You are one of two Cultists, Bathsheba or Abednego, and a Ritual has gone horribly wrong.

Cthulhu is on its way! Someones very existence in space-time is forfeit! Will it be you or your opponent?

Run!
Use summoned Minions to impede your opponents movement so Cthulhu gets him first! The surviving player wins!
(note: this game is derived from Commuter, invented by Robert Abbott and described in his book Abbotts New Card Games (1963). I recommend this book to all gamers.)

Game Basics
2 players, ages 5+ (they must be able to count the pips on a playing card) Time to Play - ~20-30 minutes You Will Need: 1) Two decks of normal playing cards, plus 2 jokers (only). If you have extra jokers, put them back in the box. They wont be needed. 2) Playing pawns. 3) A fairly large playing space (4-5 feet long and 2 feet wide). The floor works fine, or your dining room table. A normal card table is too small.

How to Make the Pawns

Print out the rules. The last page of the rules has a picture file (it is full-color, but works fine if you print it in black-and-white). Cut out the images around the solid lines, and fold them along the dotted lines, as follows:

Figure 1. How to cut apart and create your pawns.

Glue the bottom tabs of the figure to a low-denomination coin (in the USA, use a penny). Any white glue will work. Once dried, you have your figures! If you want even-sturdier figures, you can glue the images onto posterboard or a more solid backing before attaching them to their base. Figure Replacement when you finally get your copy of Cthulhu Wars, you can replace the paper pawns with the real plastic figures from the game!

Set Up
Remove the Jokers from the card deck. Take them and place them face-up, side-by-side, exactly one card length apart on one side of the table or floorspace.

Figure 2. This is the initial setup for the game.

Decide whether you are going to play Abednego or Bathsheba. Place your cultist on one of the Jokers. Your opponent places his cultist on the other Joker. Shuffle the two card decks together and place the stack within easy reach of both players, face-down. Leave room for a face-up discard pile next to it. Take Bathshebas Minions and place them within reach of the Bathsheba player. Take Abednegos Minions, and place them within reach of the Abednego player. Take the Cthulhu pawn and place it to one side. You are now ready to play.

Card Value
Kings have a special use, and do not have a value. Queens, Jacks, and 10s all have a value of 10 and are equal. Aces have a value of 1 and are the lowest-value card. All other cards have a value equal to their pips.

How To Play
Any player takes a card from the top of the deck and turns it face-up. If the card is red, then Bathsheba gets to take a turn, using the card. If the card is black, then Abednego gets to take a turn, using the card. Hence, one player may get to take several turns in a row, if the same color keeps turning up. This is fine. Thus, Bathsheba owns the red cards, while Abednego owns the black cards.

Using the Cards

If the card is a King, the player spawns a Minion on the location of his player pawn (either Abednego or Bathsheba). If the card is anything else, the player has a choice he may: 1. use the card to build up the tableau (q.v.) 2. use it to move his pawn. 3. use it to move a minion. Initially, there is no tableau except the two Jokers, so for the first few plays, the players are forced to use cards to build the initial tableau or place Minions (if they draw a King).

How to Build the Tableau

Take the card and place it so it touches at least one other existing card. You are constructing a theoretical grid, as follows:

Figure 3. Two possible spots to play the first card. You could also place a card between the two jokers, but there is not much point in it.

Figure 4. the first card was played from the left-hand Joker. New possibilities open up. The dotted areas are all spots where the second card could be placed.

Figure 5. the second card is off the right-hand joker. The possibilities are still as before.

Figure 6. with the third build, we can see that the tableau is kind of "ladder-shaped".

As you build up the grid, it will become more complete, but it will never be finished as, in theory, it extends to infinity. Most of the grid will actually be a couple of straight lines of cards extending directly away from the Jokers. You may place a card on your opponents part of the grid, or your own. The grid isnt really owned by anyone. In general, you want to use high-point cards to block his path, and low-point cards to make it easier for you to move.

Moving Your Pawn

When you draw a card, you can use it either to build the tableau or to move. To use it to move, simply place the card on the discard pile, and move your pawn onto an adjacent card (which must already exist on the tableau). The card discarded must have an equal or higher value than the card onto which you moved.

For example, if you want to move onto a 9 on the tableau, you must discard a Queen, Jack, 10, or 9. To move onto a Queen, you must discard a Queen, Jack, or 10 (which are all worth 10 points). You can use ANY card to move onto an Ace. You may NOT move onto one of your opponents Minions or his Pawn. You MAY share space with one of your own Minions.

Figure 7. how to move your pawn.

Figure 8. some movement possibilities for your pawn after the first move.

Figure 9. another example of movement.

Moving a Minion
Minions move just like your pawn. However, they may move up to three cards at once. Each card that the Minion moves through or onto must have a value equal to or less than the card discarded for movement. Remember to place the card you used for movement onto the discard pile. Minions may not move onto or through an enemy Minion or Pawn (exception: Destroying an Enemy Minion, see below).

Figure 10. the black minion can discard a 5 to move clear to the Ace, because all the cards in his path are 5 or lower. The red minion would need an 8 to move to the Ace, because an 8 is in his way.

Destroying an Enemy Minion IF AND ONLY IF your Pawn is completely surrounded by enemy Minions (even at a distance), you can move one of your own Minions onto an enemy Minion. Both Minions are immediately destroyed. If the tableau around your pawn is incomplete, this does NOT count as being completely surrounded.

Figure 11. the ghoul in the top row is destroyed, as he is surrounded by m utants. The ghoul in the second row is not yet destroyed, but will be if the mutant to left moves next to him.

Cthulhu!
When the card deck runs out, re-shuffle it (it will be shorter, because many cards will be on the tableau already). Now it is time to release Cthulhu. Place the Cthulhu pawn between the two starting Jokers.

Figure 12. Cthulhu rises! And he destroys the starting cards.

Cthulhu destroys everything as it moves. Remove both the starting Jokers, and any other cards that are in Cthulhus row from the tableau. Set them aside. They will not be returning to play. From now on, each time ANY face card is played (King, Queen, or Jack), Cthulhu advances one step along the grid, and destroys all cards in this row as it moves.

Figure 13. Cthulhu's first move. He destroys the first row of cards, eliminating a ghoul minion.

Figure 14. Cthulhu moves onto Abednego's row, destroying him (as well as a mutant minion).

If any Minions are on the row, they are also destroyed. Note: the King, Queen, or Jack played still serves its purpose, and can be used to spawn a Minion, move pawns or Minions, or build up the tableau. Its just that Cthulhu moves too.

Winning the Game.

If Cthulhu reaches a row of cards on which a players pawn sits, that pawn is destroyed, body and soul, and the surviving player wins the game. Yippee! Note: if both players are on the same row when Cthulhu arrives, then both players lose together. Too bad. The only way to settle the issue is to play the game again.