Sticky Cthulhu Review

As a reimplementation of an older game goes (in this case, Sticky Chamelons), swapping a lizard tongue for a tentacle gets an approving nod round these parts – because it makes decent sense.

So in this outing you play as one of the (surprisingly sticky) tentacles of Cthulhu, which are made of a kind of extremely stretchy rubberised jelly, and use these to pick up the right colour and combo of token from the centre of the play area as described by the dice. Aim your suckers carefully however, as picking up investigators can cause you problems. The other problem is that as you collect Deep One tokens you’ll be given further physical impediments to the way you use your tentacle, on one leg for example.

So it’s pretty silly, and it always feels like the dice roller is at a disadvantage, which feels fair in that they’re only rolling the dice as they got the last point. It’s exactly as tentacle tangling frustrating as you expect too – which you can only really get from this kind of dexterity game. It’s not going to be your go to game for a whole evening, but as something to get people on their feet, away from the stodge of too many snacks, it’s a winner.

But the real question on your mind is, how long do the sticky bits stay sticky? The bane of any game with components like these is that once the stickiness goes so does the fun. Luckily, despite our reservations, giving them a good wash and air dry after a game gets them back to 90% stickiness, which is an impressive resurrection – even for an Old One. It’s also a pretty funny addition to your clothes horse.

Christoper John Eggett

PLAY IT? YES

Designer: Cédric Barbé & Théo Rivière

Publisher: IELLO

Time: 15 minutes

Players: 2-6

Ages: 6+

Price: £17

This article originally appeared in issue 57 of Tabletop Gaming. Pick up the latest issue of the UK's fastest-growing gaming magazine in print or digital here or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.

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