Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Quick Start Rules Game Review

Table top role playing games (ttrpg) seem to have been exploding in popularity and if you’ve been looking to dip your toes into the genre, but the fantasy genre of games like D&D aren’t for you, you might want to check out Call of Cthulhu.

As of writing this, the Call of Cthulhu ttrpg is curently in it’s 7th edition. I would recommend getting the quick start rules before getting the full game. This gives you a little taste of the game before commiting.

The game is based off the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft to create a horror based game. The quick start rules are straight forward and easy to follow. If this is your first ttrpg you won’t have a hard time reading this. The book lists everything you will need to play, and it provides a module to play called, The Haunting.

I’ve run The Haunting twice and each time it presented itself in a different light. One tended towards comedy, and the other tended towards horror. In the horror run through, I got one of my players to jump in her seat.

The module takes roughly three hours to run. Character creation takes maybe about a half hour on your first time playing. You need at least two people but I think three to five is ideal. The pacing is great and there is pleanty of room to make it your own. The setting is 1920s if I remember corectly, but you can adapt it to a different time period if you wish. I did one set in the modern day and the other in the original setting.

Call of Cthulhu runs on a D100 system. Meaning you will need percentile dice. These can easily be bought at most local game stores, or online. If you’re coming from a different system such as D&D, then you will be somewhat familiar with these. There is a bit of a learning curve with the dice system, but we picked it up pretty quick. Some paper, pencils, and character sheets would also be good to have as well.

The quick start provides enough info to start simple campaigns. You won’t get much in-depth detail here, because it is a quick start. But this really does give you enough info to get a taste of the game. There are some free modules you can find online.

This game really benifits with setting the mood. Low lighting is ideal if you can do it with your group. There are soundtracks made by people for running The Haunting, but you can also find some horror ambiance music as well. Perhaps some snacks or a special dinner are in order as well if you can muster it.

If you’re looking for a fun evening with friends, this is worth checking out. The physical copy was pretty cheap when I bought mine. If you found yourself enjoying the quick start guide, consider looking into getting the full version of the game. I did buy a copy of the full version, which I may review someday. For now, I would recommend the quick start if you want a unique horror expirence for a game night.

Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Quick Start Rules Game Review is marked with CC0 1.0