written by jeff tidball
published by atlas games
$45.00
1 game board, 1 rule book, 112 cards, 384 counters & 2 dice

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

It was all I could say as my Satanic Pushcart screamed towards the finish line at Rl'yeh to win the Mythos 500.

Cults Across America is The Board Game of Cthulhoid Domination by Atlas Games. With three different game variants and multiple winning conditions, the replay value on this game is high, as well as hilarious.

What do you get? As I cracked open the box, I was pleased to read a thorough, well-written rulebook. As I read the rules aloud, questions were asked by the other players only to have them immediately answered. That's what I call a good rulebook. On the game board is a map of the U.S. showing most major cities as well as Rl'yeh and the Dreamlands. The artwork on the board is good but the pencil coloring does detract from an otherwise attractive job. The real bane of my gaming of existence was soon to follow: I lifted up the thin, cardboard game board to find Chits!! Chits are enough to blast my sanity into the void, and what made it worse was the lack of bags or a container to put the chits in. If you are going to produce a board game, please provide containers! Finally, the game has a large stack of cards that add a certain element of chaos - thus increasing your enjoyment of the game. The cards can be used two ways: as directed by their instructions or they can be saved and used in a Risk-like fashion for new cultists.

There are three different game variants: The Standard Game, The Strategic Game and The Bloodbath Scenario. The Standard Game is the "normal" game and can be won in three different ways. A Hands Across America victory requires you to control cities from one coast of the U.S. to the other and control the President. A Victory Point victory requires you to gain 10 victory points. Finally, you can just wipe out all the other cults. The Strategic Game removes the Victory Point victory while the Bloodbath Scenario, well you can guess how you win that one. My personal recommendation is to play The Standard Game but applaud Mr. Tidball for factoring in other methods of game play. In fact, some of my game group preferred The Strategic Game. However, I guess not everyone prefers to race flaming shopping carts into the Pacific Ocean. I recommendation playing the Bloodbath Scenario first in two player games; until we had some of the strategies down, the game ended too quickly.

The number of players determines the number of starting cultist cells, and like Risk, players take turns placing their cultist on the map. Cultists may then move and attack other cultist. Finally, money is given to players to buy equipment, new cultists, more cards and to influence initiative dice rolls.

Everyone I played with loved the humor and variety in game play. The biggest hit of the game however was the name stand provided at the back of the rulebook. The name stand is for naming your cult and placing a message to those that oppose you. It is easy to copy and cut out and is my belief that anyone playing the game should be forced to use it.

Now, I had no problem with chit artwork - the inability to easily determine the difference between cultist cells and high priest on the chits was aggravating. And while everyone thoroughly enjoyed the game, most people balked when I ` mentioned the price was $45. For that kind of money, a sturdier board would have been nice (and of course I would like to see chit containers). ,

Atlas Games has produced another winner with Cults Across America. This light-hearted game of global domination and outer gods is fun to play if only to say "My High Priest driving the Big Honkin' Truck summons a Hunting Horror to attack." Or maybe I have a strange idea of fun. However, if you are like me and love all things Cthulhu then you will want to pick up this game immediately. If the price is a detriment then I recommend throwing in with a couple of friends. But I think that once you play Cults Across America, you will want to own your own copy.

"Neither the designer nor Atlas Games condones real-life cultism, violence, extra-dimensional creature summoning, weapon purchase or manufacture, biological warfare, the plague, veneration of relics, or armed combat in the streets."

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