is an occult themed board game on Kickstarter that was seemingly made by two guys in a basement listening to Candlemass that said, “We should totally make a game about this.” Metal pop-culture has spawned metal themed beer, coffee, movies, and video games, so why not a board game? Perhaps it is just my life but it seems that metal fandom and intensive board gaming tend to overlap in the the venn diagram of social interaction. Perhaps it is because both classes spend their youth in dark, semi-furnished basements.
As the Kickstarter pages states: Cryptic Explorers has all the depth and asymmetrical overlord-vs-heroes play of a dungeon crawler like Descent, combined with squad-based tactics and unit customization (similar to XCOM), all rendered in a malevolent sci-fi / death metal / horror aesthetic. It all has a very dark, Lovecraft-ian vibe to it that would go great with some Sleep, King Diamond, or Venom playing in the background.
The game is for 2-4 players wherein one player is The Deity of Death, attempting the stop the other plays at all costs. The other player(s) are customizable Cryptonauts who have entered the Realm of Death to steal occult knowledge. The Deity of Death sumons monsters and casts spells while the Cryptonauts travel through the board and attempt to return to Earth. This looks like a fun game and I really hope that their Kickstarter meets its goal.
