# Cthulhu: Dark Providence ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2025 - **BGG Rating**: 7.5 - **BGG Rank**: #3795 - **Players**: 1-5 (Best with: 5) - **Duration**: 90-120 min - **Weight**: 3.26 / 5 - **Designers**: Martin Wallace, Travis R. Chance - **Artists**: Anders Finér - **Publishers**: CMON Global Limited, Galápagos Jogos, HIT Games, Portal Games, Reflexshop, Rexhry - **Categories**: Horror - **Mechanics**: Area Majority / Influence, Deck, Bag, and Pool Building, Delayed Purchase, Hand Management, Hidden Roles, Open Drafting, Point to Point Movement, Solo / Solitaire Game, Variable Set-up ## Verdict If you enjoy solid deck-building with twists and hidden roles in the Cthulhu universe, Dark Providence is a delightful plate of intrigue and cosmic horror!Robust deck-building mechanicIntriguing hidden rolesDark, immersive settingChallenging solo modeHigh strategic replayabilityDirect player interactionInitial learning curveModerate language dependencyRECOMMENDED ## Description In Cthulhu: Dark Providence, dive into a competitive and grim setting, within the Cthulhu: Death May Die universe, during the Great Depression in the United States. Players take on very distinct secret roles: Investigators, who fight against corruption; Cultists, who seek to twist the nation with the help of beings from other dimensions; or Dissidents, who act on their own, sabotaging both sides. The big challenge is to keep your identity hidden, as it defines how you will score at the end of the game. Forget cooperation, here it's every player for themselves (or their secret faction!). During the game, you'll use Influence cubes to bid for Asset cards, control cities, and collect Mythos cards. The heart of the game is deck building: everyone starts with a basic set of 10 cards, but acquiring new Asset cards is essential to strengthen your deck, expand your actions, and resources. You'll sway Agents, assassinate those of your opponents, seek help from Mythos cards, block other players, and seal or protect Gates to accumulate Victory Points. In the end, victory smiles only upon the player with the most Victory Points from the side that dominates the battle. And if you enjoy solo play, Dark Providence also offers a single-player version, where you, as an Investigator, face one of six Elder Ones, each with unique goals and characteristics to corrupt the nation. It's a deep dive into cosmic horror with plenty of strategy and secrets! ## How to Play Goal of the Game In Cthulhu: Dark Providence, 1 to 5 players take on secret roles of Investigators, Cultists, or Dissidents in a battle for the fate of a country during the Great Depression. The objective is to compete for control of Cities, claim Asset Cards, and win Mythos Cards to accumulate Victory Points (VP). Each player's Loyalty determines how they score points. Investigators seek to avoid ruin by closing Portals and advancing on the Investigation Track. Cultists seek darkness by opening Portals and advancing on the Ritual Track. Dissidents act against both sides but must keep their identity secret to avoid penalties. Setup Follow the steps below to set up the game: Place the Game Board and the Track Board on the table. Place the Ritual and Investigation markers in their starting spaces on their respective tracks. Place the Sanity and Insanity tokens in the Sanity Test Bag. Prepare the City Asset Cards deck (face up to the right of the track board). Shuffle the Primary Asset Cards. Place cards face down in the 12 Cities (3 cards per city for 2-3 players; 4 cards for 4-5 players). Reveal the top card of each city; if it is an Agent, place the corresponding token on it. Place the remaining Primary Asset Cards in the Supply. Shuffle the Mythos Cards and create the Mythos Row (3 cards for 2-3 players; 4 cards for 4-5 players). Each Player: Chooses a color and takes the Player Board, Control Tokens, Frames, and 7 Influence Cubes. Chooses a Main Agent, takes their Starting Asset Cards, shuffles them, and draws 5 cards. Places the Main Agent in the Frame (normal side up). Places 1 Influence Cube on the 0 space of the VP Track. Distribute the Loyalty Cards face down. Each player looks at their card without revealing it. Place each player's Main Agent in a City Space of their choice (that does not have another agent). Gameplay Flow The game proceeds in turns, clockwise. During a player's turn, the structure is as follows: Actions: The player performs 2 Actions and any number of Free Actions they possess. Discard: After resolving an action, used cards go to the Discard Pile on the player's board. Draw: The player draws cards from their deck until they have 5 cards in hand. If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck. Actions and How to Play Actions may require the use of Asset card resources. A card can be used for a single type of resource, for an Action effect, or for a Free Action effect. Main Actions Add Influence: Play 1 or more Asset cards with the Influence symbol to add cubes to the personal supply for a Primary Asset Card, City Space, or Mythos Card. Claim (only on the 1st Action): The player uses their first action to claim a Primary Asset Card, Mythos Card, or City in which they have the most Influence. If there is a Lock, claiming is impossible. Recover Influence: Play cards with the wealth symbol to recover Influence Cubes located in City Spaces, Mythos Cards, Primary Asset Cards, or in the Limbo. Buy Influence: Play cards with the wealth symbol to gain Influence Cubes from the general supply to your personal supply (ratio of 1 cube for every 2 played). Travel: Play cards with the movement symbol to move Agents or Abyssals through connected routes, paying the route's Influence cost. Manipulate Ritual/Investigation: Play cards to increase or decrease the Ritual Track or the Investigation Track. Card Action: Playing an Asset card or Mythos Card to perform its Action effect. Assassinate: If you have an Agent in the same city as an opponent's Agent, you may attempt to assassinate them by matching or exceeding the City Control Value. Open or Close a Portal: Use an Agent to open or close a Portal, matching the Portal Value with Influence. Requires a Sanity Test. Place or Remove Lock: Use a card with the Lock symbol to block or unlock a card or city. Discard Cards: Discard any number of cards from your hand to the Discard Pile. Reveal Loyalty: If Loyalty has not yet been revealed and the player has enough VP for the end of the game, they may reveal it to gain immediate points. Pass Turn: End the turn without performing actions. Sanity Test Whenever claiming a card with the Sanity Test icon or opening/closing a Portal, the player must: Draw 1 Sanity Test Token from the bag. Place the token in the Sanity area of their board. If you draw an Insanity Token and accumulate 3, the player is Driven to Insanity. End of Game and Scoring The game ends when one of the End of Game Conditions occurs: A player reaches the required VP (33 for 2 players; 30 for 3; 26 for 4; 22 for 5). A player gains their 3rd Recruited Agent and reveals their Loyalty as an Investigator or Dissident. A player's Main Agent is assassinated. The Ritual or Investigation marker reaches the last space. The Primary Asset card action of the Abyssals is played and all 8 Abyssals are in play. Scoring General Scoring: All players gain 3 VP if their Loyalty was not revealed during the game. Then, everyone reveals their Loyalties. Investigators: Score VP based on the progress on the Investigation Track, the value of the Portal they closed, and for each Recruited Agent claimed with Investigator VP. Cultists: Score VP based on the progress on the Ritual Track, for each Agent assassinated in their Crypt, the value of the Portal they opened, for each Mythos Card claimed, and the number of Wraith Agents they control. Dissidents: Score VP based on the progress on their old loyalty track, the value of the Portal they control, and for each Agent assassinated. They suffer -3 VP if their Loyalty was revealed before the end. Determining the Winner Eliminate all players of the same Loyalty as the player with the lowest amount of VP. Among the remaining, the player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie for the highest score, the player with the most Mythos Cards wins. Tips for Winning Consult the manual for details on this section. ## FAQ ### How many players can participate in Cthulhu: Dark Providence? The game is designed for 1 to 5 players, including a very interesting solo mode for when you want to face the horrors alone! ### What is the average duration of a game? Prepare for sessions ranging from 90 to 120 minutes. It's a game with a lot of strategy, so the time is well spent. ### What is the complexity level of the game? It's considered medium-high complexity (BGG weight of 3.2571/5). It has several intertwined mechanics, but nothing that a few plays won't clarify to get the hang of it. ### Do I need to know Cthulhu: Death May Die to play? It's not mandatory! Although it shares the universe, Dark Providence is a standalone game with its own mechanics and objectives. Familiarity with the theme can enrich the experience, but it's not a prerequisite. ### Does the game have a lot of player interaction? Yes, quite a lot! With hidden roles and disputes over areas and cards, interaction is constant. You'll constantly be trying to read your opponents and sabotage their plans, or at least be suspicious of them! ### What are the main components of the game? You'll find a board with cities, Influence cubes, many Asset and Mythos cards for deck building, and specific components for agents and gates. 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