The nameless ones stir, taking forms that are familiar to us, but refracted through a lens different to the one we usually use. Welcome to the world of Mythos, which isn’t your usual Cthulhu

Words by Christopher John Eggett

H.P. Lovecraft is a mysterious and ominous wellspring of strange and corrupting light for analogue gaming. It’s well used too. From the paranormal detective work of Call of Cthulhu, to the huge plastic monsters of games like Cthulhu: Death May Die, there’s a fascination with what makes these weird horror stories click in our heads.

And so comes Mythos, a skirmish level miniatures game inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, but with more direct conflict. While there’s plenty of combat in other games, there’s a focus on the mysterious monsters and unspeakable evils we’re facing being beyond comprehension – and the players themselves being entirely unmatched. Here, in this game from Warcradle Studios, we’re playing as factions in a Lovecraftian world where things are a little more evenly balanced.

Chris Pond, assistant studio director at Warcradle, introduces us to Mythos in the context of other skirmish games, “It’s a very narrative led game that allows people to really tell a story on the tabletop. I suppose what really sets it apart from other games is the fact that it’s a horror based Cthulhu game set in the 1920s. There are different ways that you can experiment within the world of H. P. Lovecraft’s mythos and you know, some of them are more pulpy, typical investigative, games. What we have here is more high adventure. It’s revolved around conflict, it’s got physical conflict at its heart.”

While Pulp Cthulhu might be the pin-up for punching things with tentacles for mouths in the RPG world, there’s something refreshing about being dropped directly into the action as we are in Mythos. We’re all used to having to actually find the cultist first, you know, before punching them. There may be monster hunting factions, but that’s just the start of how all of these creatures from Lovecraftian lore have trickled into this game. While there may be cultistpunching, but there’s also a strong chance that you’re playing the cultists trying to summon their nameless masters. Or, alternatively, a giant crab.