Cthulhu Realms White Wizard Games Star Realms has gone insane! Introducing Cthulhu Realms! Are you zany enough to play the crazier and creepier cousin of … Free Buy Now Watch Media DetailsStar Realms has gone insane! Introducing Cthulhu Realms! Are you zany enough to play the crazier and creepier cousin of Star Realms? Download and play today to find out why Cthulhu Realms is so crazily addictive! In Cthulhu Realms, each player tries to drive their opponent insane or have more sanity than their opponents when the deck runs out. "The art in Cthulhu Realms is hilarious and beautifully done, somehow complimenting the horror theme perfectly. The production value is top-notch." — Gameosity "It’s a surprisingly effective package that delivers a great little deck builder with a low price tag. If you can embrace the playful theme, you’ll find a pleasant gem in Cthulhu Realms." — Geek Ken "It certainly is not just another deck-building game, but has original and fresh mechanics that will challenge your brain." — Board Game Maniac How to Play the Game: Each player starts the game with a small deck comprised of initiates, goons and followers. Five cards from the deck form a row of available cards on the table; with more than two players, place three available cards between each pair of players. Each turn, you start with five cards in hand, playing those cards in order to put locations into play, boost your own sanity or reduce that of others, collect conjuring power to acquire new cards, and remove cards from the game. You can use the power of your locations once each turn. At the end of your turn, discard any cards still in hand and all entities and artifacts that you played. If you lose all of your sanity, you're out of the game. If you're the only one at the table who's still sane, you win. Otherwise, the game ends when the deck runs out and whoever has the most sanity wins. Darwin Kastle is the designer of the popular Star Realms Deckbuilding Game, and with the digital release of Cthulhu Realms, he once again provides tons of playability for free, and a one-time upgrade to be able play with your friends and more on any device. Free Version • Drive people insane everywhere - play across devices. • Crazyily addictive deckbuilding game. • Tutorial teaches you how to make people crazy in minutes. • Awesome, comical art. • Play VS the AI. • 8 silly campaign missions! Full Game Additional Features • Play the AI on 2 different difficulty settings. • 8 more fun campaign missions. • Battle your friends face to face with Pass and Play. • Play against many more opponents online. • Challenge a friend to online Player v Player combat Cthulhu Realms is also available at your local game store as a physical card game from Tasty Minstrel Games. Information Seller:White Wizard Games Genre:Board, Card Release:Jun 12, 2016 Updated:Sep 25, 2023 Version:1.230921.41000 Size:205.8 MB TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating: (6) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel FuriousThumbs Well-Known Member Jun 5, 2016 70 0 0 #2 FuriousThumbs, Jun 13, 2016 Ok really interested in this, anyone played it? Tinsel Well-Known Member Dec 8, 2008 508 5 18 #3 Tinsel, Jun 13, 2016 I've been playing this for a bit on the iPad now, and I also own the physical game. As far as the game itself goes, it plays similarly to Star Realms, if you are familiar with that. It is a faster paced and less strategic Ascension. (just my opinion) As far as the port goes, it is also similar to the iOS version of Star Realms. That means there is a campaign, pass and play, online matches, and skirmishes against the AI. The AI seems identical to SR, which means you might have to play a campaign mission 20 times in a row before you finally squeak a win through, or you might slaughter the AI on your first try. I will say that the campaign achievements are just as hard if not harder to achieve than SR, so campaign is not a good way to learn the game (unlike some other games), but is instead an extreme challenge. I've never been happy with the size of the cards in any of the SR versions, and they have not been improved here. Cthulhu Realms uses icons much more frequently on the cards than text, and the cards themselves are often much brighter which helps their readability. I had less problems playing this than I did with SR on the same device. However, I often can not read the names of the cards, and the artwork (which is generally very good and often amusing) doesn't have enough differences between cards that I can tell them apart immediately. This made the game a bit generic feeling since I never really learned the cards that well, and just went by colors and icons for building my plays. Overall, I like it more than Star Realms, and it is certainly worth a download as it is free (you can buy the full game if you enjoy it and they give you plenty to play for free)! I don't think my mainstays of Ascension, Duelyst, Pathfinder ACG, or ES:Legends will be repaced by it, at least not yet. drelbs Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2009 11,201 7 38 #4 drelbs, Jun 13, 2016 How differently does this play from the original Star Realms? Misguided Well-Known Member Jan 27, 2009 2,346 19 38 #5 Misguided, Jun 14, 2016 Tried to play Star Realms once and it all seemed confusing and I didn't care much for the art style, so I just didn't bother with it. Liking this so far, though. Half-decent tutorial. Campaign mode with some funny writing (mm...mustard). There are some interface quirks (e.g. Why can't I enlarge cards when I have to pick one to discard) and I wish you could turn off the camera motion when moving in to view cards (really, guys, it's terrible), but very cool aside from that. LordGek Well-Known Member Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze Feb 19, 2009 12,282 141 63 Software QA Engineer Saratoga, CA, USA #6 LordGek, Jun 14, 2016 Having now played a handful of games, the initially subtle differences between CR and SR really add up to fairly unique experiences. -CR has only 3 factions (while there are many exceptions, I've picked up on Green is your main source for card scrapping effects, Purple has lots of healing effects, and Yellow is all about drawing/discarding). -While faction synergy is still big (here's an extra effect if you've already played another card of the same faction), other cards will get their extra effects only by other special conditions being met (like if you discard this turn or scrap a card this turn). So the combos possible in this game are often inter-factional as to trigger something on a Purple card, 1 of the Green cards migt be your best bet. -An interesting change is that while the game mechanics are mostly identical to SR, the cards themselves have no text. Every mechanic in the game (draw a card, scrap a card, do 2 damage, etc.) is represented by icons on the cards. While a bit overwhelming at first, clicking on a card will give you a text translation of its effects and dependencies. After a few games the icons will become almost second nature to you. -Scrapping (now called abjuring) has both gotten more freedom and limits. If you ever find a card that lets you abjure a card, you'll always be free to choose to abjure a card from your hand, your discard pile, or the buyline. But this freedom also introduces a new big limit, you can't abjure cards over 6 cost (one of my favorite tactics in SR, just scrap that 8 cost card of a faction I know my opponent collects so he can't have it). Final odd bit, when you scrap a card it goes into a sort of limbo/void until the end of your turn. The point of this being there is at least one card that will let you recover a scrapped card you scrapped that turn. So with that scrap recovery card you could scrap a card for some extra effect and then yank it back or scrap a card from the buyline and then recover it back for free that same turn. Talbs Well-Known Member May 1, 2011 2,616 377 83 #7 Talbs, Jun 14, 2016 Awesome! Saw a trailer for this not long ago so have been anticipating. Always great to see another deck builder on IOS. Can never have too many!! ironsam80 Well-Known Member Dec 14, 2010 1,151 34 48 #8 ironsam80, Jun 14, 2016 What's the installed size? I really want to try this but running really low on space. Tinsel Well-Known Member Dec 8, 2008 508 5 18 #9 Tinsel, Jun 14, 2016 260 MB installed. drelbs Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2009 11,201 7 38 #10 drelbs, Jun 14, 2016 Thanks for the detailed analysis, Tim. I'll have to download and play a few hands when I get a chance... ironsam80 Well-Known Member Dec 14, 2010 1,151 34 48 #11 ironsam80, Jun 14, 2016 Thanks for the feedback! davidovich Well-Known Member Sep 26, 2008 299 13 18 #12 davidovich, Jun 14, 2016 Just picked this up yesterday with the IAP unlock. Just got through the tutorials. It seems like this is going to be a fun game. One thing that stands out for me is not only the online functionality (with two types -asynchronous and realtime) but, the supposedly lengthy campaign and the ability to play offline with AI opponents. As I dig deeper into the mechanics, I'll update my post to give more feedback. I'm hoping this will become a solid alternative to Hearthstone. rod- Well-Known Member Dec 12, 2012 77 0 6 #13 rod-, Jun 14, 2016 I can't help but make a crack about Darwin cloning Kibler's deck(builder) yet again. That said, I am glad they managed to turn their magic fame into actual design careers. I wanted to like this but the two tiny ways that it differentiates from Ascension (ability to attack enemy permanents and a campaign mode) didn't do enough for me, and the minor interface issue above [and the way the iconography takes up about 5% of the card despite being the only thing that matters] made it a slightly inferior experience. LordGek Well-Known Member Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze Feb 19, 2009 12,282 141 63 Software QA Engineer Saratoga, CA, USA #14 LordGek, Jun 14, 2016 Always on the lookout for more async players, please feel free to challenge me (LordGek), thanks. skoptic Well-Known Member Apr 3, 2015 634 82 28 #15 skoptic, Jun 14, 2016 I'm getting to grips with it (hell, I'm still getting to grips with Star Realms) but have sent a challenge (btw - I think you had invited me to play Ascension a while back, but I was missing one of the expansions packs so couldn't accept ) HotHamBoy Well-Known Member Feb 1, 2015 204 4 16 #16 HotHamBoy, Jun 14, 2016 I really wish they had gone a different direction with the art.... LordGek Well-Known Member Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze Feb 19, 2009 12,282 141 63 Software QA Engineer Saratoga, CA, USA #17 LordGek, Jun 16, 2016 Last edited: Jun 17, 2016 Anybody else not get the avatar for completing the Chapter 1 of the campaign (Easy) once they cleared all of the missions? I haven't cleared all of the achievements, but as there is another avatar related to that, I assumed just clearing all 8 missions was supposed to earn me something. Nevermind, after completing my next online match it showed up (not sure how the 1 were connected but at least it's working in a round about way). Thrak360 Member Sep 10, 2012 15 0 0 #18 Thrak360, Jun 17, 2016 This is an annoyance for me. Until I can recognize all the cards on a tiny iPhone screen, I guess. A couple instances today where I had to discard 1 or 2 cards from my hand, which did not have Goon/Initiate/Follower cards at that time. So just blindly chose what to discard. ZS77 Well-Known Member May 8, 2015 566 2 18 #19 ZS77, Jun 17, 2016 Can anyone comment on what the single player campaign is like please - is there any depth/progression/interaction or is it just a thinly veiled attempt at providing narrative to tie several games in succession together? SharpCarlos Well-Known Member Jan 23, 2010 49 0 6 #20 SharpCarlos, Jun 18, 2016 It IS just a series of matches (no branching story paths, no persistent upgrade rewards), BUT they don't all follow typical rules or setup. Like, you and/or your opponent start with some of the non-starting cards in your deck, or there are slightly different rules (draw a card every time you play a location, for instance). Sometimes these variations serve to make you alter your play style, and other times they're specifically to make the match more difficult (like allowing the AI to automatically trigger effects even without meeting the prerequisites). In addition, there are three optional objectives in each mission (like, win the game with more green cards in your deck than your opponent). These can be pretty challenging, and add to the replay value if you're into the whole "100% completion" thing. (You must log in or sign up to post here.) Show Ignored Content Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 Next > Share This Page Tweet Your name or email address: Password: Forgot your password? Stay logged in
I've been playing this for a bit on the iPad now, and I also own the physical game. As far as the game itself goes, it plays similarly to Star Realms, if you are familiar with that. It is a faster paced and less strategic Ascension. (just my opinion) As far as the port goes, it is also similar to the iOS version of Star Realms. That means there is a campaign, pass and play, online matches, and skirmishes against the AI. The AI seems identical to SR, which means you might have to play a campaign mission 20 times in a row before you finally squeak a win through, or you might slaughter the AI on your first try. I will say that the campaign achievements are just as hard if not harder to achieve than SR, so campaign is not a good way to learn the game (unlike some other games), but is instead an extreme challenge. I've never been happy with the size of the cards in any of the SR versions, and they have not been improved here. Cthulhu Realms uses icons much more frequently on the cards than text, and the cards themselves are often much brighter which helps their readability. I had less problems playing this than I did with SR on the same device. However, I often can not read the names of the cards, and the artwork (which is generally very good and often amusing) doesn't have enough differences between cards that I can tell them apart immediately. This made the game a bit generic feeling since I never really learned the cards that well, and just went by colors and icons for building my plays. Overall, I like it more than Star Realms, and it is certainly worth a download as it is free (you can buy the full game if you enjoy it and they give you plenty to play for free)! I don't think my mainstays of Ascension, Duelyst, Pathfinder ACG, or ES:Legends will be repaced by it, at least not yet.
Tried to play Star Realms once and it all seemed confusing and I didn't care much for the art style, so I just didn't bother with it. Liking this so far, though. Half-decent tutorial. Campaign mode with some funny writing (mm...mustard). There are some interface quirks (e.g. Why can't I enlarge cards when I have to pick one to discard) and I wish you could turn off the camera motion when moving in to view cards (really, guys, it's terrible), but very cool aside from that.
Having now played a handful of games, the initially subtle differences between CR and SR really add up to fairly unique experiences. -CR has only 3 factions (while there are many exceptions, I've picked up on Green is your main source for card scrapping effects, Purple has lots of healing effects, and Yellow is all about drawing/discarding). -While faction synergy is still big (here's an extra effect if you've already played another card of the same faction), other cards will get their extra effects only by other special conditions being met (like if you discard this turn or scrap a card this turn). So the combos possible in this game are often inter-factional as to trigger something on a Purple card, 1 of the Green cards migt be your best bet. -An interesting change is that while the game mechanics are mostly identical to SR, the cards themselves have no text. Every mechanic in the game (draw a card, scrap a card, do 2 damage, etc.) is represented by icons on the cards. While a bit overwhelming at first, clicking on a card will give you a text translation of its effects and dependencies. After a few games the icons will become almost second nature to you. -Scrapping (now called abjuring) has both gotten more freedom and limits. If you ever find a card that lets you abjure a card, you'll always be free to choose to abjure a card from your hand, your discard pile, or the buyline. But this freedom also introduces a new big limit, you can't abjure cards over 6 cost (one of my favorite tactics in SR, just scrap that 8 cost card of a faction I know my opponent collects so he can't have it). Final odd bit, when you scrap a card it goes into a sort of limbo/void until the end of your turn. The point of this being there is at least one card that will let you recover a scrapped card you scrapped that turn. So with that scrap recovery card you could scrap a card for some extra effect and then yank it back or scrap a card from the buyline and then recover it back for free that same turn.
Awesome! Saw a trailer for this not long ago so have been anticipating. Always great to see another deck builder on IOS. Can never have too many!!
Thanks for the detailed analysis, Tim. I'll have to download and play a few hands when I get a chance...
Just picked this up yesterday with the IAP unlock. Just got through the tutorials. It seems like this is going to be a fun game. One thing that stands out for me is not only the online functionality (with two types -asynchronous and realtime) but, the supposedly lengthy campaign and the ability to play offline with AI opponents. As I dig deeper into the mechanics, I'll update my post to give more feedback. I'm hoping this will become a solid alternative to Hearthstone.
I can't help but make a crack about Darwin cloning Kibler's deck(builder) yet again. That said, I am glad they managed to turn their magic fame into actual design careers. I wanted to like this but the two tiny ways that it differentiates from Ascension (ability to attack enemy permanents and a campaign mode) didn't do enough for me, and the minor interface issue above [and the way the iconography takes up about 5% of the card despite being the only thing that matters] made it a slightly inferior experience.
I'm getting to grips with it (hell, I'm still getting to grips with Star Realms) but have sent a challenge (btw - I think you had invited me to play Ascension a while back, but I was missing one of the expansions packs so couldn't accept )
Anybody else not get the avatar for completing the Chapter 1 of the campaign (Easy) once they cleared all of the missions? I haven't cleared all of the achievements, but as there is another avatar related to that, I assumed just clearing all 8 missions was supposed to earn me something. Nevermind, after completing my next online match it showed up (not sure how the 1 were connected but at least it's working in a round about way).
This is an annoyance for me. Until I can recognize all the cards on a tiny iPhone screen, I guess. A couple instances today where I had to discard 1 or 2 cards from my hand, which did not have Goon/Initiate/Follower cards at that time. So just blindly chose what to discard.
Can anyone comment on what the single player campaign is like please - is there any depth/progression/interaction or is it just a thinly veiled attempt at providing narrative to tie several games in succession together?
It IS just a series of matches (no branching story paths, no persistent upgrade rewards), BUT they don't all follow typical rules or setup. Like, you and/or your opponent start with some of the non-starting cards in your deck, or there are slightly different rules (draw a card every time you play a location, for instance). Sometimes these variations serve to make you alter your play style, and other times they're specifically to make the match more difficult (like allowing the AI to automatically trigger effects even without meeting the prerequisites). In addition, there are three optional objectives in each mission (like, win the game with more green cards in your deck than your opponent). These can be pretty challenging, and add to the replay value if you're into the whole "100% completion" thing.
