Achtung! Cthulhu by Modiphius

Game Review

Seth Stauffer

The Dunkirk evacuation is one of World War 2’s most famous moments. People were trapped by German forces on a French beach, hoping against hope for rescue. When a fleet of naval and civilian vessels finally arrived to rescue almost 340,000 Allied troops, it was nothing short of heroic. Of course, the elder gods care for none of that and Achtung! Cthulu’s Start Set by Modiphius presents another layer to this famous episode. Players will need to work together as a covert strike force to quash the plans of occult Nazi groups bent on harnessing strange powers. It’s no small task!

The box set includes tokens, maps, pre-generated characters, a simplified and easy-to-navigate rule book, and a mission. Reading through the material, there weren’t many holes in the available content, and it’s only 20 pages long.  I didn’t find myself flipping back and forth in the book to figure things out, nor was I overwhelmed by the quantity of information. What people need to be introduced to the game is present.

Even if they have no ttrpg experience, the mission, Among the Wolves, is an annotated three-part module with references to where one can find rules or advice to ensure people don’t feel lost while running the game. This kind of hand-holding is perfect in a starter set and will go a long way to calming people if this is their first experience with the game. 

Don’t think this mission is simple because it’s for beginners! It will push the players in a variety of ways. Fighting and action are present, but so are espionage and planning. All of the players will be able to participate meaningfully.

Something that may have strengthened this product could be more depth to the rules. There’s not much in the starter set that shows how the complete book picks up where the starter rules leave off. Larger explanations of other non-player characters, lore, magic, equipment and so on are conspicuously absent. I’m not saying it should have been in the starter set, rather it should have been mentioned, perhaps in sidebars, what was in the complete game. Since this set is an advertisement for the larger game, the absence of the differences weakens the sales pitch. An experienced player will understand the differences, but a new gamer might not realize what they’re not getting in the starter set. By contrast, this is a strong enough product on its own that if I didn’t know any better I’d say that this was a game unto itself.Ultimately, this is a fun one-off. While it wasn’t entirely clear why a person should buy the complete game, it is a strong product all on its own. I would happily bring this to a convention with the confidence that the game would be accessible to just about anyone sitting at the table. Even one-third of the module would likely be enough. It’s just right to familiarize people with how the game works. This is recommended for anyone curious about the game, or who likes to have no-fuss content with clear parameters.

Link: https://modiphius.net/products/acthung-cthulhu-2d20-starter-set