NOMINEE - KENNERSPIEL DES JAHRES 2022

You've studied the footage, connected the dots, and gathered what meagre evidence you could. You're close - soon the whole world will know the truth behind the Cryptid. A group of like-minded cryptozoologists have come together to finally uncover the elusive creature, but the glory of discovery is too rich to share. Without giving away some of what you know you will never succeed in locating the beast, but reveal too much and your name will be long forgotten!

Cryptid is a unique deduction game of honest misdirection in which players must try to uncover information about their opponent's clues while throwing them off the scent of their own. Each player holds one piece of evidence to help them find the creature, and on their turn they can try to gain more information from their opponents. Be warned - give too much away and your opponents might beat you to the mysterious animal and claim the glory for themselves!

The game includes a modular board, five clue books, and a deck of setup cards with hundreds of possible setups across two difficulty levels. It is also supported by an entirely optional digital companion, allowing for faster game setup and a near-infinite range of puzzles.

Number of players: 3-5
Ages: 10+
Time: 30-50 minutes
Components: 5 player booklets, 6 board pieces, 60 cards, tokens & counters

Ruth Veevers is a computer scientist and board game enthusiast living in Norwich, UK. Hal Duncan has been playing board games in Norwich for a decade and designing them for less, with a love of tricky deduction games. Cryptid is the first published design for both Ruth & Hal.

Kwanchai Moriya is a prolific illustrator and graphic designer based in Los Angeles, primarily working with board games and children's books. Beloved for his versatility, playful style, and striking colours, he's known for titles such as Dinosaur Island, Under Falling Skies, Cryptid, and many more.