2-4 Players
1-3 Hours
Ages 13+
Past the stars and material
plane are the Realms of Death...
...a shifting multiverse of cessation and mystery. Mortals are strictly forbidden here, and no living creatures have ever gained access to this unholy domain – until now. On Earth a strange organization known only as “Nauticus” has discovered a gateway into Death itself. Known as the Maw of Thanatos, this gateway is capable of transporting living beings from Earth into the Realms of Death.
Nauticus now prepares teams of human explorers, dubbed the Cryptonauts, to traverse the vast blackness of the cosmos and enter the Realms of Death, seeking the forbidden knowledge of mortality itself.
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Key Features
Squad Building
Create unique squads of Cryptonauts with their own strategies and combos, using 4 distinct class types (Mercenaries, Spellcasters, Experts, and Scientists). Will you create a squad that specializes in ambushing the opponent? Perhaps casting powerful spells as a group? Or maybe all-out firepower with grenades and heavy weapons?
Unique Overlord Players
Choose from 3 distinct Goddesses of Death, each with their own monsters, spell card decks, abilities, and different strategies for victory. Will you use Sk'Zaak to cripple Cryptonauts with cursed artifacts, overwhelm them with Gor'kuk's legions of murderous beasts, or agonizingly rot them to mulch with Mycothis' fungal magics?
Insane Replay Value
With 32 distinct Cryptonaut units, 3 Goddess overlords with different strategies and content,
4 Realm of Death game boards with different hazards and objectives, and 20 unique Artifact cards, no two games are ever the same. Experience thousands of different game configurations and situations to challenge both Cryptonaut and Goddess players.
Immersive Lore and World
The world of Cryptic Explorers is vast, with incredible amounts of written content detailing the rise of the shadowy Nauticus Think Tank, the invasion of the Realms of Death, the politics and intrigue of each individual Cryptonaut, and the dystopian future of Earth.
The Cryptonauts
In Cryptic Explorers, 1 to 3 players command the Cryptonauts, tasked with entering the black and hideous Realms of Death to steal occult knowledge and escape back to Earth. The Cryptonauts work together as a cooperative team to battle and survive monsters, collect souls, steal artifacts, gather knowledge, and escape from the Goddesses and the Realms of Death.
Each Cryptonaut player customizes their own squad of 2-3 unique units and upgrades them by collecting souls to unlock new abilities. There are 32 total Cryptonauts to choose from and combine into squads, each with their own abilities, attributes, art, and lore.
Opposing the Cryptonauts is one of 3 different Goddesses of Death, a malicious and powerful supernatural entity. Each Goddess summons monsters and casts spells in an attempt to kill all the Cryptonauts before they can escape with her Realm’s occult secrets.
